John Thoppil is Associate Director for India Grants and Contracts at the World Resources Institute (WRI). Based in Bengaluru, he leads the Grants and Contracts function for WRI in India and provides strategic oversight for sub agreements across WRI’s global programs.

His work focuses on governance of incoming grants and outgoing sub agreements, including institutional compliance, financial controls, risk assessment, and partner management. He works closely with regional and global leadership to support complex, multi country awards and ensuring alignment with donor, regulatory, and organizational requirements.

Prior to joining WRI in 2019, John served as Grants and Finance Manager at J PAL at MIT and as Senior Manager – Development at CRY. Earlier in his career, he spent seven years in the media sector, including at The Times of India, where he worked on integrated advertising and communication solutions across print, broadcast, digital, and event platforms, and contributed as a writer and advertising copywriter.

John holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in English from Loyola College, Chennai.