Edgar Sandoval, the president and CEO of World Vision, shares his personal story of emigrating to the United States as a teenager, overcoming challenges, and eventually joining World Vision, a global Christian humanitarian organization.

He describes how his faith journey and witnessing the compassion of others like his former boss Steve led him to dedicate his life to serving the poor and vulnerable around the world through World Vision’s work.

Edgar Sandoval has an unstoppable passion to see that every child—especially the most vulnerable—has the opportunity to experience Christ’s promise of life in all its fullness.

Born in Los Angeles, Edgar grew up in Central and South America, where he first witnessed poverty. His own experience with hardship came at age 18, when he returned alone to the U.S. with only $50 in his pocket. He worked minimum-wage jobs while studying English as a second language, later earning bachelor’s degrees in industrial engineering and sociology from Rutgers University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Edgar was recruited by General Electric and later by Procter & Gamble, where over a 20-year career he made significant contributions to the corporation’s growth and reputation. As P&G’s senior vice president and general manager of global feminine care, he directed the creation and launch of the internationally acclaimed #LikeAGirl campaign. The spot quickly became a viral sensation, airing during the 2015 Super Bowl, garnering more than 90 million views, winning multiple awards, and changing the perception of the phrase forever. Before the campaign, only 19% of people thought that doing something “like a girl” was a compliment. A year later, that had increased to 76%.

Edgar came to World Vision in 2015 in response to a clear calling he and his wife, Leiza, felt to the ministry. As chief operating officer for three years, he directed fundraising programs that generated over $1 billion in donations and strengthened financial and organizational health.

Since stepping into the role of president and CEO on Oct. 1, 2018, Edgar has placed a strong emphasis on World Vision’s Christian identity and the transformational journey of staff, donors, and the children and families participating in programs. In 2019, he launched Chosen®, a new invitation to child sponsorship. And for three consecutive years Edgar has led the organization to raise record-breaking donations, including private and public funding for World Vision’s response to COVID-19 and the global hunger crisis as well as domestic programs in the U.S. that reached more than 3.5 million people in 2022.

As World Vision president, Edgar has traveled to some of the world’s hardest places, including the Venezuela border in Colombia, gang-controlled urban areas of Honduras, Rohingya refugee settlements in Bangladesh, the Ukraine border, and hunger hot-spot Turkana in northern Kenya. A respected leader in the humanitarian space, he serves on the board of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. Edgar is frequently quoted in national media; has spoken at the Christian Leadership Alliance Outcomes Conference, Devex World, and Global Leadership Summit events; and regularly provides teaching clips for the YouVersion Bible app.