Valli Moosa was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is a veteran of the South African Freedom struggle. He worked closely with Nelson Mandela during the settlement talks and served as a negotiator for the ANC. He participated in the drafting of the South African Constitution. He served in President Mandela’s cabinet as Minister of Constitutional Development and in President Mbeki’s government as Environment Minister.

Valli joined the corporate sector in 2004 and currently serves on the board of Sappi Ltd. He has served on the boards of Anglo Platinum, Eskom and Sanlam.
Valli served as a facilitator in the global climate change negotiations for a number of years. He previously served as President of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature), Chairman of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development and as the Chairman of WWF (SA). He is the Deputy Chairperson of the Presidential Climate Commission.