Tony Maddox

Tony Maddox, a journalist-executive, founded the CNN Freedom Project, the greatest awareness project in anti-human trafficking.

Tony Maddox started as a journalist with the BBC. Although journalism wasn't his original plan, he quickly rose through the ranks. Beginning as a journalist, he quickly moved into editing and managing. He was based in various offices around England before he was appointed to be the head of the Belfast office. He oversaw all television and radio output for the BBC in and about Northern Ireland. He left the BBC for a job with CNN International (CNNi) as the managing editor for the Europe, Middle East, and African regions in 1998. He was promoted two years later to the vice president of that same section, before being promoted, in 2003, to the senior vice president in charge of all international news for CNN. 

Mr. Maddox' remarkable career put him in a position to do something about human trafficking. On his initiative, CNN launched a year-long project called The CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern Slavery in 2011. The project was successful, and the network quickly extended it. They are now in their fifth year of reporting on human trafficking issues around the world. They continue to investigate what human trafficking looks like around the world, help survivors to speak to the international community, showcase what effective abolition looks like, and build global awareness of this issue. They have published over 400 reports on modern slavery. Various NGOs report that over 1000 survivors received assistance as a result of CNN International's commitment to anti-human trafficking. A further 24 million in donations to anti-trafficking organizations can be traced to their work. 

Their work to inspire new activists and challenge the structures of human trafficking in our modern world is nothing short of exemplary and amazing. Tony Maddox is both the reason the project exists, and the reason it has been so effective. They reach more than 291 million households and hotel rooms globally. In 2015, Tony Maddox was named as a Hero Acting to End Modern Slavery as a result of his efforts to combat slavery.