Sebastian Marot studied at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and worked with the French Foreign Affairs in Japan and in marketing for l'Oreal, before being inspired to work with marginalized children. During his travels through Cambodia in 1994, he launched the award-winning Mith Samlanh project in Phnom Penh to address the many issues faced by marginalized children and youth. From Phnom Penh, he developed the internationally acclaimed social enterprise Friends-International, to provide protection, support and care for marginalized children, youth and their families around the world. As a leading social enterprise, Friends-International uses business models and alliances to tackle system change.