Bold environmental strategies can make business sense.

Checking the ESG box no longer suffices. Organizations of all sizes and structures are being called upon to help solve our environmental challenges. I work with companies, countries, and non-profits to accelerate and scale environmental progress. 

I draw on my unique professional background leading two of the biggest organizations in the world, one financial and one environmental. 

I spent 24 years at Goldman Sachs (1984-2008), where I was a partner and managing director. After leading various business units at the firm including equity capital markets, corporate finance, real estate, and consumer/healthcare, I was asked in 2005 by then-CEO Henry M. Paulson to build and lead the firm’s first environmental effort. We were one of the first businesses to pursue such opportunities in ways that achieved both financial and environmental outcomes. 

Three years later, I was ready to take my newfound passion for the environment even further. I served for 11 years (2008-19) as CEO of the Nature Conservancy (TNC) — the world’s largest environmental nonprofit organization, operating in all 50 states and 72 countries.

During my 11-year tenure at TNC,  we doubled down on science, worked across political and industry lines, and invested in systems to optimize performance among global staff. I also led the creation of NatureVest (TNC’s financial innovation and impact capital initiative), drove a $7 billion capital fundraising campaign, and established a permanent department focused on gender, diversity, equity, and inclusion (GDEI).

Today I am a Senior Advisor at Centerview Partners. I am also the author of the best-selling book, Nature’s Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature, and I serve on the board of several clean tech startups as well as environmental non-profits. My focus areas include nature-based climate solutions, green infrastructure, decarbonization, sustainability funding strategies for lower- and middle-income countries, and financial innovation for non-profits.

I publish a bi-weekly newsletter  — The Instigator — on Substack.

I am also husband to Amy, dad to Ali, Margo, Luke, and Rex, grandfather to Maxine and Gus; a yoga/aikido/guitar aficionado; and an enthusiastic long-time vegan.