Maria Mendiluce

María Mendiluce, was appointed the permanent CEO of the We Mean Business coalition in May 2020. María came to the coalition from her role as Managing Director for Circular Economy, Cities & Mobility and Climate & Energy, at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). María had been the coalition’s interim-CEO since January 2020, when former CEO Nigel Topping moved to his new role as high level Climate Action Champion for COP26.

Maria Mendiluce had joined WBCSD in 2008 and has more than 20 years of experience in sustainable development, energy and climate action. She sits in the senior management team of WBCSD, focusing on transformative climate policy, energy transition, plastic waste and urban mobility. Prior to joining WBCSD, Maria held roles at the Economic Bureau of the Spanish Prime Minister, the office of the CEO of Iberdrola and the International Energy Agency in Paris.

Maria has an MBA in Business Administration and a Ph.D. in Energy Economics. She regularly teaches at different universities and publishes articles in academic journals and media. Since March 2020, she is also the interim CEO of the We Mean Business Coaltion. She also received the “Inspirational Women in Geneva Working for the Environment” award in 2016.