Dr. Naoko Ishii, elected as chief executive officer and chair of the Global Environment Facility in 2012, has led the development and implementation of the GEF’s first-ever long-term strategy.  It positioned the GEF to address the underlying drivers of environmental degradation and to catalyze systems transformation in energy, cities, and food systems while protecting critical ecosystems. She successfully concluded two international replenishment negotiations, both of which mobilized more than 4 billion US dollars for the GEF.

Before Joining the GEF, Dr. Ishii was the deputy vice minister of finance of Japan. She worked as a country director for the World Bank and has held positions at the IMF and Harvard Institute for International Development.

Dr. Ishii is co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy, and co-chair of the Advisory Network of the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. She is a special advisor to the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, and a commissioner for the Global Adaptation Commission. She also serves on the Global Advisory Board of the University of Tokyo.

Dr. Ishii has published numerous papers and several books and is the inaugural recipient of the 2006 Enjoji Jiro Memorial Prize. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo.