Manish Bapna

Manish Bapna is the president and chief executive officer of the Natural Resources Defense Council, a major environmental organization with more than 700 attorneys, scientists, advocates, and policy experts, as well as three million supporting members. The organization addresses climate change, public health, biodiversity, and environmental justice. An economist by training, Bapna emphasizes the need for global transformation of economic systems to address the climate crisis. He holds graduate degrees in business and political and economic development from Harvard and an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from MIT.

During a 25-year career prior to joining the Natural Resources Defense Council, Bapna held leadership roles focused on environmental policy and sustainable development. He served as executive vice president and managing director of World Resources Institute, where he led the establishment of offices in China, India, and Brazil and contributed to initiatives such as the Global Commission on Adaptation, NDC Partnership, New Climate Economy, and the International Research Forum on the Sustainable Development Goals. Bapna also helped launch programs on urban sustainability, renewable energy, climate finance, and adaptation, and led efforts to integrate equity and inclusion into the organization’s mission and operations.

Earlier, Bapna was a senior economist at World Bank, designing and implementing water, forestry, and rural development projects in Asia and Latin America. He later became executive director of Bank Information Center, a nonprofit focused on protecting local communities and the environment from the impacts of development bank projects. Bapna’s experience includes private sector consulting at McKinsey & Company in the financial services and technology sectors, international development finance, and global environmental research, providing a multidisciplinary perspective on sustainability challenges.

Bapna has advocated for climate action at national and international forums, including the MIT Energy Initiative’s Earth Day Colloquium and events such as the Green Leaders for Change summit in Washington, D.C., and the Climate Voters Go All In event during the Democratic National Convention. He serves on the board of Meridian Institute and as an ambassador of the Open Government Partnership, contributing to environmental policy, climate change solutions, and sustainable development.