Marcene Mitchell
Marcene D. Mitchell is a seasoned financial professional with over 30 years of experience in international corporate and project finance with a specialty in clean energy. Ms. Mitchell has provided funding and assistance to companies who are reducing their global carbon footprints by investing in clean technologies, energy efficiency and supply chain management. Marcene has deep experience in the energy industry and scaling clean energy technologies in the emerging markets.
Ms. Mitchell is currently Senior Vice President for Climate Change at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). In this role, Marcene is working at the intersection of conservation and climate change where she is expanding finance for nature-based solutions to address global warming. She works with corporate leaders and Governments in building new markets for renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, the blue economy, and sustainable forestry. She is innovating and expanding the use of climate finance instruments including green and blue bonds, blended finance, and carbon credits. As WWF’s champion on climate change, Ms. Mitchell leads the organization's climate agenda across organization's corporate network, philanthropic and government partnerships, and impact investing portfolio.
Previously, Ms. Mitchell was Global Head of Strategy and Business Development for the Climate Business Department of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank. Marcene was responsible for growing IFC’s investments in sustainable business with an emphasis on renewable power, industrial energy efficiency, green buildings, electric vehicles, climate-smart agriculture, and nature-based solutions. She was responsible for the growth of IFC’s climate volume reaching 30% of IFC’s total annual investments.
In addition to her work in climate business and sustainability, Ms. Mitchell has substantial international investment experience in corporate and project finance. Before joining IFC, Ms. Mitchell was a Finance Manager with BP and was responsible for financial transactions for BP’s Power and Petrochemical divisions.
Ms. Mitchell sits on the Boards of the Green Bank of Montgomery County, the Center for Resource Solutions, the Steering Committee for the UN Sustainable Energy for All Building Efficiency Accelerator and the Renewable Energy Committee of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development. Ms. Mitchell holds an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Brown University.