Chrissa Pagitsas
PROFILE
Chrissa Pagitsas is a dynamic leader who unlocks innovation and growth potential by bridging sustainability and business. She draws on her deep expertise building a $51 billion Green Bond business at Fannie Mae and insights from book, Chief Sustainability Officers at Work, with in-depth conversations with Chief Sustainability Officers at Coca-Cola, Amazon, and BlackRock, and other Fortune 500 companies. As a Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Co and to global clients, Chrissa guides executives on shaping their business strategy for a complex future.
Through engaging presentations and insightful perspectives, she empowers audiences to innovate and capture opportunities offered by sustainability despite a volatile global business environment, stiff competition, and evolving customer desires and workforce needs. On the global stage at COP28 in Dubai, Chrissa addressed how and why companies should invest in green skills in their workforce to the value-add of green tech. At closed door sessions with private equity companies, she showed how sustainability is a multiplier for growth and impact.
Hailed as illuminating and inspiring, Chrissa s book Chief Sustainability Officers At Work, is a best seller on Amazon. Her book pulls back the curtain on how leaders at Fortune 500 companies tackle the challenge of integrating long-term sustainability goals while hitting quarterly financial targets.
Chrissa was recognized as a Green Bond Champion by the Climate Bonds Initiative and awarded the Leadership award by the US Green Building Council for her market-transforming innovations as an executive at Fannie Mae. She launched the first green $19M commercial mortgage-backed security in the US and brokered a public-private partnership with the US EPA to develop a new ENERGY STAR rating and certification for the real estate industry.
Chrissa has developed sustainability strategies for large real estate investors, advised USAID and energy clients on renewable energy solutions, and delivered software solutions for the energy industry in the U.S. and Europe.
Ms. Pagitsas holds an MBA from the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, and a BA from Johns Hopkins University.
SPEAKING TOPICS
Big Vision into Reality: How to Get It Done
Many people talk about having a big vision, but how many people know how to achieve it? Chrissa knows first-hand what it takes. She pulls back the curtain on the lows and highs of building a $50 billion green finance and real estate business in order to inspire attendees to set their own big visions. But a vision is not enough – she leaves the attendees with a roadmap to accelerate the achievement of their vision. Blending personal experience with global business case studies from Netflix to Fannie Mae, Chrissa shows how to get it done.
The Art of the Calculated Leap: Taking Risks for Success
This dynamic keynote ignites a growth mindset in senior executives to aspiring leaders. By combining data on the benefits of calculated risks with captivating case studies of successful leaders in business and impact, Chrissa equips attendees with a practical framework for strategic risk assessment and confident decision-making. Participants will leave inspired to embrace challenges, navigate uncertainty, and achieve breakthrough results. As a senior executive herself, Chrissa connects with other women executives to show the way forward.
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