Manish Bapna

President and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Manish Bapna became the President and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in August 2021, leading a team of over 700 lawyers, scientists, environmental advocates, and policy experts.

Before joining NRDC, he spent 14 years at the World Resources Institute (WRI), serving as Executive Vice President and Managing Director. At WRI, he led the establishment of offices in China, India, and Brazil and launched several multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the Global Commission on Adaptation and the Sustainable Development Goals International Research Forum.

From 2003 to 2007, Bapna served as Executive Director of the Bank Information Center, a non-profit organization that promotes social equity and environmental protection standards within financial institutions like the World Bank. Between 1996 and 2003, he worked as a senior economist at the World Bank, focusing on global poverty issues and leading projects in Asia and Latin America on water resources and rural development.