Melanie Nakagawa

As Microsoft’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Melanie Nakagawa leads the development and execution of Microsoft’s sustainability strategy across its worldwide business. In this role, she drives Microsoft’s core commitment to sustainability through ongoing technology innovation, program development, policy advancement, and global operational excellence. Ms. Nakagawa brings to the role almost two decades of environmental sustainability experience at the nexus of policy, business, and technology, and is committed to using the power of technology to advance the world’s sustainability needs. She leads Microsoft’s ambitious plans to become a carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste company and to advance a new planetary computing platform that will transform the way we monitor, model, and manage Earth’s natural systems. She most recently served as Special Assistant to President Biden and Senior Director for Climate and Energy on the National Security Council at the White House. Prior to the White House, she helped launch Princeville Capital’s inaugural global growth equity climate technology fund investing in rapidly-scaling technology-enabled companies delivering transformative solutions to climate change. During the Obama administration, she served as a strategic advisor to Secretary of State John Kerry on climate change and environmental issues and was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Transformation in the Bureau of Energy Resources, leading efforts to promote the global shift toward a low carbon economy. She also held roles in the U.S. Senate and with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Ms. Nakagawa received her law degree from American University Washington College of Law, a Master of Arts in International Affairs from American University School of International Service, and a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University focused on international relations and the global environment.