Sir Andrew Steer, PhD, is an economist and environmental leader promoting social and economic progress within planetary boundaries.
He served, most recently, as the inaugural President and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund (2021-25), the world’s largest philanthropy for nature and climate, where he oversaw investments in systems change across nature protection, food and agriculture, industrial and energy decarbonization, financial reform, and the application of AI and big data.
He is now Distinguished Professor of Practice in Economics and Sustainability at Georgetown University and the London School of Economics.
He was President and CEO of the World Resources Institute (2012-2021), leading a team of 1600 professionals at an NGO consistently ranked as the top Think Tank/Do Tank on sustainable development.
Previously, he served as Special Envoy for Climate Change at the World Bank, Director General at the UK’s Department of International Development, and Director of the World Bank in East Asia.
In 2024 Andrew was knighted in recognition of “sustained contribution as one of the world’s best-known leaders in global sustainable development economics”; and was named by Forbes as one of the world’s 50 most impactful climate leaders, in its inaugural Sustainability Leaders awards.
He is a member of the UK Foreign Secretary’s External Foreign Policy Board, co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Futures Council on Innovative Finance; and a member of the boards of BRAC, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, and the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development. Andrew was educated at St Andrews University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Cambridge University, and has a PhD in Economics and Finance. He is married to Dr. Liesbet Steer. They have two children: Charlotte, an environmental professional, and Benjamin, an Indie Pop artist.