Georgie Benardete

Global Catalyst for Impact

Georgie Benardete is a global expert in impact investing, with extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, thought leader and executive. She repeatedly acts as a catalyst, enabling partners and portfolio companies to access knowledge, capital and network to extend their global impact and improve the state of the world.

As CEO of Align17, she founded and leads a private digital platform where clients can access vetted Impact Investing opportunities alongside some of the world’s top investment groups. Align17 was founded in partnership with UBS Private Wealth, as part of their efforts to mobilize clients’ capital into achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Through Align17, she has invested millions into the industries of the future.

A Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum, Georgie is a globally respected impact thought leader. Her ability to mobilize her global connections to co-create global collaboration is unparalleled. A creative polymath, Georgie’s breadth of knowledge expands from deep finance and business, to entrepreneurship, technology, and sustainability. With a global trusted network that cuts across sectors, she uncovers future trends and supports their mass adoption. She has advised CEOs, governments, and banks in their climateproofing strategies, and passionately helps leaders uncover their true purpose and potential.

Georgie’s career spans from Wall Street at JPMorgan Latin America Investment Banking, to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and consulting at Coopers & Lybrand in the US and Argentina. She is Chairwoman of the Fourth Sector Group, and Board Emeritus of the Global Entrepreneurs Council of Ted Turner’s United Nations Foundation. Benardete co- Founded Yesilist.com, Turkey’s largest green portal, and is part of Al Gore’s Climate Project as a speaker on climate change.

Georgie is a founding member of the Fast Company Impact Council and sits on the Investment Committee of Belle Capital, an early-stage VC fund that promotes investments in companies with strong female leadership. She was part of the Advisory Board of the WEF’s Young Global Leaders and is a Founding Curator of the WEFs Global Shapers Hubs in San Juan and New York City.

Georgie is a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and received her Masters in Science of Foreign Service, with honours, from Georgetown University. She has coursed executive programs in Harvard and Oxford.