David is a strategic advisor who specializes in harnessing the power of markets to solve critical environmental issues and support sustainable development. David has developed projects and managed organizations operating under major international agreements, including the Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer, and both the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement to address climate change. David recently published a groundbreaking report titled Financing the Transitions the World Needs: Towards a New Paradigm for Carbon Markets highlighting both the threats carbon markets face and concrete improvements that could address supply and demand integrity concerns.

David currently runs a boutique consulting business (Transition Finance) which helps clients design financial instruments to support the green transition. Between 2008 and 2023 David served as Chief Executive Officer of Verra, which under his tenure grew from a staff of two to more than 140 and became both the leading certification body in the voluntary carbon market and the standard-setter of choice for environmental markets. Prior to working at Verra, David worked for EcoSecurities in Oxford (UK) where he led a joint venture that developed landfill gas-to-energy projects worldwide. David also served as the Global Climate Change Advisor for USAID’s mission in Mexico and through his work at ICF supported Latin American countries developing their GHG inventories.

Born and raised in Mexico City for 15 years, David is fully bicultural. He has an Undergraduate degree in Sociology and American Studies from Princeton University, a Master’s degree in Environmental Policy and Sustainable Development from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and a Certificate in Business from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.