José María Figueres

President of the Carbon War Room and Former President of Costa Rica

In 1994, Mr. Figueres was elected President of Costa Rica at the age of 39. After leaving government he helped create and then led the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force. In 2000, he was named managing director of the World Economic Forum, and three years later became its first CEO. In 2010, he was named CEO of Concordia 21, a Madrid-based non-profit organization dedicated to supporting organizations that promote development and democratic values around the world.

He is currently President of the Carbon War Room, which implements entrepreneurial market-driven solutions to reduce carbon emissions at the gigaton level and mitigate climate change.

Mr. Figueres earned a degree in industrial engineering at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and a Masters in Public Administration at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.