Biography
Stephen D’Esposito is the President and CEO of RESOLVE and a solutions strategist. Trained as a policy advocate, he helps partners envision, design, and implement innovative solutions to sustainability challenges. Stephen’s work covers all of RESOLVE’s issue areas, with a focus on natural resources, energy transition, and sustainable development. He is the founder and CEO of Regeneration, a restoration start-up that provides biodiversity, community, and climate positive minerals for the energy transition, green tech, and sustainable brands.
Stephen began his public policy work in the mid-1980s with the New York Public Interest Research Group, founded by Ralph Nader and Donald Ross. He served as National Field Director and Deputy Director of Greenpeace USA, where he played a central role in building Greenpeace USA into one of the country’s largest environmental organizations. He then led the Greenpeace International Executive Committee based in Amsterdam. His work there on the Brent Spar campaign led many corporations and NGOs to rethink their approach to stakeholder engagement and shareholder advocacy.
In the decade prior to joining RESOLVE, Stephen was President and CEO of EARTHWORKS, a nongovernmental policy organization focused on mining, oil and gas issues founded by Stuart L. Udall (former U.S. Secretary of the Interior) and J. Michael McCloskey. At EARTHWORKS, Stephen focused on fostering corporate and NGO partnerships to address environmental and human rights challenges.
At RESOLVE, Stephen works with leadership in companies, nonprofits, foundations, and community groups both internationally and locally to make concrete progress on challenges like the need to accelerate the energy transition, build a restoration economy to support biodiversity, and respond to and prevent natural resource conflicts. He co-created and chairs RESOLVE Enterprises, an incubator for mission-aligned start-ups.
Stephen serves on a number of boards; he chaired the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Mining and Metals, and is a frequent keynote speaker and advisor to foundation, nonprofit, and corporate boards.