Riham El-Gizy is the CEO of Voluntary Carbon Market, a Saudi company which is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region. In the company’s first 18 months, El-Gizy led the world’s largest-ever voluntary carbon market auction in Riyadh in 2022, before setting a new record at a second auction in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2023. She now leads the development of Saudi Arabia’s first carbon exchange, launching in 2024. El-Gizy, who is recognized in New African’s 100 Most Influential Africans of 2023 list, leads efforts to convene people and organizations from all sides of the voluntary carbon market ecosystem, shaping the direction of the industry as it grows to play an increasingly valuable role in tackling climate change. The company last year hosted the first Global South Carbon Markets Conference at Future Investment Initiative Institute in Riyadh. El-Gizy has contributed to various other international conferences in addition, including the Africa Climate Summit and COP (Conference of the Parties). Through her leadership at the company, she is demonstrating how the Middle East and Africa can work together to drive innovative climate action in emerging economies. El-Gizy brings a wealth of expertise to her current role. She boasts more than 20 years of international experience dedicated to impacting related investments through her extensive work as a leader in mergers and acquisitions, as well as strategy and business development experience. She was formerly head of Saudi Aramco’s investment valuations and structuring, the function responsible for advising and formulating investment decisions for corporate and executive management and government institutions. Prior to joining Saudi Aramco, she spent 16 years with BP in North America and North Africa. She has a track record in originating and executing energy, clean technology, and renewable energy transactions across the globe. El-Gizy earned a master’s degree in business administration from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and worked on projects promoting sustainable economic growth in emerging markets, through the deployment of innovative technology solutions and climate change simulations, during her time at the university.