Manish Bapna is the executive vice president and managing director of the World Resources Institute (WRI), a think tank working at the intersection of the environment and development. He served as WRI’s acting president from 2011-2012.
Manish oversees WRI’s thematic programs and global network of offices, chairs WRI’s management team and works to strengthen the impact of WRI research. Under his leadership, the institute has established offices in China, India and Brazil and initiated new programs on sustainable cities, water, adaptation, and the post-2015 development agenda. Manish’s interests and expertise are in international development with a particular focus on natural resources and rural poverty. Previously, Manish was the executive director of the nonprofit Bank Information Center (BIC), whose mission is to protect rights and promote sustainability in the projects and policies of international financial institutions.
Manish also served as a senior economist and task team leader at the World Bank, where he led multidisciplinary teams in designing and implementing water, watershed, and rural development projects in Asia and Latin America. Several of the projects he helped develop received "excellence awards" by the Bank and were highly rated in independent evaluations.
His experience in international development also includes advisory roles at Seva Mandir (a leading grassroots nonprofit in India) and Women’s World Banking (a microfinance support organization). Earlier, he worked as a strategy consultant for McKinsey & Company in the financial services and technology industries.
Manish has been cited in front-page articles in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and International Herald Tribune and his op-eds are featured in major global and national papers. He has testified multiple times before the U.S. Congress and serves on the board of directors of Oxfam America and Hampshire College.
Manish received graduate degrees from Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School and an undergraduate degree from MIT. He is married to Geeta Nanda and they have two children, Laila and Arav.
