Marcos Mancini’s mission is to make sustainability a driving force within capital markets. A self-described curious learner, Mancini took his scientific acumen to the financial realm as head of corporate sustainability and responsible investment at Grupo Financiero Banorte — the third largest financial institution in Mexico — and chair of the sustainability committee at the Mexican Banking Association. “I am constantly questioning traditional ways of thinking,” Mancini said. “This means looking for a new world of possibilities in the development, implementation, and promotion of social and environmental values in capital markets.”

Mancini led Banorte to become the only Mexican financial institution in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and the top ranked corporation in Latin America under the CDP index for its carbon strategy. His efforts also impacted the company’s bottom line: Banorte’s responsible investor base boasts a two-digit average growth rate.

Mancini’s work with the Mexican Banking Association was instrumental in aligning the sustainability commitments of the country’s financial institutions. He authored, consulted, and got approval for a sustainability protocol that makes Mexico only the sixth country in the world in which financial institutions work collaboratively toward sustainability by defining a set of common goals.

Mancini recently moved into a new role as country manager for Argentina in the United Nations Environmental Program Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System, better known as UNEP Inquiry. In this position, he is able to affect change at a systemic level, working with financial regulators to encourage policy changes that will affect capital allocation to more green investments. “My goal is to demonstrate the materiality of climate change to capital markets,” Mancini said. “I will continue to push the sustainability agenda by advocating for socially and environmentally responsible financial strategy.”