about | Boccaletti

About Giulio Boccaletti

For the last 20 years, my work has been at the intersection of geophysical and ecological science, public policy, and business strategy. Water security and our relationship with Earth's climate are particular interests of mine. I am the Scientific Director of the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change.

I started out as a scientist, working on climate dynamics and physical oceanography at Bologna University. I obtained my PhD at Princeton University, where I was a NASA Earth Systems Science Fellow, and went on to MIT, where I worked on turbulence, instability theory and the large scale circulation of the ocean

I then went into business, joining global consultancy McKinsey & Company, where I ultimately became a partner, one of the leaders of its Sustainability and Resource Productivity practice, and the co-founder of its Water practice.

While at McKinsey I served dozens of private, not for profit, and public sector institutions and clients, across multiple industries, from health to finance. I worked in a dozen countries, from Ethiopia, South Africa and Jordan to India, China, the UK, and the US. During my time at the Firm, I also produced several public reports on key sustainability issues, including carbon and water security strategies for countries, the role of ICT sector in the climate transition, the economics of climate adaptation, and the economics of water security.

After my experience in the private sector, I joined the Nature Conservancy, one of the largest conservation organisations in the world, first as its Global Managing Director for Water, then as its Chief Strategy Officer. During my time there I was responsible for the strategy processes of the 4,000 people working at TNC in over 40 countries and for several key strategic initiatives, including its water funds programmes, its program on water markets, and its work on hydropower.

For my work on water, the World Economic Forum nominated me a Young Global Leader in 2014. I have been a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Water and Global Futures Council on Natural Resource Security. I have also served on the OECD-WWC High Level Panel on Infrastructure Financing for a Water-Secure World.

I am the Scientific Director of the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, where I direct the largest Italian research institution devoted to the science and economics of climate change. I teach a class on strategy and sustainability at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University. I am also a senior advisor to the specialist consulting firm SystemIQ, and am the co-founder of the venture-backed tech company, Chloris Geospatial.

My first book Water: A Biography, a history of the relationship between society and water, was released by Pantheon Books in September 2021. The Economist rated it one of the best books of that year. It has been translated into 9 languages, and was released as a paperback in 2022. My second book, Siccità, was released in September 2023 by Mondadori. I am working on my third book with Princeton University Press. I have been involved in the production of two documentary series for PBS/BBC and am currently executive producing a four part series on the future of nature.

I divide my time between speaking and writing on sustainability, working with documentary makers, advising organisations. When I can I play music as a member of the G.O.B., the pre-eminent ocarina group in the world.

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