Draft:Alzbeta Klein

Alzbeta Klein is a Canadian banker and economist who currently serves as the CEO/Director General of the International Fertilizer Association, the only global fertilizer association, based in Paris, France. She is also an independent director on the boards of the International Fertilizer Development Center, FinDev Canada and on the Sustainability Advisory Board of Nespresso.

Early life and education
Klein was born on July 6, 1966 in Košice, Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia). After her engineering degree, she immigrated to Canada.

Klein got her engineering degree from the Prague University of Economics and Business and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Ottawa in Canada where she also studied for her doctorate. Later she obtained the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. She completed executive business education at Harvard Business School in 2001 and 2016, and at INSEAD in 2003.

Career
Klein spent three years at the Export Development Canada in Ottawa. In 1997, she joined the World Bank Group in the Young Professional (YP) Program. She worked in Washington, DC, and had a posting to the International Finance Corporation Regional Office for Eastern Europe, based in Moscow, Russia. Her progressively senior positions at the World Bank Group included Chief of Staff to the CEO of IFC, Director of Risk and Portfolio, Director of Industrials and Agribusiness Investments, and Director of Climate Business. In 2020, she was recruited to head the International Fertilizer Association (IFA). Klein is a frequent speaker at the United Nations, World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, and other public and private organizations and companies. She has been interviewed by the Financial Times, BBC, CBS and other news outlets, on topics related to sustainability, climate change, carbon markets and food security globally. She was named among the World Top 25 Green Finance Influencers in 2020 and 2021, and the Purposeful 50 Leader in 2021.

Corporate and Non-Profit Boards
Klein has contributed to 11 corporate and nonprofit boards throughout her career. Highlights include: six years on the board of South Africa-based global fruit and timber company HMH/Westfália - where she was part of the remuneration and compensation committee and helped recruit the current CEO - four years on the board of leading Argentine agribusiness company Los Grobo and four years on the board of the New York University Stern School of Business Center for Sustainable Business. She guided companies in their strategic development, en route to IPOs, through crisis in emerging markets, and all of this applying her strategic vision, innovative mind and keen understanding of business and broader societal challenges.

Personal life
Klein has been married to her husband, Howard Isaac, a retired Canadian diplomat, since 1994. They have two adult children. Klein completed four marathons and is a keen fitness enthusiast. She is fluent in five languages.