We’re excited to announce ten outstanding leaders from CEF member companies have been chosen from a highly competitive field of applicants from around the world to form the 2025 cohort of the CEFNext Sustainability Leadership Development Program.
Anchored on the theme “The Power of Together: Navigating Forward with Courage, Integrity, and Resilience.” the CEFNext 2025 program is a one-of-a-kind, peer-to-peer immersive experience that leverages deep, real-world perspectives to provoke self-reflection, forge long-lasting relationships, and equip “rising star” executives with the perspectives, leadership practices, and network needed to drive sustainability impact.
The recipients are recognized as corporate sustainability leaders who bring enormous passion, natural leadership abilities, and authenticity to the table. They are at an inflection point in their careers—strong team players accomplished in setting ambitious goals and getting results —and on track to lead sustainability in their organizations.
Congratulations to the winners!
Wendy Bagnasco, Director, ESG, GXO Logistics
Wendy is Director of ESG at GXO Logistics, Inc, based in the NYC metropolitan area. In this role, she works across various departments and geographies to advance environmental sustainability and broader ESG topics. Prior to joining GXO, Wendy worked for five years at Caesars Entertainment in their CSR department, focusing on stakeholder engagement around environmental sustainability initiatives as well as comprehensive ESG reporting.
Wendy has a Master of Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School at UC Santa Barbara and a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from Skidmore College. She is deeply driven by a sense of equity and strives to be a consensus-based decision maker and to consider the social and economic impacts of environmental solutions.
Katrina Goulden, Global VP, Climate Action Program, Marriott International
Katrina is the Vice President, Climate Action Program, where she is responsible for Marriott International’s overall climate strategy and execution efforts through a relentless focus on business impacts. In this role, she works across disciplines to reduce emissions across Marriott’s global portfolio of hotels, including their respective value chains, and builds climate fluency throughout the organization to drive progress towards the company’s near- and long-term emissions reduction targets. Her role is pivotal to enabling a climate-smart, growth-focused future for Marriott International such that travelers can continue to experience the power of travel for generations to come.
Prior to joining Marriott in 2024, Katrina was a senior level advisor with Deloitte Consulting where she partnered with companies across industries to build strategies, break down complex challenges, and develop roadmaps for global transformation efforts. Katrina helped found Deloitte Consulting’s sustainability practice and led teams to create meaningful, measurable, sustainable value with a particular focus on decarbonization and the net zero journey.
Katrina has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond, a master’s from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and an executive education certificate from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Katrina loves the outdoors and is a passionate dog mom. In her free time, you’ll find her hiking, kayaking, skiing, and getting lost in a good book.
Emily Hansroth, Director of Sustainability, Lockheed Martin
Emily is the Director of Sustainability within the Environment, Safety, Health and Sustainability group for Lockheed Martin. In this role, Emily leads a broadened team that brings together Lockheed Martin’s sustainability programs; environmental stewardship initiatives; monitoring of emerging regulatory issues; implementation of digital transformation-aligned common tools; and disclosures and reporting of our sustainability and environment, safety and health commitments and performance to public stakeholders.
During her 16-year career at Lockheed Martin, Emily has worked in various roles developing professional experience in the realm of environmental compliance, safety & health, climate change and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. Emily has extensive experience with Sustainability and ESG strategy development, reporting, communications and outreach, research and data analysis and served as the lead for Lockheed Martin’s Sustainability Report and CDP climate change disclosures for many years. She also led the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Management and ISO 14001: Environmental Management System working groups of the International Aerospace Environmental Group (IAEG), an external industry organization focused on advancing innovative environmental solutions for the aerospace industry.
Emily has nearly 20 years of experience in the fields of environmental compliance, remediation, environmental management systems, sustainability, and climate strategy. Prior to Lockheed Martin, Emily worked for URS Corporation in Herndon, Virginia, where she led remediation projects and environmental compliance assessment teams primarily supporting the Department of Defense.
A Maryland native, Emily attended Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science. She also earned a Masters in Natural Resources from the Virginia Tech Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability. She is a current Board member of the Clean Energy Buyers Association and active within IAEG. She is a Maryland Master Naturalist and actively promotes native plants and wildlife habitat restoration at her home in Maryland and her family’s homestead in West Virginia.
Uzair Jaffer, Director, ESG Reporting & Engagement, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts
Uzair leads sustainability reporting and engagement at Four Seasons, where he also plays a key role in shaping and executing the company’s sustainability strategy across diverse business functions. Since joining in 2022, he has streamlined reporting processes and championed sustainability as a shared responsibility across the organization.
With over a decade of experience advancing environmental and social impact, Uzair is driven by a commitment to a healthier planet and more equitable societies. His background spans in-house leadership roles, consulting for multinational organizations on sustainability strategy and disclosures, and leading international development initiatives in West Africa, focused on food security and inclusive economic growth.
Uzair holds a Master of Sustainable Development Practice from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Toronto. He is also certified in Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP).
Jason Kennedy, Sr. Director of OneHP Sustainability Portfolio, HP Inc.
Jason leads HP’s OneHP Sustainable Portfolio Strategy to strengthen the foundation of sustainable impact for the future of work. With nearly 30 years of leadership at Intel across product, marketing, engineering, and strategy, he’s driven to scale responsible innovation in the AI era.
Jason is known for translating challenges into transformative solutions that reduce customers’ environmental impact, build resilient value chains, plus foster digital and AI skills for community development. He is relentlessly focused on delivering business growth and advancing societal value.
Jason’s career highlights include leading Intel’s first major product line and brand segmentation strategy, managing multi-billion-dollar P&Ls and earning a patent for tech + business model innovation. While at Intel, Jason received the Intel Achievement Award— its highest honor—for sales enablement campaigns and spearheaded $2B+ in profitability and sustainability gains through cross-functional initiatives. A recognized thought leader, Jason engages global stakeholders and influencers, with 24,500+ LinkedIn followers. He’s also a committed talent multiplier, focused on unlocking team potential.
Jason holds a degree in Industrial + Environmental Engineering from Texas A&M, an MBA in Innovation & Tech and has completed post-graduate studies at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Outside of work, he enjoys family time, skiing, live music, and an occasional glass of fine wine.
Alexis Ludwig-Vogen, Senior Director Sustainability, NRG Energy
Alexis is the Senior Director of Sustainability at NRG Energy, a leading energy and smart home company powering a brighter, smarter future. In her role, she is building on the company’s long track record of corporate sustainability leadership, while also supporting efforts that help our customers achieve their sustainability goals.
Prior to NRG, Alexis served as Chief Operating Officer at an early-stage developer of Midwest windfarms. Previously, Alexis was the Director of Environmental Sustainability and Compliance for Best Buy, a multinational technology retailer, overseeing environmental strategy, programs, and compliance. Alexis started her career at Accenture in business process and technology consulting.
Alexis has a BA from the University of California Berkeley and was a 2017 Policy Fellow at the University of Minnesota Center for the Study of Politics and Governance. For six years, she served on the board of the Minnesota Land Trust, a state-wide non-profit working with landowners to protect land through voluntary conservation easements. Alexis resides in Minnesota with her husband and three daughters.
Jordan McDonald, Senior Environmental Transformation Leader, GE HealthCare
Jordan is a sustainability strategist and change leader with deep expertise in environmental transformation, systems integration, and purpose-driven leadership. Currently serving as Senior Environmental Transformation Leader at GE HealthCare, Jordan drives the development and execution of a global environmental strategy that aligns with emerging regulations, stakeholder expectations, and corporate climate commitments. In this role, Jordan leads cross-functional initiatives that embed sustainability into operations, governance, and culture.
Jordan’s career includes leadership roles at 3M and Solventum, where she managed global GHG inventories, advanced net-zero strategies, and implemented environmental programs across complex supply chains. Her projects have been recognized at the UN SDG Global Compact Leadership Summit, and she has been named a GreenBiz Emerging Leader for her contributions to sustainability innovation.
Holding a Master’s in Sustainability Management from Columbia University and dual Bachelor’s degrees in Environmental Science and Humanities from Villanova University, Jordan brings both analytical expertise and a relational lens to systems change. She believes that transformation is not only technical but deeply human—requiring trust, equity, and the courage to navigate ambiguity with integrity.
Outside of work, Jordan finds joy in being outdoors, sharing meals with friends and family, and exploring music and food as ways to connect across cultures. She also curates a dinner series in partnership with a global hospitality group, creating spaces for conversation and community, an extension of her belief that sustainability is as much about relationships as it is about metrics.
Ian Murty, Global Sustainability Program Manager, Oracle
Ian develops and manages sustainability strategy for Oracle’s Real Estate and Facilities. With a background in consultancy and corporate sustainability, he focuses on driving initiatives that align to Oracle’s net zero and climate commitments, ensuring alignment with evolving disclosure requirements. Ian works closely with internal and external stakeholders, sitting on Oracle’s GHG Governance Committee and leading Oracle’s participation in the Alliance for Clean Air.
Ian is a Chartered Environmentalist, member of The Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP), has an MSc in Corporate Environmental Management from the University of Surrey and lives in London.
Sripriya Navalpakam, Associate Director Environmental Sustainability, The Clorox Company
Sri leads environmental sustainability work at Clorox as an Associate Director. Her focus is on helping the company reduce its GHG emissions and she works closely with teams across the business to make sustainability more visible, actionable, and integrated into everyday decisions.
Before joining Clorox, Sri led Climate and Net Zero planning for the Personal Care business at Unilever. In that role, she worked across teams to connect sustainability with strategy—driving programs on Palm Oil, Plastics, and Aerosols.
Sri recently moved to the Bay Area from London. Outside of work, she loves playing tennis, making matcha, and getting her hands dirty with ceramics.
Anna Palazij, VP, Sustainability; ESG Reporting/Strategic Invest, PepsiCo
Anna is the Vice President of ESG Reporting and Sustainability Strategic Investments in PepsiCo’s Corporate Office of Sustainability. Her responsibilities encompass overseeing the delivery of industry-leading sustainability reporting, advancing PepsiCo’s digitalization and AI agenda in sustainability, and leading Strategic Investments in Sustainability to seamlessly integrate sustainable practices into core financial processes while elevating the financial acumen of sustainability initiatives strategically source investments, and to effectively support PepsiCo’s global sustainability agenda.
With over 20 years in the sustainability sector, Anna has led programs for over 60 North American beverage sites and launched Recycle Rally, a notable recycling initiative. Before joining PepsiCo, she held roles in General Electric in EHS management, operations, and Lean Six Sigma.
Anna earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. She is part of The Aspen Institute Business & Society Leaders Forum, formerly served on the advisory council for Johns Hopkins University’s E2SHI and serves on the ISSB Transition Implementation Group.