Leah Pollak
VP of Corporate Affairs - Fundación Chile
An experienced innovation business developer, Leah takes ideas from proof of concepts to viability, scouting and securing state-of the art business, government, technology, and funding partners that ramp up speed and scale of solutions. While the challenges and interventions she focuses on are based on Chile’s needs, many other parts of the world confront similar growth dilemmas: water scarcity, the transition to clean energy, sustainable natural resource management, access to quality education and worker training in a digital era.
A strategic convenor and advocate for sustainable economic transformation, for the last 20 years, Leah has developed a proven network of activators and change agents, from the public and private world, to share expertise, scout solutions, and tap into new markets across 35 countries. Leading “South-South” partnerships, she has consulted on projects for the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, private international foundations and Governments on their innovation strategies and ecosystems—for Latin America, as well as Africa (Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa), and Asia (Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan). She has taught internationally courses on fostering Innovation Public-Private Partnerships for Chile’s Diplomatic Academy, hub of foreign affairs students and officers from the entire LAC region.
An avid scout of new models and financing schemes for innovation, Leah works with foundations, multilaterals, impact investors, corporates, and governments to channel catalytic and venture financing, while providing measurable impact and returns moving forward a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda.
Her team is responsible for Fundación Chile’s (FCh) foresight and new portfolio development. Today, she leads the fundraising and set-up of Chile’s first Green Hydrogen Investment Fund.
Prior to FCh, Leah worked at Skadden-Arps LLP in New York City, managing international corporate finance, project finance, investment banking, and M&A cases for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Leah holds a B.A. with distinction from Duke University in International Relations and History, Phi Beta Kappa, and received her Master in Public Policy in International Policy and Development from Georgetown University with honors.
Contact info: Leah.pollak@fch.cl| +56984094272
