Laura is a global expert on corporate sustainability, with two decades of experience in strategy consulting and has advised senior executives at global companies across a range of industry sectors and sustainability issues.
As Chief Impact Officer (CIO), the first in the organization’s 30-year history, Laura focuses on maximizing the impact of BSR’s work with its network of over 300 members, both through direct engagement on project work and as a mentor for teams throughout the organization. She also oversees BSR’s Collaborative Initiatives and Membership, and is a recognized thought leader and innovator in strategic business.
She has been an instrumental leader in BSR’s organizational growth and impact. She launched BSR’s financial services practice and New York office, and she served as Chief Operating Officer for five years, leveraging her strengths in strategy, organizational change, and people management. Laura works with leading global companies to develop and enhance their sustainability strategies to maximize value for business and society, and she is sought after to facilitate senior-level strategy workshops and multi-stakeholder collaborations.
She previously worked for Deloitte Consulting, where she acquired extensive strategy experience advising multinational financial services companies. She also worked on several community and economic development projects in Latin America.
Laura holds a MBA from Stanford University and a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University. She is an adjunct professor in the Bard MBA in Sustainability program, a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and a member of the UN Global Compact Expert Network.
Insights From Laura Gitman
- Harnessing AI in Sustainability: Emerging Use Cases / September 17, 2025 / Reports
- Sustainability Goal Setting: A New Chapter / January 21, 2025 / Insights+
- CSOs Are All Business: The Role of the CSO in a New Context / January 9, 2025 / BSR Insights+
- Racing Past the Crossroads: How Sustainability Leaders Can Reassert Ambition / October 31, 2024 / BSR Insights+
- Frankly Speaking #59, Laura Gitman: Which Future for Sustainability Leadership in the Company? / Frankly Speaking Podcast / October 30, 2024 / News
- The CSO at a Crossroads: Three Paths Forward for Sustainability Leaders / October 17, 2024 / Reports
- ESG Scenarios: Leading Sustainability in a New Context / July 18, 2023 / BSR Insights+
- BSR Appoints Laura Gitman as First Ever Chief Impact Officer, Matthew Welch as New Chief Operating Officer / May 17, 2023 / News
- Key Ways for Business to Respond to the Fall of Roe v. Wade / June 24, 2022 / BSR Insights+
- What is Greenwashing? / BBC News / January 26, 2022 / News
- Building the Future Starts Now: Reflections from BSR Conference 2020 / October 28, 2020 / BSR Insights+
- Healthy Business Coalition’s Eight-Point Action Plan for Reopening / July 23, 2020 / BSR Insights+
- How Sustainability Teams Can Meet the Moment / April 6, 2020 / BSR Insights+
- The State of Sustainable Business 2019: Toward a Critical Decade / November 12, 2019 / BSR Insights+
- Can Global GoalsCast Save the Planet? / Global GoalsCast / September 24, 2019 / News
- Mergers Are Coming: How to Manage ESG through the M&A Process / July 9, 2019 / BSR Insights+
- Key Considerations in Managing ESG through a Merger / July 9, 2019 / Reports
- The State—and Future—of Sustainable Business in 2018 / September 18, 2018 / BSR Insights+
- Corporations as Citizens: Have We Come Full Circle? / March 27, 2018 / BSR Insights+
- How Do We Measure the Impact of Our Membership? / November 20, 2017 / BSR Insights+
- Our Theory of Change: The Rationale Behind BSR’s Open Membership Policy / November 15, 2017 / BSR Insights+
- Business Stepping Up: Consulting for Change / Huffington Post / November 13, 2017 / News
- Top 10 Reasons to Be a BSR Member / November 6, 2017 / BSR Insights+
- Embedding Inclusive Growth in Business Decisions: A Framework for Companies and Investors / October 26, 2017 / BSR Insights+
- The State of Sustainable Business in 2017: Results from the Ninth Annual BSR/GlobeScan Survey / July 25, 2017 / BSR Insights+
- Activist Investors and the Rise of Short-Termism 2.0 / June 21, 2017 / BSR Insights+
- When the Business Case and Shared Value Aren’t Enough / February 6, 2017 / BSR Insights+
- Reflections on the BSR Member Spotlight Series: A Conversation with BSR Vice President Laura Gitman / October 26, 2016 / BSR Insights+
- The State of Sustainable Business in 2016: Results from the BSR/GlobeScan Survey / October 11, 2016 / BSR Insights+
- Three Answers to Three Questions on How Inclusive Business Will Help Achieve SDGs / Guardian Sustainable Business / October 4, 2016 / News
- The Climate-Change Challenge for Leaders / The Globe and Mail / March 9, 2016 / News
- Survey on Business Sustainability / Yale Climate Connections / December 14, 2015 / News
- Heineken USA Reduces Carbon Emissions with BSR’s Clean Cargo Working Group / Environmental Leader / December 10, 2015 / News
- Women at Work: Maximizing Profits Ethically / CCTV America / November 20, 2015 / News
- Major Corporations Taking Climate Change Threat More Seriously—Survey / Guardian Sustainable Business / October 2, 2015 / News
- Results from the BSR/GlobeScan Survey 2015: Business Leaders’ Perspectives on Climate, Global Goals / September 30, 2015 / BSR Insights+
- What Does It Take to Be a Resilient Business Leader? / June 24, 2015 / BSR Insights+
- The Middle Management Challenge in Sustainability Progress / June 8, 2015 / BSR Insights+
- Breakthroughs in Stakeholder Engagement / April 2, 2015 / BSR Insights+
- Six Success Factors to Improve Access to Healthcare / November 4, 2014 / BSR Insights+
- BSR/GlobeScan State of Sustainable Business Survey 2014 / October 29, 2014 / BSR Insights+
- Six Things I Have Learned about Collaboration for Sustainability / July 21, 2014 / BSR Insights+
- BSR Membership Benefits: Enhancing Value and Collaboration / April 16, 2014 / BSR Insights+
- To Drive Sustainability, Look Inward: Results from the BSR/GlobeScan Survey 2013 / October 30, 2013 / BSR Insights+
- Network-Based Change: An Insider’s Perspective / September 17, 2013 / BSR Insights+
- Four Ways to Attract Long-Term Investors / August 21, 2012 / BSR Insights+
- Responsible Private Equity? / June 8, 2011 / BSR Insights+
- Trends in Sustainable Investment / February 14, 2011 / BSR Insights+
- ESG in the Mainstream / October 13, 2009 / BSR Insights+
- The Value of Using Environmental, Social, and Governance Criteria in Mainstream Investing / September 15, 2009 / BSR Insights+