Firoz Ladak

Brings over two decades of leadership at the intersection of strategic philanthropy, legacy transformation, international development, and sustainable finance. He currently serves as an advisor on climate and sustainability to Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners (ESP), a Côte d’Ivoire based advisory firm supporting governments and businesses across Africa in building resilient, low-carbon development strategies.

As the former CEO of the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations, he led the transformation of the family’s historical charitable institutions into a forward-looking venture philanthropy platform. Under his stewardship, the Foundations evolved into a global catalyst for change—leveraging philanthropy to advance systemic impact across education, health, the arts, and inclusive entrepreneurship. Over 100 programs were implemented through a network of 10 foundations, improving the lives of thousands in Europe, West Africa, South Asia, the United States, and Israel.

His climate and sustainability work has increasingly focused on advising institutions in Africa on finance, and innovation for climate resilience. His advisory role supports the design of climate-smart strategies, public-private partnerships, and just transition financing—with a strong emphasis on local capacity building and regional collaboration.

Prior to his philanthropic leadership, Firoz was an investment banker at BNP Paribas and Société Générale, specializing in mergers & acquisitions, project finance, and infrastructure development in emerging markets. This experience continues to inform his approach to sustainable capital mobilization and impact investing. He is actively engaged in aligning private capital portfolios with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria, helping to move wealth from traditional finance to mission-aligned investments.

In 2013, he founded ERFIP Foundation—a global community of influential families from the Global South committed to using their capital and networks to shape equitable, climate-resilient futures. He has served on several prominent boards, including the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations network, Hôpital Fondation Adolphe de Rothschild (a leading university hospital for ophthalmology and neuroscience in Paris), Admical (France’s premier corporate philanthropy think tank), and Carnegie Hall in New York.