Leslie Labruto

Shleifer Senior Fellow

Leslie Labruto is a Shleifer Senior Fellow at the Kleinman Center and CEO of Resolve Fund, an effort to build an ecosystem of working capital finance for companies building future systems in energy, agriculture, mobility, and industrials.

Previously, Labruto served as Managing Director of Sustainable Finance at Environmental Defense Fund, where she mobilized capital at the intersection of climate urgency and market opportunity. Before EDF, she was Founding Director of the 100x Impact Accelerator at the London School of Economics—the world’s largest social impact accelerator, backed by £50M and rigorous evidence-based research—where she architected strategy, assembled a world-class team, and forged partnerships in pursuit of the next generation of social unicorns.

Prior to that, Labruto was Head of Investment Strategy and Global Head of Energy at Acumen Fund, commanding a team across seven geographies spanning East Africa, West Africa, India, Pakistan, Latin America, and Europe. There, she spearheaded Acumen’s $1B fund to bring energy access to underserved markets, led the $20M Pioneer Energy Investment Initiative, and structured a $100M+ global COVID relief fund for energy access companies. Earlier in her career, she served as Global Director of Clean Energy for the Clinton Climate Initiative, steering decarbonization strategy for small-island developing states—among the world’s most climate-vulnerable communities.

Labruto holds dual engineering degrees from Imperial College London and Vanderbilt University, where she served on the Board of Trust. She currently serves on the boards of multiple social enterprises worldwide. When she isn’t working, you can find her on a trail or in the ocean.