President & CEO
David Hughes has served as the President and CEO of The Natural Step Canada since 2016. Since then the organization has expanded its research and public policy expertise through a partnership with the Smart Prosperity Institute, and increased its scale, scope and influence through the development of a number of innovation-focused multi-stakeholder “Solution Spaces”. These now include the Canada Plastics Pact, the Canadian Alliance for Net-Zero Agri-food (CANZA), the Energy Futures Lab, the Nature Investment Hub, and Circular Economy Leadership Canada. Collectively these initiatives are enabling and incentivizing climate-smart and nature-positive systems change.
David previously led Habitat for Humanity Canada and Pathways to Education Canada during periods of unprecedented growth and impact. Prior to that he spent 10 years in senior positions at SOS Children's Villages International which included postings to Africa, Asia, Europe, USA and the United Nations (New York and Vienna). Other management roles have included serving as Senior Vice President of YMCA Canada and President of AIESEC Canada. He also founded and operated The Impact Group, a management consultancy which provided strategic counsel to companies and not-for-profit organizations that were working to "bridge the gap between commerce and compassion".
David is a Senior Fellow of the Smart Prosperity Institute (SPI), an inaugural member of the Business for Purpose Network (B4PN), and has previously served on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Stem Cell Foundation, AIESEC Canada, and the Canadian branch of Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project.
He holds an economics degree from the University of Western Ontario, a postgraduate degree in social policy and not-for-profit management from the London School of Economics (LSE), an executive leadership certificate from Harvard University, and has been recognized as a Clean50 Honouree for “outstanding contribution to clean capitalism”.
He lives in Toronto with his wife Laura and his two children, John and Alexandra, who collectively provide the inspiration and incentive to challenge the status quo and strive for a better future for Canada and our planet.