The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Board of Directors announced today that Mahesh Ramanujam completed the transition to the role of president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the USGBC effective Nov. 4.
Previously the USGBC’s chief operating officer (COO), Ramanujam, who also serves as president and CEO of the USGBC’s sister organization, Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), succeeds Rick Fedrizzi, the USGBC’s founding chair, who had previously announced plans to leave the organization.
“We look forward to Mahesh's leadership of USGBC and GBCI,” Fiona Cousins, USGBC board chair, said. “Mahesh has already contributed a great deal to the organization and brings a strong mixture of vision and pragmatism to the organization, which will be crucial as the organization—and the world—continues to change.”
Ramanujam joined the USGBC as senior vice president of technology in 2009 and was named COO in September 2011. In December 2012, he was named to the additional role of president of GBCI. In 2015, when Fedrizzi announced plans to leave the USGBC, the USGBC Board of Directors named Ramanujam the incoming CEO.
Prior to joining the USGBC, Ramanujam was COO of Emergys, a business-transformation consulting firm in North Carolina. Prior to that, he was a consultant to IBM, serving as part of the team that led various business-transformation initiatives.
Ramanujam, a native of Chennai, India, holds a bachelor’s degree in computer sciences from Annamalai University, where he began his career in software and systems analysis and product development.
Ramanujam is said to bring a strong focus on serving the underserved and a drive to broaden and deepen the USGBC's market-transformation efforts.
“Mahesh is a remarkable leader,” Fedrizzi, who is now chairman and CEO of the International WELL Building Institute, said. “His strong business background, his demonstrated track record, and his amazing gift for inspiring the best in those around him make him the perfect CEO for USGBC at this time in its history. His global vision and his strategic approach give all of us great confidence that he will guide the organization to much success in the coming years.”