Ben Vitale, formerly managing director of the Conservation and Community Carbon Fund at Conservation International (CI), has been named president of The Climate Trust, said Bob Therkelsen, chairman of The Climate Trust Board of Directors and a member of the search committee.

"Ben stood out in a field of outstanding national candidates, because he embodies the ideals of innovation, leadership and integrity that are at the heart of The Climate Trust's work," Therkelsen said. "His wealth of carbon market and international partnership experience, from the World Bank to Wal-Mart, coupled with his services orientation makes him the perfect choice to lead The Climate Trust during this transition to a low-carbon world."

In 2002 Vitale joined CI's Center for Environmental Leadership in Business and led carbon financing innovations such as reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD). While at CI, he designed new financing mechanisms that channeled millions of dollars to local climate change mitigation solutions in numerous countries. He has served as an adviser for the Ecosystem Marketplace and Chicago Climate Exchange, among others. He also contributed to numerous climate change articles and books including "A Climate for Life," "Climate Change & Forests" and "Voluntary Carbon Markets."

Vitale will succeed founding Executive Director Mike Burnett, who announced March 31 that he would leave The Climate Trust after a new executive was named. Burnett is credited with growing the fledgling organization into a nationally respected carbon offset provider during his decade of service.

On Dec. 7 Vitale will assume leadership of The Climate Trust. "I am excited to be given the opportunity to build on the pioneering spirit and recent achievements of The Climate Trust," he said. "Developing ways to combat climate change is the greatest challenge of our time. We can inspire positive global transformation to address climate change by harnessing American optimism, ingenuity and hard work. In parallel with global policy development, we will work tirelessly with corporations and governments to deploy local climate change solutions from Portland to Washington, D.C."

Before joining CI, Vitale was co-founder and vice president of operations for Vcapital, Inc., and he held various management positions at Motorola Inc. He received his Master's of Management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and his Bachelor's in Computer and Electrical Engineering from Purdue University.

About The Climate Trust
The Climate Trust is a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Ore., that has been promoting climate change solutions since 1997. The Climate Trust provides carbon finance for high quality carbon offset projects and provides consulting services and customized large-scale offset programs for businesses, cities, government agencies and utilities. The Climate Trust also advances sound climate policy, especially through its partnership with the Offset Quality Initiative. Learn more at www.climatetrust.org.

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