Michael Liebreich is an acknowledged thought leader on clean energy, mobility, technology, climate, sustainability and finance. He is the founder and senior contributor of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a member of numerous industry and governmental and multilateral advisory boards, an angel investor and former member of the board of Transport for London.
Michael earned his MA in Engineering with First Class Honours from the University of Cambridge, winning the Wyatt Prize for Engineering and the Ricardo Prize forThermodynamics. He has an MBA from Harvard, where he was a Harkness Fellow and Baker Scholar. Michael has won lifetime achievement awards from BusinessGreen and the UK Renewable Energy Association, and is a two-time Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist.
Michael Liebreich is Chairman and CEO of Liebreich Associates, through which he provides advisory services and speaks on clean energy and transportation, smart infrastructure, technology, climate finance and sustainable development.
Previously, Michael founded New Energy Finance in 2004 and was Chairman and CEO until the sale to Bloomberg LP in 2009. He remained CEO of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, until 2014, then became Chairman of the Advisory Board; since the start of 2018 has been a Senior Contributor. Between 2012 and 2018 Michael was a Board Member of Transport for London, where he sat on the Finance Committee and chaired the Safety, Sustainability and HR Panel.
In June 2019 Michael was honoured to accept an invitation to join the IEA’s Global Commission for Urgent Action on Energy Efficiency, a newly formed independent panel focusing on key policy actions which can be undertaken by countries around the globe. In March 2021, Michael became a Co-Founding and Managing Partner of EcoPragma Capital LLP. EcoPragma is a Growth Equity investor, investing in companies on the cusp of strong commercial growth and contributing to the net-zero transition.
Michael serves on a number of advisory boards, including GreenMap Association, WWF Switzerland, The Hawthorn Club, an international network for professional women in the energy industry, Women in Sustainability Environment and Renewable Energy (WiSER) and the OECD Centre on Green Finance.
Between 2008 and 2017 Michael served on the high-level advisory group for the UN Secretary General’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative. He was the founding chairman of Finance for Resilience (FiRE), an accelerator of climate finance solutions. In addition, he has served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Councils on Sustainable Energy.
Prior to founding New Energy Finance Michael helped build over 25 companies as a venture capitalist, entrepreneur and executive. Michael’s angel investments include Chargepoint Inc (EV charging systems), PassivSystems (home energy automation), Azuri Technologies (prepaid solar rooftops in Africa), Become Energy (grid-connected battery projects), and many others.
Michael is a frequent advisor, conference speaker and commentator on matters relating to energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, finance and sustainable development.
