Marianne Balfe is a seasoned environmental sustainability leader with over two decades of diverse experience across the private, public and nonprofit sectors. Balfe currently serves as Vice President of Sustainability for Highgate, a global hotel ownership and management company, where she drives impactful change by structuring foundational programs for corporate environmental footprint reduction and ESG disclosures across over 500 properties worldwide. Her role involves collaborating across disciplines to embed sustainability into the organization's culture, establishing sustainability standards, and leading corporate sustainability programming.

Prior to joining Highgate, she was Director of Energy and Environmental Sustainability for the Americas at Marriott International for over a decade, where she was responsible for the development and implementation of sustainability strategies, establishing strategic partnerships across all sectors, ensuring compliance with environmental regulations, contributing to ESG reporting, renewable energy program leadership, and delivering annual carbon, water and waste footprint reductions.

Before her time at Marriott, Balfe founded a sustainability strategy consulting firm after completing an MBA while working in the solar industry. She began her career as an environmental intern with the State of California and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies.