Linda-Eling Lee

As founding director and head of the MSCI Sustainability Institute, Linda-Eling Lee leads the Institute’s work to drive progress by capital markets to create sustainable value.

Linda, a member of MSCI’s Executive Committee, most recently led global ESG and climate research at MSCI, where she built one of the world’s top teams of analysts dedicated to understanding long-term drivers of sustainable value.

Linda joined MSCI in 2010 following its acquisition of RiskMetrics Group, where she led ESG ratings research and headed consumer sector analysis. She joined RiskMetrics in 2009 through its acquisition of Innovest.

Prior to Innovest, Linda was the Research Director at the Center for Research on Corporate Performance, developing Harvard Business School academic research into management tools to drive long-term corporate performance. Previously, she was a strategy consultant with Monitor Group in Europe and Asia, working with Fortune 500 clients in industries ranging from beverages to telecommunications.

She received her doctorate in organizational behavior from Harvard, holds a masters from the University of Oxford, and a bachelors from Harvard College.

Linda serves as a director of US SIF: Sustainable Investment Forum, and is a fellow of the Finance Leaders Fellowship of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She has published research in both management and investment practitioner journals, as well as in top academic peer-reviewed journals. She was named one of the Top 100 Women in Finance by Barron’s in 2019 and 2021.

Linda was voted No. 1 for an Individual Making the Most Positive Overall Contribution to Sustainable Investment / Corporate Governance in 2018 and 2019 by Extel/IRRI. She is a frequent media commentator on climate, ESG and sustainable investing in outlets including the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and The New York Times.