ASIFMA Annual Conference 2025
17 February 2025, Hong Kong
Mary Porter Peschka
Director - Environment, Social & Governance
International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group)
Mary is the Director of the Environment, Social & Governance (ESG) department at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group and the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Since 2006, an estimated $4.5 trillion in investments across emerging markets have adhered to IFC’s environmental and social standards, or principles inspired by them.
The Department Mary leads is IFC’s center of excellence for sustainability and gender solutions and offers a range of expertise to help private sector clients identify and solve complex ESG issues and to find value-added opportunities in their business operations. Home to over 100 ESG and gender experts, the department undertakes ESG due diligence on each new investment project and has reviewed over 10,000 investment projects in IFC’s historical portfolio. In addition to its role in risk management, the department promotes and maintains IFC’s leadership position in sustainable development, including driving IFC’s ESG innovation practice centered on advancing ESG data and technology solutions for emerging markets, advancing gender and economic inclusion, and being an engine for high quality good practice materials for clients and other stakeholders.
Prior to her current role at IFC, Mary was the Director of the IFC’s Advisory Solutions department. She also served as Regional Head of Advisory Services in Latin America & the Caribbean, and Regional Head of Sustainable Business Advisory in the Middle East & North Africa. Before joining IFC, Mary held various positions in the public and private sectors, including: Market Access International, an economic development consulting firm; St. Genevieve Group, a group of international mining companies; and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Mary holds a Bachelor’s degree from George Washington University, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from the University of Oxford.
