Elias Habbar-Baylac

Elias Habbar-Baylac is the Sustainability Investment Lead within Cisco’s Purpose and Sustainability Strategy & Growth team, where he helps shape Cisco’s approach to climate innovation and venture investing. He leads the company’s efforts to align corporate and philanthropic capital with its long-term sustainability goals. As part of our sustainability strategy, Elias partners with Cisco Investments to drive strategic venture investments that support Cisco’s Plan for Possible, with a focus on decarbonization, clean energy, circularity, and resilient ecosystems — elevating Cisco’s business impact while accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy. As Co-Founder and Partner of the Cisco Foundation’s Regenerative Future Fund, Elias has built and scaled a $50M+ early-stage climate tech portfolio, backing visionary startups including Mitti Labs, Chloris Geospatial, Terradot, Aikido Technologies, and Ebb Carbon. He brings a global sustainable investment perspective, shaped by 10+ years of experience across early-stage and growth markets, sustainability strategy, and sovereign-backed capital with organizations such as Microsoft, EQT Partners, British International Investment, and multilateral institutions including the UN and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). His work has spanned sustainable finance, impact private equity, infrastructure project finance, economic inclusion, and policy reform across more than 15 emerging markets. Elias holds degrees from Columbia University (cum laude) and Sciences Po Paris and earned his MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, along with a graduate certificate in Environmental Engineering. He has been recognized as a Bleustein-Blanchet Foundation laureate, Max Planck Institute Research Fellow, and 2023 CELI Fellow. Originally from Paris, Elias has lived in seven countries and now calls San Francisco home, where he lives with his pug, Tulum. Outside of work, he finds joy in live music, contemporary art, snowboarding, hiking, French baking, and cooking Asian food with his partner.