Chrissa Pagitsas
CEO, Pagitsas Advisors
Chrissa Pagitsas
CEO, Pagitsas Advisors
Biography
Chrissa Pagitsas is the CEO of Pagitsas Advisors, an author, and a board member. She and her team advise senior executives and boards at global companies on meeting growth targets and driving business results through transformation strategies. Her leadership and expertise are rooted in seizing the opportunity to build Fannie Mae’s Green Bond business from zero to $51 billion—an industry-defining achievement at a Fortune 50 company. Chrissa has received multiple recognitions for her market-transforming work including developing the first commercial Green Mortgage Back Security in the US.
Her best-selling book, Chief Sustainability Officers at Work, provides leaders of any business a roadmap on how to navigate disruptive innovations and markets successfully. Hailed as “illuminating” and “inspiring,” Chrissa’s book Chief Sustainability Officers At Work (Apress, 2022), is a best seller on Amazon.
From speaking at the White House and COP to closed door sessions with corporate boards, Chrissa addresses why and how companies can capture growth through innovation and sustainability. Through engaging and insightful keynotes, she empowers audiences to move forward despite a volatile global business environment, stiff competition, and evolving customer and employee needs.
Ms. Pagitsas holds an MBA from the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, and a BA from Johns Hopkins University. She lives in Washington, DC with her family.
Speech Topics
Wired for Growth: How Leaders Adapt, Innovate & Capitalize on Times of Change
In times of rapid change, growth favors leaders who know how to adapt and navigate effectively. Chrissa Pagitsas equips executives and rising leaders with actionable strategies to innovate under pressure, empower teams, and capitalize on uncertainty—transforming bold decisions into measurable business growth.
Thriving in the Disruptive 21st Century: How Successful Businesses Innovate & Grow
Sustained growth depends on an organization’s ability to innovate with intention and speed. Chrissa Pagitsas presents a proven framework businesses can use to generate new ideas, rethink products and services, and bring innovation to market in ways that create real value. Audiences leave with a clear roadmap for embedding innovation into strategy, unlocking new growth opportunities, and scaling what works.
Building Resilience: Businesses & Teams that Drive Lasting Value Creation
Long-term value is built by organizations that can sustain performance through change, pressure, and complexity. Drawing on her own experience and insights from exemplary leaders, Chrissa Pagitsas shares a practical playbook for strengthening resilience across teams, culture, and operations. Executives leave with strategies for reinforcing trust, improving decision-making under stress, and creating a resilient organization designed to deliver lasting value over time.
Commercializing Sustainability: Creating Value, Accelerating Impact
Chrissa Pagitsas shows how companies can translate sustainability initiatives into tangible commercial outcomes by embedding them into strategy, operations, and partnerships. She shares proven approaches for aligning sustainability with core business priorities, strengthening cross-functional collaboration, and delivering measurable financial and environmental results.
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