Alexis Haass

Alexis is an international senior executive with 20+ years of experience dedicated to business and climate issues, focused on developing strategy, innovations, sustainable products and services for business growth and business development. A passionate advocate for climate tech - particularly in energy transition and industrial decarbonization – she has always leveraged her work to scale emerging technologies.

Alexis is currently the Managing Director of European Market Development at Sublime Systems, a cutting-edge climate technology firm accelerating the global market adoption of ultra low-carbon cement.  She has spent her career across both B2C and B2B, first leading adidas’ Brand Sustainability program as Director, Business Strategy + Business Development, and later as the founding Chief Sustainability Officer at Arcadis, a global design, engineering, and infrastructure firm.  Alexis is former board member of the 50L Home Coalition, a member of the InfraNEDs network and Chapter Zero, and a global fellow at the League of Intrapreneurs.

As Managing Director of European Market Development, Alexis leads Sublime System’s market expansion initiatives across the UK and EU by building strategic partnerships, structuring innovative offtake agreements, and influencing procurement policies to accelerate adoption of ultra low-carbon cement. Over her career as a Senior Business & Climate Strategy Executive, Alexis has advised large corporates, private equity and portfolio companies, and climate tech scale-ups on their climate strategy, growth, and sustainability needs. 

In her current role, Alexis collaborates with industry leaders, policymakers, and funding bodies to secure support for sustainable infrastructure and access key EU clean industry initiatives.  Previous highlights from her work at Arcadis encompass the creation of the firm’s sustainability organization and governance model, as well as the co-development of the sustainable business & services strategy roadmaps with the company’s Global Business Areas (Resilience, Places, Mobility). While there, she fostered the launch of Key Account criteria to enable business development and upselling of sustainable solutions services, as well as secured the Executive Leadership Team’s sign off of Arcadis' Net Zero 2035 plan. During her time at adidas, Alexis helped bring to market such sustainable innovations as the first high-performance, closed-loop running shoe, the launch of the first ocean-plastic runner at the UN, and adidas’ commitment to End Plastic Waste by using 100% recycled polyester by 2024. Alexis’ early career revolved around work in sustainable product development and clean technology with companies such as IDEO, P&G, and Fair Trade USA.

Alexis started her career with five years in international development, both in Washington DC and in-country. Her perspective on - and passion for - the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals sprang from her early on-the-ground experience living and working in countries such as Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Colombia. Alexis is fluent in Spanish, German, French, and English, and is accustomed to working in fast-paced, multinational, matrix organizations. Born in Boston, USA, Alexis currently resides with her family in Munich, Germany. She has an MBA in Marketing and MS in Sustainable Systems from University of Michigan, and a BS in Foreign Service (International Relations) from Georgetown University.