Hank Habicht co-founded the Water Finance Exchange in 2020, having served as a leader in many areas of environmental business and policy. His career in the environmental policy world has included leadership positions at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as Chief Operating Officer (Deputy Administrator) from 1989–1993. During his time with the EPA, he oversaw the development of innovative air and water programs to prevent pollution, including the Energy Star program and the implementation of market-based trading programs under the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments. He has also served at the U.S. Department of Justice as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Environment and Natural Resources Division from 1983–1987.

In business and investing, Mr. Habicht has served as Senior Vice President in charge of acquisitions and other divisions of Safety-Kleen, a billion-dollar environmental service company, and as  Managing Partner of SAIL Capital Partners.  He has also served as Vice President of William D. Ruckelshaus Associates, which co-managed the Environmental Venture Fund, one of the first successful green funds in the 1980s. As Co-Founder of Capital E, LLC, a strategic consultancy, he advised Fortune 100 and early stage ventures on sustainable growth strategies. He also previously served as CEO of the Global Environment & Technology Foundation (GETF). He also serves as an advisor to numerous technology companies, including SunToWater Technologies.

Mr. Habicht has held numerous Board seats over the years. Currently he serves on the Board of the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund www.shfund.org , as a Principal of Global Water 2020, on the Executive Committee of the US Water Partnership, Chairman Emeritus of the Board of WaterHealth International, and serves on the Board of the Global Water Challenge. He served as Commissioner of the National Commission on Energy Policy and as a Co-Founder of the American Council on Renewable Energy, has advised several Cabinet Secretaries and served on the Advisory Board to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in addition to his current service on the EED Directorate Advisory Committee to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

In 1991, the EPA awarded him with the Total Quality Leadership Award and in 2009 he received the national Richard Mellon Award for Environmental Stewardship. Mr. Habicht holds a bachelor’s degree with High Honors from Princeton University (Woodrow Wilson School) and a J.D. from the University of Virginia.