The Earthshot Prize has today announced its CEO, Hannah Jones, will step down from her role this summer after four years. She will continue to provide strategic advice on innovation and sustainability to Kensington Palace. Jason Knauf, former CEO of The Royal Foundation, has been appointed by the Board of Trustees as CEO.
Appointed in 2021 to lead The Prince of Wales’ environmental initiative, Jones has successfully overseen The Earthshot Prize’s ever increasing global impact.
Under her leadership, The Earthshot Prize has taken its awards ceremony for environmental innovators from London to Boston, Singapore and Cape Town; identified and supported 60 global Finalists through The Earthshot Prize Fellowship Programme from over 5,000 unique nominations, disbursed £20m in grants to Prize Winners, and established and grown strong partnerships with influential global companies, philanthropies and individuals to catalyse additional funding and support for emerging environmental solutions.
Our 60 global Finalists have collectively reduced, avoided and captured 420,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, protected and restored 170,000 square km of land and oceans, saved, reduced or recycled 2.5M tonnes of water, removed, upcycled or avoided 100,000 tonnes of waste and improved the lives of 4.4M people with their solutions.
Prince William, Founder and President of The Earthshot Prize, said:
“As the first CEO, Hannah has built The Prize into a world class organisation with an incredible team delivering an annual Prize, powering a platform for speeding solutions to scale, and catalysing a movement to encourage young people, spark imaginations and infuse urgent optimism across the world. As we look ahead to the future of The Prize and the urgent work needed to scale more inspiring solutions to the world’s greatest challenges, I look forward to working with Jason to chart the course for the next five years of The Earthshot Prize and beyond.”
Hannah Jones said:
“As I tell all our finalists in our annual Fellowship Retreat, one of the most important jobs of a CEO is to know the right time to step aside. After four years, and midway through the Earthshot decade, this is my time to pass the baton. It’s been a privilege to help bring The Prince of Wales’s founding vision to life. I’m incredibly proud of everything our team has achieved, deeply grateful to all our Founding Partners and Global Alliance for their support, and I am delighted to remain an enthusiastic member of The Earthshot family.”
Christiana Figueres, Chair of the Board of Trustees said:
“I want to deeply thank Hannah for her hard work over the past four years to grow The Earthshot Prize and take its impact to every corner of the planet. She will always be a valued member of the Earthshot family. As one of the original architects of The Earthshot Prize, Jason brings deep knowledge of the organisation to his new role as the next Chief Executive Officer. As we prepare for another exciting class of Prize Finalists to be unveiled later this year, we know Jason will hit the ground running to deliver a successful Earthshot Prize in Rio de Janeiro, and build on the strong foundations established over the last four years.”
After a decades-long career spanning both the public and private sectors, Knauf brings deep executive and management experience to The Earthshot Prize as the organisation prepares to take its annual Awards ceremony to South America for the first time. Knauf’s expertise in philanthropy, sustainability, public affairs, and international relations ensures The Earthshot Prize can continue to grow its reputation as the world’s most prestigious environmental prize and a platform to drive meaningful impact across its network of partners, innovators, and entrepreneurs.
Following his role as CEO at The Royal Foundation and designing The Earthshot Prize, Knauf has spent the last three years serving on the Board of Trustees at The Earthshot Prize, as global leadership fellow at Conservation International and as an adviser to senior leaders in renewable energy and climate finance.
I am honoured to be appointed as the next CEO of The Earthshot Prize and look forward to working with our exceptional team and incredible Earthshot community to advance our mission of urgent optimism for our planet. The Prize has already achieved so much and the future potential is vast. I can’t wait to get started.
Knauf is joining the Prize as CEO immediately, working with Jones to ensure a smooth transition over the coming months.
