Christoph Heinrich is the Executive Director of Ecologic Institute. He is the operational director of the Institute and as such is responsible for its strategic direction and organizational development. He represents the Institute to society, the media, and politics at all levels.
His passion for nature and environmental protection, sustainable development and transformation runs through Christoph Heinrich's entire professional life. He combines this with comprehensive experience in the management of organizations.
From January to July 2024, Christoph Heinrich worked as a senior advisor for biodiversity at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In December 2023, he founded the company Natur.Heinrich GmbH, which counsels companies, foundations as well as family offices on strategies and solutions for biodiversity and nature conservation.
Prior to joining Ecologic Institute, Christoph Heinrich worked on the board of WWF Germany for 19 years, including as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from 2022 to 2023. His work at WWF Germany was particularly characterized by his 17 years (2006 – 2023) as board member for nature conservation, a position he retained during his time as CEO. As a board member, Christoph Heinrich was responsible for the strategic development and management of WWF Germany's programs and strategies. In particular, he was in charge of:
- the national and international nature conservation program in more than 40 countries in Africa, South America, Asia, and Europe;
- the thematic program areas of climate protection, species conservation, land use practices as well as the protection of forests, oceans, and freshwater ecosystems;
- transformation and nature conservation policies, and representing WWF to politicians and companies.
Furthermore, he was a member of the highest management bodies of WWF International. From 2007 to 2016, he was a member of the International Conservation Committee and from 2019 to 2023, a member of its successor body, the Conservation Quality Committee (CQC); from 2022 to 2023, he was part of WWF's Network Executive Team.
Before joining WWF, he worked at the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) from 1997 to 2004 as a nature conservation officer and from 1999 as head of the Nature Conservation and Environmental Policy Department.
Christoph Heinrich is a member of the steering committee of the Deutscher Naturschutzring (DNR – German Nature Conservation Circle), the advisory board of the Michael Otto Environmental Foundation and the executive board of the Feldberg-Uckermärkische Seen Association.
His past voluntary activities, which he carried out both alongside his profession and as a result of it, include his involvement in the National Committee of the UNESCO program "Man and the Biosphere" (MaB) from 2007 to 2014 and his work on the board of the Caucasus Nature Fund from 2007 to 2016. Moreover, he was a member of the advisory board of the International Academy for Nature Conservation on Vilm Island from 2012 to 2017 and the advisory board for Spatial Development at the Federal Ministry of the Interior from 2017 to 2021.
Christoph Heinrich studied geography (diploma) and law at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen (Germany).
Christoph Heinrich is married, has two adult children and lives in Falkensee near Berlin.