Herta von Stiegel, J.D.
Foundation Chair
Herta von Stiegel is executive chairman of Ariya Capital Group, a private equity firm focusing on sustainable investments in Africa. Until 2005, Ms. von Stiegel was managing director at AIG Financial Products, the penultimate step in an international career that also included senior positions at Citibank and JP Morgan. A U.S. tax lawyer by training, she practiced law before becoming a banker specializing in international taxation and mergers and acquisitions.
Ms. von Stiegel serves on several boards in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors. These include Camco International, a market leader in climate change solutions, and Opportunity International, a global microfinance organization. Her commitment to the cause of women in business has led her to the board of C200, which she joined in 2004, the Women's Leadership Board of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, and the Prince's Trust Women's Leadership Group, which she founded and currently chairs. She is also vice president of Enham, a U.K. charity that provides opportunities for the disabled.
A popular speaker whose engagements have taken her across the globe, Ms. von Stiegel has participated in the Democratic National Convention on Climate Change, Women in Structured Finance, and the Swedish Venture Capital Association. She was a panelist at the World Entrepreneurship Summit and the Climate Conference 2008, and has been featured on CNBC Europe and the BBC.
In July 2008, Ms. von Stiegel led a multi-ability team to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. The group's success rate – almost 60 percent reached the summit – far surpassed the average 35 percent of those who reach the summit. She and her husband Hans have produced a film about the experience entitled "The Mountain Within", which is currently being released in theatres in the UK with expected theatrical releases in the US next year.
Born in Transylvania, Ms. von Stiegel has US and UK citizenship and resides in London.