Saadia Madsbjerg

Saadia Madsbjerg is a Danish-American philanthropy executive and a global leader in the movement to transform philanthropy through impact investing. While President of the The Coca-Cola Foundation, she oversaw the assets and the operations of the independent philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company, that stewards The Coca-Cola Company’s commitment to annually give away a minimum of one percent of the prior year’s operating income in charitable giving. During her tenure, she led the institution through a transformation, designing and implementing a new strategic model that leverages collective action, innovative partnerships, and investment tools. She launched anchor programs across the Foundation’s six impact areas: Sustainable Access to Safe Water, Climate Resilience, Disaster Preparedness and Response, Circular Economy, Economic Empowerment, Hometown, and Employee Giving.

Previously, Saadia served as a Managing Director of The Rockefeller Foundation. At The Rockefeller Foundation, she led the Innovative Finance program, which seed-funded the development and launch of new financial instruments and partnerships designed to channel money from capital markets toward sustainable development programs that address critical global challenges, such as climate change, inequality and humanitarian crises.

Before her position at The Rockefeller Foundation, Saadia was Senior Vice President for Strategic Planning at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, where she headed a portfolio of projects focused on transformative opportunities for creating a more equitable and resilient economy. She started her career at McKinsey and Company.

Saadia served as an officer of The Coca-Cola Company and on the boards of The Coca-Cola Foundation and the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation. She continues to serve on the Center of Development Finance Studies board and as a member of the Carter Center’s Board of Councilors.

She is co-author of the book Making Money Moral: How a New Wave of Visionaries Is Linking Purpose and Profit (Wharton School Press), and her writing has been featured in publications such as Harvard Business Review and Foreign Affairs. She holds a master’s degree in Applied Economics and Finance and a bachelor’s degree in International Business, both from Copenhagen Business School.