Mark Brzezinski, a managing director, leads Makena’s sustainability efforts and assists in responding to the growing demand for environmentally and socially responsible investment portfolios. Prior to joining Makena, Mark served as the United States Ambassador to Sweden from 2011 to 2015. During his tenure as Ambassador, U.S. commercial diplomacy efforts in the Nordic region were consolidated in the U.S. Embassy in Sweden. For his service, Mark was awarded the Royal Order of the Polar Star by the King of Sweden, a high honor rarely bestowed on a foreign ambassador. In 2015, Mark was asked by the White House to lead a strategic effort on the Arctic and serve as the first executive director of the White House’s Arctic Executive Steering Committee. Before joining the Obama Administration, Mark was a partner in Washington, D.C., at McGuireWoods LLP, where he helped build the law firm’s international compliance practice. From 1999 to 2001, Mark served on the National Security Council staff at the White House, first as a director for Russia and Eurasia, and then as a director for the Balkans.

Mark is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), where he has served on the board of advisors of CFR’s Corporate Program. In 2010, President Obama named him to the U.S. State Department’s Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, which oversees the Fulbright and other U.S. government exchange programs. From 1991-1993, Mark was a Fulbright Scholar in Poland. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College, a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia, and a Doctorate in Political Science from Oxford University. In January 2018, Mark served as a University of Virginia adjunct professor, co-teaching the “World of Investing” course at the McIntire School of Commerce.