Senior Fellow
Wayne E. Mayer, CEO of When Everything Matters, is a strategic sustainability consultant skilled at leading companies to innovate and profit from social and environmental thinking. A Duke alum, Mayer provides high-level advisory services to multi-national corporations and teaches for the Duke University Environmental Leadership Program. His approach to business tethers company practices to megatrends and positions companies as leaders in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. Mayer helps transform business models into authentic Sustainable Development partnerships. He works across industries and offers extensive involvement in the mining sector. He collaborates with Duke University’s working group on mining, which investigates the human and environmental impact of artisanal, small-scale mining.
Mayer’s regional expertise encompasses Latin America; for years he resided in Venezuela and, later, Peru and worked on integrated conservation and development projects throughout South and Central America. A gifted communicator, he finds creative ways to build alliances with governments, communities, development banks, investors and NGOs. A dynamic teacher and public speaker, Mayer empowers people to see the big-picture among diverse elements. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Denver, his Master of Science at the University of Washington and his Ph.D. at Duke University.