Martin Hiller is a founding partner of Millwater Partners and the international lead for progressive business development and sustainable investment.
From 2012 to 2019, Martin was Director General of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership, an international organisation that develops innovative, efficient financing mechanisms for clean energy services for the benefit of vulnerable populations. He transformed the organisation into a developer of innovative market interventions while building a highly professional team. He devised a strategic partnership with UNIDO to run the Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN), which has thus far facilitated a total of USD1.46bn in investments for 113 clean energy projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Under his auspices, REEEP developed the Beyond the Grid Fund for Zambia (BGFZ) programme, funded by the Government of Sweden; by March 2020, this award-winning programme had provided electricity access to 800,000 Zambians or 154,000 households in just over two years. BGFZ also led to the creation of 1,700 jobs, an annual mitigation of 380,000 tons CO2, and the four benefitting energy access companies leveraged co-investment of USD35m.
Before his tenure at REEEP, Martin led campaigns and communications of the global climate change programme at WWF International. His work included the WWF campaign for a binding climate deal at the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen in 2009, which gained 6.5 million sign-ups.
Martin is a member of the Board of Nexus for Development, a non-profit company registered in Singapore and based in Cambodia. From 2005 to 2013, he was (Founding) President of the Board of the Gold Standard – the certifier of excellence for climate change and development interventions. Under his guidance, the organization grew from an idea to a highly credible and sustainable global operation.
Earlier, Martin established the first ever EU-wide environmental campaign operations at the WWF European Policy Office in Brussels, and worked as Austria’s first green PR specialist.
Martin studied biology and ecology in Vienna, has lived in Switzerland, Belgium and Austria, and currently tests his sustainability strategies by trying to convince some pak choi to grow in his garden.