Erich Cripton

Erich has been an advocate and champion of blended finance for over ten years, including by leading efforts to introduce the concept to the United Nations and the broader international community in 2014 and 2015.

Until recently, Erich was responsible for global thought leadership and US regulatory affairs at CDPQ, a Montreal-based pension fund and one of the world’s largest institutional investors in infrastructure. At CDPQ, he helped co-found the Scaling Capital for Sustainable Development (SCALED) initiative and authored or co-authored dozens of thought pieces, technical documents, policy recommendations and other publications on blended finance, including the 2024 Blended Finance Best Practice: Case Studies and Lessons Learned.

Prior to joining CDPQ, Erich served as a diplomat for the Government of Canada from 2010 to 2022. During this time, he served two postings at Canada’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York where he was responsible for climate change and economic and environmental affairs and extensively involved in negotiating such major international agreements as Rio+20, the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda (the Sustainable Development Goals). and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. His final posting was in Juba, South Sudan where he initially served as the Head of the Political Section and later as the interim Ambassador (Chargé d’affaires). Erich holds a Master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia University in Montreal. He speaks English, French and German.