Charles Feinstein is Director of the World Bank’s Energy and Extractives Global Practice. In this role he is responsible for the operations and day to day management of the combined energy, mining and oil and gas investment, analytical and advisory portfolio. Before taking up this post in July of this year, he led the East Asia and Pacific Region’s energy and water sectors, focusing on sector strategy development, innovation, quality assurance, and knowledge management. From 2008-12, he was Leader of the Bank Group’s Sustainable Development Network for Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands, based in Sydney, Australia, and responsible for a diverse portfolio of Sustainable Development activities in 12 client countries.
Prior to assuming his position in Sydney, “Chas” was Sector Manager for Energy operations in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Region. His work builds on his earlier service as a recognized energy specialist, and as co-author of the World Bank’s pioneering Environmental Strategy for the Energy Sector (Fuel for Thought). Through the 1990s, Mr. Feinstein was Team Leader for Climate Change in the World Bank’s Environment Department.
Before joining the World Bank, he served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer and Peace Corps Associate Country Director in the Pacific Islands. An alumnus of the East-West Center in Honolulu and the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), Mr. Feinstein is trained in electrical engineering and resource economics.