Sameh Wahba

Sameh Wahba is an Egyptian urbanist and sustainable development practitioner. Currently, he is the regional practice director for the Planet Department at the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia region, based in Washington, D.C. In this capacity, he oversees all World Bank lending, technical assistance, partnerships, and policy advisory work in sustainable development, including agriculture and food, climate change, environment, natural resources and the blue economy, social inclusion and sustainability, and water in the region, managing a $10 billion portfolio and a team of 200 staff.

From 2016 to 2022, he worked as global director for urban, disaster risk management, resilience, and land, one of the largest global practices with a team of 450 staff and a $30 billion portfolio. He also oversaw the production of major World Bank flagship publications including What a Waste, Thriving: Making Cities Green, Resilient and Inclusive in a Changing Climate, and Africa’s Cities: Opening Doors to the World, as well as the launch of pioneering initiatives such as the City Climate Finance Gap Fund, the City Resilience Program, and the Global Platform for Sustainable Cities. He holds a Ph.D. and master’s degree in urban planning from Harvard University and a Master and Bachelor of Science in architectural engineering from Cairo University.

He has over 30 years of experience in urban development, disaster risk management, infrastructure, and sustainable development. He worked in over 100 countries, advising heads of government, mayors, and senior policymakers on urbanization, sustainable development, infrastructure policy, and finance issues. He is widely published, including several books, chapters, and articles in peer-reviewed journals on cities, housing, land, infrastructure, and finance, including Regenerating Urban Land, Hidden Wealth of Cities, and Business, Government, and the SDGs. His writing and views on cities featured in the Financial Times, The Economist, BBC, and Wired. He is a frequent speaker and lecturer in some of the world’s leading academic institutions, including Harvard, MIT, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, LSE, Erasmus University, Universidade São Paulo, and Seoul National University.

He serves as co-chair of the Harvard Graduate School of Design Alumni Council, where he co-created the Design Impact global speaker series. He also serves as a member of Harvard Alumni Association Board of Directors, GSD Dean Leadership Council, World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Cities, World Resources Institute Ross Center for Cities’ Advisory board, Earthshot Prize’s Public Sector Expert Group, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt Urban Future Living Expert Council, the Global Commission for Urban SDGs Finance, and Penn Institute of Urban Research Advisory Board. Previously, he served on the Boards of Resilient Cities Network and Cities Alliance. He curated The Klosters Forum and was a jury member for WWF’s One Planet City Challenge. He is fluent in Arabic, French, English, and Portuguese. A global expert with wide-ranging international experience, he lived and worked in Egypt, the Netherlands, Brazil, Portugal, and the U.S.