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Maxfield E. Weiss Appointed by CIPS as Global Head of Sustainability

18 December 2025

CIPS is pleased to announce the appointment of Maxfield E. Weiss as its new Global Head of Sustainability. Weiss, a recognised leader in corporate sustainability and global environmental accountability, joins CIPS as the organisation accelerates its sustainability agenda and strengthens the capabilities that will shape the profession’s future.

Procurement leaders today face unprecedented pressure to fulfill climate, nature, human rights and resilience commitments, yet many organisations lack the standards, skills and systems needed to translate ambition into action. As global supply chains encounter rising regulatory, stakeholder, and commercial expectations, the profession requires clearer guidance and stronger capability to respond effectively.

Ben Farrell MBE, CEO of CIPS said:

“For CIPS to lead a global profession, we must also lead the global sustainability agenda. Our global insights show that sustainability is now a core driver of competitive performance, with the impacts that matter most — from climate and nature to social and labour practices — sitting squarely in global supply chains. With 80% of procurement leaders prioritising sustainability, the profession is firmly positioned as one of the world’s most powerful levers for sustainable value creation.”

He continues:

“Maxfield brings the subject matter expertise and global experience we need to sharpen our voice on one of the defining issues of our time. His leadership will ensure our insights, standards and products support genuine, measurable progress — strengthening our credibility and expanding what procurement can deliver to the world.”

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Weiss joins CIPS as a recognised expert in sustainability standards and supply chain transformation, with a strong track record of driving action across global value chains. During over a decade with CDP in the United States and Europe — most recently as Executive Director for CDP Europe — he expanded environmental disclosure to cover 90% of European market cap and strengthened accountability across thousands of companies, governments and financial institutions. As part of CDP’s Global Executive Leadership Team, he shaped environmental reporting standards in capital markets and global supply chains.

At Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Weiss created the world’s first science-based supplier engagement target, catalysing wider industry adoption of science-based targets and pioneering cascade approaches that that now underpin leading practice for supply chain decarbonisation.

On his appointment, Weiss said:

“Procurement has enormous power to shape the world we want to live in and CIPS plays a critical role in mobilising that power — guiding the profession to build ethical value chains and accelerate the just transition to a net-zero, nature-positive economy. I’m honoured to join CIPS to support professionals and organisations as they navigate a shifting landscape and strengthen the foundations of a thriving, future-ready profession.”

As Global Head of Sustainability, Weiss will set the global benchmark for sustainable procurement and supply by embedding sustainability across CIP’s standards, qualifications and products — including the recently launched Procurement Excellence Programme ESG — and by modelling best practice through CIP’s own sustainability journey. Under his leadership, CIPS will act as a global convener, bringing together business, government and the wider sustainability ecosystems to raise capability and drive sustainable procurement action at scale.