Sonia Balcázar

Sonia Balcázar is a Peruvian senior executive in Community and Social Performance (CSP) in the mining sector, with over 25 years of international experience across Latin America, North America, and Europe. A multilingual economist, she specializes in designing and implementing ESG strategies that are fully integrated into business objectives to reduce social and reputational risks while creating long-term value for companies and communities across the mining lifecycle, with a strong focus on building trust-based partnerships and sustainable development outcomes.

Sonia held senior CSP leadership roles at Rio Tinto for over a decade, including at La Granja in Peru and the Rincon Lithium project in Argentina. There, she helped embed CSP standards, led IFC financing negotiations, and advancing social due diligence processes, contributing to the approval of a US$2.5 billion project. She has also worked as an ESG consultant, conducted research on grievance mechanisms across 70 mining operations, served on the Board of the Responsible Mining Foundation, and worked with global organizations such as Oxfam, Synergos Consulting, and the Organization of American States, consistently delivering measurable impact in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.

Sonia has also contributed to academia as a lecturer at Columbia University and professor and researcher at Universidad del Pacífico in Peru. She holds multiple advanced degrees, including a Master’s in Corporate Social Responsibility, a Master of Science in Business from Johns Hopkins University, and a postgraduate degree in development economics from the Sorbonne. Fluent in English, French, and Spanish, with working knowledge of Quechua, she combines technical expertise with cultural fluency to lead inclusive and effective social performance strategies globally.