Maria is the Founder of Sustainability Switch, a UAE-based advisory firm supporting chairmen, CEOs, and boards on strategic expansion, ESG integration, and climate-aligned growth across the GCC and beyond. An Emirati national with over 24 years spanning government, private sector, and entrepreneurship, Maria brings a rare combination of regional intelligence, execution depth, and high-level advisory experience covering the full value chain from strategy and procurement through to delivery, partnerships, and external positioning. Her current mandates include serving as Strategic Advisor to the Chairman and CEO of Polygreen Group, where she also contributes as Chief Sustainability Officer advising on regional expansion, circular economy platforms, and environmental infrastructure investment across the UAE and GCC. Across her broader portfolio, she works with organisations including IHC, Ghitha Holding, Easylease, DIFC, and ADOC at board and executive level. Her expertise spans climate transition, circular economy ,SAF,AI-enabled transformation, supply chain decarbonisation, and green finance. She has contributed to the EU-GCC Green Transition Strategic Project and participated in COP28, COP29, and COP16. Maria is an active voice in the sustainability space, with an audience of over 13,000 professionals on LinkedIn. She serves as Board Co-Chair and UAE Network Leader of Lean In Equity & Sustainability NGO and mentors within the Masdar WiSER programme. She holds executive education credentials from the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and a Master's in Civil Engineering.