Chris Benjamin retired in June 2023 from his role as CEO of Alexander & Baldwin, a Hawai'i publicly traded commercial real estate company, where he spent 22 years in a variety of roles including CFO, COO and CEO. In retirement, he is focusing most of his time on climate work. He co-founded Climate Hawai‘i in 2022 and also now serves as the chair of the State of Hawai‘i Climate Advisory Team, whose mission is to explore solutions for residents, businesses and government to the financial challenges posed by climate disasters in the state. 

Chris was born and raised in Michigan but has lived in Hawai‘i for more than thirty years, having moved here with his Hawai‘i-born wife to raise their two daughters in the islands. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Harvard University. In addition to his climate volunteer work, Chris currently serves on several non-profit boards or advisory boards, including Catholic Charities of Hawai'i, The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i and the Hawai'i Agricultural Research Center.