Her new venture—S4: the Secret Society of Sustainability Spies—isn’t a stunt. It’s a philosophy: train people at all levels to embed sustainability into their everyday decisions, no job title required.

“If companies won’t go to sustainability, sustainability must go to the company—whether they want it or not.” — Magali

🕵️‍♀️ Changing the System Quietly

As Holcim’s first Chief Sustainability and Innovation Officer, Magali helped shape the cement industry’s first net-zero commitment and aligned executive pay to ESG metrics. But the CSO role, she says, is being hollowed out—stuck in reporting loops, isolated from the business’s core.

That’s why she’s turning toward “systemic subversion.” The new goal? Empower procurement officers, engineers, and marketers to push change from within—what she calls changing your job without telling anyone.

“Sustainability isn’t a job title. It’s a way of working.”

🧠 Why the CSO Role Isn’t Working

Magali is blunt about the burnout plaguing sustainability leaders. When asked why, she doesn’t hesitate:

“Too many CSOs are doing reporting instead of reshaping business models. That’s like asking a CEO to focus only on financial disclosures.”

Her solution: embed ESG where the power is—finance, operations, product. The job of a CSO should be to make themselves obsolete.

“The goal is for the CSO role to disappear because everyone is doing the job.”

🧱 Building Holcim’s ESG Edge

During her time at Holcim, Magali led some of the boldest moves in the building materials sector:

• The first net-zero pledge validated by SBTi

• Integration of nature targets into business strategy

• Launch of the Roof Over Our Heads campaign to house 1 billion people

But for all the public wins, her focus was always internal: realigning incentives, simplifying systems, and rooting sustainability in business logic.

“We treated sustainability like a business transformation—not a comms campaign.”

🔮 From Oil Rigs to Boardrooms

Magali’s career began in oil and gas. She doesn’t hide it; she embraces it.

“I don’t feel guilty. Guilt locks the past. I use it to unlock the future.”

That honesty fuels her mission now: to help professionals everywhere reframe their roles, histories, and power to act.

✨ If She Had a Magic Wand…

No jargon. No tech. Just this:
Tie executive bonuses to long-term ESG metrics.

“You can’t ask factory workers to care about sustainability if their bosses aren’t paid to care.”