Ignacio Toro: Guiding Responsible Growth in Chile 

September 19, 2025

For Ignacio Toro, Albemarle’s environmental manager in Chile, the view from his childhood home said it all: mountains on one side, the Santiago skyline on the other. It shaped a belief that still guides him today — that nature and development aren’t in conflict but can grow together.

“I never saw nature and development as opposites,” Toro says. “From early on, I believed they could — and should — coexist.” 

That mindset has guided a career spanning academia, nonprofits, government and now global industry. Across every role, Toro’s mission has been clear: to build sustainable projects that create value for people, communities and the planet.

When he was executive director of Chile’s Environmental Assessment Service, Toro helped establish the country’s indigenous consultation framework within the country’s environmental impact assessment regulation, which is still in use today. He engaged the president, ministers, indigenous leaders and international experts, helping bridge their diverse perspectives. Toro’s ability to listen deeply, anticipate friction points and lead with empathy resolved long-standing conflicts and enabled development with fewer barriers and greater trust.

At Albemarle, Toro applies his collaborative mindset to one of the company’s most ambitious efforts: a next-generation lithium project in Chile’s Salar de Atacama, the country’s largest salt flat. The company is piloting Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE), a technology that extracts lithium from brine and can then return spent brine to the Salar while also increasing production yields in a flexible, scalable manner. 

For Toro, it’s more than operational efficiency — it’s proof that innovation can go hand in hand with responsibility.

Yet success takes more than good design. It requires transparency, trust and the flexibility to adapt as new data emerges. By collaborating with researchers and engaging government and community stakeholders early, Toro and his team are moving expeditiously to submit the required environmental permit. Behind the science and strategy is a deeper motivation. 

What drew Toro to Albemarle wasn’t just the scale of the challenge, but the people behind it. In early conversations, he asked leaders why they chose Albemarle. Their answers — rooted in purpose, not just profit — confirmed this was the right place for him. One value especially stood out: humility.

“Many companies talk about collaboration or safety — but I’ve never worked anywhere else that lists humility as a core value,” he says. “It’s powerful. Humility creates space for listening, for learning, for growth. It’s where real leadership starts.”

Outside the office, Toro finds joy in woodworking, skiing with his daughter and attending classical concerts — activities that remind him to care for himself so he can better serve others. A colleague once told him, “I take care of myself because my family is the most important thing to me.” That philosophy now shapes both his personal life and his leadership.

It’s the same advice he offers the next generation of environmental professionals: let your values guide your work.

“When your work aligns with your core values that’s when others believe in you,” he says. “That’s when solutions appear.”