Local Content Power List 2026: Ileana Ferber, MBA

Return to the Power List homepage

Ileana Ferber brings rare end-to-end expertise to local content strategy, shaped by experience on both the corporate and advisory sides of major energy and infrastructure development. As CEO and Founder of Colibri Business Development LLC, Ferber helps organizations transform local content from a compliance obligation into a strategic driver of economic participation, workforce readiness, and community trust. Her perspective was forged early in her career at ExxonMobil, where she saw firsthand how intentional supplier development and workforce training could strengthen regional industrial bases, unlock multi-million-dollar contracts for local businesses, and build durable talent pipelines.

A defining chapter of her career involved leading cross-functional teams to implement supplier capacity-building initiatives that moved beyond regulatory minimums. These programs enabled local vendors to meet global standards, expanded apprenticeship and on-the-job training pathways, and delivered measurable gains in local employment and supplier competitiveness. Those outcomes cemented her belief that local content should drive real economic opportunity, not simply satisfy percentage targets.

Today, Ferber advises clients across energy, infrastructure, and public-private development on designing fit-for-purpose local content frameworks that align regulatory expectations, ESG and Buy America priorities, and community capacity. Looking ahead, she sees the greatest opportunity at the intersection of capacity building, data-driven measurement, and cross-sector collaboration, where transparent, scalable solutions can deliver lasting economic impact well beyond individual projects.