CEO, Global Impact Initiative

Giles Gunesekera

Giles is the Founder and CEO of Global Impact Initiative (GII). The business creates Impact Investments with the dual purpose of generating positive financial returns and creating social impact. GII is globally recognised as one of only thirty-six (36) Global Compact LEAD companies, recognised for their high levels of engagement in the United Nations Global Compact. Giles has over 25 years’ experience of building and developing teams and businesses for global enterprises.

Giles has received an Outstanding Alumnus award from Oxford for creating an innovative, sustainable business that generates positive social impact. He is a Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia, Fellow of the School of Social Entrepreneurs, Fellow of the Institute of Managers and Leaders, and Member of the Australian Institute of Training and Development.

Giles has a unique blend of leadership and business skills gained in the corporate environment married with financial and governance skills gained in the Not for Profit sector. He holds numerous Volunteer Not-for-Profit Directorships ranging from International Aid, Human Rights, Disabilities, Education, Arts and Sports. Giles is on Advisory Boards for the United Nations for Climate & Health and Sustainable Finance. He is an Advisory Board Member of the Securities and Investments Institute of Asia Pacific and an Industry Fellow at the Business School of the University of Technology, Sydney.

Giles has formal academic qualifications from Melbourne University, Monash University, Financial Services Institute of Australia and Oxford University.

CEO and MD, FINSIA

Chris Whitehead

Chris was appointed FINSIA CEO in September 2016. He has been associated with the Australasian financial services industry for nearly 30 years. Previously, he was CEO of CUA, Australia’s largest customer-owned financial institution, Regional Director, Bank of Scotland and CEO, BankWest Retail Bank.

He has extensive experience as a non-executive director including in the payments, wealth management and insurance sectors.

Commencing his career in IT, Chris maintains a keen interest in the ongoing impact of technology on financial services.

Head of Sustainable Finance, ANZ

Katharine Tapley

Katharine Tapley is Head of Sustainable Finance at ANZ. She leads a 14-person team across Australia, New Zealand and Asia responsible for supporting ANZ’s clients to finance their sustainability strategies and ESG commitments.

Her team works alongside ANZ’s Capital Markets, Lending and Transaction Banking teams to deliver market insights and product solutions across the green, social, and sustainability-linked loan, bond and supply chain markets. Her team is also responsible for the operation of ANZ’s own Sustainability Bond issuance program with the bank’s Treasury team, and oversees ANZ’s 2025 $50b sustainable finance target.

She is a SteerCo member of the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative and is a Board Member of Australia’s Carbon Market Institute. Katharine is also a 2019 Kanga News Person of the Year and the 2020 winner of the inaugural Women in Banking in Finance award for Excellence in Institutional Banking.

Head of Investment Stewardship, TCorp

Lucy Thomas

Lucy Thomas is Head of Investment Stewardship with TCorp. Lucy is responsible for embedding stewardship principles across TCorp’s portfolios through ESG integration, active ownership and collaboration.

Prior to joining TCorp Lucy held the role of Global Head of Sustainable Investment at Willis Towers Watson where she supported asset owners in building organisational models and portfolios that deliver long term sustainable returns.

Lucy’s career experience includes roles in equity research at Morgan Stanley and funds management across listed equities and unlisted property in London, Europe and Australia. Lucy is passionate about the investment industry embracing an awareness of social and environmental returns alongside financial returns.
Lucy holds a BA (Hons) from Dublin University (Trinity College) and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Head of Investment Stewardship, VFMC

Talieh Williams

Talieh Williams was appointed as VFMC’s Head of Investment Stewardship in February 2020 where she is responsible for leading VFMC’s approach to investment stewardship, active ownership and ESG integration across VFMC’s investment portfolio. 

Prior to joining VFMC, Talieh lead the ESG function at UniSuper for over a decade where she developed UniSuper’s approach to responsible investment (encompassing active ownership and ESG integration across all asset classes). This also included developing (and overseeing) UniSuper’s three dedicated sustainable investment options.  In her role at UniSuper, Talieh also sat on the boards of the Australian Council of Super Investors, the Investor Group on Climate Change and the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia. 

 With 20 years professional experience, Talieh has also worked in management consulting, the oil industry and commercial legal practice. Talieh holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours), a Bachelor of Planning and Design and a Master of Social Science (International Development).  Talieh is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course. 

Head of Ethics Research, Australian Ethical Investment

Dr Stuart Palmer

Dr Stuart Palmer is Head of Ethics Research at Australian Ethical Investment, a leading ethical investment manager attracting a growing number of Australians expecting their investments to provide both competitive returns and positive change for society and the environment. Established in 1986,  

Australian Ethical manages over $5 billion in superannuation and managed funds for over 60,000 Australians. Stuart evaluates the impacts which companies’ products, services and operations have on people, animals and the environment. He also contributes to Australian Ethical’s engagement and advocacy for more sustainable business and investment models and practices.  

Stuart has 30 years’ experience in the investment, banking and legal sectors, and has a PhD in philosophy of mind. 

Practice Manager, East Asia and Pacific, World Bank Group

Cecile Thioro Niang

Ms. Niang, a dual Senegalese and French national, is the Practice Manager for East Asia and Pacific, covering Pacific Islands, Indonesia/Timor and Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia for the Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation Global Practice at the World Bank Group. Since joining the Bank in 2004, she has held various positions working on long term infrastructure finance, climate finance, financial inclusion; firm capabilities and innovation; markets and technology; investment and competition, telecoms and digital development, with her most recent assignment being Lead Economist in the LAC Finance Competitiveness and Innovation team.

Niang’s prior positions at the World Bank Group before assuming her current position spent 6 years in the Latin America & the Caribbean region, as Lead Economist in Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation Global Practice and as Program Leader for the Caribbean countries. She held Country Sector Coordinator and Senior Economist positions in the World Bank’s Finance and Private Sector Development department, in South Asia and Africa.

Prior to joining the World Bank Group, Cecile was an Associate Manager, Business Development at France Telecom North America and a Director, Corporate Development at Juno Online, a US Internet Service Provider. Cecile holds graduate degrees in economics, business administration and information Systems from Columbia University, Paris Dauphine and Telecom Ecole de Management.

Chief Executive, Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers

Prasad Padmanaban

As an accomplished professional in the banking arena, Prasad brings to the Institute his experience and leadership, operational excellence, technical breadth and a passion for learning and development.

Prasad previously worked in MUFG in Hong Kong and J.P. Morgan in both London and Hong Kong as Executive Director in various Markets capacities over a period of 16 years, covering all manner of Asia-ex and Japan securities, from fixed income to equity derivatives.

Prasad holds an Master’s in Finance and Investment and an Master’s in European Studies from the University of Exeter, UK, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Nottingham, UK.

Deputy Director of Islamic Banking Takaful Department, Bank Negara Malaysia

Dr. Hamim Syahrum Ahmad Mokhtar

Dr. Hamim Syahrum Ahmad Mokhtar is currently Deputy Director in the Islamic Banking and Takaful Department, Bank Negara Malaysia. His role includes leading and guiding strategic development policies of Islamic financial sector. He is also involved in climate change initiatives for the financial sector.

Previously, he was Deputy Director in the Financial Surveillance Department. His role includes, among others, lead and guide macro surveillance of corporate and households to detect emerging risks and vulnerabilities that could have adverse implications to the financial stability. Besides that, Dr Hamim had years of experiences as an examiner of both foreign and domestic banks when he started off his career with the bank in Banking Supervision Department.

Dr Hamim holds a degree in Accounting (Honors), Master’s degree in Business Administration, Ph.D. in Islamic Banking & Finance. He has published and presented number of papers at both domestic and international conferences. This includes the paper on Efficiency & competition of Islamic banking in Malaysia which was accorded “Highly Commended Award by the award winning international journal, Emerald Literati Network. He is also a Chartered Accountant of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) and Chartered Banker (CB).

Head of Policy and Climate Change, WWF Malaysia

Lakshmi Lavanya Rama Iyer

Lavanya joined WWF-Malaysia in 2013. She represents WWF-MY on various national and international level engagements on climate change, biodiversity and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  She was part of the WWF Network Leadership team on Climate and Energy.  She has also attended UN SDG meetings in New York and Bangkok, and more recently the UN Biological Diversity Convention in Rome as part of the WWF delegation. Lavanya also represents WWF-MY in many engagements with the Malaysian Government on environmental policies, recently on the preparation of the 12^th Malaysia Plan.

As part of the core group of the CSO-SDG Alliance, Lavanya is also part of the secretariat that supports the recently established All Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia (APPGM) on SDGs, a bipartisan group of Parliamentarians working to localize SDGs in their constituencies. She has also participated in many forums to highlight the integrated nature of the environmental pillar in achieving all the SDGs.  She represented the Alliance in the inaugural National Forum in Parliament Malaysia on Sustainability, CSR and SDG 2019.

Previously, she coordinated the preparation of Malaysia’s Second National Communication to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC), worked at the UN in Geneva on post conflict issues; and practiced law in Malaysia. She was a Malaysian delegate to the UNFCCC and an expert reviewer of Malaysia’s First Biennial Update Report.

Lavanya is a Chevening Scholar with a MSc in Sustainability (Climate Change) from the University of Leeds and a law degree from the University of Kent.

Fund Manager, Earthwake Green Impact Fund

Cedric Rimaud

Senior Investment Director, Aberdeen Standard Investments

David Smith

David Smith is a Senior Investment Director based in Singapore at Aberdeen Standard Investments,
where he leads ESG research and integration across Asia. David heads the Asia Responsible Investing
pod, which oversees the day-to-day running of the Asian Sustainable Development Equity Fund and
is a member of the GEM Responsible Investing pod. He is also responsible for leading engagement
with board members and management of Aberdeen Standard Investments’ investee companies in
Asia. David spearheads our public advocacy on ESG issues, representing the company at leading
international organisations dedicated to improving corporate best practice. He has appeared
frequently at regional conferences and industry round tables, and has written for various
newspapers and professional publications globally.

Before joining Aberdeen in 2011, he worked for ISS as head of Asia (ex-Japan) research. David has a
PhD in Corporate Governance and an MA in Corporate Strategy and Governance from the University
of Nottingham and a BSc in Business Economics from the University of Wales. He is a CFA
Charterholder.

Chief Executive Officer, Group Transaction Banking at CIMB

Rafe Haneef

Deputy Governor, State Bank of Pakistan

Sima Kamil

Ms Sima Kamil was appointed as the Deputy Governor of SBP by the Federal Government on August 25, 2020 for a period of 3 years with immediate effect. She assumed her responsibilities on August 26, 2020.

Ms. Kamil is the first woman appointed as Deputy Governor of SBP. She has over 35 years of experience in diverse fields of commercial banking, including Branch Banking; SMEs, Rural, Consumer and Corporate financing; and, investment banking. She has worked in various international banks including American Express Bank, ANZ Grindlays Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in areas of Corporate Banking and Risk Management.

Before joining SBP, Ms. Kamil was the first-ever woman appointed President of a private sector commercial bank – United Bank Limited. Earlier she served Habib Bank Limited for 16 years at various senior management levels, including Head of Corporate & Investment Banking and then Head of Branch Banking. Ms. Kamil was also associated with Microfinance as Director of the First Microfinance Bank for a number of years.

Ms. Kamil has a degree in business from Kingston University, UK and an MBA from City University, London. In 2019, the Kingston University, UK awarded her an Honorary Doctorate degree in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the banking sector and support of inclusivity in business leadership.

She is also a certified director from Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi.

Director, Islamic Banking Division, State Bank of Pakistan

Ghulam Muhammad Abbasi

Ghulam Muhammad Abbasi is a career central banker having more than two decades’ experience of working in key policy and supervisory departments of State Bank of Pakistan. Currently, he is leading Islamic Banking Department where he has led initiatives for strengthening legal, regulatory and Shariah governance framework for Islamic banking industry. He has played instrumental role in providing strategic direction through development and implementation of the Strategic roadmaps rolled out at the national level for Islamic banking industry. He has also worked for promotion of Islamic banking in the country through transformation of the conventional banking institutions into Shariah compliant businesses.  He has also played an important role in taking initiatives to create awareness among different segments of the society about Islamic finance and for developing capacity to cater to the human resource requirements of the   Islamic banking industry. Establishment of dedicated Centers of Excellence in Islamic Finance Education at three renowned academic institutions of the country is just one reflection of the initiatives in this regard.

Mr. Abbasi is part of the Technical Committee of IFSB where, as a Deputy Chairman, he is effectively contributing towards development of prudential standards on important and emerging topics of Islamic finance. He is currently also serving as ex-officio Secretary of the Shariah Advisory Committee of State Bank of Pakistan. During his tenure SBP has been voted as the best central bank in promoting Islamic finance four times (2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020) by a poll conducted by Islamic Finance News (IFN), REDmoney Group Malaysia. Moreover, Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) also awarded SBP as “Best Central Bank of the Year 2020”.

He has represented SBP at various high profile local and international forums. Mr. Abbasi has more recently been appointed as Chairman of the Pakistan chapter of the UK- IFC led Global Islamic Finance & UN SDGs Taskforce that has senior level representation of all leading banks.  The working group provides a platform   to share experiences for developing a uniform approach   towards the sustainable  finance agenda in the country.

Mr. Abbasi has also previously served as Director – Infrastructure, Housing & SME Finance Department, where he played a pivotal role in policy formulation ensuring adequate supply of credit to the priority sectors including Housing and SMEs. He also facilitated the establishment of Exim Bank of Pakistan and Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company. He also played a pivotal role in formulating ‘Policy for Promotion of SME Finance’ which was launched by the honorable Prime Minister of Pakistan in December 2017.

Professor Selection Grade of Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management

Dr. Shah Md. Ahsan Habib

Dr. Shah Md. Ahsan Habib is a Professor Selection Grade of Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management [BIBM]. He obtained his PhD from Banaras Hindu University, India under BHU Research Scholarship; and accomplished Post-Doctoral Fellowship on Green Banking from Syracuse University, USA under Senior Fulbright Scholarship. Having around 25 years of professional experiences in the banking industry, his key research areas include inclusive finance, green banking, trade financing and financial crime and malpractices in the financial sector. He is having teaching experiences with Institute of Business Administration [IBA] and Department of International Business of the University of Dhaka; East West University; Brac University and University of Professionals.

Dr. Ahsan has more than 180 research papers/studies/publications/chapters in different national and international journals/books. He is the author/lead author of the books ‘Financial Globalization’, ‘Environmentally Responsible Banking in USA’, ‘Towards Knowledge Society’, ‘Green Banking in Bangladesh’, ‘Trade Services by Banks in Bangladesh’, published by the national and international publishers. He is a columnist of the national dailies and published over 200 newspaper features in the national daily newspapers [The Financial Express, Banik Barta etc.] on the sustainability and banking issues. He is the Chief Editor of the yearly journal of the Valor of Bangladesh, and Executive Editor of the journal of Green Tech Foundation ‘Green Biz’. Dr. Ahsan is the Chairmen of the Executive Committee of D.Net, a research organization to promote ICT for D in Bangladesh; a Member of the ICC Bangladesh Banking Commission; and a Member of the Global Editorial Board of the Asia-Pacific Risk Professional Association (ARPA). He is an Advisor of the Green Tech Foundation, Bangladesh and a trustee of the Valor of Bangladesh.

Director, Marketing & Sales, Institute of Bankers Pakistan

Khawlah Usman

Ms. Khawlah Usman is a passionate marketeer and  zealous brand strategist with over 19 years of profound experience in Integrated Marketing & Sales. A Marketing and Communication strategist with demonstrated history of transforming and building brands, she has an enriched experience spanning all communication disciplines – corporate narrative, brand advocacy to marketing strategy, research and activation. She is recognized for utilizing innovative strategic approaches to drive brand and business results.

Ms. Khawlah has turned around businesses and brands in stagnant markets and challenging environments. Her proven leadership skills have helped consistently build brands, businesses and people. She brings with her 4 years of advertising experience having worked at Publicis Pakistan & Manhattan Leo Burnett. She also had the privilege to work in leading Pakistan’s local and international banks for over 11 years including MCB Bank, ABN Amro, The Royal Bank of Scotland Limited, and Silkbank Limited.

Chief Executive Officer, Al Meezan Investment Management Ltd

Mohammad Shoaib

Mr. Mohammad Shoaib, CFA is the Chief Executive Officer of Al Meezan Investment Management Limited, the largest Shariah compliant asset management company in Pakistan. He has over 28 years of experience in managing investment portfolios. Currently with Al Meezan Investments he is managing investments of about over 156 Billion ( as on September 30, 2020) million under 17 mutual/pension funds and discretionary clients’ portfolios, and leading a team of 595 employees of the organization.

He is an MBA from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi of 1988 and has also taught in his alma mater, several courses ranging Security Analysis to Finance & Accounting.

He got his CFA charter in 1999 and later founded the CFA Association of Pakistan in May 2002 with 40 members. He was the first President of the CFA Association of Pakistan (CFAAP) and during his leadership CFAAP achieved several milestones including the “Innovation Award” in 2006 and the “Strategic Planning Award” in 2008 from the CFA Institute.

Head of Islamic Banking & Governance, Head Central & North Region, Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan

Azhar Aslam

Azhar is the Head of Islamic Banking & Governance Head Central & North Region at Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan Limited – (SCBPL) 

As a seasoned banker Azhar has 25 years of experience in foreign banks, of which the last 15 years have been dedicated to Islamic banking. He has worked across nationally and internationally across geographies with financial organisations including American Express, Citi, Dubai Islamic and Standard Chartered. During his career Azhar has led diversified businesses and held senior positions in Product Development, Franchise & Business.  

Currently Azhar is the Country Head, Islamic banking (Saadiq) and is additionally the Governance Head for Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan. Under his leadership Islamic banking business for SCBPL has become a key contributor to the client revenue of the bank with landmark and innovative transactions executed under his leadership.  

Azhar is a member of the advisory Council of Lahore School of Management Sciences for Islamic Finance, IBA CEIF and a member of Pakistan Banking Association committee on Islamic Banking.  

He actively participates in community services through employee volunteering for social causes like education and support to the less privileged in the society. 

He is also a Member of the Diversity & Inclusion Council at SCBPL 

Azhar holds an MBA degree from Institute of Business Administration, Karachi. 

Head Corporate & Investment Banking, Pakistan, Dubai Islamic Bank

Mujahid Zuberi

Mujahid is the Group Head Corporate & Investment Banking for Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan Ltd. since Jan 2021. Prior to his current role, he was heading Commercial Banking business in Pakistan for Standard Chartered Bank (Pak) Ltd.  

Mujahid has worked in various areas including, Corporate Banking, Financial Institution, Credit Risk and Cash Management  Mujahid has also worked with American Express Bank in Pakistan and his last assignment with them was as Country Representative for Pakistan.  Mujahid holds an MBA degree and has interest in travelling, hunting and poetry. 

CEO & Executive Editor, Frontier Africa Report and Anchor at Arise News

Boason Omofaye

Boason is currently CEO & Executive Editor, Frontier Africa Report and Anchor at Arise News. He is one of Nigeria’s foremost business and markets broadcast journalists, producers and show anchors with 30 years’ experience, spanning newspapers, magazines and a dozen radio and television channels, Boason most recently led Bloomberg TV Africa and the primetime business show on Channels Television, Nigeria’s biggest business TV platform. He has driven coverage of major global and African news events since 1998, when he created his first Africa-focused business show on Minaj Broadcast International. Over the decades, he has interviewed world leaders from Davos to Dakar.  

Boason speaks and moderates at local and international gatherings such as the UN Sustainable Energy Summit of SE4ALL in New York, the annual meetings of Africa Export-Import Bank, the Africa Energy Forum, Nigeria Economic Summit Group, Deloitte Economic Outlook and the Presidential Economic Dialogue of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry.  

Boason’s pioneering reporting has twice won him the Pearl Award Capital Market Journalist of the Year. He is an adviser on economic management and governance, and has led investment roadshows in the UK, New York Stock Exchange and Chicago Board Options Exchange. 

Division Manager, Climate and Green Growth at African Development Bank Group

Al Hamndou Dorsouma

Mr. Al-Hamndou Dorsouma works as Officer in Charge for the Climate Change and Green Growth Department and Manager for Climate and Green Growth Division within the African Development Bank. He is responsible for managing a team of Climate Change and Growth Officers and leading Bank’s efforts on climate change in Africa, including building climate resilience and low carbon opportunities into Bank’s investments, and supporting Bank’s engagement on climate resilience and green growth. His academic background is Geography and Environmental Management. Recently, Mr. Dorsouma worked as the Officer-In-Charge of the Bank’s Climate Finance Division, leading Bank’s climate finance initiatives, including the Green Climate Fund, the Global Environment Facility and the Climate Investment Funds, among others.

Partnership Coordinator, Making Finance Work for Africa

Abdelkader Benbrahim

Abdelkader Benbrahim is the Partnership Coordinator of Making Finance Work for Africa. Until June 2020, Mr. Benbrahim was a Financial Sector Advisor leading MFW4A’s Financial Inclusion work stream. His work focused on positively influencing policy makers to address policy and regulatory constraints for digital financial services and inclusive finance. He also lead MFW4A’s efforts in remittances and housing finance.

Prior to joining MFW4A, he worked for Global Affairs Canada supporting its Information and Communication Technology development function, serving in both the President’s and Minister’s offices. He holds a master’s degree in Information Systems and Digital Innovation from London School of Economics and Political Science Management Studies and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Ottawa. He is multilingual communicator in Arabic, English and French.

Partner, LeapFrog Investments

Karima Ola

Karima leads LeapFrog’s African Financial Services investment team, where she has driven landmark investments including into ARM Pensions, one of the largest pensions providers in Nigeria, and AIICO, one of the largest insurers in Nigeria.  A deeply experienced operator and investor, she has significant experience working across the continent.

Karima is widely recognised for her work shaping the investment landscape in Africa and was recently named one of “Africa’s women to watch” by Bloomberg.

Previously, Karima was chief investment officer and a member of the board at ADC African Development Corporation, where she initiated the company’s entry into Nigeria and ran a number of multimillion-dollar transactions. Prior to this, she was a Managing Partner at Chayton Capital LLP, where she led the creation of the company’s first Africa Agriculture fund. Earlier, Karima was Executive Director, Global Equities, at HSBC in a role that spanned the UK, Hong Kong and South Africa.

Karima is a Member of UK Institute of Directors and holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a postgraduate diploma in Economics from the University of London. She sits on the Sustainability Co‎mmittee of Africa Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (AVCA).  Karima speaks French and Yoruba and is learning Swahili.

Group CEO, African Guarantee Fund

Jules Ngankam

Jules has over 15 years of experience in banking and financial services with leading financial institutions. He joined African Guarantee Fund in 2013 as the Chief Financial Officer after which he served as Deputy CEO from April 2017 and was thereafter appointed Group Chief Executive Officer in September 2020.

Prior to joining AGF, Jules worked with Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays PLC, in various roles including rates strategist, rates trader and treasury vice-president. In his last position at Barclays Capital, he focused on the management of the Group’s liquidity, interest rates risk and foreign exchange risk in their balance sheet and the implementation of their internal funding curves and transfer pricing.

He is a Cameroonian national and a graduate of ENSAE Paris in statistics and economics and of ESSEC Business School in Paris. He also holds a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Paris Dauphine in France.

Jules is passionate about leveraging financial innovation to support sustainable development and financial inclusion.

Managing Director, Lotus Capital Limited

Hajara Adeola

Mrs Hajara Adeola is the Managing Director of Lotus Capital Limited, a Nigerian pioneer in Shari’ah compliant Asset Management, Private Wealth Management Advisory Services and Financial Advisory Services. She comes to Lotus Capital from UBS Warburg where she was a Director heading their London Islamic Finance Desk. Prior to joining UBS, she was a Convertible Bond Research Analyst at BNP Paribas, London.

Hajara Adeola began her career as a consultant at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). From there she joined ARM Investment Managers as a pioneer staff and rose to Vice-President and Head of the Research and Financial Advisory Units. In all, she has over 20 years of international experience in research and analysis, investment management and corporate finance.

She holds an M.Sc in Finance from Durham University where she specialized in Islamic Finance. She also holds an MBA in International Management from Exeter University and a B.Sc in Pharmacology from King’s College, London. Mrs. Adeola is the first President of the Fund Manager’s Association of Nigeria and a West African Fellow of the Aspen Leadership Initiative. She is also the Chairperson of the Securities & Exchange Commission’s non-interest capital market 10 year master plan committee and a Director of the Aliko Dangote Foundation.

Deputy Governor, Bank of Ghana

Elsie Addo Awadzi

Mrs. Elsie Addo Awadzi was appointed 2nd Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana in February 2018, with responsibility for financial regulation, financial stability, and financial inclusion, among other things. She is the second woman to be appointed Deputy Governor in the Bank’s 62-year history.

Before her appointment as Deputy Governor, she was Senior Counsel of the Financial and Fiscal Law Unit of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Legal Department, based in Washington, D.C. In that role, she helped to design reforms to strengthen financial systems and manage financial crises in a variety of IMF member countries, as well as advised on legal and institutional aspects of public financial management.

Prior to joining the IMF in 2012, Mrs. Addo Awadzi was a two-term Commissioner of Ghana’s Securities & Exchange Commission, worked on key financial sector legal reforms in Ghana and other countries in Africa, worked briefly as a senior treasury dealer in Barclays Bank Ghana Limited, and worked in private law practice, among others.

She holds an LL.M. degree (International Business and Economic Law) with distinction from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C, and a Qualifying Certificate in Law from the Ghana School of Law. She also holds an M.B.A. (Finance) from the University of Ghana, and an LL.B. Degree from the same university.

Group Head Sales, Non-Interest Banking, Sterling Bank Plc.

Garba Mohammed

Director & Co-founder, Global Ethical Finance Initiative

Omar Shaikh

Omar is the Managing Director of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI). A Chartered Accountant by profession, he specialises in ethical finance, Islamic finance and private equity. He has extensive experience in financial services, has advised multiple governments on their capital markets, banking, pension and insurance regulation and is a regular speaker at ethical finance conference and events. Omar’s background includes working with EY where he was a Subject Matter Expert for Islamic finance.

Through his work at developmental body UKIFC, Omar launched the award winning Edinburgh Ethical Finance Round Table series, a platform that led to the inception of the Ethical Finance Hub and GEFI. Since 2018, GEFI has convened and connected stakeholders from across finance, government, business and the third sector to promote finance for positive change. As well as further building the Ethical Finance Round Table series, GEFI has established a number of events and campaigns, including the Ethical Finance Summit (a major conference), the Finance for Nature Series with UNEP and UNDP, the interfaith Edinburgh Finance Declaration, the unique Radical Old Idea platform and the Path to COP26 campaign, bringing together stakeholders to advance climate finance ahead of the crucial 2021 Glasgow summit.

Director of Sustainable Banking, NatWest Group

Kirsty Britz

Kirsty joined RBS as Director of Sustainable Banking in 2016.

She leads the group’s sustainability strategy, delivery and performance at a time of significant public and government scrutiny in this area post the financial crisis and the bank’s rescue.

Kirsty interfaces with the banks leaders across service lines, franchises and the Board as an effective group conscience on ethics, societal impact and related policy.

Kirsty is a member of the Boards Colleague Advisory Panel and Emerging Risk Committee. She sits on the ESG committee of the RBS Pension Fund and has chaired the Boards Regional Shareholder Events. She additionally sits on the Sustainability Advisory Group for UK Research & Innovation; the primary government funding agency for research, as well as being an independent advisor to the HMRC as a member of the Professional Standards Committee.

Prior to this she was the global Director of Citizenship for Barclays, leading the Citizenship strategy and plans for the group.

This followed global roles with two of the largest tech companies; Nokia & Telefonica.

Chief Executive, Chartered Banker Institute

Simon Thompson

Simon Thompson was appointed as Chief Executive of the Chartered Banker Institute, the oldest institute of bankers in the world, in 2007. Simon was recently appointed as the first Chair of the Global Banking Education Standards Committee, and is a former Vice-President of the European Bank Training Network.  He is the editor of Green Finance: Principles and Practice – the world’s first practitioner guide to green finance.

Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme

Inger Anderson

Serving as Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature since 2015, Ms. Andersen brings a passion for conservation and sustainable development with more than 30 years of experience in international development economics, environmental sustainability and policy-making, as well as in designing and implementing projects and generating on-the-ground impact from working with a small Non-Governmental Organization in Sudan to multilateral and international settings with a constant focus on poverty eradication.

Ms. Andersen has held various leadership positions at the World Bank and United Nations, most recently as Vice President of the Middle East and North Africa Region at the World Bank (2011-2015) and Vice President for Sustainable Development and Head of the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research Fund Council (2010-2011).

Throughout her 15-year career at the World Bank, her managerial roles focused on water, environment, and sustainable development with special emphasis on Africa and the Middle East. She further worked at the United Nations for 15 years, starting in the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office (UNSO) working on drought and desertification issues, and was then appointed United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Global Environment Facility Coordinator for the Arab Region.

Ms. Andersen’s educational background includes a BA from London Metropolitan University North and a MA degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London with specialisation in development economics.

President, European Investment Bank

Dr Werner Hoyer

Werner Hoyer has a PhD (economics) from Cologne University where he also started his career in various positions. Dr Hoyer served for 24 years as a Member of the German Bundestag. During this period, he held the position of Minister of State at the Foreign Office on two separate occasions. In addition, he held several other positions, including that of Whip and FDP Security Policy Spokesman, Deputy Chairman of the German-American Parliamentary Friendship Group, FDP Secretary General and President of the European Liberal Democratic Reform Party (ELDR).

Upon appointment by the EU Member States, Dr Hoyer commenced his first term as EIB President in January 2012. His mandate was renewed for a second term commencing on 01 January 2018.

Dr Hoyer and wife Katja have two children.

Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered Bank

Bill Winters, CBE

Bill began his career with JP Morgan, where he went on to become one of its top five most senior executives and later co-chief executive officer at the investment bank from 2004 until he stepped down in 2009. Bill was invited to be a committee member of the Independent Commission on Banking, established in 2010, to recommend ways to improve competition and financial stability in banking. Subsequently, he served as an advisor to the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards and was asked by the Court of the Bank of England to complete an independent review of the bank’s liquidity operations. In 2011, Bill founded Renshaw Bay, an alternative asset management firm, where he was chairman and CEO. He stepped down on appointment to the Standard Chartered PLC Board. Bill was previously a non-executive director of Pension Insurance Corporation plc and RIT Capital Partners plc. He received a CBE in 2013.

Chair, Financial Services Culture Board and GEFI Global Steering Group

Dame Susan Rice

Dame Susan Rice, a Chartered Banker, chairs the Financial Services Culture Board and was founding chair of the Chartered Banker: Professional Standards Board.  She also chairs Scottish Water, Business Stream and the Scottish Fiscal Commission, Scotland’s independent economic and fiscal forecaster.  In addition, she is Senior Independent Director of J Sainsbury, and of the North American Income Trust.  The first woman to head a UK clearing bank, she was Chief Executive and Chairman of Lloyds TSB Scotland plc, then Managing Director of Lloyds Banking Group.  She was previously a Non-Executive Director of the Bank of England and energy company SSE.  She has helped develop approaches to social finance in the US and UK, led work on cultural and ethical standards for bankers, chaired Scotland’s 2020 Climate Group and now works with P-CAN.  Previously, she was Senior Vice President at NatWest Bancorp in New York and, earlier in her career, a Dean at Yale and Colgate Universities in America and a published medical researcher.

CEO, International, Federated Hermes

Saker Nusseibeh CBE

Saker is CEO of the international business of Federated Hermes, appointed November 2011, having joined in June 2009 as CIO. He is also a member of the Federated Hermes Executive team. Prior to this, Saker was Global Head of Equities at Fortis Investments, having previously been CIO Global Equities since 2005. Before this, he was CIO of Global Equities and Head of Marketing for SGAM UK. This followed SGAM’s acquisition of Trust Company of the West, where Saker was a Managing Director running global and international strategies, as well the London office. He started his career at Mercury Asset Management in 1987.

Saker is founder of the 300 Club and was an inaugural member of the CFA Institute’s Future of Finance Advisory Council from 2013 until 2019. He is a member of the IIRC Council, the FCA-PRA Climate Financial Risk Forum, the United Nations Environmental Programme Financial Initiative Steering Committee, the Banking Standards Board, the UK National Advisory Board on Impact Investing, and the advisory Board of the National Youth Orchestra.

In 2018, Saker was named CEO of the Year at the Financial News Asset Management Europe Awards. He has a BA and PhD in Medieval History from King’s College, University of London.

Saker was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen’s 2019 New Year’s Honours list for services to Responsible Business and Finance.

Former Governor, Bank Negara Malaysia

Dr. Zeti Aziz

Tan Sri Dr. Zeti served as Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia from May 2000 to April 2016. She had an important role in managing the resolution of the financial system in 1998 during the Asian financial crisis and the consequent strong recovery of the Malaysian economy. She was also instrumental in transforming

Dr. Zeti Aziz served as Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia from 2000 to 2016.  She joined the Economics Department in the Bank in 1985.  In her career at the Bank that spanned 35 years, she held a number of senior positions, including Chief Economist of the Bank and Head of the Bank Negara Office in London from 1989 to 1994.  As an Assistant Governor, she was responsible for economics, reserve management, foreign exchange and money market operations and foreign exchange administration.

She is known for her role in successfully managing the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis and the strong recovery that followed.  She was instrumental in transforming the Malaysian financial system and building its robust resilience.  This was supported by the enactment of ten major pieces of legislation for the financial sector to preserve its stability.

In the region she was active in strengthening regional cooperation and was unrelenting in working for ASEAN and East Asian regional financial integration.  She was also a voice for the emerging world on the many issues concerning the international financial system and financial and economic management.  Dr. Zeti holds a doctorate in economics from University of Pennsylvania and is currently the Co-Chair of the Asia School of Business in collaboration with MIT Sloan.

Group Chief Financial Officer, NatWest Group

Katie Murray

Katie Murray joined the Group as Director of Finance in November 2015 and was appointed as Deputy Chief Financial Officer in March 2017. She was then appointed as Group Chief Financial Officer in January 2019.

Katie has worked in Finance and Accounting for nearly 30 years with experience in capital management, investor relations, financial planning and all areas of financial services. Katie was previously the Group Finance Director for Old Mutual Emerging Markets, based in Johannesburg from 2011-2015, having held various roles across Old Mutual from 2002. Prior to this Katie worked at KPMG for 13 years.

Katie is a Chartered Accountant having trained in Scotland and is a member of ICAS.

Director, University of Edinburgh Business School’s Centre for Business, Climate Change and Sustainability

Dr Sarah Ivory

Dr Sarah Ivory is the Director of the University of Edinburgh Business School’s Centre for Business, Climate Change and Sustainability (B-CCaS). She is a Lecturer in Climate Change and Business Strategy and serves on the University of Edinburgh COP26 working group. She is a regular contributor to BBC Scotland on climate change issues. Dr Ivory has taught on topics of climate change, sustainability, leadership, and strategy to undergraduates, postgraduates, and MBAs, and leads climate change executive education programmes. In 2019 Dr Ivory was awarded a prestigious Aspen Institute ‘Ideas Worth Teaching’ education award.

Dr Ivory has an established research career in sustainability and climate change, social enterprise, and critical thinking pedagogy including in leading publications such as the Journal of Business Ethics and Business Strategy and the Environment. Her book ‘Becoming a Critical Thinker: for your university studies and beyond’ was recently published with Oxford University Press.

Prior to joining academia, Dr Ivory spend a decade in senior strategy and operational roles in the private sector in Singapore and Australia. She has a PhD and MSc (by research) from the University of Edinburgh, an MBA from Melbourne Business School, and a B.Com(hons) from the University of Melbourne.

Chief Responsible Investment Officer, Aviva Investors

Steve Waygood

Chief Executive, Chartered Banker Institute

Simon Thompson

Simon Thompson was appointed as Chief Executive of the Chartered Banker Institute, the oldest institute of bankers in the world, in 2007. Simon was recently appointed as the first Chair of the Global Banking Education Standards Committee, and is a former Vice-President of the European Bank Training Network.  He is the editor of Green Finance: Principles and Practice – the world’s first practitioner guide to green finance.

Climate Change Lead, Royal London

Kaisie Rayner

Kaisie’s mission in life is to help  financial institutions understand sustainability and their role in enabling the transition to a low carbon economy.

She is currently the Climate Change Lead at Royal London, a commissioner at the Edinburgh Climate Commission, a fellow at the RSA and occasional lecturer at Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leaders. Prior to working with Royal London Kaisie was the Sustainable Investment Lead at Scottish Widows and has worked with Aegon, Lloyds Banking Group, RBS and Standard Life Investments.

Climate & Energy Global Practice Leader, WWF

Manuel Pulgar-Vidal

Manuel Pulgar-Vidal is Climate & Energy Global Practice Leader at World Wide Fund for Nature, WWF International.

He has 35 years of experience in environmental law and policy.  He served as Minister of the Environment of Peru (2011 to 2016) and President of the Twentieth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – COP20 in 2014. He was the Executive Director of the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law, an influential institution in Latin America.  He has a law degree from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, where he is a professor, and has completed studies for a master’s degree in Business Law at the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas.

He is a Board member of Forest Trends, Amazon Conservation Association and Peruvian Society of Environmental Law and a member of the Assembly of the World Wide Fund for Nature – Colombia.  He has recently been added to the Aspen Institute Management and Leadership Advisory Group.  He is the chairman of the evaluation council of the French sovereign Green Bonds. He is an active member of different groups aimed to get strong outcomes as a part of the formal climate talks and the non-party stakeholders’ agenda. He has been recognized by the governments of France, Germany and Spain and by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society for his contribution to the Paris Agreement.

Investor & Visiting Fellow, Cambridge University

David Pitt-Watson

David is a leading thinker & practitioner in responsible investment. Born & brought up in Scotland, he was co-founder, and CEO of Hermes Focus Funds & Equity Ownership Service. These became the largest responsible investment group of any fund manager in the world.  Throughout his career he has been deeply involved in policy, particularly in the field of corporate governance and financial market regulation. He has led numerous initiatives to improve the performance of the financial system. For example he chaired the UN Environment Programme’s Finance Initiative in the run up to the Paris Climate Conference, (CoP 21).

Sustainability Manager, ING Bank

Kaitlin Crouch

Kaitlin is the Sustainability Manager at ING Bank. She is an experienced Managing Consultant and Climate Specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the banking industry. 

 Her skills include environmental management, climate impact measurement, strategy consulting, DJSI & CDP reporting, GHG accounting, project and program management, stakeholder engagement, change management and agile/scrum process management. She has experience with successful board- level engagement on strategic, group- wide project proposals and cross-border program implementation. 

 She holds a Professional Certificate in Corporate Sustainability and Innovation and a Master’s degree focused in Environmental Studies both from Harvard University. 

Regional Advisor, Climate Change and Innovative Finance, UNDP Indonesia

Joanne Manda

Joanne is the Regional Advisor in UNDP Indonesia’s Innovative Finance Lab (IF Lab) and shares her time between the Indonesia country office and the Bangkok Regional Hub (BRH) where she provides technical advice on financing SDGs.

Joanne is passionate about fighting climate change and generating development results by leveraging innovative financing mechanisms.  Over the past six years she has been supporting countries in Asia Pacific to strengthen planning and budgeting systems and implement public financial reforms that incentivize climate action.  She has supported countries on innovative financing solutions such as green bonds, blended finance mechanisms for energy and other infrastructure projects and also working with private sector partners in the impact investment space.

Joanne holds an MSc. Environment and Development from the University of London.   Joanne worked for 12 years with UK DFID as Livelihoods and Climate Change Advisor developing social protection, disaster management, urban poverty reduction and climate change adaptation programmes in Africa and South Asia before joining UNDP BRH in 2013.

She is the mother to three inquisitive children, wife to one incredible husband and enjoys music and reading in her rare spare time!

CEO, OGUK

Deirdre Michie OBE

Deirdre was appointed CEO of OGUK in May 2015.  She has an LLB Hons in Scots Law and extensive experience as a senior business leader in the oil and gas industry; covering upstream, downstream and globally.  As well as being a Non-Executive Board member of Scottish Water, she is also a board member of Opportunity North East and Chair of Common Data Access Limited.  Deirdre is a member of MER, the UK Government and oil and gas industry forum; HMT’s Oil and gas industry Fiscal Forum; the Scottish Government’s Energy Advisory Group, and of the Women’s Business Council, a UK Government body focused on increasing women’s contribution to economic growth.

Deirdre was awarded a Fellowship from the North East of Scotland College and an OBE for her services to the Oil and Gas industry in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2018. Deirdre is also a Burgess of Aberdeen.

Head of Sustainability Integration, Robeco

Masja Zandbergen

Masja Zandbergen is head of sustainability integration at Robeco. She holds a Master’s in Econometrics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and is a CEFA charterholder. Her background is in equity portfolio management, in which capacity she has been responsible for a global financials fund and European portfolios. Masja started her career at Robeco in 1997, where in 2003 she joined the Sustainable Investing team and helped set up the Active Ownership (voting and engagement) approach, with specific responsibility for social issues. She then moved on to start her own company, focusing on advertising sustainable investment products, and later became head of equity at Syntrus Achmea. Masja rejoined Robeco in 2015 and in her current role as head of sustainability integration, she is responsible for coordinating ESG integration across asset classes. Masja is the company’s spokesperson on the topic of sustainability and works with clients to share knowledge and expertise on this field.

Head of Clean Energy, Shepherd and Wedderburn

Clare Foster

Clare is Head of Clean Energy Sector (a team comprising over 90 lawyers) at Shepherd and Wedderburn and leads the firm’s project finance team. A project finance specialist by trade and dual qualified, Clare has been involved in the energy sector since the early renewable energy projects of the mid-1990s and she has continued to focus on this sector as it has matured. Clare is a highly regarded practitioner in the project finance market and advises clients on projects spanning the energy sector (including offshore wind, onshore wind, floating wind, biomass, energy efficiency, tidal, hydro, small-scale renewables, energy from waste and heat). Clare regularly acts as lead counsel representing lenders and consortia/sponsors/developers across the UK and leads the Shepherd and Wedderburn team on most clean energy transactions. In 2020, Clare was appointed a commissioner to the Edinburgh Climate Commission, which aims to catalyse action, challenge decision-makers in the city and convene stakeholders critical to the accelerated response required for Edinburgh to achieve its ambitious target of becoming a carbon neutral city by 2030 and in July 2019, Clare was appointed to the Board of industry body RenewableUK, recognising her market-leading renewable energy finance expertise across multiple clean energy technologies.

Director, Investor Practices programme, IIGCC

Daisy Streatfeild

Daisy Streatfeild is the director of IIGCC’s Investor Practices programme which supports members to better integrate climate risks and opportunities into their investment processes and decision-making, including taking forward the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. She also leads IIGCC’s Paris Aligned Investment Initiative, which is exploring how investors can align portfolios to the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Daisy joined IIGCC in 2019 from the Inter-American Development Bank where she was an advisor on sustainable infrastructure investment. She previously worked for the UK government in various programme management and policy roles, including leading on finance strategy and investor relations at Infrastructure UK, and heading international climate finance negotiations at the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Daisy holds an MA in Politics from the University of Edinburgh and an MSc in Environment and Development from the LSE.

Deputy Executive Director, PKA

Dewi Dylander

As PKA’s Deputy Executive Director, Mrs Dylander is a Head of Sustainable Investments (ESG) and the Investment Secretariat where she works with integrating ESG in investments, exercising active ownership and optimizing the business through sustainable investments. Mrs Dylander is responsible for climate related issues and implementing the UN SDG’s. In addition, Mrs Dylander ensures long-term value creation through an increased focus on implementing ESG factors as core elements in the investment strategy, policies and guidelines.

Journalist, Bloomberg News

Greg Ritchie

Greg Ritchie is a journalist at Bloomberg News. He writes about sovereign debt and green finance from London.

Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Cambridge

Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta FBA

Partha Dasgupta, was born in Dhaka (at that time in India) and educated in Varanasi (Matriculation 1958 from Rajghat Besant School), Delhi (B.Sc. Hons, in Physics, 1962, University of Delhi), and Cambridge (B.A. Hons. in Mathematics, 1965, and Ph.D. in Economics, 1968) at the University of Cambridge). He is the son of the noted economist Amiya Dasgupta (1903-1992). He is married to Carol Dasgupta, who is a psychotherapist. They have three children: Zubeida Dasgupta-Clark (an educational psychologist), Shamik (a philosophy professor), and Aisha (who works on reproductive health in Africa).
Dasgupta is Frank Ramsey Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Cambridge, Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge, and Professorial Research Fellow at the Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester. He taught at the London School of Economics during 1971-1984 and moved to the University of Cambridge in 1985 as Professor of Economics, where he served as Chairman of the Faculty of Economics in 1997-2001. During 1989-92 he was also Professor of Economics, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Program in Ethics in Society at Stanford University; and during 1991-97 he was Chairman of the (Scientific Advisory) Board of the Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics, Stockholm. Since 1999 he has been a Founder Member of the Management and Advisory Committee of the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE), Kathmandu. In 1996 he helped to establish the journal Environment and Development Economics, published by Cambridge University Press, whose purpose has been not only to publish original research at the interface of poverty and the environmental-resource base, but also to provide an opportunity to scholars in developing countries to publish their findings in an international journal.

Professor Dasgupta’s research interests have covered welfare and development economics, the economics of technological change, population, environmental and resource economics, the theory of games, the economics of undernutrition, and the economics of social capital. His publications include Guidelines for Project Evaluation (with S.A. Marglin and A.K. Sen; United Nations, 1972), Economic Theory and Exhaustible Resources (with G.M. Heal; Cambridge University Press, 1979 (recipient of the United States Association of Environmental and Resource Economists “Publication of Enduring Quality Award 2003”)); The Control of Resources (Harvard University Press, 1982); An Inquiry into Well-Being and Destitution (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993); Human Well-Being and the Natural Environment (Oxford University Press, 2001; revised edition, 2004); and Economics: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007).

Founder and Senior Advisor, Global Canopy

Andrew Mitchell

Andrew W. Mitchell is an international thought leader on natural capital finance and tropical forests. Founder of Equilibrium Futures, he provides strategic advice on natural capital to the finance sector; he is also Senior Adviser to Oxford think tank, Global Canopy, which he founded in 2001. As Founder and Senior Adviser to the Natural Capital Finance Alliance, he helps to design natural capital tools for banks, investors and insurers and is Senior Adviser to Mirova Natural Capital, a global impact investment fund. With UNDP, UNEP FI and WWF, Andrew is currently spearheading the creation of a Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD), which is due to launch in 2021. The Taskforce is supported by an Informal Working Group comprising 74 representatives from the financial sector, governments and regulators and 103 members of the Observer Group.

Managing Director, NatureVest, The Nature Conservancy

Charlotte Kaiser

Head of Company Engagement, BNP Paribas Group

Antoine Sire

Antoine Sire graduated from the Institute of Political Studies in Paris and holds a doctorate (DEA) in public law.

After working at the French bankers’ Association and at Crédit Mutuel, he became Communications Director of BNP in 1997 and BNP Paribas in 2000. He is credited with designing the bank’s starred logo and creating the communication codes for the new group after its merger in 2000.  He developed the brand worldwide, especially through tennis sponsorship. He strengthened the social commitments of the bank, particularly in the Parisian suburbs where BNP Paribas is an important employer.

In 2003, he broadcast a programme on France’s main business radio, BFM, dedicated to new technologies in digital technologies and by extension to green technologies.

In July 2013 he announced his departure from BNP Paribas to focus on his passion for cinema and its history. He completed the writing of Hollywood, la cité des femmes, a 1200 page book that revisits the history of the golden age of Hollywood through the role of women. While contributing to the development and content of the start-up parisfaitsoncinéma.com, of which he is one of the partners, he joined the agency Havas Worldwide Paris in 2015.

In September 2017 he was appointed as a Member of the Executive Committee and Head of Company Engagement at BNP Paribas, with the mission to make the bank’s commitment to society one of its strategic assets.

Head of Environmental, Social & Climate Risk Management

Madeleine Ronquest

Madeleine Ronquest is the Head of Environmental, Social & Climate Risk Management Change in the FirstRand financial services group (South Africa) and her portfolio includes environmental and social risk management, climate-related risk and opportunity management, climate/green finance and positive impact banking and investment. She has been with the Group for 19 years.

Her professional background includes environmental science, risk management, climate risk management and environmental law. Her role is to ensure that FirstRand is positioned as one of the global thought leaders in climate change, natural capital management, positive impact finance, responsible investment and sustainable development finance.

She is an eternal student and an international speaker and has taken leadership roles in the Global Steering Committee and other board committees of UNEPFI (United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative), the South African Advisory Committee on Environment and Society (National Business Initiative), the NBI Advisory Committee on Green Finance, the Programme for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) and the Sustainable Finance Forum & Climate Risk Committee of the South African Banking Association (BASA)

Madeleine was recently appointed as a Senior Associate by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership

ESG Product Manager, ISS ESG

Reza Marvasti

ESG Product Manager, ISS ESG

Reza an Associate Biodiversity Product Manager, based in Paris at ISS ESG

Executive Manager, Global Ethical Finance Initiative

Natalie Jackson

Natalie has over 10 years of experience working in finance and is passionate about how finance can be used to deliver social and environmental impact. Her career started at EY in 2010, in the corporate finance department, where she qualified as at Chartered Accountant. She has spent extended periods of time working with social enterprises in Africa and has assisted entrepreneurs in the Global South through the Grow Movement and Kiva. Natalie was one of the finalists in the One Young CA competition and nominated as one of ICAS’s top Accountants under 35 in the field of Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility. She has spent the last 6 years working in project finance with a focus on education, infrastructure and renewable energy projects. Natalie currently sits on the Social Growth Fund Board at Social Investment Scotland, advising on the disbursement of £17m of funding to Scottish Social Enterprises.

Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema was the Director of the Law Division and has worked with UNEP for over two decades. Prior to joining the Law Division in June 2014, she was the Deputy Director of the Ecosystems Division, in charge of coordination, operations and programme delivery from 2012 and for one year, also serviced as Acting Director to the same Division. In 2018, in addition to her role as the Law Division Director, she was also the Acting Director of the Corporate Services Division where she led the management of the human resources, financial operations and management and other administrative functions for the entire Organization.

In 2009 she had been appointed as the Executive Secretary of the UNEP/Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), Acting Executive Secretary of the UNEP/ASCOBANS and Interim Executive Secretary of the UNEP/Gorilla Agreement, all based in Bonn, Germany and held that position until 2012 and thereafter she joined the Ecosystems Division in Nairobi, Kenya. In these portfolios, she over saw and ensure effective conservation of migratory animals globally as well as implementation of a number of specific species agreements covering geographical areas where animals or birds or marine species migrate during their lifetime.

Elizabeth’s work at UNEP has focused on the development, implementation and enforcement environmental laws both at national, regional and international level. She has played different roles in UNEP over the years that have included being a coordinator of capacity building and compliance and enforcement projects related to environmental law and the multilateral environmental conventions. She was a Senior Legal Officer and Chief of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) Support and Cooperation Branch in the then Division of Environmental Conventions (DEC), and later a Principal Legal Officer and Chief of the Biodiversity/Land Law and Governance Branch in the then Division of Environmental Law and Conventions.

Before joining UNEP, Elizabeth worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania and left as a Counsellor/Senior Legal Counsel. During her time with the ministry, she was also a lecturer in Public International Law and Conference Diplomacy at Tanzania’s Centre for Foreign Relations and Diplomacy. She had also served as a pro bono visiting lecturer at the University of Nairobi Law School and in the past at the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), Rome, Italy.

A lawyer and career diplomat with LLB (Hons) from the University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, LLM from Dalhousie University, Canada and Postgraduate Diploma in International Relations and Diplomacy (Summa Cum Laude) from the Centre of Foreign Relations and Diplomacy in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. She has published several articles related to international environmental law, compliance and enforcement of conventions and developed, among others, a number of multilateral environmental agreements negotiation tools, handbooks and guidelines currently used by UNEP in its capacity-building programmes.

Group Chief Sustainability Officer, DBS

Mikkel Larsen

Mikkel Larsen is the Group Chief Sustainability Officer of DBS and chairs the DBS Sustainability Council, which comprises senior leaders across business and support units and is responsible for developing DBS’ overarching sustainability framework, setting key performance indicators and targets in consultation with the relevant stakeholders, and driving sustainability initiatives across the bank.

He is presently a member of or represents DBS in numerous international and local councils or committees. These include: the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets, GRI Stakeholder Council, United for Wildlife Financial Taskforce, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Green Finance Industry Taskforce [Workstream Chair] under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)’s Financial Centre Advisory Panel (FCAP), Singapore’s Environment and Resources Standards Committee (ERSC) and the Global Compact Network Singapore (GCNS).

Prior to joining DBS, Mikkel was the Chief Financial Officer for Asia Pacific in UBS from 2009 to 2012 covering Investment Bank, Wealth Management and Asset Management. He was previously the Asia Pacific Head of Accounting Policy and location controller for Hong Kong at UBS. Mikkel has also worked in Citigroup in London and KPMG in London and Denmark.

Mikkel is an adjunct professor at the Copenhagen Business School (CBS), and has an MBA from London Business School, graduate education from Harvard University, a master’s in Sustainability Leadership from Cambridge University, as well as master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Economics from CBS in his native country Denmark where he also holds his CPA.