Thriving in the rapidly evolving US sustainable finance landscape
The 15th annual Responsible Investor USA Conference took place in New York on December 3-4, 2024, bringing together leading voices in sustainable finance to address the industry’s most pressing challenges.
A global audience of 300 asset owners, investment managers, banks, financial regulators, and data providers gathered for two days of networking, thought-provoking panels, and in-depth discussions.
We look forward to welcoming you again next year to learn from industry leaders and gain actionable insights on current sustainability issues.
Meet over 100 of North America's leading asset owners, including:
Speakers leading the discussion in 2024 included:
What can you expect at RI USA?
Get real insight into the industry
RI USA’s program provides clear, actionable insights into what sustainability means for business and investment. We ask the right questions and deliver answers.
Build a long-lasting network
Connect with stakeholders across the sustainable finance industry through workshops, panels, breakfasts, debates, and evening receptions. Strengthen your professional connections.
Meet institutional investors
Hear from active asset owners who are honing their sustainable finance strategies and creating real, measurable impact across the industry. View last year’s attending asset owners here.
Key event themes in 2024
• Acclimating to SEC disclosure: What are the implications and risks of ESG reporting for asset managers and asset owners?
• Increasing demand for ESG data: What are the best practices for ESG measurement and management?
• Operationalizing net-zero commitments: What role will new technologies, renewables, and carbon offsets play in the transition to net-zero?
• The role of politics in sustainable finance: How will net-zero agendas and targets evolve with political fluctuations?
• Managing physical and transition risk: How can investors quantify, manage and adapt to growing climate-related risks to assets and portfolios?
• Navigating global regulatory differences: How will the regulatory landscape evolve amidst standardization debates?
• Hydrogen, carbon capture, electrification, natural capital and beyond: What are the best sustainable investment opportunities today and what are key barriers to scale for emerging climate solutions?
Apply for a complimentary asset owner pass
A limited number of complimentary passes are available for eligible asset owners to join the event.
Complimentary investor passes are limited to foundations, endowments, trusts, insurance companies, single family offices, sovereign wealth funds and pension funds who are actively making fund commitments and do not engage in third-party fundraising activities or collect fees for advisory/consulting services.
Please register your interest and a member of our team will be in touch to confirm your eligibility.
Connect with investors & ESG professionals
Responsible Investor USA provides an opportunity to make connections with an exclusive audience of ESG and sustainable finance decision makers.
Share your solutions, collaborate and network with senior-level executives through bespoke sponsorship packages to meet your 2025 business goals.
For more information on speaking, please contact Finlay Eglinton.
Finlay.eglinton@pei.group | +44 (0)203 879 3893
Bethany Davis Noll
Executive Director, The State Energy & Environmental Impact Centre at NYU School of Law
Ekaterina Grigoryeva
Former Environment and Social Development Specialist (Global Lead, Financial Sector), The World Bank
Andrew Lee
Managing Director, Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing, UBS Global Wealth Management
Andrew Siwo
Head of Sustainable Investments and Climate Solutions, New York State Common Retirement Fund
Tara Mei Smith
ESG Integration Officer, Bureau of Asset Management, Office of New York City Comptroller
For more information on the agenda, please contact Finlay Eglinton.
Finlay.eglinton@pei.group | +44 (0)203 879 3893
Agenda
RI USA 2024 - Tuesday 3rd
08:00 - 08:55
Registration Opens
08:55 - 09:00
Opening remarks
Gina Gambetta
Gina Gambetta, Senior Reporter, Responsible Investor
1 Speaker
Plenary
09:00 - 09:50
Plenary 1: Transition finance in the US: Driving change through investment
Andrew Howell,
Candice Coppere,
Curtis Ravenel,
Andrew Siwo,
Tara Mei Smith,
Thomas Englerth
- How are US investors approaching high-emitting sectors and corporates?
- Will transition finance be the main source of alpha in the US energy transition?
- Do US investors want dedicated transition finance instruments?
- Is there a tension between financing the transition and meeting net zero targets?
Moderator: Andrew Howell, Senior Director, Sustainable Finance, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
Candice Coppere, Head of Climate and Nature Solutions, Product, ISS STOXX
Curtis D. Ravenel, Senior Advisor, GFANZ
Andrew Siwo, Head of Sustainable Investments and Climate Solutions, New York State Common Retirement Fund
Tara Mei Smith, ESG Integration Officer, NYC Office of the Comptroller
Thomas Englerth, Associate Director, Sustainable Finance, S&P Global Ratings
Andrew Siwo
Head of Sustainable Investments and Climate Solutions, New York State Common Retirement Fund
Read bio
Tara Mei Smith
ESG Integration Officer, Bureau of Asset Management, Office of New York City Comptroller
Read bio
6 Speakers
09:50 - 10:40
Plenary 2: Manager selection in the US
Matthew Illian,
Rajith Sebastian,
Sarika Goel,
Sarah Bernstein
- How has the politicisation of ESG impacted manager selection?
- Is stewardship being priced into manager selection or neglected in search of lower fees?
- Is manager selection being utilised enough to drive asset owner priorities through managers?
- Are consultants doing enough to drive asset owner priorities through manager selection?
- Given the US context, will climate focused/net zero investors drift to European headquartered managers?
Moderator: Sarah Bernstein, Head of Sustainability, Meketa Investment Group
Matthew Illian, Director, United Church Funds
Rajith Sebastian, Head of ESG and Sustainable Investing, New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF)
Sarika Goel, Global Head Sustainable Investment Research, Mercer
4 Speakers
10:40 - 11:10
Networking break
Plenary
11:10 - 11:30
Keynote - Eye of the storm: Former SEC policy director reflects on three years at US regulator
Gina Gambetta,
Heather Slavkin Corzo
11:30 - 12:15
Plenary 3: ESG regulation: The US, EU and beyond
Steven M. Rothstein,
Sandra Silea,
Sireen Hajj,
Elizabeth Seeger
- How are US investors navigating the SFDR and what do they want out of the regulatory reform?
- US anti-greenwashing efforts: What’s next for SEC climate-related disclosures and name rules in the post-election environment?
- Will CSRD provide US investors with the sustainability data they need?
- Compliance vs action: How are investors balancing mandatory and voluntary disclosure needs with investment/stewardship activities?
Moderator: Steven Rothstein, Managing Director, Accelerator, Ceres
Sireen Hajj, Director of Investor Outreach, US SIF
Elizabeth Seeger, Board Member, ISSB, IFRS Foundation
Sandra Silea, Director, ESG & Stewardship, AustralianSuper
4 Speakers
12:15 - 13:00
Plenary 4: Nature investment in North America: Risks and opportunities
Gina Gambetta,
Felipe Carazo,
Megan Reilly Cayten,
John Morton
- Nature as a systemic risk: how are investors approaching the challenge?
- Measuring biodiversity and nature risk across portfolios: methodologies, tools and barriers
- Public vs private markets: where are the nature investment opportunities?
- Are US corporates doing enough, and disclosing enough, on nature?
Moderator: Gina Gambetta, Senior Reporter, Responsible Investor
Amy Orr, Director of U.S. Shareholder Engagement, Boston Common Asset Management
Felipe Carazo, Head of Alliance Management, Tropical Forest Alliance, World Economic Forum
Megan Reilly Cayten, Head of Carbon Nature Fund, Climate Asset Management
John Morton, Managing Director & Head of Americas, Pollination
Felipe Carazo
Head of Sustainable Commodities, Tropical Forest Alliance, World Economic Forum
Read bio
4 Speakers
13:00 - 13:50
Lunch
Stream A
13:50 - 14:30
A1: Corporate transition plans: Next steps
Andreas Ross,
Joel Paque,
Jacob H. Hupart,
Radhika Mehrotra,
Matt Moscardi
- What does a credible transition plan look like?
- Are US companies embracing the concept of transition plans?
- What guidance do companies and investors need? Prescriptive vs high-level
- To what extent should climate lobbying activities be disclosed in transition plans?
Moderator: Matt Moscardi, Head of Board Moneyball, Free Float Analytics
Andreas Ross, Head of New Product Research and Development, ZAIS Group
Joel Paque, Head of Partnerships, US, Climate Arc
Jacob Hupart, Co-Chair of ESG Practice, Mintz
Radhika Mehrotra, Associate Director Capital Markets, CDP
Jacob H. Hupart
Co-Chair of ESG Practice, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, P.C.
Read bio
5 Speakers
14:30 - 14:35
Networking break
14:35 - 15:15
A2: ESG Data: The next frontier
Greer Howard-Tabah,
Samantha McCafferty,
Paul Vozzella,
Manju Seal,
Daan Van Acker
- Do companies have the data they need for mandatory climate reporting?
- How ESG data is transforming risk management
- Can predictive analytics from ESG data be trusted
- Supporting scope 3 data requirements
Moderator: Manju Seal, Former Head of Sustainable Finance and Capital Markets ESG Lead, Ex -Bank of Montreal
Greer Howard-Tabah, Vice President, ESG, Oaktree Capital Management
Samantha McCafferty, Associate Director – Sustainable Investing, Harvard Management Company
Paul Vozzella, Director, Americas, Asset Impact
Daan Van Acker, Director of FinanceMap and Investor Engagement, InfluenceMap
Manju Seal
Former Head of Sustainable Finance and Capital Markets ESG Lead, Ex-Bank of Montreal
Read bio
5 Speakers
15:15 - 15:20
Networking break
15:20 - 16:00
A3: Water risk: An investors’ guide
Saumya Mehrotra,
Tom Ferguson,
Chris Janiec,
Matthew Diserio,
Amy Orr
- Where are US companies most exposed to water risk?
- How should investors engage corporates on water?
- What tools and data are available to investors to assess water risk?
- How can the private sector help to address water shortages?
Moderator: Chris Janiec, Americas Editor, Agri Investor
Amy Orr, Director of U.S. Shareholder Engagement, Boston Common Asset Management
Saumya Mehrotra, Product Management Team, ISS STOXX
Tom Ferguson, Managing Partner, Burnt Island Ventures
Matthew Diserio, Co-Founder & President, Water Asset Management (WAM)
5 Speakers
Stream B
13:50 - 14:30
B1: The future of collaborative engagement in the US
Gina Gambetta,
Claudia Martínez,
Marcela Pinilla,
Bethany Davis Noll
- Do legal threats around antitrust carry any weight? If so, where are the lines that should not be crossed?
- How can investors defend themselves against accusations? What does best practice look like?
- Where can collective engagement make sense in a US context?
- Can collective engagement in the US survive the ESG backlash and Republican election victories?
Moderator: Gina Gambetta, Senior Reporter, Responsible Investor
Marcela Pinilla, Director of Sustainable Investing, Zevin Asset Management
Claudia Martinez, Director of Research, Access to Medicine Foundation
Bethany Davis Noll, Executive Director, The State Energy & Environmental Impact Centre at NYU School of Law
Bethany Davis Noll
Executive Director, The State Energy & Environmental Impact Centre at NYU School of Law
Read bio
4 Speakers
14:30 - 14:35
Short turnaround break
14:35 - 15:15
B2: Agriculture: Sustainability and food security
Chris Janiec,
Sofia De La Parra,
Lara Fornabaio,
Björn Aarts,
Matthew Corbett
- How are US investors thinking about agriculture and sustainability?
- Is supporting food security compatible with financial institutions’ net zero commitments?
- How is technology changing the agricultural sustainability landscape?
- Is regenerative agriculture a scalable solution?
Moderator: Chris Janiec, Americas Editor, Agri Investor
Sofia De La Parra, Investor Outreach Manager, FAIRR
Lara Fornabaio, Senior Legal Researcher, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Matthew Corbett, Partner – Agriculture, Fiera Comox
Björn Aarts, ESG Director, Rabo Investments
5 Speakers
15:15 - 15:20
Short turnaround break
15:20 - 16:00
B3: Bond markets vs private credit: Financing the energy transition
Jamison Friedland,
Jamie Franco,
Peter Munro,
Robin Blumenthal
- Are bond markets fit-for-purpose for financing the energy transition?
- SLBs and transition bonds: do they have a role in the US?
- Where can private credit fill the gaps in debt financing for the transition?
- How is the policy landscape impacting sustainability linked bond issuance in the US?
Moderator: Robin Blumenthal, Americas Editor, Private Debt Investor
Jamison Friedland, Senior Sustainability Analyst, AXA IM
Jamie Franco, MD and Global Head of Sustainable Investment, TCW Group
Peter Munro, Head of Investor Relations & Sustainable Finance, European Investment Bank (EIB)
4 Speakers
16:00 - 16:10
Networking break
Workshops
16:10 - 17:00
Workshop A - Attracting investor capital to U.S. housing
Jamie Franco,
Nick Sapirie,
Randy Plavajka,
Jim Egan
- What role do securitized products play in supporting U.S. housing?
- How can issuers use the capital markets to allocate capital towards affordable housing?
- What disclosure considerations are at play?
- How do investors use these products to meet their clients’ demands?
Moderator: Randy Plavajka, Deputy Editor, PERE Credit
Nick Sapirie, Vice President, Single-Family Capital Markets, Fannie Mae
Jamie Franco, MD and Global Head of Sustainable Investment, TCW Group
Jim Egan, Co-Head of Securitized Products Research, Morgan Stanley
4 Speakers
16:10 - 17:00
Workshop B – Nature Investment
Megan Reilly Cayten,
George Kelly,
Nikki Gwilliam-Beeharee,
Matthew Rusk
Moderator: George Kelly, CEO, Earth Recovery Partners
Megan Reilly Cayten, Head of Carbon Nature Fund, Climate Asset Management
Nikki Gwilliam-Beeharee, Investor Engagement Lead, World Benchmarking Alliance
Matthew Rusk, Head of GRI North America, Global Reporting Initiative
4 Speakers
16:10 - 17:00
Workshop C – Investing in 2050
Doug Scott,
Georgia Stewart,
Adam Kanzer
What does the ideal investment landscape of 2050 look like? How do we navigate the rapid pace of change to make this vision a reality?
Through thought-provoking discussions and collaborative exercises, participants will explore how technological innovation, demographic shifts, and sustainability imperatives could reshape investing over the next 25 years.
In this session, you will:
- Imagine the future: Collaborate in groups to craft a compelling vision of the investment landscape in 2050.
- Reverse engineer success: Work backward from your 2050 vision to identify key milestones, challenges, and shifts needed to bring this future to life.
- Plan for action today: Develop concrete, actionable steps to integrate into your organization’s strategy, spanning short-, medium-, and long-term horizons.
Co-facilitator: Doug Scott, CEO & Co-founder, Ethic
Co-facilitator: Georgia Stewart, CEO, Tumelo
Co-facilitator: Adam Kanzer, Head of Stewardship, Americas, BNP Paribas Asset Management
3 Speakers
17:00 - 18:00
Networking drinks
18:00 - 18:00
End of day one
Agenda
RI USA 2024 - Wednesday 4th
08:00 - 09:00
Networking breakfast
Stream A
09:00 - 09:40
A4: Understanding supply chain sustainability risk: An investors’ guide
Gina Gambetta,
Patrick O’Connell,
Serena Shi,
Gwen Le Berre,
Adam Kanzer
- How are investors engaging with corporates on supply chain risk?
- Where are the biggest gaps in corporate supply chain data?
- How is regulation affecting corporate supply chain reporting?
- Which supply chain issues are most material for investors?
Moderator: Gina Gambetta, Senior Reporter, Responsible Investor
Patrick O’Connell, Director of Responsible Investing Research, AllianceBernstein
Adam Kanzer, Head of Stewardship, Americas, BNP Paribas Asset Management
Serena Shi, Vice President, The Lightsmith Group
Gwen Le Berre, Head of Responsible Investment, Parametric Portfolio Associates
Patrick O’Connell
Director - Fixed Income Responsible Investing Research, AllianceBernstein
Read bio
5 Speakers
09:40 - 09:45
Short turnaround break
09:45 - 10:25
A5: Governance risk: Board competence and capabilities
Marcel Bucsescu,
Matt Moscardi,
Kay Makishi,
Adelaide Chiu
- How are investors approaching governance risk?
- How do governance failures impact investor confidence and company valuation?
- What are the emerging standards for governance transparency and reporting?
- How can companies improve their disclosure practices to build trust with investors?
- AI board competence
Moderator: Matt Moscardi, Head of Board Moneyball, Free Float Analytics
Marcel Bucsescu, Vice President, Strategic Engagement, NACD
Kay Makishi, Vice President, Lupoff/Stevens Family Office
Adelaide Chiu, Vice President, Head of Responsible Investing, NEI Investments
4 Speakers
Stream B
09:00 - 09:40
B4: Greenwashing vs greenhushing
Lance Dial,
Ekaterina Grigoryeva,
Andrew Lee,
Ashley McNamee,
George Kelly
- How are US corporates and investors navigating political and public scrutiny of sustainability?
- What are the implications of corporate greenhushing for investors?
- How have investors responded to the SEC’s greenwashing crackdown?
Moderator: George Kelly, CEO, Earth Recovery Partners
Lance Dial, Partner, K&L Gates
Ekaterina Grigoryeva, Former Environment and Social Development Specialist (Global Lead, Financial Sector), The World Bank
Andrew Lee, Managing Director, Managing Director – Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing, UBS Global Wealth Management
Ashley McNamee, Managing Director, ESG, Revelstoke Capital Partners
Ekaterina Grigoryeva
Former Environment and Social Development Specialist (Global Lead, Financial Sector), The World Bank
Read bio
Andrew Lee
Managing Director, Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing, UBS Global Wealth Management
Read bio
5 Speakers
09:40 - 09:45
Networking break
09:45 - 10:25
B5: Real estate and climate risk
Tom Idzal,
Brenden McEneaney,
Marina Severinovsky,
Daren Moss,
Randy Plavajka
- Decarbonising real estate – a missed low-hanging fruit opportunity for investors?
- Real estate climate engagement
- Uninsurable assets: what does this mean for real estate investors?
- How are US real estate developers approaching the net zero challenge?
Moderator: Randy Plavajka, Deputy Editor, PERE Credit
Marina Severinovsky, Head of Sustainability North America, Schroders
Brenden McEneaney, Senior Vice President, JLL
Tom Idzal, Head of Americas, GRESB
Daren Moss, Principal, ESG – Real Estate Lead, Ares Management
5 Speakers
10:25 - 10:55
Networking break
Plenary
10:55 - 11:35
Plenary 5: Investing for sustainable outcomes
Steven M. Rothstein,
Sarah Bernstein,
Wendy Cromwell,
Lila Preston,
Maggie Stafford
- Defining a ‘sustainable outcome’ or proving real-world sustainability impact: What methods and frameworks are investors using?
- Net-zero commitments and interim climate investing goals: Are investors on track to meet them?
- Is the Inflation Reduction Act translating into opportunities for sustainability-focused investors in public markets?
- Could the changing political environment affect the calculus for sustainable investment in the US?
Moderator: Steven Rothstein, Managing Director, Accelerator, Ceres
Sarah Bernstein, Head of Sustainability, Meketa Investment Group
Wendy Cromwell, Head of Sustainable Investment, Wellington Management
Lila Preston, Head of Growth Equity, Generation Investment Management
Maggie Stafford, Director, ESG Solutions, Morningstar Sustainalytics
5 Speakers
11:35 - 12:15
Plenary 6: The state of corporate reporting in the US
Aeisha Mastagni,
Caitlin McSherry,
Meagen Stack,
Neil Stewart,
Gina Gambetta
- How are US corporates currently approaching sustainability reporting?
- Does corporate reporting in the US meet the needs of investors?
- Will ISSB become the de facto standard for corporate sustainability reporting in the US?
- What assurance are investors asking for on non-financial corporate disclosures?
Moderator: Gina Gambetta, Senior Reporter, Responsible Investor
Aeisha Magstani, Senior Portfolio Manager, Sustainable Investment & Stewardship Strategies, CALSTRS
Caitlin McSherry, Head of Investment Stewardship, Neuberger Berman
Meagen Stack, ESG Reporting, Chevron
Neil Stewart, Director of Corporate Outreach, ISSB/IFRS Foundation
Aeisha Mastagni
Senior Portfolio Manager, Sustainable Investment ＆ Stewardship Strategies, CALSTRS
Read bio
5 Speakers
12:15 - 13:05
Lunch
Plenary
13:05 - 13:25
Keynote - Stewardship: Aligning Strategies, Collaborating Productively
Aeisha Mastagni,
Gina Gambetta
Aeisha Magstani, Senior Portfolio Manager, Sustainable Investment & Stewardship Strategies, CALSTRS
Moderator: Gina Gambetta, Senior Reporter, Responsible Investor
Aeisha Mastagni
Senior Portfolio Manager, Sustainable Investment ＆ Stewardship Strategies, CALSTRS
Read bio
2 Speakers
13:25 - 14:10
Plenary 7: After Exxon: The future of shareholder proposals
Gina Gambetta,
Danielle Fugere,
Heidi Welsh,
Cynthia Simon
- What are the implications for shareholder rights in the US of the Exxon lawsuit?
- What will Trump 2.0 mean for shareholder proposals?
- Will the file-first mentality of shareholders shift towards a more engagement/dialogue-focused approach?
- How can shareholder proposals be used most effectively in a sustainability context?
Moderator: Gina Gambetta, Senior Reporter, Responsible Investor
Cynthia Simon, Policy Director, Shareholder Rights Group
Danielle Fugere, President & Chief Counsel, As You Sow
Heidi Welsh. Executive Director. Sustainable Investments Institute (Si2)
4 Speakers
14:10 - 15:00
Plenary 8: Fiduciary duty in 2024: Operating effectively within a polarized environment
Fran Seegull,
Colin Melvin,
Deborah Ng
- Beyond the politics: What does fiduciary duty look like for a universal owner in 2024?
- Which issues are necessary for a fiduciary to consider? Are some like AMR being overlooked?
- How can a universal owner mitigate systemic risks to portfolios?
- To what extent can sustainability preferences – and outcomes – be factored into fiduciary duty?
Moderator: Fran Seegull, President, U.S. Impact Investing Alliance
Colin Melvin, Founder & Managing Director, Arkadiko Partners
Deborah Ng, Head of ESG and Sustainability, GMO
3 Speakers
14:45 - 14:45
End of conference
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Network at America's leading responsible investment event
Meet America’s sustainability leaders
Network with active asset owners, banks, and insurers in the industry. Benefit from also our expansive and multi-stakeholder community who will be in attendance throughout the conference.
Network in-person in New York
Connect with your peers at interactive workshops, networking breaks, evening drinks reception, roundtable discussions and invite-only breakfasts.
Build valuable connections
Our past attendees included British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, CalPERS, Chicago Teacher’s Pension Fund, Credit Suisse, Office of the New York City Comptroller, Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System, and many others.
Connect with active investors
Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association
New York State Common Retirement Fund
Office of the New York City Comptroller
OMERS
PGGM
Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System
State of New Jersey
Toyota Tsusho Corporate Pension Fund
World Bank Group
AP Pension
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation
Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec
California Public Employees' Retirement System
California State Teachers' Retirement System
Chicago Teacher’s Pension Fund
Government Pension Investment Fund
LifeBank Foundation
Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association
New York State Common Retirement Fund
Office of the New York City Comptroller
OMERS
PGGM
Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System
State of New Jersey
Toyota Tsusho Corporate Pension Fund
World Bank Group
AP Pension
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation
Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec
California Public Employees' Retirement System
California State Teachers' Retirement System
Chicago Teacher’s Pension Fund
Government Pension Investment Fund
LifeBank Foundation
Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association
New York State Common Retirement Fund
Office of the New York City Comptroller
OMERS
PGGM
Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System
State of New Jersey
Toyota Tsusho Corporate Pension Fund
World Bank Group
Be recognised as driving the future of sustainable finance
Responsible Investor USA provides an opportunity to make connections with an exclusive audience of ESG and sustainable finance decision makers. Share your solutions, collaborate and network with senior-level executives through bespoke sponsorship packages to meet your 2025 business goals.
Be recognised as driving the future of sustainable finance to institutional investors in the US
Sponsoring at Responsible Investor global events positions your company at the forefront of key decision-makers and ensures your profile gains a competitive advantage within the industry. Enquire about bespoke sponsorship packages to:
- Align your brand with Responsible Investor’s authoritative content-led event portfolio and be seen as a go-to solution provider for senior ESG and sustainable finance professionals.
- Stand tall amongst your competitors by positioning your company at Responsible Investor USA and embed your brand as a major player to senior institutional investors.
- Raise your profile as a thought leader within the industry to overcome the key challenges within responsible investing.
- Showcase your institutional investor solutions, in-person to new global audiences and generate new business opportunities to achieve your targets.
2024 sponsors included:
Hiroshi Komori
Senior Director, Stewardship & ESG, GPIF
RI events around the world have been beneficial to catch up on ongoing ESG issues and network with great people.
Andrea Palmer
ESG Lead, PGGM
I appreciate the quality of the delegates and the conversations. It’s the go-to venue to gauge developments in ESG integration.
Connect with responsible investment investors
Brookfield Properties
BTG Pactual
CalPERS
Canada Climate Law Initiative
Canada Life
Canada Post Corporation Pension Plan
Canadian Institute for Climate Choices
Capstone Infrastructure
CDPQ
African Development Bank
AGF Investments
AIMCo
Alberta Investment Management Corporation
Allegra Wealth
Allianz Global Investors
Allstate Investments
Alphinity investments
AMP Capital
Aon
Atlantic Bank
Aviva Canada
AXA Investment Managers
Axia Real Assets
Baillie Gifford
Banister & Company
Bank of America
Bank of Canada
Banque Nationale Investissements
BC Pension Corp
BCI
BentallGreenOak
BHP Foundation
BlackRock
BlueOrchard
BMO
BMO Global Asset Management
BNP Paribas
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI)
Brookfield
Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
Brookfield Properties
BTG Pactual
CalPERS
Canada Climate Law Initiative
Canada Life
Canada Post Corporation Pension Plan
Canadian Institute for Climate Choices
Capstone Infrastructure
CDPQ
African Development Bank
AGF Investments
AIMCo
Alberta Investment Management Corporation
Allegra Wealth
Allianz Global Investors
Allstate Investments
Alphinity investments
AMP Capital
Aon
Atlantic Bank
Aviva Canada
AXA Investment Managers
Axia Real Assets
Baillie Gifford
Banister & Company
Bank of America
Bank of Canada
Banque Nationale Investissements
BC Pension Corp
BCI
BentallGreenOak
BHP Foundation
BlackRock
BlueOrchard
BMO
BMO Global Asset Management
BNP Paribas
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI)
Brookfield
Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
Brookfield Properties
BTG Pactual
CalPERS
Canada Climate Law Initiative
Canada Life
Canada Post Corporation Pension Plan
Canadian Institute for Climate Choices
Capstone Infrastructure
CDPQ
Asset owners at RI USA
The Responsible Investor USA conference provides an unrivalled platform for asset owners investing in sustainable finance. In 2024, over 100 asset owners from across the United States gathered to discuss the latest responsible investing trends and compare best practices and allocation strategies for the coming year.
There are a limited number of complimentary passes for the event available for asset owners. Check out the benefits of joining the conference and learn who among your peers attends. Apply for a complimentary pass for you or your team now.
Meet the USA’s leading investor community
Network with leading asset owners from across the region. Past attendees have included CalsTrs, UNJSPF, Wafra, Wespath Investment Management, World Bank Group and more.
Understand investor appetites and allocation preferences
Join your peers as they delve into the latest responsible investment trends and compare best practices and allocation strategies for 2025 and beyond.
Enhance your network
Meet with emerging players and industry veterans to understand the evolving responsible investment landscape. Make the most of dedicated networking breaks, investor-only breakfasts, lunches and more to build your network.
Meet over 100 of North America's leading asset owners, including:
What to expect?
Network with your peers
Enrich your network, build lasting relationships, and exchange valuable perspectives with your investor peers through investor-only breakfasts, networking breaks, lunches and much more.
Gain expert insights
Hear from our industry-leading speaker line-up, discover the latest trends and stay aligned with future innovations in the market.
Stay aligned to developments and opportunities
Discover remarkable investment opportunities and leverage ESG expertise focused on regulation, human rights, biodiversity, net zero and more.
Meet with the best and brightest funds
Connect and arrange one-to-one meetings with the biggest and best ESG managers in the market.
Apply for a complimentary asset owner pass
A limited number of complimentary passes are available for eligible asset owners to join the event.
Complimentary investor passes are limited to foundations, endowments, trusts, insurance companies, single family offices, sovereign wealth funds and pension funds who are actively making fund commitments and do not engage in third-party fundraising activities or collect fees for advisory/consulting services.
Please register your interest and a member of our team will be in touch to confirm your eligibility.
Our leading advisory board in 2023 included:
Ryan McQueeney
Manager, Investments Marketing and Communications, Wespath / Communications Co-Lead, Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance
Björn Aarts
ESG Director, Rabo Investments
Björn Aarts is a dedicated ESG and sustainability expert with over 20 years in finance and investing. Since 2022, he has led ESG & Impact strategy at Rabo Investments, overseeing a global portfolio that includes ventures, private equity, fund-of-funds, co-investments, and corporate venturing. Before joining Rabo Investments, Björn was already active in sustainable finance and the circular economy at Rabobank. He leverages his expertise in advisory roles on several committees, including the Dutch PE Association NVP Responsible Investment Committee , SHIFT Invest and the LP Sustainability Committee at Paine Schwartz Partners NY.
Björn holds an MBA from Nyenrode Business University and has pursued further studies in a.o. Sustainable Business and Leadership at the University of Cambridge and Sustainable Investing at Harvard Business School. His experience, pragmatic approach and drive for results make him a key figure in sustainable investing.
Rabo Investments
Rabo Investments, backed by Rabobank, leverages the bank's strong reputation, credit profile, and global network. As a strategic investor, it utilizes Rabobank's expertise in the global F＆A sector and the Dutch Retail ＆ SME market.
Rabo Investments aims to foster sustainable growth and innovation through its ecosystem of companies and investment funds. By investing in promising start-ups, scale-ups, established companies, and industry-leading funds, it seeks to accelerate the global food system transition, address climate and sustainability challenges, and build a stronger financial ecosystem.
Sarah Bernstein
Managing Principal/ Head of Sustainability, Meketa Investment Group, Inc.
Ms. Bernstein is an institutional investment consultant and has been focused on sustainability issues for over two decades. Ms. Bernstein joined the firm in 2019 as part of the merger between Meketa and Pension Consulting Alliance (PCA). She leads sustainability projects across varying clients and serves as an ongoing member of Meketa’s consulting teams for select clients. Ms. Bernstein chairs Meketa’s Sustainability Committee and is a member of the firm’s Corporate Responsibility Committee and Net Zero Operations Task Force.
Prior to joining PCA in 2002, Ms. Bernstein was an equity analyst with several Wall Street firms, including Kaufman Bros., First Union Capital Markets Corp., and US Bancorp Piper Jaffray. In the July 2000 issue of “Wall Street Journal 1999 Best on the Street,” Ms. Bernstein was named No. 1 for Estimate Accuracy and No. 3 for Stock Picking within the Enterprise Software sector.
Prior to her Wall Street experience, Ms. Bernstein was an economic affairs officer at the United Nations Secretariat where she analyzed investment, productivity, growth, inflation, technological change, and employment in developed market economies for internal UN discussion and publication. In addition, Ms. Bernstein was a vice president with Mantis Holdings, a project director with the Ontario Investment Fund Initiative, and a senior economist with the Cuomo Commission on Competitiveness.
Ms. Bernstein serves as Meketa’s representative on the Investment Consultants Sustainability Working Group – US (ICSWG-US) Steering Committee, represents the ICSWG-US on the ESG Integrated Data Project (ESG IDP), and is a member of the Private Equity Women’s Investor Network (PEWIN). Ms. Bernstein holds the SASB FSA (Fundamentals of Sustainable Accounting) Credential.
Ms. Bernstein earned a Bachelor of Arts in politics from the University of California and a Doctor of Philosophy in economics from the New School for Social Research in New York City.
Meketa Investment Group, Inc.
Meketa Investment Group is an independent, full service investment consulting and advisory firm with offices in Boston, Chicago, London, Miami, Portland, and San Diego. Since 1978, we have provided creative investment solutions custom tailored to fit the unique circumstances of our clients. Our services include Traditional Investment Consulting, Alternative Investments Consulting, and Outsourced CIO services. We work with clients on both a full retainer and project basis, and all of our services are available on a discretionary or non-discretionary basis.
Since the inception of the firm over 45 years ago, we have been guided by the principles of excellence and integrity. We are committed to offering independent advice that is free of conflicts of interest. We work only for our clients and serving our clients’ best interests is our only goal.
Marcel Bucsescu
Vice President, Strategic Engagement, NACD
Marcel Bucsescu is the vice president of strategic engagement for NACD, leading NACD's external engagement and NACD's Fortune 500 Advisory Councils. Previously, he led the NACD Directorship Certification program. Before joining NACD, Bucsescu served as co-program director of The Conference Board's Chief Legal Officers Council for 12 years. He has also served as executive director of the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School. For the last decade, his work has addressed board leadership; environmental, social, and governance issues; risk management; cybersecurity; shareholder activism; and corporate governance with boards and members of the C-suite.
Felipe Carazo
Head of Sustainable Commodities, Tropical Forest Alliance, World Economic Forum
Felipe is passionate about fostering science-based, long-term solutions to the developmental and environmental challenges currently facing our planet, capturing both global and on-the-ground perspectives. He brings along more than twenty years of experience developing and overseeing programs and initiatives addressing policy, governance, financial instruments, impact metrics, capacity building, private-public partnerships, south-south cooperation, resource management, rural development, conservation, human wellbeing, integrated landscape management and climate change.
He currently serves as Head of Sustainable Commodities for the Tropical Forest Alliance housed in the World Economic Forum. In his role, he fosters multi-stakeholder engagement that connects, influence and mainstream good practices into private and public led policy discussions and processes.
Previously he served as Executive Director of Fundecor, a ‘think tank’ that has been instrumental for his native country, Costa Rica, to develop and implement sound forest positive practices. While leading Fundecor, he served as top-level advisor to the Government of Costa Rica. He has also worked at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with diverse sustainability strategies across diverse contexts.
He holds a bachelor´s Degree in Biology from the Universidad de Costa Rica and a master’s degree in environmental management from the Nicholas School of Environment, Duke University (USA), with a mayor in Resource Economics and Policy.
Adelaide Chiu
Vice President, Head of Responsible Investing, NEI Investments
Adelaide Chiu joined NEI Investments as Vice President, Head of Responsible Investing in 2022. Adelaide brings over 20 years of portfolio management experience, having managed equity portfolios at one of Canada’s largest asset managers, as well as at one of Canada’s largest pension plans. She was also involved with establishing the framework for integrating responsible investing into the investment process at both firms and has been a member of their Responsible and Sustainable Investing Committee. Adelaide has also worked in the investment banking division at BMO Nesbitt Burns, as well as at PwC.
Adelaide is a member of the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB) and board director of the Responsible Investment Association (RIA). She also sits on the Technical Committee for Climate Engagement Canada.
She holds a CFA® charter, CPA (Chartered Accountant) designation, and the Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting (FSA) credential. Adelaide graduated the University of Toronto, with a B. Comm (Hons).
NEI Investments
NEI Investments is a Canadian asset manager committed to helping investors achieve their financial goals by forging new paths to performance, powered by foresight and supported by action.
For almost 40 years, we’ve been at the forefront of responsible investing by capitalizing on unseen investment opportunities that help power growth and reduce risk. Our unique approach incorporates a broader set of inputs and considerations to inform intelligent investment decisions for long-term results. We’ve built a global network of 20 sub-advisors, each with distinct areas of expertise across asset classes, geographies and themes – giving us greater access to expertise and innovative products.
NEI Investments is, a subsidiary of Aviso Wealth Inc. ("Aviso"). Aviso is a Canadian financial services company with more than $130 billion in assets. Aviso serves the wealth management needs of virtually all of Canada’s credit unions, as well as a range of independent financial institutions.
Candice Coppere
Head of Climate and Nature Solutions - Product, ISS STOXX
Candice is the Head of Climate and Nature Solutions in the ESG division at ISS STOXX. In this role, she is supporting public and private sector clients with developing solutions to address climate impacts and risks. Prior to this, she worked on ESG Client Solutions and Research, leading on the topic in Asia-Pacific at Truvalue Labs, FactSet, offering ESG expertise to clients integrating sustainability goals into their investment processes, including thematic investing, the valuation process, portfolio construction, risk management, and corporate engagement. Candice has 15 years of experience working with Financial Institutions across Europe and Asia Pacific. Candice holds an MSc in Engineering Physics from Institut National des Sciences Appliquees of Lyon.
Matthew Corbett
Partner – Agriculture, Fiera Comox
Matthew Corbett is a Partner, Agriculture at Fiera Comox. His responsibilities include deal sourcing, portfolio construction and management and relationship with farming partners. Matthew has two decades of experience in the agriculture industry including acquiring and managing agriculture assets in Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Chile, across Europe and in the following sectors: permanent crops, row crops, dairy farming, timber, cattle and aquaculture.
Prior to joining Fiera Comox in 2016, Matthew spent over five years with PSP Investments where he was a founding member of PSP’s global Natural Resources investment group. Matthew undertook nearly C$2 billion of direct investments in timber and agriculture.
Prior to PSP, Matthew worked in a senior role for a forestry company for six years and held operational roles in farming enterprises in Canada. Matthew’s family background is in dairy farming.
Matthew holds an MBA from McGill University and a B.Sc. from Queen’s University.
Fiera Comox
Fiera Comox Partners Inc. is a global investment manager that manages private investment strategies in Agriculture, Timberland, Private Equity and Private Credit with approximately US$3.1 billion in assets under management as at September 30, 2024. Our Agriculture investment strategy, with over US$1.7 billion in assets under management as at September 30, 2024, is dedicated to building a globally diversified portfolio of high-quality agricultural assets, primarily farmland, seeking to generate stable and attractive long-term returns. In partnership with well-regarded local operators, we seek to acquire and consolidate assets in specific sectors and regions primarily in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Western Europe, as well as other developed countries. The investment team is composed of seasoned investment professionals with diverse and complementary expertise who have acquired more than five million acres of agricultural and timber land over the years.
Heather Slavkin Corzo
Principal, Mindset
Heather is a Principal in the Financial Services Practice at Mindset. She joined Mindset earlier this year after working on federal economic policy in DC for more than 15 years. During that time, Heather has been deeply involved in many major policy initiatives coming out of Washington such as the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, Dodd-Frank, the JOBS Act, and the CARES Act.
Prior to Mindset, Heather worked at the SEC where she advised Chair Gensler on rulemakings and other regulatory issues. She oversaw many of the marquee policy initiatives that came out of the SEC during her tenure such as the climate disclosure rule, the mutual fund names rule and cyber risk disclosure.
Before joining the SEC, Heather was the Director of Capital Markets Policy at the AFL-CIO, Head of U.S. Policy at the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, and a Senior Fellow at Americans for Financial Reform.
Wendy Cromwell
Head of Sustainable Investment, Wellington Management
Wendy is the Vice Chair and Head of Sustainable Investment, setting the research agenda and strategy for the firm’s sustainable investment practice. As vice chair, she is a senior member of the firm’s Management Team and works with the CEO on strategic initiatives and external affairs of the organization.
Wendy serves as Chair of the Wellington Management Australia Board, Vice Chair of the Sustainable Investment Governance Committee, and a member of the firm’s Investment Stewardship Committee. She is also a Director on the Board of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, an advisory group member for the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, a member of the investor advisory group of the ISSB, and a member of the Climate-related Financial Risk Advisory Committee (CFRAC) of the Financial Services Oversight Committee (FSOC) in the US.
Previously, Wendy conducted research on long-term multi-asset themes and led the development of multi-asset portfolios for the firm’s global client base as the Director of Global Multi-Asset Strategies. She has also served terms on the Executive Committee, Compensation Committee, Hedge Fund Review Group, and Equity Review Group.
Wendy received her MBA, with honors, from Vanderbilt University and her BBA, summa cum laude, from the University of Mississippi. She also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Bethany Davis Noll
Executive Director, The State Energy & Environmental Impact Centre at NYU School of Law
Bethany Davis Noll is an expert in administrative and environmental law and an experienced litigator. She is an adjunct professor at NYU Law. Prior to joining the Center, she was Litigation Director at the Institute for Policy Integrity, where she wrote articles, led amicus briefing in cases challenging the Trump administration’s rollbacks of environmental and other rules, and ran Policy Integrity’s “Roundup: Trump-Era Agency Policy in the Courts.” She was co-chair of the Environmental Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association from 2020 to 2023. She previously served as Assistant Solicitor General in the New York State Attorney General’s Office, where she filed briefs in major environmental cases in the Supreme Court and earned the Louis J. Lefkowitz Memorial Award for her work. Bethany was also an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and served as a clerk for the Honorable Chester J. Straub in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and for the Honorable Shira A. Scheindlin in the District Court for the Southern District of New York. Bethany received a J.D. with distinction from Stanford Law School and a B.A., magna cum laude, from Barnard College.
The State Energy & Environmental Impact Centre at NYU School of Law
The State Energy & Environmental Impact Center is a nonpartisan academic center at NYU School of Law. The State Impact Center is dedicated to working towards a healthy and safe environment, guided by inclusive and equitable principles. The State Impact Center studies and supports: (1) the work of state attorneys general in defending, enforcing, and promoting strong laws and policies in the areas of climate, environmental justice, environmental protection, and clean energy; and (2) the work of state utility regulators in advancing affordable, reliable, equitable, clean energy.
Sofia De La Parra
Investor Outreach Manager, FAIRR Initiative
Sofía De La Parra is an Investor Outreach Manager at the FAIRR Initiative. She is responsible for strengthening and expanding FAIRR’s investor network. Sofía leads FAIRR’s outreach work in the United States and collaborates on outreach in other global markets. She works closely with investor members to integrate material ESG issues and develop sustainable food systems as a key priority.
Prior to this, Sofia led the Sustainable Proteins collaborative engagement, which targeted 23 food companies and had 84 investor signatories with $23 AUM. Before joining FAIRR in March 2021, she led the project finance venture at Naked Energy Ltd, a clean-tech start-up. Sofía also worked as a Rating Analyst at S&P Global, following Latin American companies across different industries, including retail, consumer products and building materials.
Sofía holds an MSc (Distinction) in Climate Change, Management and Finance from Imperial College London and a first-class BA in International Business Management from Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de Mexico. She also holds a CFA certificate in ESG Investing.
FAIRR Initiative
The FAIRR Initiative (FAIRR) is a collaborative investor network that raises awareness of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities in the global food sector. Our mission is to build a global network of investors who are aware of the issues linked to intensive animal production and seek to minimise the risks within the broader food system.
We focus our efforts on providing high quality Research, facilitating collaborative Engagements and coordinating Policy action for our members. We make sure we do the heavy lifting for investors, so that they can focus on exercising their influence, as responsible stewards of capital, while safeguarding the long-term value of their investment portfolios. With over 370 members globally, representing over $70 trillion in combined assets, we are the world’s fastest-growing ESG network.
Lance Dial
Partner, K＆L Gates
Lance Dial is a partner and a member of the Asset Management and Investment Funds practice. Lance has experience advising asset managers and broker-dealers in all areas of the business. He has worked with all product types, including mutual funds, ETFs, money market funds, private funds, and bank-maintained collective pools. In addition, Lance advises clients on compliance and regulatory matters under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, ERISA, and other related federal securities laws.
Lance has significant experience with the regulation of marketing and advertising of investment products, integration and marketing of Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) investment products and trading and market structure issues. He has worked extensively on regulatory policy matters with various financial services regulators, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission, US Department of Labor, Internal Revenue Service, and US Department of Treasury.
K＆L Gates
K＆L Gates is a fully integrated global law firm with over 2,000 lawyers in 48 offices across 5 continents. Our lawyers collaborate across practices and global jurisdictions to analyze market trends and legal developments to meet the needs of our client base. With a truly global footprint and deep understanding of the needs of both fund managers and institutional investors, our Asset Management and Investment Funds (AMIF) practice is perfectly situated to help clients navigate the challenges and emerging opportunities introduced by ESG investing and regulation.
The AMIF practice covers many disciplines that require highly specialized knowledge and experience, including ESG integration, impact investing, stewardship and engagement programs, and providing tailored, regional insights. Registered investment companies, business development companies, registered investment advisers, fund managers, impact managers, and issuers are among the clients we serve in this area. For decades, our integrated practice has helped clients launch, manage, and invest in funds and strategies with characteristics across the ESG spectrum.
K＆L Gates is recognized globally as a top ranked financial services practice by leading legal and business publications, including Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500, U.S. News-Best Lawyers®, Fund Intelligence, and ETF Express.
Matthew Diserio
Co-Founder & President, Water Asset Management
Jim Egan
Co-Head of Securitized Products Research, Morgan Stanley
Jim Egan is a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley where he is the US Housing Strategist and Co-Head of Securitized Products Strategy. In addition to US Housing, he focuses on securitized credit markets including Non-Agency RMBS and CMBS, ABS, and CLOs. Prior to working in research, Jim worked as a trader in Morgan Stanley’s Securitized Products Group. Jim joined Morgan Stanley in 2008.
Thomas Englerth
Associate Director, Sustainable Finance, S&P Global Ratings
Thomas Englerth is an Associate Director in S＆P Global Rating’s Sustainable Finance practice focused on ESG analysis, sustainable finance market engagement, and supporting the integration of ESG considerations into credit analysis.
Thomas joined S＆P in June 2017 and was a member of S＆P Global Ratings’ governance team, covering matters of corporate governance across non-financial and financial corporates. Since joining the sustainable finance team, Thomas has been involved in the development and roll-out of of new products, including the Climate Transition Assessment, ESG Evaluation, and supporting efforts on Second-Party Opinions.
Thomas holds a B.A. in International Business Management from Goucher College and a J.D. from New York Law School.
Tom Ferguson
Managing Partner, Burnt Island Ventures
Tom is the Managing Partner of Burnt Island Ventures, an early stage venture fund focused exclusively on the water sector. Their first $30m fund was invested in 18 companies, supporting founders building solutions across the water value chain, from industrial wastewater treatment to utility software. They are currently investing out of their second fund (target of $50m), with five deals complete. He holds an MA (Hons) from the University of Edinburgh and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Burnt Island Ventures
Burnt Island Ventures was founded in 2020 to find, fund, and support the best water entrepreneurs in the world, filling a clear gap in the $1.4 trillion industry's funding structure. The team deployed their oversubscribed $30m Fund I across 18 companies. Fund II (seed stage) and Opportunity Fund I (early growth stage) will make 11 investments in 2024, making BIV the most active early stage investor in water. The team has deep specialized water expertise, and BIV has built market-leading investment support infrastructure through the BIV Platform. Learn more about our work here.
Jamie Franco
Global Head of Sustainable Investment, TCW Group
Ms. Franco is the Global Head of Sustainable Investment. In this role, she heads the Sustainable Investment Group and is responsible for leading TCW’s sustainable investing efforts, including ESG integration across the firm’s investment platform and business strategy. She is also responsible for sustainable investment and ESG integration within fixed income sectors. Before assuming her current role, she was a Senior Account Manager and Fixed Income Product Specialist within the Client Services group. Before joining TCW in 2014, Ms. Franco spent over a decade at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C., serving in several roles, including as Senior Advisor to Treasury Leadership in both the domestic and international divisions, International Economist, and Deputy Director of the International Banking and Securities Markets Office. Ms. Franco was also an Advisor to the U.S. Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund for several years. Ms. Franco holds a BA in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University and an MA in International Economics from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Additionally, she holds Series 7 and 63 FINRA licenses.
TCW Group
TCW is a leading global asset management firm with more than five decades of investment experience and a broad range of products across fixed income, equities, emerging markets, and alternative investments. TCW’s clients include many of the world’s largest corporate and public pension plans, financial institutions, endowments and foundations, as well as financial advisors, and high net worth individuals. As of September 30, 2024, TCW had total assets under management, including commitments, of $203 billion. TCW is headquartered in Los Angeles, and has offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, London, Milan, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Sydney.
Lara Fornabaio
Senior Legal Researcher, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Lara Fornabaio is a Senior Legal Researcher at CCSI, focusing on sustainable investment in land, agriculture, and food systems. Prior to joining CCSI, she worked at the environmental law charity ClientEarth, where she led the work on agriculture and food systems and managed a team responsible for the delivery of a broad portfolio of projects on clean air, water, and soil. She has extensive experience in designing advocacy strategies at the European Union level and in bringing legal challenges aimed at better implementation and enforcement of environmental laws.
She holds an LLM from the University of Torino (Italy) and a PhD in EU Food Law from the University of Ferrara (Italy). She carried out research as a visiting scholar at Wageningen University (The Netherlands), the University of Nantes (France), and the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law (Switzerland). She has researched in a variety of legal and multidisciplinary domains, from EU food and environmental law to governance studies and indigenous law and methodology.
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, a joint center of the Law and Climate Schools at Columbia University, is a world-renowned applied research center and forum dedicated to the study, practice, and discussion of sustainable international investment. It focuses on the legal, regulatory, and ethical standards that shape public and private investments, with an emphasis on reforms needed to align capital and investment flows with sustainable development needs. CCSI engages in all dimensions of investment policy, including national and corporate transition planning, investment decision-making, public and private financial markets, regulatory standards, investment treaties, and investor practices, among others.
CCSI approaches its research and engagements holistically, embracing and engaging with complex systems, and it takes an iterative approach to its work that combines rigorous research with technical support, training programs and advisory work that help partners translate vision into action. Its team has diverse regional, legal, thematic, and sectoral expertise.
Jamison Friedland
Senior Sustainability Analyst, AXA Investment Managers
Jamison is a Senior Sustainability Analyst with AXA IM. Prior to joining AXA IM in 2022, Jamison was an Impact Associate at Developing World Markets. He also spent time working in the Climate Business Department at the International Finance Corporation and prior to that was a Senior Fixed Income Trader at Traditum Group LLC for over 9 years. Jamison holds a B.S. from Northwestern University and an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business.
Danielle Fugere
President & Chief Counsel, As You Sow
Danielle Fugere, President & Chief Counsel, leads As You Sow’s program teams in creating lasting social and environmental change through shareholder advocacy and legal initiatives. She brings an in-depth knowledge of clean energy, sustainability, and team building to her work.
Danielle previously served as Executive Director of the Environmental Law Foundation, focusing on environmental health and water protection; as Western Regional Program Director for national nonprofit Friends of the Earth, she spearheaded innovative climate change strategies and directed campaigns to promote sustainable alternative energies and fuels.
Through her work, Danielle has been instrumental in securing industry conversions to environmentally sound technologies and securing compliance with environmental laws. She holds a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and a B.A. in Political Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.
As You Sow
As You Sow is the nation’s non-profit leader in shareholder advocacy. Founded in 1992, we harness shareholder power to create lasting change by protecting human rights, reducing toxic waste, and aligning investments with values.
Gina Gambetta
Senior Reporter, Responsible Investor
Gina is a senior reporter for Responsible Investor, writing across a range of topics including nature, social issues, EU and Canadian regulation, and investor stewardship efforts. Since joining Responsible Investor in 2020, she has won awards for her contribution to the field, including Aviva Investors' Best Contribution to Sustainability Journalism 2023 award, as well as being named Willis Towers Watson's Sustainable Investment Journalist of the Year in 2023.
Sarika Goel
Global Head Sustainable Investment Research, Mercer
Sarika Goel is Global Head of Sustainable Investment Research at Mercer where she has led the development and evolution of Mercer’s approach to integration and stewardship across asset classes. In her role, she provides direction and leadership to Mercer’s Manager Research team for sustainable investment and ESG research across asset classes, including coverage of investment strategies targeting sustainability, transition and impact investing. She works closely with clients in helping them to structure portfolios with a sustainable investment focus.
Sarika holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and is a CFA charterholder.
Ekaterina Grigoryeva
Former Environment and Social Development Specialist (Global Lead, Financial Sector), The World Bank
Ekaterina has nearly 20 years of experience helping financial institutions globally to integrate environmental and social dimensions into their operations, both from ESG risk and sustainable finance opportunities standpoints. Throughout her two-decades long career in sustainable finance and ESG, she held various roles at the World Bank and International Finance Corporation covering ESG strategy, policy, standards and frameworks, investment due diligence, research and innovation. She played a vital role in designing World Bank’s own corporate environmental and social standards, policies and procedures.
In her last role, she delivered global leadership in sustainable finance by integrating ESG risk management structures into World Bank’s financial sector lending portfolio and building capacity of financial institutions across 5 global regions and over 40 countries to strengthen their ESG strategies and systems. This was achieved through extensive investment client engagement with ministries of finance and economy, central banks, regional and national development banks, commercial banks, private equity and venture capital funds, housing market lenders, special purpose vehicles, sustainable energy, transport, and water development entities to ensure full integration of environmental and social sustainability into commercial financial sector lending operations and public-private partnerships.
Ekaterina also has a solid track record of foundational work that shaped sustainability and ESG as a distinct field within the international banking and investment industry since its inception. For example, she authored pioneering research on banking and sustainability and served on the steering committees and governance bodies of several multi-stakeholder sustainable finance initiatives that brought together banks and investors around solving global challenges (climate, biodiversity/ natural capital, sustainable supply chains etc.), such as Natural Capital Finance Alliance. The Alliance was the foundation upon which current major initiatives are built, such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
Ekaterina holds a PhD in Economics, an MBA from the University of Ottawa, Canada, and a degree in business and commerce from Uppsala University in Sweden.
Nikki Gwilliam-Beeharee
Investor Engagement Lead, World Benchmarking Alliance
Nikki is the Investor Engagement Strategic Lead at the World Benchmarking Alliance. In this role, Nikki works with asset managers, asset owners and key actors across the investment industry to tackle corporate accountability and accelerate sustainable transformations. Previously she worked as the Director of ESG Research at Invesco, a large Asset Manager, where she partnered with fund managers and investment analysts on ESG integration and corporate engagement across regions and asset classes. Nikki started her career as an ESG analyst and before Invesco, she was Director of Research team at Vigeo Eiris, a global ESG Rating Agency. Nikki holds an MA in Human Rights from the University of Sussex, a BA in Economics and Social Anthropology from the University of Manchester, and has attained the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments (CISI) certificate on the ‘Introduction to Securities and Investment’.
Sireen Hajj
Director of Investor Outreach, US SIF
Sireen recently joined US SIF as the Director of Investor Outreach. In her role she is responsible for engaging with the investment community to support the SIF’s mission to advance sustainable investing practices across the financial sector. Prior to joining the US SIF, she served as associate director at Morningstar’s Sustainalytics where she was part of the Global Client Relations team managing the customer experience and business development efforts for a number of institutional clients. Additionally, Sireen has a strong background in US economics and capital markets where she worked for several global banks. Sireen earned her Master’s of Business Administration from Fordham University and her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Anthropology from the American University of Beirut.
Greer Howard-Tabah
Vice President, Oaktree Capital
Ms. Howard-Tabah is a vice president in the ESG group and focuses on ESG integration in the investment process. She also leads the firm’s Sustainability Network. Prior to joining Oaktree in 2022, Ms. Howard-Tabah spent six years at Morgan Stanley in ESG capital markets and investment grade credit trading. She received a B.A. in economics summa cum laude from Middlebury College. Ms. Howard-Tabah holds the CFA Institute Certificate in ESG investing.
Andrew Howell
Senior Director - Sustainable Finance, EDF
Andrew Howell is Senior Director of Sustainable Finance at EDF, where he is responsible for engaging with the investor community to help accelerate the energy transition. He works on a range of sectors including oil & gas, petrochemicals, transportation and natural climate solutions. Previously, Andrew was an equity research analyst with Citi Research for nearly two decades, where he led a top ranked research team focused on emerging and frontier markets. Andrew has also worked at the Emerging Markets Investors Alliance, where he led investor ESG engagements in the mining and energy sectors. Andrew attended the University of Pennsylvania and Insead, holds the CFA and Fundamentals of Sustainable Accounting (FSA) designations, and is fluent in French and Russian.
Jacob H. Hupart
Co-Chair of ESG Practice, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, P.C.
Jacob has a multifaceted litigation practice that encompasses complex commercial litigation, securities litigation, including class action claims, as well as white collar criminal defense and regulatory investigations. As Co-Chair of the ESG Practice Group, and a trusted strategic partner to his clients, Jacob excels at advising companies in a multitude of industries on their ESG disclosures and policies and managing the related risk exposure.
His complex commercial litigation practice encompasses contract disputes, merger-related litigation and business tort claims for a multitude of companies, ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 conglomerates. Jacob also has extensive experience representing corporations, directors & officers of boards, c-suite executives, and other relevant individuals in shareholder derivative actions, securities class actions, and SEC enforcement proceedings. He is adept at handling all phases of litigation before federal and state courts, managing discovery, and conducting settlement negotiations and has represented clients in a variety of industries, including financial services, energy, healthcare, education, and the media.
Jacob is a prolific thought leader who frequently writes and publishes articles on the legal and regulatory issues impacting ESG disclosures, climate change, and pending environmental litigations.
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky ＆ Popeo, P.C.
Mintz is a litigation powerhouse and business accelerator serving leaders in life sciences, private equity, energy, and technology. The world’s most innovative companies trust Mintz to provide expert advice, protect and monetize their IP, negotiate deals, source financing, and solve complex legal challenges. The firm has over 600 attorneys across offices in Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Washington, DC, San Francisco, San Diego, and Toronto.
Tom Idzal
Head of Americas, GRESB
Tom Idzal is a Fintech industry leader with over 25 years of experience. At GRESB, Tom is responsible for the Americas region, providing strategic direction and team management, and developing GTM plans across North and South America.
Matthew Illian
Director of Responsible Investing, United Church Funds
Matthew Illian is Director of Responsible Investing at United Church Funds which is a financial ministry related to the United Church of Christ. Matthew is co-host of the Just Investing podcast and leads UCF's stewardship work. He also supports the investment team to ensure UCF’s values, including manager diversity, are being applied by over a dozen external investment managers. Matthew did his undergraduate work at the University of Virginia and received a Master’s degree in Finance from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. Matthew serves on the ICCR Advancing Worker’s Justice leadership team and the PRI Asset Owner Technical Advisory Committee.
Chris Janiec
Americas Editor, Agri Investor
Chris Janiec is Americas Editor at Agri Investor. Based in New York, Janiec coordinates coverage of private investment into global food and agriculture with colleagues in London. Previously, Janiec covered non-bank capital markets for PEI’s Private Debt Investor, taught international relations and US foreign policy at China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing and worked as an analyst of petroleum and shipping markets in New York.
Agri Investor is the dedicated source of insight and intelligence for private investment in agribusiness and agriculture globally. It is relevant to institutional investors, asset managers, advisors and operators focused on agri investment.
Adam Kanzer
Head of Stewardship, Americas, BNP Paribas Asset Management
George Kelly
CEO, Earth Recovery Partners
Mr. Kelly is a graduate of Tulane University (B.A.) and a cum laude JD and MSL (Masters in Environmental Law) graduate of the Vermont Law School. He is currently serving as the CEO of Earth Recovery Partners, LLC, a firm that mobilizes enterprises and projects to solve the world’s environmental problems through nature-based solutions, environmental markets, and technology. ERP provides three types of offerings: strategic partnership support, a hub for investment and incubation services.
He has over 25 years of experience with project development and finance in the environmental market context and has permitted and sold over $250m of environmental credits in the United States relating to water quality, wetlands, streams, stormwater and endangered species. He has worked with numerous resource agencies, landowners, municipalities, investors and private and public credit buyers in the implementation of mitigation and performance-based restoration projects. He has worked on numerous resource mitigation projects; negotiated and implemented mitigation banking instruments in Maryland, Idaho, Montana, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, California and Florida; and drafted and negotiated land deals with over 100 landowners for resource mitigation projects. He has been a leader in promoting new polices at the federal, state and international levels relating to market-based solutions to achieve environmental objectives, including working on the US wetland mitigation rules enacted in June 2008. Mr. Kelly served on the Board for almost ten years and was elected as the President of the National Mitigation Banking Association (US) in 2009. He was appointed by the USEPA Secretary to serve on EPA’s Environmental Finance Advisory Board (2020-2024). Additionally, he was appointed to serve on the Business and Biodiversity Offsets Program (BBOP), the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Nutrient Trading Task Force, the Advisory Committee to the Water Quality Fund for the Chesapeake Bay, the National Water Quality Trading Alliance.
He served as the Chief Markets Officer from 2014-2019 and as a Strategic Advisor to the Board of Resource Environmental Solutions (RES) (2019-2021). RES was acquired by private equity firm, KKR, in 2016. Prior to joining RES, Mr. Kelly was the founder and director for Environmental Banc & Exchange, LLC (EBX) from 1997 to 2014. EBX was acquired by RES in 2014. In addition, he served as partner and member of the Environmental Law Group at the firm, Ober, Kaler, Grimes and Shriver from 1987 to 1997.
Earth Recovery Partners
Earth Recovery Partners mobilizes enterprises and projects to solve the world’s environmental problems. We provide three types of offerings: 1. Strategic Partnerships by developing revenue streams and markets as well as supporting organizational governance and growth through advisory services and performance-based solutions; 2. Hub for Investment by aggregating capital for right-sized and customized investments in companies and projects, building on our expertise and network; and 3. Incubation by building enterprises in high-potential markets that solve major environmental problems, leveraging our extensive industry network and experience. The focus is on nature-based solutions, environmental markets and technology relating to biodiversity, carbon and water sectors. We support public and private enterprises in unlocking the inherent value of ecosystems through protection, sustainable management and/or restoration. We advance projects and enterprises that utilize market-based solutions, such as habitat banking, biodiversity credits, carbon credits, nutrient trading, stormwater trading, renewable energy portfolio requirements, carbon taxes and low carbon fuel standards to achieve environmental objectives. We also advance technology such as satellite intelligence, remote sensing, digital monitoring, eDNA, distributed ledgers, data tracking analytics and compliance monitoring to address environmental challenges.
Our current representative work includes raising capital for companies involved with habitat banking sales and purchases worldwide, oyster and shellfish restoration, livestock waste recovery, alternative crop systems, Biochar, circular waste, AI embedded cameras for human-wildlife conflict and precision agriculture, satellite intelligence for water quality, stormwater harvesting, nutrient reduction technologies, carbon market infrastructure, and biodiversity credit delivery. We also served as advisors on diverse issues, such as: water scarcity in the west, conservation finance in the Chesapeake Bay, water rights markets, carbon capture and storage, voluntary carbon and biodiversity credits, stream and wetland restoration, the USEPA Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, sustainable grazing, environmental asset management on large-scale lands, post land-use mining lands, block chain for environmental markets, indigenous protected and conserved lands, auditing of species offset banks and developing species offsets for pesticide registration.
Gwen Le Berre
Head of Responsible Investment, Parametric Porfolio Associates
Gwen leads the Responsible Investing Team, with a focus on active ownership and portfolio construction. Prior to joining Parametric in 2019, Gwen was the director of investment stewardship at Charles Schwab Investment Management, where she spearheaded corporate governance initiatives. She also spent over a decade as the vice president for corporate governance and responsible investment at BlackRock. She’s a member of the Council of Institutional Investors, where she served as chair of the Corporate Governance Advisory Council in 2018. Gwen also served as a Mentorship Committee member for the San Francisco chapter of Women in ETFs, and she is a member of the Stanford Institutional Investor Forum.
Andrew Lee
Managing Director, Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing, UBS Global Wealth Management
Andrew joined UBS Global Wealth Management's Chief Investment Office in 2012 and is Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing. He and his teams are responsible for the thought leadership, strategy, data and frameworks that enable clients to invest for sustainability and impact across asset classes. Andrew also oversees the sustainable and inclusive investing solutions team for the Americas. Prior to his current role, he was Deputy Global Head of the CIO Ultra High Net Worth / Alternatives / Sustainable and Impact Investing group, with specific responsibility for the impact investing and private markets teams. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and has been quoted in various publications including Barron’s, Bloomberg, Reuters, the Financial Times, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Andrew represents UBS on the Advisory Board for the Operating Principles for Impact Management and is a member of the ImpactAssets50 Review Committee, the Impact Capital Managers LP Advisory Council and other industry advisory groups. Andrew is a Managing Director based in New York.
Prior to joining UBS, Andrew was Managing Director overseeing investments for a private New York based single family office. In this capacity, he was responsible for managing asset allocation, theme development, due diligence and execution of all direct and indirect investments for the family investment vehicles. Previously, Andrew was part of a long/short equity hedge fund team at Deutsche Asset Management. Before this, he worked at Lazard in the generalist banking (M&A) and real estate private equity groups.
Andrew has a MBA from the Wharton School and an AB from Harvard College.
UBS Global Wealth Management
UBS Global Wealth Management (GWM) is a leading division of UBS Group AG, one of the world's largest and most respected financial institutions. With a history dating back to 1862, UBS has a strong global presence, and its Global Wealth Management division plays a critical role in its operations by offering wealth management services to high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals, families, and institutions.
Kay Makishi
Vice President, Lupoff/Stevens Family Office
Kay Makishi is VP at Lupoff/Stevens Family Office, a single family office based in NYC, advising the founder/principal in investing into impact-oriented early-stage VC funds and founders. She is also an ambassador for Invest Tokyo and advisor to various startups.
Kay is a former founder funded by the European Union Entrepreneurs Program with 10+ years in growth roles for Fortune 500s and startups backed by Sequoia, ICONIQ, and others. She is a graduate from Oxford University and based in NYC.
Claudia Martínez
Director of Research, Access to Medicine Foundation
Claudia is the Director of Research at the Access to Medicine Foundation, where she leads research teams and drives strategic development of key projects. Her work focuses on engaging pharmaceutical industry stakeholders to improve access to essential health products in low- and middle-income countries. She frequently represents the Foundation at international forums, and her insights are featured in global publications.
Claudia has experience in both the private and non-profit sectors, having held roles in research and advisory positions. Prior to joining the Foundation, she was Research Manager & Health Policy Lead at a London-based think tank, and a Senior Research & Innovation Specialist at the UK’s largest social housing provider. In these roles, she focused on health policy, social care, and technology-enabled care for vulnerable populations.
Claudia holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Chile and an MSc in Environment, Politics & Globalisation from King’s College London.
Aeisha Mastagni
Senior Portfolio Manager, Sustainable Investment ＆ Stewardship Strategies, CALSTRS
Aeisha Mastagni is a portfolio manager in the Sustainable Investment and Stewardship Strategies unit of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the largest educator-only pension fund in the world. She is responsible for working with a dedicated team to further CalSTRS’ mission of securing the financial future and sustaining the trust of California’s public educators. Aeisha is part of the team that oversees the Sustainable Investment Portfolio and leads CalSTRS’ stewardship efforts, which include proxy voting, corporate engagement and working with regulatory authorities on market-wide issues. In 2012, Aeisha joined the board of directors at Golden 1 Credit Union, one of the nation’s largest credit unions with more than $14 billion in assets and over 1 million members. In 2015, she joined the board of the Council of Institutional Investors, whose mission is to be the leading voice for effective corporate governance.
Before joining CalSTRS, Aeisha worked in the Corporate Governance unit of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System for six years, overseeing the proxy voting program and the corporate governance manager portfolio. Aeisha has a bachelor’s degree in economics from California State University, Sacramento.
CalSTRS
CalSTRS provides a secure retirement to more than 1 million members and beneficiaries whose CalSTRS-covered service is not eligible for Social Security participation. On average, members who retired in 2022–23 had 25 years of service and a monthly benefit of $5,141. Established in 1913, CalSTRS is the largest educator-only pension fund in the world with $346.5 billion in assets under management as of August 31, 2024. CalSTRS demonstrates its strong commitment to long-term sustainability principles in its annual Sustainability Report.
Samantha McCafferty
Associate Director - Sustainable Investing, Harvard Management Company
Samantha McCafferty is an Associate Director at Harvard Management Company (HMC) where she manages the firm’s ESG integration and net zero efforts for the $51B endowment. Harvard University was the first U.S. university endowment to sign the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment in 2014 and, in 2020, became one of the first university endowment to commit to a net zero investment portfolio by 2050. She joined HMC in 2011 and worked on the compliance team before shifting her focus to sustainable investing. Samantha is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and is a Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional (CRCP) from the FINRA Institute at Wharton.
Brenden McEneaney
Senior Vice President, JLL
Brenden leads business development for JLL’s Sustainability work with commercial real estate investors. He has more than 20 years of experience in built environment sustainability across public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Prior to joining JLL, Brenden led consulting work at Integral Group, the global leader in Net Zero Energy design engineering. Previously, Brenden help leadership positions with the US Green Building Council and the Urban Land Institute, developing programs on climate adaptation, healthy buildings, and decarbonization. Earlier in his career, Brenden led the Green Building Program at the City of Santa Monica. There he developed one of the first green building codes, that became the basis for the statewide green building code that is used today.
JLL
For over 200 years, JLL (NYSE: JLL), a leading global commercial real estate and investment management company, has helped clients buy, build, occupy, manage and invest in a variety of commercial, industrial, hotel, residential and retail properties. A Fortune 500® company with annual revenue of $20.8 billion and operations in over 80 countries around the world, our more than 110,000 employees bring the power of a global platform combined with local expertise. Driven by our purpose to shape the future of real estate for a better world, we help our clients, people and communities SEE A BRIGHTER WAY℠.
Ashley McNamee
Partner, Responsible Investment, Revelstoke Capital Partners
Prior to joining Revelstoke, Ms. McNamee was a Senior Director with Alvarez & Marsal’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Services practice in Denver. Ms. McNamee brings 15 years of experience in ESG disclosures, performance metrics, report development, investor positioning, stakeholder engagement and communications. Prior to A&M, she was the founding ESG practice lead for Lumen ESG. She also spent six years at Whiting Petroleum as the Director of Communications and Corporate Responsibility and Chief of Staff to the CEO. Prior to her work at Whiting, she had a 9-year career in broadcast journalism with NBC, CNN and MSNBC.
Ms. McNamee holds Bachelors’ degrees in Journalism and Political Science from Arizona State University. She also attended Harvard University’s Sustainability Leadership Program in 2021.
Caitlin McSherry
Head of Investment Stewardship, Neuberger Berman
Caitlin McSherry is a Managing Director and Head of Investment Stewardship at Neuberger Berman. In this capacity, she leads the firm’s work on issuer engagement and corporate governance across the investment platform, oversees the firm’s proxy voting guidelines, and provides thought leadership on active ownership and ESG topics. Prior to joining Neuberger Berman in 2020, she was a Vice President and ESG analyst on the Asset Stewardship team at State Street Global Advisors where she was responsible for developing and implementing the firm’s proxy voting guidelines and led engagements with management and board members on ESG issues. Previously, Caitlin worked in the energy sector where she managed the development of utility-scale renewable energy projects and crafted environmental liability risk management strategies. Caitlin earned a BA in Environmental Studies from Northeastern University and an MA in Sustainability and Environmental Management from the Harvard Extension School. Caitlin holds the SASB FSA credential.
Neuberger Berman
Neuberger Berman is an employee-owned, private, independent investment manager founded in 1939 with over 2,800 employees in 26 countries. The firm manages $509 billion of equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate and hedge fund portfolios for global institutions, advisors and individuals. Neuberger Berman’s investment philosophy is founded on active management, fundamental research and engaged ownership. The PRI identified the firm as part of the Leader’s Group, a designation awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in environmental, social and governance practices. Neuberger Berman has been named by Pensions & Investments as the #1 or #2 Best Place to Work in Money Management for each of the last 10 years (firms with more than 1,000 employees). Visit www.nb.com for more information.
Data as of September 30, 2024.
Saumya Mehrotra
Product Management Team, ISS STOXX
As part of the Index Product Management team, Saumya Mehrotra is responsible for managing the product roadmap for STOXX’s suite of sustainability-linked indices. In her role, Saumya also focuses on client engagement, market and regulatory intelligence, and thematic research linked to sustainable investment.
Saumya previously worked at the Principles for Responsible Investment where she helped develop PRI’s presence amongst US based asset owners and investment managers. She later worked as a Stewardship Specialist in the PRI’s Climate team.
Based in New York, Saumya holds an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University. She has prior experience in energy policy analysis at the Climate Institute, and WWF on capacity building for sustainable development programs in critical forest landscapes in India.
Radhika Mehrotra
Associate Director of Capital Markets, North America, CDP
Radhika Mehrotra is the Associate Director of Capital Markets for CDP North America. Radhika leads on capital markets engagement for CDP North America and is responsible for driving financial institutions’ interactions with CDP data through portfolio assessment tools, corporate engagement and thought leadership opportunities. She is also leading the development of a disclosure and data solution for private market investors.
Colin Melvin
Founder ＆ Managing Director, Arkadiko Partners
Colin Melvin is a thought leader and agent for positive change, who has been at the forefront of global developments in corporate leadership, stewardship and sustainability and responsible asset management for over twenty years. He has international experience from the investor and corporate perspectives in developing and challenging strategy, promoting effective risk management and corporate governance and creating well-aligned incentives.
He is Founder and Managing Director of Arkadiko Partners. He is also an Honorary Professor in the School of Social Sciences at Heriot Watt University, an External Lecturer at Bayes Business School, an External Lecturer at Copenhagen Business School and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Previously, he was Non-Executive Chair of InfluenceMap, a member of the InfluenceMap Advisory Board and Advisory Council at The Inclusive Capitalism Programme on Purposeful Ownership, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
Until November 2016 he was Global Head of Stewardship at Hermes Investment Management and between 2004 and January 2016 Chief Executive of Hermes EOS, the world’s largest stewardship service, which he founded. He was formerly Head of Responsible Investment at Baillie Gifford, a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, a Board Member and Chair of the Principles for Responsible Investment, Chair of Social Stock Exchange, Chair of Future-Fit Foundation, a Member of the Corporate Advisory Group at The Future of the Corporation, British Academy and a Member of the 30% Club Investor Group. Between 2008 and 2013 he was a non-executive director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at Aedas, an architectural firm.
He has a strong network of contacts at the most senior levels within the world's largest investment institutions and listed companies. He is an expert in building trust and adding value to boards in industries with stakeholder challenges having worked with many companies to improve their relationships and performance. He has a strong ability to steer complex and sensitive situations to positive action.
Colin qualified as a fund manager in 1996 and is and member of the CFA Institute. He holds an MA from Aberdeen University and an MPhil from Cambridge University, both in History, and Diplomas in Investment Analysis from Stirling University and Company Directorship from the Institute of Directors.
Arkadiko Partners
Arkadiko Partners is a strategy consultancy founded in 2017 to enable its clients to develop and implement a sustainable approach to their business and asset allocation. Since our inception we have worked with 35 clients, comprising 24 asset management firms, nine asset owners and an investment consultant, with over USD 11 trillion in aggregate invested assets. We have assisted many types of institutional investor in developing their approaches to sustainable investment and stewardship, from smaller boutique active equities-only asset managers to some of the world’s largest financial institutions, with complex organisational structures and investment activities across both public and private markets. Our deep experience and understanding of the needs of institutional investors, combined with specific and practical experience in responsible and sustainable investment make us particularly effective.
John Morton
Managing Director ＆ Head of Americas, Pollination
John E. Morton brings more than twenty-five years of experience in emerging markets, climate finance, and economic and environmental policy.
Throughout his career, John has been at the forefront of designing and structuring some of the most innovative platforms and investment vehicles to mobilize private capital flows into climate-related sectors in fast-growing global markets. In the Biden Administration, he served as the U.S. Treasury Department’s and Secretary Yellen’s inaugural Climate Counselor, managing and coordinating an historically ambitious set of policies and priorities. During the Obama Administration, John served as the President’s White House Senior Director for Energy and Climate Change, and previously as the Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (now the US DFC).
Outside Government, John was Managing Director of Economic Policy at The Pew Charitable Trusts and a private equity investor with the Global Environment Fund. He began his career as a strategy consultant with Mercer and with the World Bank managing environmental infrastructure projects in the former Soviet Union.
John lives in Washington DC with his wife and two children.
Pollination
Pollination is a specialist climate and nature solutions firm, dedicated to accelerating the shift to a net zero, nature positive and resilient future. Launched in 2019, the organisation has a presence across The Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. It works with financial institutions, corporates and governments to design and implement ambitious transition strategies.
Pollination brings together world leaders across finance, investment, corporate governance and strategy, technology, law and policy; allowing it to connect dots and see around corners. It provides best-in-class strategic advice, execution and transaction support, as well as a pipeline of climate and nature technologies and projects for those seeking to access transition opportunities.
Matt Moscardi
CEO, Free Float
After a decade measuring how companies performance on environmental, social, and governance risks at MSCI, Matt co-founded Free Float, LLC to measure how the people who run companies perform rather than companies themselves. Free Float Analytics provides data on over 250,000 directors globally, with performance attribution across financial and ESG factors, to facilitate proxy voting, engagement, board placement, and allocation strategies. At Free Float, investing isn't a "what", it's a "who".
Prior, Matt's work at MSCI ESG Research included the development of the ESG Ratings model used by the largest institutional investors in the world. He chaired the MSCI ESG Research Editorial Committee, sat on the MSCI Research Editorial Board, co-created the MSCI ESG Now podcast, and wrote more than 100 investor papers, industry reports, and profiles in his time at MSCI. He's been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, NPR, Pensions and Investments, and other investor and business publications. He routinely lectures at business schools, including past discussions with students at Northeastern, UNC, Yale, Brown, UMass, and others.
Prior to joining MSCI, Matt developed low-carbon investment programs and engaged directly with US pension funds and asset managers managing over USD 10 trillion in assets as a Manager at Ceres, a Boston-based non-profit. Matt also founded a hedge fund with a sustainability and resource scarcity theme before joining Ceres. He is a graduate of Brown University with a concentration in Computers and Music.
Daren Moss
Principal, ESG - Real Estate Lead, Ares Management
Mr. Moss is a Principal in the Ares Environmental, Social and Governance Group and leads ESG strategy and implementation for the global Real Estate Group. Prior to joining Ares in 2022, Mr. Moss was a Senior Vice President, Operations and Sustainability at Brixmor Property Group, where he focused on developing and overseeing their ESG program and climate change strategy, directed portfolio wide operations and sustainability initiatives, and led environmental risk and liability management. Previously, Mr. Moss was a Senior Project Manager at Roux Associates, Inc, where he focused on advising clients in a variety of industries related to legacy contamination issues and environmental aspects of property transactions and development. Mr. Moss holds a B.A. from Colgate University in Geology and an M.E.S. from the University of Pennsylvania in Environmental Studies.
Ares Management Corporation
Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, real estate, private equity and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to provide flexible capital to support businesses and create value for our stakeholders and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles. As of September 30, 2024, Ares Management Corporation's global platform had approximately $464 billion of assets under management, with more than 3,100 employees operating across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.aresmgmt.com.
Peter Munro
Head of Investor Relations & Sustainable Finance, European Investment Bank
Peter is a leader on sustainable finance and development banking, with over 20 years’ experience. Previously he was a consultant on investor relations.
He is currently Head of the Investor Relations & Sustainable Finance at EIB, leading on sustainable debt structuring and regulatory alignment, credit ratings & ESG integration, investor analysis and marketing.
Prior Management and Advisory Experience: ExCom of ICMA Principles for Green & Sustainable Bonds, EU Platform on Sustainable Finance, Central Banks’ & Supervisors’ Network on Greening the Financial System, London Stock Exchange Sustainable Bond Market Advisory Group, EBF–UNEP FI group on taxonomy for banks.
Prior roles include: Director, ICMA Principles for Green / Sustainable Bonds (2016-19).
Education: BA Philosophy, Politics & Economics, Oxford University; Insead – ‘Transition to General Management’ and ‘International Marketing’, IMD – Advanced Leadership Development Programme - Building a Climate Bank, London Business School – Corporate Finance.
Deborah Ng
Head of ESG and Sustainability, GMO
Ms. Ng is the Head of ESG and Sustainability at GMO. Prior to joining GMO in 2022, she was the Head of Responsible Investing at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), where she spent more than 18 years. At OTPP, Ms. Ng developed and led the Plan’s Responsible Investing Strategy and climate change initiatives, and was responsible for key deliverables, including thought leadership, integration, and corporate engagement. Previously at OTPP, Ms. Ng was part of OTPP’s Strategy & Asset Mix team, where she focused on the research, evaluation, and introduction of asset allocation strategies. Ms. Ng currently sits on the Investment Committee of the United Church Pension Plan and is a past board member of the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB). Ms. Ng earned her Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Finance from the University of Toronto. She is a CFA charterholder.
GMO
Founded in 1977, GMO is a global investment manager committed to delivering superior performance and advice to our clients. Our sole business is investment management, and we are privately owned, which allows us to maintain a singular focus on achieving outstanding long-term investment outcomes. We currently manage about $70 billion of assets in partnership with a broad range of sophisticated clients, including leading endowments, foundations, corporate and public retirement plans, sovereign wealth funds, financial intermediaries, and philanthropic family offices.
Offering solutions across multi-asset class, equity, fixed income, and alternative strategies, we are grounded in a common philosophical belief that a long-term, valuation-based approach will maximize risk-adjusted returns. Known for our willingness to challenge the status quo and our creative approach to solving investment problems, we candidly share our market views and take bold, differentiated portfolio positions when conditions warrant them.
Patrick O’Connell
Director - Fixed Income Responsible Investing Research, AllianceBernstein
Patrick O'Connell is a Senior Vice President and Director of Fixed Income Responsible Investing Research. In this role, he is part of the leadership team that develops responsible investment strategy across AB's Fixed Income business, particularly related to integrating environmental, social and governance considerations throughout the team's research and engagement. Previously, O'Connell served as a corporate credit research analyst, focusing on emerging-market corporates in Latin American and African countries. He joined the Emerging Markets research team in 2013 after working as a credit analyst covering US high-yield energy credits at AB. Prior to joining the firm in 2012, O'Connell was a desk analyst at UBS Investment Bank, where he helped to allocate capital on the trading desk. He holds a BS in accounting and finance (magna cum laude) from Villanova University and is a CFA charterholder. Location: New York
AllianceBernstein
AllianceBernstein is a leading global investment management firm that offers high-quality diversified investment services to institutional investors, individuals and private wealth clients in major world markets. Total assets under management as of September 30, 2024 were $805.9 billion, up $36.4 billion, or 5%, from June 30, 2024 and up $136.9 billion, or 21%, from September 30, 2023.
Joel Paque
Head of Fundraising and Partnerships - US, Climate Arc
Joel Paque has 20 years experience working on a range of environmental issues, with a particular focus on climate policy and finance. In his current role, he helps grow Climate Arc's reach through managing important relationships with US based partners in the financial and philanthropic sector that support Arc’s mission to provide better data about corporate climate transition efforts. He has previously worked on global climate policy and urban resilience with The Nature Conservancy, and geospatial data supporting climate action at Impact Observatory. He lives outside of Washington DC with his wife and two children.
Marcela Pinilla
Director, Sustainable Investing, Zevin Asset Management
Marcela leads Zevin Asset Management’s sustainable investment research and shareholder engagement and public policy advocacy efforts. She collaborates with investors, NGOs, experts, and policymakers to make the business case for long-term social and environmental resilience and challenges business activities that pose risks and impacts. She also shares expertise on the board’s stewardship committee of Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management (Mass PRIM), and the advisory boards of the New York Foundation, Climate Finance Action, The Mobility, Climate Adaptation, & Finance Working Group (MCAF), and Workforce and Organizational Research Center (WORC). She is honored to guest lecture and contribute to panels sharing perspectives on emergent risks, opportunities, and impacts in sustainable investing in an ever-changing world.
Marcela is a born New Yorker from Panamanian and Nicaraguan parents and grew up in Mexico City. She earned an MS in International Health Policy & Management and an MBA with a focus on Sustainable Development, both from Brandeis University.
Zevin Asset Management
Zevin Asset Management manages long-only, active concentrated global and international public equity as well as global multi-asset strategies with an authentic focus on sustainability and shareholder advocacy to help enhance shareholder value and create positive social impact. Zevin is a Certified B Corporation and an intentionally diverse, 100% employee-owned, majority women-owned and led firm.
Randy Plavajka
Deputy Editor, PERE Credit
Randy Plavajka is the deputy editor of PERE Credit, a PEI Group publication focused on the US private commercial real estate credit market. He manages the title's weekly newsletter, Term Sheet, and specializes in analysis on alternative lending relationships, C-PACE financing and construction financing. Prior to working at PEI, Randy worked as a leading reporter at Traditional Fund Intelligence covering the mutual fund and ETF industry at With Intelligence. He is a graduate from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, earning a master's degree from the institution.
He manages the title's weekly newsletter, Term Sheet, as well as PERE Credit's digital feature slate including website-exclusive analysis. His beat encompasses the entire US private real estate credit market and he specializes in analysis on alternative lending relations, C-PACE financing and construction financing. Prior to working at PEI, Randy worked as a leading reporter at Traditional Fund Intelligence covering the mutual fund and exchange-traded fund industry at With Intelligence with a focus on defined contribution investments, emerging managers and ESG investments. He is a graduate from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, having earned a master's degree from the institution.
Lila Preston
Partner and Head of Growth Equity, Generation Investment Management
Lila joined Generation in 2004 and is the Head of the Growth Equity Strategy. Prior to joining Generation, Lila was a Director of Finance & Development at VolunteerMatch. Previously, she was a Fulbright Fellow in Southern Chile where she worked on community-based forestry and conservation projects. Lila currently serves as a Board Observer at Pivot Bio, Nature’s Fynd, CiBO Technologies, and Optoro. She is on the Board of Advisors at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. Lila received a BA in English Language and Literature from Stanford University and an MBA from London Business School.
Generation Investment Management
Generation Investment Management LLP is dedicated to long-term investing, integrated sustainability research and client alignment. It is an independent, private, owner-managed partnership established in 2004 and headquartered in London, with a US presence in San Francisco. Its vision is a sustainable world in which prosperity is shared broadly, in a society that achieves wellbeing for all, protects nature and preserves a habitable climate.
Generation’s Growth Equity strategy invests in companies with proven technology and commercial traction, run by talented mission-driven management teams. The strategy seeks to identify companies which will be on the right side of the structural social and economic changes that are already under way. Our shorthand for this is “system positive.”
For more information, visit www.generationim.com
Curtis Ravenel
Senior Advisor, GFANZ
Curtis Ravenel is a Senior Advisor to the co-chairs and Vice Chair of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) and a founding member of the Secretariat for the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). He also serves as a Distinguished Fellow in Sustainable Finance at ClimateWorks Foundation, a Board Member of Context Labs BV and a Strategic Advisor to Watershed.
Curtis founded the Sustainable Business & Finance Group at Bloomberg LP and served as its Global Head, reporting directly to the Chairman, from 2007-2019. Under his leadership, Bloomberg integrated sustainability considerations into the firm’s operations globally and developed a full range of Sustainable Finance products to evaluate sustainability-related risks and opportunities for finance professionals.
He was awarded a David Rockefeller Fellowship with the Partnership for New York City in 2011, appointed by the Obama Administration to serve on the US chapter of the G8 Advisory Board on Impact Investing in 2013 and received the Columbia Business School Exemplary Leadership Award in 2016. Curtis holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in History from Davidson College.
Megan Reilly Cayten
Head of Carbon Nature Fund, Climate Asset Management
Megan Reilly Cayten is Head of the Carbon Nature Fund, an investment vehicle created by Climate Asset Management for Apple and its suppliers. She previously managed investments in carbon and other ecosystem services markets and served as impact lead for Climate Asset Management’s Natural Capital Fund. She has 20+ years’ experience in real asset development, project finance and investment management on five continents. She previously developed power projects for AES Corporation in Central America and the Caribbean, financed infrastructure and energy projects for Citi in Asia, and co-developed a large wind farm in the Caribbean with Javelin Capital. She also served as blue carbon lead for Oceans 2050, a foundation created by Alexandra Cousteau, where she launched and ran a science-led project to create a new voluntary carbon methodology for seaweed farming. Ms. Cayten is a board member of the Fondo Nacional para la Conservacion de la Naturaleza (Mexico) and is on the National Council of World Wildlife Fund.
Climate Asset Management
Climate Asset Management was created in 2020 as a joint venture between HSBC Asset Management and Pollination with the ambition to grow the world’s leading asset management company in natural capital.
Its aim is to offer a wide exposure to global natural capital investment opportunities. Two investment strategies work across landscapes to build resilience against climate change whilst generating returns from food and fibre products, land value appreciation and ecosystem service payments, such as carbon credits. Climate Asset Management invests into nature-based assets, including sustainable forestry, regenerative agriculture, and nature-based carbon projects, alongside exploring new forms of natural capital. In September 2024, it announced it had raised commitments of in excess of US$1 billion for natural capital projects from a geographically diverse range of financial institutions and corporates.
In addition Climate Asset Management has been working with Apple since early 2023 in managing a novel natural capital investment vehicle, as part of Apple’s expansion of its Restore Fund.
Andreas Ross
Head of New Product Research and Development, ZAIS Group
Dr. Ross serves as Head of New Product Research and Development and Managing Director at ZAIS. Prior to assuming his current role in 2021, he was a member of the Structured Credit Portfolio Management Team at ZAIS responsible for trading Credit Derivatives and developing Quantitative Strategies. Before joining ZAIS in September of 2013, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher in Theoretical Physics at Carnegie Mellon University and at Yale University investigating elementary particles, cosmology and black holes. Dr. Ross holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Masters in Physics from the University of Karlsruhe.
Steven M. Rothstein
Managing Director, Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets
The Ceres Accelerator aims to transform the practices and policies that govern capital markets in order to accelerate reduction of the worst financial impacts of the climate crisis and other sustainability threats.
Steven’s 40 years of experience will be critical to explore the most effective strategies for the Accelerator to focus on and move capital markets towards climate sustainability.
He has worked at local, state, federal and international levels of government. Steven served on many non-profit and government boards. He has spoken and written extensively and worked with partners in the corporate, non-profit, government and philanthropy sectors.
Steven has a BA with Honors in Political Science from Williams College and an MBA from Northeastern University’s D’Amore - McKim School of Management. He also studied at Duke University’s, Institute of Public Policy.
Ceres
Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. The Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets is a center of excellence within Ceres that aims to transform the practices and policies that govern capital markets to reduce the worst financial impacts of the climate crisis. It spurs action on climate change as a systemic financial risk—driving the large-scale behavior and systems change needed to achieve a net zero emissions economy through key financial actors including investors, banks, and insurers. The Ceres Accelerator also works with corporate boards of directors on improving governance of climate change and other sustainability issues.
Matthew Rusk
Head of GRI North America, Global Reporting Initiative
Matthew Rusk is Head of GRI North America, based in New York City. GRI is the independent, international non-profit standard-setter that creates the global common language for impact reporting to foster transparency, organizational accountability, and informed decisions to advance sustainable development in the interest of all. The GRI Standards are the world's most widely used standards for sustainability reporting. The standards are referenced or required in over 500 policies in more than 90 countries and are used by 78% of the world's largest companies, over 14,000 organizations, and the majority of the Russell 1000. Matthew advances GRI's mission by increasing regional knowledge and use of the GRI Standards by organizations of all sizes and types. He oversees the North American GRI Community of over 70 members committed to advancing corporate transparency and works with other corporates and service providers to raise awareness about the latest disclosure developments, best practices, and GRI resources including the GRI Professional Certification program, GRI Academy, GRI Certified software, and GRI Services. Matthew leads GRI's North American external engagements with assorted constituency groups to build partnerships and collaborations between GRI and key stakeholders.
Matthew joined GRI with over a decade of experience managing Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility strategy development, implementation, and reporting for organizations in various industries. He helped establish and promote new sustainable best practices and reporting standards in the entertainment industry by working with Disney, Warner Media, The Producers Guild of America, and others. Matthew worked on the advancement of sustainability and CSR programs in the fashion and design industry while serving as North American Sustainability Manager for Swarovski. He has a Bachelor's in business administration from Villanova University, an Executive MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology, is a LEED Green Associate, and a GRI Certified Sustainability Professional.
Nick Sapirie
Vice President - Single-Family Capital Markets, Fannie Mae
Nick Sapirie is Vice President, Single-Family Capital Markets – he manages Fannie Mae’s Single-Family Conduit, which provides liquidity to lenders and the broader capital markets through whole loan and MBS purchases. The Conduit includes Fannie Mae’s Early Funding platform, which allows approved lenders to sell loans and pools to Fannie Mae on an accelerated basis. Additionally, Nick manages Investor Engagement and Advocacy (IEA), supporting market participant needs for insights into Fannie Mae programs and policies and promoting investor perspectives to Fannie Mae management. Previously, Nick served as Vice President – Capital Markets Analytics, providing data-driven insights in support of Single-Family credit guaranty profitability, pricing, and risk transfer optimization.
Doug Scott
CEO & Co-founder, Ethic
Doug Scott is CEO and co-founder of Ethic, a personalized and sustainable investment platform for advisors and institutions. Ethic manages over $5 Billion in assets as of 3/31/24, and is backed by venture investors including Oak HC/FT, Nyca, Fidelity, UBS, and Sound Ventures. Doug was listed on the Forbes 30 Under 30, Business Insider’s Rising Star of Wall Street and is on the Board of Stanford University’s Long-Term Investing Initiative. Previously he worked in M&A investment banking at Deutsche Bank AG.
Manju Seal
Former Head of Sustainable Finance and Capital Markets ESG Lead, Ex-Bank of Montreal
As BMO’s inaugural Head of Sustainable Finance & Capital Markets ESG Lead, Manju Seal established and led the Sustainable Finance Advisory with corporate and institutional clients, incorporating ESG criteria in investments and financing while charting a path towards improved sustainability. Steered firmwide efforts as a member of Fixed Income Sales Desk and then Debt Capital Markets Desk in preparing the enterprise and Capital Markets Division towards the public adoption of sustainable finance/ESG as a new line of business. Member of the firmwide BMO Sustainability Council. Project Lead for launching BMO’s Sustainable Bond Program (2019), BMO’s sustainability bond issuance USD$500 MM (2019), as well as a key contributor towards BMO’s public sustainable finance commitment (2019).
She advised clients in identifying impactful solutions around sustainable bond underwriting, product development and other sustainable financing activities. She co-authored BMO’s Sustainable Financing Framework (a first for Canada). Her expertise in sustainable finance products, including, Green/Social/Transition Bonds & Sustainability-Linked Loans as well as socially responsible investing positioned her to engage with both issuers and investors. She spearheaded the broader Enterprise-wide strategy and thought-leadership around sustainable finance and ESG investment considerations. She was the original co-host of the award-winning BMO Sustainability Leaders Podcast Series, ICMA’s Transition Finance & Sustainability-Linked Bond Working Groups, and CSA’s Technical Committee on Transition & Sustainable Finance.
Manju extensive leadership experience ranging from institutional asset management, capital markets (investment banking, trading), social/environmental impact organizations to board leadership. Since 2003, she has provided transformative leadership and corporate governance to nonprofits/social enterprises focused on climate change/environment/social impact. Her first leadership engagement with climate change began in 2008. Her investment banking career started in the Structured Finance Group-FICC of Goldman Sachs, then led GSAM’s Fixed Income – Risk & Performance Analytics Team. Later, she was a fixed income portfolio manager at McMorgan & Co.
Rajith Sebastian
Head of ESG and Sustainable Investing, New York State Insurance Fund
Rajith Sebastian is the Head of ESG and Sustainable Investing at NYSIF, where he leads the sustainable investing, stewardship, and ESG integration activities across the $20bn portfolio. He also holds the position of Head of Impact Investments at the Wharton School’s ESG Initiative, where he oversees various research and experiential education programs that aim to advance the field of sustainable investing. Rajith brings a wealth of global experience in finance and consulting, with 14 years of work experience in investment banking, private equity, and management consulting across Europe, Africa, and China. He earned his Bachelor of Business Science degree from the University of Cape Town and completed his MBA at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a CFA charterholder.
Elizabeth Seeger
ISSB member, IFRS Foundation
Elizabeth Seeger was appointed as a full-time member of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in July 2022, effective November 2022.
Ms Seeger has over 20 years’ experience of standard-setting, investment and working on sustainability topics. She joined the ISSB from global investment firm KKR, where she served as Managing Director, Sustainable Investing, responsible for helping oversee the firm's consideration of sustainability matters throughout KKR’s investment process and part of KKR's Global Impact team. She also oversaw KKR’s public sustainability reporting efforts, including the development of SASB and TCFD-aligned reporting.
Before joining KKR in 2009, she served as a project manager in the corporate partnerships programme (now known as EDF+Business) of Environmental Defence Fund and a consultant with the Corporate Executive Board (CEB, now known as Gartner), where she advised companies from a broad range of industries in Europe and the United States. Before CEB, Ms Seeger was an associate at the Environmental Law Institute, a non-profit organisation focused on environmental law and policy research and education.
Ms Seeger served on the SASB Standards Board as an inaugural member, but began her standard-setting work when becoming a member of the SASB Standards Council in 2012.
She is a 2013 Aspen Institute First Movers Fellow and earned a BA in Environmental Studies with honours from the University of Chicago and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Fran Seegull
President, U.S. Impact Investing Alliance
Fran Seegull is President of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, which works to increase awareness of impact investing in the United States, foster deployment of impact capital across asset classes globally, and partner with stakeholders, including government, to build the impact investing ecosystem. Seegull also serves as Executive Director of the Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing—a grantmaking donor collaborative focused on growing the field with impact integrity.
Previously, Seegull was the Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director at ImpactAssets where she headed investment management for The Giving Fund—now a $3B impact investing donor advised fund. Seegull serves on the Board Credit Committee of Calvert Impact Capital, the Board of Align Impact, the Advisory Board of the CASE i3 Initiative at Duke University, and the Investment Advisory Council of the Social Finance Impact-First Fund of Funds.
Marina Severinovsky
Head of Sustainability - North America, Schroders
Marina Severinovsky is the Head of Sustainability, North America, and leads the sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration for Schroders investments in North America. She collaborates with senior managers on market strategy, client communications, product development, sales, and investor management.
Marina was previously the Investment Director for North America for the Quantitative Equity Products (QEP) team from 2020 and was responsible for communicating QEP’s investment policy and strategy with clients, as well as business management in the Americas.
Prior to joining the QEP team, Marina was an Investment Strategist from 2016 to 2019, working in partnership with Hartford Funds to represent Schroders strategies to financial advisors and intermediaries across all client channels, primarily in the Central US region.
Marina was an Alternatives Specialist at Schroders from 2010 to 2016, which involved supporting the development of Schroders’ Alternatives business in the Americas. Her product management activities covered multiple strategies, including Commodities, Absolute Return Emerging Market Debt and Insurance Linked Securities.
Marina joined Schroders in 2010 and is based in New York. Prior to joining Schroders, she was an Associate in Investment Banking at Citi Capital Markets and Banking from 2008 to 2010, which involved supporting buy- and sell-side mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt transactions, and fairness opinions for a broad range of corporate clients in the Healthcare and Tech, Media & Telecom coverage groups. She was a Consultant and Client Relationship Manager at Digital Mandate, LLC from 2005 to 2007, which involved providing legal technology, process consulting, and technology optimization solutions to large law firms and corporate legal departments. She was an Analyst at Chicago Partners, LLC from 2004 to 2005, which involved finance, economics and accounting consulting, in the context of litigation and regulatory review activities.
Marina brings 18 years of professional experience to her role at Schroders, including economic analysis, research, and financial modeling, as well as product development, strategy, and client relationship management. She is conversationally fluent in Russian.
Schroders
Schroders is a world-class asset manager offering cutting edge proprietary tools and intensive fundamental research. Within our global network of more than 38 locations and $978.1 billion* of wealth and investments, we help our clients solve for a range of outcomes and prepare for the future via traditional equity/fixed income and sustainability/impact, as well as distinctive illiquid investments such as private equity, private debt, real estate, and infrastructure. As the world changes, so do our clients’ needs. We have a long history of adapting to the times and continue to focus on what matters most to our clients – the creation of long-term value to meet their financial requirements.
*data as of June 30, 2024
Serena Shi
Vice President, The Lightsmith Group
Serena Shi is a Vice President at The Lightsmith Group and joined the team in November 2018 as a Senior Associate. Prior to Lightsmith, Ms. Shi was an Investment Analyst at the International Finance Corporation, the private sector investment arm of the World Bank, where she focused on direct equity and debt investments in the telecoms sector in emerging markets. She was previously an Associate at Goldman Sachs, where she worked on structured debt transactions across the renewable energy, telecoms, media, pharmaceutical, and consumer retail sectors.
Ms. Shi holds a B.S. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
The Lightsmith Group
The Lightsmith Group is a global sustainable private equity firm that invests in companies addressing critical societal needs, addressing and mitigating the physical risks and impacts from climate change that are being exacerbated across all sectors of the economy. Lightsmith is an active investor investing in growth-stage companies providing technology-enabled business services and solutions in the areas of resilient infrastructure, energy, food, water, supply chain/logistics, healthcare, among others.
For more information on The Lightsmith Group, please see: www.lightsmithgp.com.
Sandra Silea
Director- ESG and Stewardship, AustralianSuper
Sandra Silea is a Director- ESG and Stewardship in AustralianSuper’s New York office where she oversees the Fund’s ESG integration and stewardship activities in the Americas.
Sandra has been key in evolving AustralianSuper’s approach to ESG integration and stewardship. Most recently, Sandra has focused on listed equities where she has engaged with listed company boards on ESG issues, actively voted at company AGMs and conducted due diligence on new investment opportunities.
Sandra has boundless passion and energy for ESG, is a respected speaker and is a recognized industry leader on issues including modern slavery, diversity and climate change. She is also an active participant in collaborative initiatives such as the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, the Responsible Investment Association Australasia and is a non-executive director of the Cleaning Accountability Framework.
Sandra holds a BA of International Relations and a BA of Political Science from Southern Methodist University.
Cynthia Simon
Policy Director, Shareholder Rights Group
Cynthia Simon is Policy Director of the Shareholder Rights Group. She has over 20 years of experience in investor-focused research and analysis, including previous roles at ISS, SOC Investment Group, CDP and the New York State Common Retirement Fund. Cynthia holds a JD from Catholic University, a masters in Sustainable Development Practice from Columbia University, and a combined BA/MA in Economics and Geography from Johns Hopkins University.
Andrew Siwo
Head of Sustainable Investments and Climate Solutions, New York State Common Retirement Fund
Andrew Siwo is the Head of Sustainable Investments and Climate Solutions (SICS) at the New York State Common Retirement Fund and reports to the Chief Investment Officer. He is charged with providing leadership and oversight on sustainable investment efforts across the Fund’s $272 billion portfolio and is the portfolio manager for the Fund’s $40 billion commitment to SICS.
Previously, Siwo was an Investment Director and served as the Head of Mission-Related Investments (MRIs) at Crewcial Partners, an investment consultancy to over 150 leading foundations and endowments with an aggregate of $40 billion in assets under advisement.
At Crewcial Partners, Siwo led the creation of client portfolios targeting MRIs, developed the firm’s MRI (SRI, ESG, impact) framework, as well led sourcing, investment research, and due diligence across asset classes for related investment strategies.
Prior to joining Crewcial Partners, Siwo was a manager at the Global Impact Investing Networking (GIIN). In his capacity there, he was responsible for the operation, sourcing, and development of ImpactBase, the largest platform of impact investment funds globally, which he grew by more than $10 billion and validated over 100 impact funds. He also educated and fostered institutional investors seeking exposure to socially/environmentally responsible investment portfolios.
Prior to joining the GIIN, Siwo spent five years in the investment banking division at JP Morgan—most recently in the Global Special Opportunities Group, a $3 billion proprietary portfolio of principal investments in private equity, debt, mezzanine, infrastructure, and real estate. He also held roles on the Rates Desk, tasked with executing fixed-income financing transactions as well as the Securitized Products Group valuing collateralized mortgage obligations.
Before JP Morgan, Siwo was a member of the Corporate Finance and Real Estate Strategy Group at Victoria's Secret responsible for leading project finance initiatives. He began his career at E*Trade Financial, managing a team of investment representatives serving active traders and high net-worth investors. He has authored articles that have been printed in leading industry publications and has taught at the NYU Wagner School and Cornell University Brooks School.
Siwo completed an MPA in Finance and Fiscal Policy at Cornell University and holds a BA in Accounting from Morehouse College. He has held FINRA Series 7, 63, and 24 licenses. Siwo also serves on the Board of New York Professional Advisors to Community Entrepreneurs (NYPACE). He was selected into the 2020 Class of Crain’s New York Business “40 under 40.”
Tara Mei Smith
ESG Integration Officer, Bureau of Asset Management, Office of New York City Comptroller
Tara Mei Smith is the ESG Integration Officer for the Bureau of Asset Management, Office of NYC Comptroller. The Office of NYC Comptroller serves as the dedicated investment advisor and custodian for New York City’s five retirement funds, totaling about 250 billion AUM. In her role, Tara Mei works to integrate considerations of material environmental, social, and governance risks and opportunities across asset classes to drive sustainable long-term, risk-adjusted returns for the benefit of the pension funds’ 700,000+ beneficiaries. She has over a decade of sustainability experience, spanning finance, supply chain management, and environmental stewardship. Tara Mei has worked on biodiversity data collection and sustainability projects with organizations such as US Fish and Wildlife and NOAA. In 2014, she was recognized as an Audubon Toyota TogetherGreen Conservation Innovation Leader. She holds a degree in Chemistry from Brown University and an MBA in Finance and Sustainable Business and Innovation from NYU Stern, where she was a Forte Fellow and Vice Dean Faculty Scholar.
Meagen Stack
ESG Reporting, Chevron
Meagen Stack is the Manager of ESG Reporting at Chevron, with over a decade of experience in various financial and analytical roles within the company. Meagen serves as the Manager of ESG Reporting at Chevron, located in San Ramon, California, United States. Meagen Stack earned a Master’s degree in Professional Accounting from the Texas McCombs School of Business and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from The University of Texas at Austin - Red McCombs School of Business.
Maggie Stafford
Director, ESG Solutions, Morningstar Sustainalytics
Maggie is a Director at Morningstar Sustainalytics, an independent provider of ESG and climate data research and ratings, where she consults various investor and banking clients on integration of ESG and Climate solutions into their investment products and business processes. In her eight years at Morningstar, she has held various product management responsibilities including integrating ESG data into Morningstar’s analytics and reporting platforms, developing fund level ESG ratings, and leading go-to-market initiatives for new portfolio analytics including regulatory, climate and impact. She is a graduate of the NYU Stern MBA program where she concentrated in Finance and Sustainable Business & Innovation and was a member of the EmpowHer Leadership Program for women in sustainable finance. She leads Morningstar’s sustainable investing academic working group and is an active member of the Morningstar women’s network (WIN) mentorship program.
Georgia Stewart
CEO, Tumelo
Georgia is CEO of Tumelo, one of the UK’s fastest-growing financial technology scale-ups. Founded in 2018, Georgia and her two co-founders, Will Goodwin and Ben King, recognised a two-pronged problem with the current proxy-voting system: fund managers having little visibility over their clients' voting preferences; investors feeling disengaged from their assets and potential impact on global markets. To solve this issue, the company has built pass-through voting and expression of wish technology that empowers fund managers and their clients to engage in impactful stewardship.
Georgia studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she campaigned the university for greater transparency of their university’s £6 billion endowment fund and its investments. She has experience across the sustainable investment sector, including equity investment analysis at Jupiter, cleantech venture capital at IP Group and conservation projects at Fauna and Flora International. Georgia is also a member of Aviva’s Independent Governance Committee (IGC).
Tumelo
Tumelo is a leading-edge technology provider specializing in robust, scalable, and efficient voting choice solutions for the global investment industry. Trusted by numerous large-scale financial institutions worldwide, we are recognized for our reliable, professional service and innovative approach to enhancing stewardship with our proprietary pass-through voting and expression of wish solutions.
Since our establishment in 2018, we’ve built a robust platform that enables fund managers to offer flexible products and meet regulatory requirements. Our team of highly skilled professionals are committed to delivering a seamless experience through our technology platform and API, designed to cater to the unique needs of both institutional and retail clients.
Our platform is grounded in state-of-the-art technology that offers access to a comprehensive suite of voting policies, adaptable to the unique needs of each investor. Tumelo is characterized by flexibility, supporting clients’ desires to select voting policies or vote on individual resolutions.
Neil Stewart
Director of Corporate Outreach, ISSB / IFRS Foundation
Neil Stewart is the New York-based Director of Corporate Outreach for the IFRS Foundation, which houses the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), the SASB Standards and the Integrated Reporting Framework. Neil joined SASB in 2020, bringing more than 25 years of experience in and around investor relations and corporate governance. He was previously at Citigroup as VP IR Advisory on the ADR team, helping non-US issuers develop IR and ESG strategies.
Daan Van Acker
Director of FinanceMap and Investor Engagement, InfluenceMap
Daan leads InfluenceMap's FinanceMap program and Investor Engagement efforts, as well as the Carbon Majors program. Prior to joining InfluenceMap in 2020, Daan earned his MSc in Mechanical Engineering from KU Leuven and MSc in Management from the London School of Economics. His previous experiences in the climate space include work in the fields of sustainable finance and renewable energy.
Paul Vozzella
Director - Americas, Asset Impact, a GRESB Company
Paul Vozzella is a Director at GRESB & Asset Impact looking after the U.S. Eastern Region with a focus on business development and relationship management. He has been in the financial services and technology industry since 2013.
Before joining GRESB in 2022, Paul worked in previous sales and business development roles at RepRisk, Intercontinental Exchange and NASDAQ. Primarily focused on ESG data integration and the implementation of ESG technology across both corporates and the institutional investment community. Paul is an FSA Credential Holder and is based in Providence, RI.
Dominic Webb
Reporter, Responsible Investor
Dominic is a senior reporter for Responsible Investor, writing across a range of topics including fixed income, EU and UK regulatory issues, the US and investment stewardship. Since joining Responsible Investor in January 2021, he has won awards for his coverage of sustainability-linked bond markets and was named Willis Towers Watson's Sustainable Investment Journalist of the Year in 2022. He has a Master' Degree in Journalism from Goldsmiths College, University of London.
Responsible Investor
Responsible Investor is the single source for the latest thinking on sustainable finance for investors globally across all asset classes. With a dedicated team of award-winning journalists, Responsible Investor delivers news, market analysis, and data examining ESG and sustainability across financial markets. It provides readers with a clear understanding of how investors are incorporating ESG into their investment policies and processes.
Heidi Welsh
Founding Executive Director, Sustainable Investments Institute (Si2)
Heidi Welsh, executive director of the Sustainable Investments Institute (Si2), has analyzed corporate responsibility since 1987. Si2 is supported mainly by subscriptions from large institutional investors. Starting at the Investor Responsibility Research Center, Welsh covered shareholder advocacy and for 16 years also monitored corporate compliance with a Northern Ireland fair employment code. She co-authored CDP’s 2007 S&P 500 report, worked at RiskMetrics (now MSCI), and consulted on GRI guidelines. Welsh is the lead author of several corporate political influence studies and an expert on the SEC’s shareholder proposal rules.
Robert Eccles
Professor, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Robert G. Eccles is a leading authority on how companies and investors can create sustainable strategies through the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in resource allocation decisions. The focus of his work is on how the capital markets can contribute to ensuring a sustainable society for generations to come.
Currently Eccles is a Visiting Professor of Management Practice at the Said Business School, University of Oxford where he is engaged in research projects focused on corporate purpose, corporate reporting, engagement and stewardship, and private equity. Eccles has been a Visiting Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management and was a Berkeley Social Impact Fellow at the Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley. He was a Professor at Harvard Business School and received tenure in 1989.
Eccles is the first Chair of KKR’s “Sustainability Expert Advisory Council.” He was the founding Chairman of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, and was one of the founders of the International Integrated Reporting Council. In 2011, Dr. Eccles was selected as one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior – 2012 for his extensive, positive contribution to building trust in business. In 2013, he was named the first non-accountant Honorary Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), one of only nine since 1999. In 2018 he was named by Barron’s as one of the top 20 influencers in ESG investing and cited for being an “ESG research trailblazer.” Also, in 2018 he received “The CSR Lifetime Achievement Award” at
“The 8th International Conference on Sustainability & Responsibility” in Cologne, Germany.
Dr. Eccles received an S.B. in Mathematics and an S.B. in Humanities and Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an A.M. and Ph.D. in Sociology from Harvard University. He currently resides in Lexington, MA with his wife Anne Laurin Eccles and their two dogs Basil and Rowan. They have four children (Charlotte, Philippa, Isabelle, and Gordon) and eleven grandchildren (Scout, Russell, Thomas, Thora, Frederick, Dashiell, Philip, Maple, Celeste, Wilde, and Nessa). His main outside activity is weightlifting where he is quite good at the dead lift (achieved his personal goal of 400 pounds with a 410 lift on December 28, 2020—putting him at the 99.8th percentile for his age group), credible at the squat, and pathetic at the bench press.
Lucy Fitzgeorge-Parker
Editor, Responsible Investor
Lucy Fitzgeorge-Parker joined Responsible Investor as editor in 2022 from Euromoney magazine, where she was ESG editor. Prior to that, she was Euromoney’s editor for Central and Eastern Europe and contributing editor at GlobalCapital. She has covered most aspects of banking and capital markets since switching to journalism from investment banking in 2003.
Ryan McQueeney
Manager, Investments Marketing and Communications, Wespath / Communications Co-Lead, Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance
Ryan supports investment-related marketing and communications at Wespath, one of the largest reporting faith-based pension funds in the world. Wespath is also member of the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, where Ryan serves as the co-lead of the communications working track. Through these roles, Ryan has spearheaded numerous communications campaigns focused on sustainable investment, ESG, climate risk, shareholder engagement. Ryan has also served in investment stewardship and content management roles. He received his bachelor's degree in Communications and Media and Political Science from DePaul University.
Alison Taylor
Clinical Associate Professor, NYU
Alison Taylor is a clinical associate professor at NYU Stern School of Business, and the executive director at Ethical Systems. She is currently writing a book on the new landscape for business ethics, for Harvard Business Review Press. Her previous work experience includes being a Managing Director at non-profit business network Business for Social Responsibility and a Senior Managing Director at Control Risks. She holds advisory roles at sustainability non-profit Business for Social Responsibility, private equity firm KKR, and Swiss bank Pictet Group and is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Good Governance. She has expertise in strategy, sustainability, political and social risk, culture and behavior, human rights, ethics and compliance, stakeholder engagement, anti corruption and professional responsibility. Alison received her Bachelor of Arts in Modern History from Balliol College, Oxford University, her MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago, and MA in Organizations Psychology from Columbia University.