Climate Finance Week Ireland 2021 will kick off with AIB's 5th annual Sustainability Conference. Given the more frequent extreme weather events and stern warning provided in the IPCC Climate Report the focus of the event will be how we as a society can respond to the challenge of climate change and work together to Beat the Climate Deadline.
In the afternoon the Department of Finance, Sustainable Finance Ireland and the UN-convened Financial Centres for Sustainability will launch Ireland's first national Sustainable Finance Roadmap.
The launch will be followed by an afternoon event focusing on financing biodiversity.
James Cameron, is an acclaimed film-maker, explorer and environmental advocate. As director, writer and producer he is responsible for some of the most memorable films of the past three decades: THE TERMINATOR, ALIENS, THE ABYSS, TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY, TRUE LIES, TITANIC, and AVATAR.
For 10 years AVATAR was the highest grossing film in history with over $2.7 billion in global box office, beating the previous record holder, Cameron’s own film TITANIC, which held that record for 12 years. Cameron's films have also earned numerous nominations and awards, most notably TITANIC's 14 Academy Award nominations (tied for the record) and 11 Oscars (also a record), including Cameron's own 3 Oscars for Best Picture, Best Direction and Best Editing. Cameron also won the DGA Award for directing Titanic, in 1998. Both TITANIC and AVATAR won the Golden Globe for Best Director and Best Picture. AVATAR was nominated for 9 Academy Awards and won 3.
Over the last 20 years Cameron developed cutting edge 3D camera systems for movies and documentaries, as well as for broadcast sports and special events. He was at the vanguard of the 3D renaissance that has transformed the movie industry in recent years.
Avatar was shot with cameras developed by Cameron’s company. He has also developed unprecedented deep ocean exploration vehicles, lighting and 3D camera equipment. Cameron has led eight deep ocean expeditions from 1995 to 2012, including three to the Titanic wreck. He has dived that wreck 33 times, and spent over a hundred hours piloting small remotely operated vehicles of his own design inside the wreck, to create an archeological survey the interior. His research has led to a definitive understanding of the forensics of the Titanic’s sinking.
Other expeditions included exploration of the German battleship Bismarck in 2002, and hydrothermal vents in the Atlantic, Pacific and Sea of Cortez in 2002 and 2003. He has spent over 3000 hours underwater, and made 75 deep submersible dives. He is a member of the Deep Submersible Pilots Association.
In 2012, Cameron led his eighth deep ocean expedition to some of the deepest trenches in the world. On March 26, 2012, he set the world’s solo deep diving record of 35,787’ in the Challenger Deep in a vehicle of his own design.
Cameron is a National Geographic Explorer in Residence, and recipient of their most prestigious award, the Hubbard Medal, as well as the Explorer’s Club medal for Explorer of the Year.
Cameron is also passionately involved in sustainability, having founded the Avatar Alliance Foundation to take action on climate change, deforestation, indigenous rights, ocean conservation and sustainable agriculture. The Avatar sequels production is the first entirely vegan-catered motion picture set, for environmental reasons, and is dedicated to being as green and sustainable as possible.
James and Suzy Amis Cameron, both environmental vegans, are the founders and majority owners of Verdient, a pea protein extraction facility located in Saskatchewan. They operate organic farms in both
Canada and New Zealand.
Cameron has completed two years of principal capture on Avatar 2, 3 and 4, and is currently shooting live action for those films in New Zealand.
Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, a medical doctor, was Norway’s first female Prime Minister, serving a total of ten years as head of government between 1981 and 1996. She chaired the World Commission on Environment and Development – known as the Brundtland Commission – which articulated the principle of sustainable development for the first time at a global level. She was Director-General of the World Health Organization from 1998 to 2003, UN Special Envoy for Climate Change from 2007 to 2010 and, from 2011 to 2012, was a member of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Global Sustainability Panel. Gro Harlem Brundtland is a member of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, who work together for peace, justice and human rights.
Prof. Scott Galloway, is Professor of Marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business and a serial entrepreneur. In 2012, he was named one of the world’s best business professors by Poets & Quants. He has founded nine companies, including Prophet, Red Envelope, L2, and Section4. He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Four, The Algebra of Happiness, and most recently, Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity. He has served on the boards of directors of The New York Times Company, Urban Outfitters, and Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. His Prof G and Pivot podcasts, No Mercy / No Malice blog, and Prof G YouTube channel reach millions. In 2020, Adweek named Pivot Business Podcast of the Year.
Prof. Dr. Johan Rockström, is Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Professor in Earth System Science at the University of Potsdam.
Rockström gained international recognition with the development of the Planetary Boundaries framework, which has since become a standard of sustainability science. He is deeply involved in research activities covering a range of topics related to the Earth System and global sustainability in the Anthropocene, with the overarching research question: “What is the safe operating space for Humanity's future on Earth, and which sustainable transformations that can take us there?” Rockström’s research creates considerable impact. For example, he received the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant and is ranked as one of the most influential and most-cited scientists in the world by Clarivate Analytics.
In addition to his research endeavours, which have been widely used to guide policy, Rockström provides strategic scientific guidance as a member of the European Commission’s Expert Group ‘Mission Board for Adaptation to Climate Change, including Societal Transformation’ and the ‘Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’. He regularly acts as an advisor to high-level international meetings and organisations, such as the World Economic Forum (WEF), the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA), the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conferences (UNFCCC). Moreover, he is the Chief Scientist of Conservation International, as well as chairing the advisory board for the EAT Initiative on Health, Food and Sustainability, the Earth League, and Future Earth (co-chair) and the Earth Commission.
Rockström’s work has been recognized with accolades, the most recent of which include the Prince Albert II of Monaco Climate Change Award (2020), the Hillary Laureate by the Hillary Institute of International Leadership (2017), the French distinction Knight of the Legion of Honour (2016), the German Environmental Award (2015) and the International Cosmos Prize (2015). Before becoming Director of the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research, Rockström founded the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University and was Executive Director at the Stockholm Environment Institute. He obtained a Master of Science (MSc) at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, a Diplôme d’Agronomie Approfondie (DAA) at Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon, a Licentiate of Philosophy (PhLic) at Stockholm University and completed a doctorate (PhD) in Natural Resources Management at Stockholm University.
Colin Hunt, was appointed Chief Executive Officer of AIB and an Executive Director on the AIB Board in March 2019. He joined AIB in August 2016 as Managing Director, Wholesale, Institutional & Corporate Banking Division. Prior to joining AIB, he was Managing Director at Macquarie Capital where he led the development of its business in Ireland. Previously, he was a Special Policy Adviser at the Departments of Transport and Finance, Research Director and Chief Economist at Goodbody Stockbrokers, Head of Trading Research and Senior Economist at Bank of Ireland Group Treasury and a country risk analyst at NatWest. He has a Phd in Economics from Trinity College, Dublin and degrees in Commerce & Economics from University College, Cork. He served as a Non-Executive Director of Aer Lingus Group plc from 2008 to 2014. Colin is a Director of the Ireland Funds, Ireland Chapter and Non-Executive Director and President 2021/2022 of the Institute of Bankers in Ireland.
Dearbhail McDonald, is an award-winning Journalist, Author and Broadcaster.
Dearbhail presented ‘Sunday with Dearbhail’ on BBC Radio Ulster. The show brought an in-depth look at current affairs, interviews, discussions and analysis, including an essential guide to the Sunday papers.
A global Eisenhower Fellow, the former Group Business Editor of Independent News And Media is a recipient of the Mary Cummins Award for Women of Outstanding Achievement in Media. Her recent documentary (‘Fertility Shock’, RTE) addressed the future of work, diverse workforces and the impact of fertility trends on economic growth. Dearbhail has also recently began writing for IMAGE Magazine as part of their IMAGE Business Club ‘Championing Visionary Women’.
President of the strategic committee of the Centre Cultural Irlandais in Paris, where she also holds the position of secretary of the board of the Foundation Irlandaise, the Newry born writer served a seven-year terms as a member of the board of Fighting Words, Ireland’s national creative writing centre for children and young adults.
The author of ‘Bust: How the Courts Exposed the Rotten Heart of the Irish Economy’ (Penguin), Dearbhail has also served on the Board of the St Stephen’s Green Trust and the External Advisory Board of Maynooth University Department of Law.
Dearbhail received an inaugural Dublin City University Special Alumni Achievement Award for her contribution to public affairs journalism and is an Irish Tatler Media Woman of the Year.Dearbhail holds an LL.B (Law) from Trinity College Dublin as well as a Masters Degree in Journalism from Dublin City University.
Erin was recently appointed Head of Sustainability for HSBC Asset Management and is responsible for the delivery of our sustainability business and product strategy, and the transition to sustainable investing across all parts of our business. She joined HSBC in 2010 and has worked in a number of roles, including Interim Head of Institutional Client Business, Global Head of Fixed Income Product and EMEA Head of Product Development. She has also led strategic business initiatives including the development of a UK Master Trust business and Asset Management’s firm-wide Responsible Investment Initiative. Erin currently serves as Chair of the HSBC Global Liquidity Funds Board and a Director of a several internal and external corporate boards. She has over 25 years of asset management industry experience, with Fixed Income portfolio management and business management roles for Wells Fargo Asset Management, Aegon Asset Management, Lehman Brothers and Neuberger Berman. Erin is a CFA Charterholder, past-President of the CFA Society NC and holds a BA in Economics from Davidson College in North Carolina.
Mr. Prajwal Baral is a sustainable finance and clean technology financing specialist with experience consulting for the likes of the World Bank Group (WBG), DBS Bank, the UNEP Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), C40 Cities Finance Facility, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and several other public/private institutions in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. He was the key consultant in revamping technology classification of WIPO GREEN, an interactive marketplace initiated by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Switzerland) that matches owners of new technologies with individuals or companies seeking to commercialize, license or otherwise distribute a green technology. He was later headhunted by Korea Technology Finance Corporation (S Korea) as the first non-Korean hire in its history of 30 years to set up a financing facility for climate technologies, backed by a tailored technology rating and valuation system. In 2017, he was headhunted by the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) to assess green financing opportunities, stocks and flows in 10 ASEAN countries (the first quantification of green finance opportunities across the region). He was later sourced by the UNEP Inquiry to conduct a similar exercise in Argentina and Nigeria with a focus on sustainable finance. At the Inquiry, as a Senior Advisor, he also led a technical report on Market Dynamics for the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) under its workstream on scaling up green finance. He is a Member of the Joint NGFS-INSPIRE Study Group on Biodiversity and Financial Stability. At the UN convened Sustainable Insurance Forum, he recently led an initial scoping study to assess financial risks of nature-related loss in the global insurance industry. He also consults for the World Bank Group in helping its clients design and develop carbon pricing instruments. In addition, he also serves as a transaction advisor to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) - advancing renewable energy projects (solar, wind, hydro, biomass) towards financial closure. Mr. Baral has an MSc from the University of Oxford, where he was Sir Walter Raleigh Scholar and Boardman Scholar.
He leads our firm’s stewardship activities in the region, including direct corporate engagement and proxy voting, working with policymakers on key issues relating to sustainable finance and investment, and representing BNPP AM in key investor ESG networks. Adam joined us in 2018 and is based in New York.
Prior to joining us, Adam was Managing Director of Corporate Engagement at Domini Impact Investments. During his 20 years at Domini he built a corporate engagement programme focused on improving the ESG performance of major US corporations, as well as developing Domini’s public policy advocacy programme and proxy voting policies.
He has a wealth of experience in a broad range of ESG issues, including climate change, deforestation, labour standards, human rights and supply chain management. He has been an active member of a wide variety of ESG networks and organisations, and has been instrumental in helping companies to evolve their corporate practices in key areas.
Adam served on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee, and is a founder of the Global Network Initiative, a multi-stakeholder organization addressing threats to freedom of expression and privacy rights in the ICT sector. He currently serves on the Human Rights Advisory Committee of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, and the steering committee of the Investor Alliance for Human Rights. He was a member of the Eminent Persons Group that oversaw development of the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework. In 2008, he was named to the Directorship 100, Directorship magazine’s listing of the most influential people on corporate governance and in the boardroom. He is a frequent speaker and commentator on sustainable investing and corporate accountability.
Adam began his career as a Litigation Associate at New York law firm Cahill, Gordon & Reindel and has over 20 years of experience. He holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.
Mr Cox has significant board experience and is currently the Chairman of the Public Interest Committee for KPMG Ireland, a member of the Appointment Advisory Committee for the European Investment Bank, Chairman of Supernode Ltd, a non-executive director of Appian Asset Management Ltd, non-executive director of Gore Street Energy Storage Fund and a non-executive director Ecocem Ltd. He also sits on the Boards of various think tanks and not-for- profit organisations, including as a Senior Fellow and Board Member of the Institute for International and European Affairs, Ireland. He was formerly the President of the European Parliament from 2002 – 2004, having been a Member of the European Parliament for Munster, Ireland from 1989 to 2004 and is now the European Coordinator for the Scandinavian- Mediterranean TEN-T Core Network Corridor, appointed by the European Commission. He has been bestowed National Honours by Presidents of Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania, and is a Commander of the Legion of Honour, France. He is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin and holds Honorary Doctorates from Trinity College Dublin, the National University of Ireland, the University of Limerick, the Open University and the American College Dublin.
Paul Healy, has operated at an executive level in commercial environments for over 20 years. His broad areas of expertise include: Enterprise and Labour Market Policy, Human Resource Development, Public Affairs and Corporate Governance. Paul is a member of the National Skills Council, National Training Fund Advisory Group, EU Commission Skills for Industry Policy Group and the European Digital SME Alliance. He also serves on the Skillnet Ireland Board (ex officio).
Paul qualified as an Economist and holds an MBA from Dublin City University. He is an adjunct lecturer at post-graduate level in field of Human Resources and is a respected commentator in the arena of workforce development and talent.
Elena Almeida is a Policy Analyst at the LSE Grantham Research Institute, specialising in biodiversity and central banking. She has been supporting the NGFS-INSPIRE Biodiversity and Financial Stability project, managing and co-authoring the report “Building the Case: Biodiversity and Financial Stability”. Previously, Elena led the UK Government’s ASEAN Low Carbon Energy programme focussing on green finance in Malaysia, notably collaborating with Capital Markets Malaysia to establish the Malaysian Sustainable Finance Initiative and partnering with the Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) to deliver the JC3 Conference 2021. Elena started her career as an associate economist at the Central Bank of Malaysia, where she was part of the Monetary Policy Department. Elena holds degrees in Economics from the University of Sussex and International Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Mary O’Dea is Chief Executive of IOB. IOB is a recognised college of UCD, and a professional network of 33,400 members who work across the financial services sector. Mary joined IOB in April 2018 from the Central Bank of Ireland where she was Director of Securities and Markets Supervision. Prior to that she spent six years in Washington DC, first as Alternative Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund and then as Ireland’s representative at the World Bank. Mary previously held several Director roles with the Central Bank of Ireland, including Director of Financial Operations and Consumer Director. In 2009, she was Acting Chief Executive of the Financial Regulator. Mary is a Non-Executive Director of Euronext Dublin and CC&G (a multi- asset clearing house based in Italy) and a member of the Governing Authority of University College Dublin (UCD). Mary has Masters Qualifications in Economics, Treasury & Investment Management, and Business and Executive Coaching.
As action 1 of the 2021 Ireland for Finance Action Plan, “Building on Resilience” the development of Irelands Sustainable Finance Roadmap signifies government’s commitment to advancing Ireland’s sustainable finance agenda. Ireland's ambition is to be a leader in this space by 2025.
Working with over 50 key stakeholder organisations across Ireland's financial services industry, Sustainable Finance Ireland and Skillnet Ireland, in collaboration with the Department of Finance led the development of the roadmap over a six-month period, culminating in the launch at Climate Finance Week Ireland 2021.
The roadmap is a key milestone in our sustainable finance journey as a nation. Built as a living document to evolve and guide Irish sustainable finance activities in the context of the European Green Deal and the Renewed Strategy for Financing the Transition to a Sustainable Economy, for the coming years.
In association with Department of Finance, UN Convened FC4S and Sustainable Finance Ireland. Supported by Skillnet Ireland.
Speakers:
Given the seriousness of the biodiversity crisis and forthcoming Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, hear how asset managers are taking steps to integrate biodiversity criteria into their asset management strategies. This session will also provide an overview on initiatives aiming to provide asset owners and asset managers with frameworks, information, and groups through which to engage have made significant progress over the last year, including the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
Organised in association with the TFND and the UN-convened Financial Centres for Sustainability. Supported by the Sustainable Finance Skillnet.
Ireland's 4th annual ESG Day organised by the Sustainable Investing Working Group, and Sustainable Finance Ireland kicks off with a UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Irish members only signatory breakfast briefing.
Other events across the day will provide updates on the latest in EU ESG policy development, explore if Ireland’s corporate governance framework is fit for purpose in an ESG world, Ireland’s aviation aircraft leasing ESG activities and finally an important focus on the ‘S’ in ESG, including the different types of instruments being used to finance social activities.
ESG Day is proudly sponsored by ILIM and supported by Skillnet Ireland.
Jennifer Griffin, has been a member of the 100 Women in Finance NextGen Committee Dublin since its inception in 2018. 100 Women in Finance was founded in 2001 and nearly 20,000 members in 24 locations across the globe. Its mission is to strengthen global finance by empowering women to achieve their potential at every stage of their career. The NextGen Initiative is a global peer group for those in the first decade of their finance careers. Jennifer is also the Senior Risk Manager for KBI Global Investors Ltd a specialist provider of niche investment strategies for institutional investors headquartered in Dublin, she joined the firm in November 2016 and has over 7 years industry experience. She previously worked as an Enterprise Risk Manager focusing on the Strategic Top Risks with RBS, Future Williams & Glyn in Edinburgh between 2015 and 2016. Prior to this she worked in the Enterprise Risk Department of the National Treasury Management Agency (2013-2015) and with Allied Irish Bank as a Credit Risk Reporting and Market Risk Analyst (2011-2013). Jennifer graduated from University College Cork with an MSc in Financial Economics in 2011. She achieved the QFA designation in 2015 and the Diploma in Enterprise Risk Management from the IRM in 2020.
Fiona Reynolds, is the CEO of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The PRI is a UN supported organisation, with more than 4,000 signatories who collectively represent over US $100 trillion in AUM. She is responsible for the PRI’s global operations. Appointed in 2013, Fiona has 25 years' experience in the financial services and pension sector. She joined the PRI from the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST), where she spent seven years as CEO. Fiona was named one of the 20 most influential people in sustainability globally by Barron’s magazine and has twice been named one of Australia’s one hundred women of influence by the Australian Financial Review.”
Emma Jane Joyce, is Investment Director with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) where she leads on the design and implementation of the Fund’s unique Sustainability and Responsible Investment Strategy across the whole Fund, Global and Irish Portfolios, multiple investment structures and asset types and across the life-cycle of investments. She represents the NTMA on number of sustainability platforms including SIF Ireland and the CDP Ireland Network (past Chair). Emma Jane has extensive investment experience and has held a variety of investment roles within the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), including responsibility for a number of International Equity Portfolios as part of the National Pension Reserve Fund’s (NPRF) Investment Management Programme. Emma Jane joined the NTMA from Mercer Investment Consulting. She is a graduate of both Trinity College Dublin (BA Mod Genetics) and the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business (MSc in Management).
Laura Heuston, has spent most of her career working with corporates and asset managers in renewable energy and energy efficiency finance, advising on transaction structures for fundraising and M&A transactions. A chartered accountant and tax consultant, she has since pivoted to focus fully on sustainable finance, a broad topic that is increasingly on the agenda of policymakers, regulators, investors and financial services firms across investment, banking and insurance.
A leading expert in her field, she has in-depth knowledge of the global sustainable finance landscape. She advises, speaks and writes on a broad range of sustainable business and finance topics, with a particular specialism in EU sustainable finance policy, ESG, climate-related financial risk and opportunity, responsible investment and energy efficiency finance.
Laura previously worked with KPMG, Airtricity, and Sustainable Nation Ireland.
Dr. Margaret Cullen, is a specialist in the areas of corporate and investment fund governance. Margaret holds a PhD in governance from University College Dublin. Her doctoral research explored the role and effectiveness of boards of directors in investment fund governance. She is a published behavioral researcher with particular interest in board effectiveness, processes, dynamics and decision-making, board and corporate culture, stewardship and corporate social responsibility. Prior to completing her doctoral research, Margaret worked for 12 years in the financial services industry.Following completion of her doctoral research Margaret joined the Institute of Banking (IoB) as Director of Executive Education. She designed and directed the IoB's Certified Bank Director (CBD) and Certified Investment Fund Director (CIFD) Programmes from 2012. Margaret was the founding CEO and Academic Director of the Certified Investment Fund Director Institute (CIFDI), a specialist institute of the Institute of Banking (IoB) which focuses on raising professional standards in investment fund governance through its CIFD Programme. Margaret taught investment fund governance on the programme for 8 years up to April 2020.Margaret has been an assistant professor at the UCD Smurfit Business School since 2007 lecturing on the Professional Diploma in Corporate Governance (a Smurfit Executive Development programme) in the subject areas of directors roles and responsibilities, executive remuneration and behavioral aspects of boards and, since 2018, on the MSc in Accounting and Financial Management in the subject areas of Corporate Governance and Business Ethics. She is currently Co-Academic Director of the IoB’s CBD Programme on an associate basis and lectures bank governance on the programme. Margaret serves as a non-executive director on the boards of several financial services organisations. She has extensive board and board committee experience. She is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Fund Boards Council in the UK. Margaret is a Board Assessor for the Institute of Director's Board Evaluation Service.
Declan Kelly brings a depth of experience and knowledge from the aircraft leasing industry to the role, spanning a 30-year period. He began his career with Aer Lingus, later joined GPA and has previously held a series of senior roles within GECAS including most recently as Chief Commercial Officer.
Jan Melgaard has worked with financing, leasing and investing in commercial jet aircraft throughout his career. Prior to joining FPG Amentum in 2010 Jan was CEO of Nordic Aviation Capital and President/CEO of Volito Aviation (spearheaded a joint venture with Goldman Sachs).
Jan has been an active speaker at several industry events and conferences and has co-authored articles appearing in industry publications such as The Aviation Economist and AirFinance Journal. He received his MBA from Columbia University in New York.
Kieran O Brien is a partner in Management Consulting and is the lead advisory partner in the Aviation Finance practice. Kieran has 18 years’ experience of providing advisory services to the world’s leading Aviation companies in the areas of performance improvement and optimisation, finance efficiency, post deal integration / separation and setting up leasing platforms. Kieran also provides Financial Management services to our clients across a number of industries leading the transformation of finance functions in reporting, controls and providing management insight.
Jaime Gornsztejn is responsible for corporate engagements in Latin America and Russia and focusses on the industrials & capital goods sectors. Prior to joining EOS, he worked for the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), where he held executive positions in Brazil and the UK as banker in its Telecommunications Department, as portfolio manager in its Venture Capital Division and as a project finance manager at the Renewable Energy Department. More recently, as managing director of BNDES UK, he was responsible for setting up the bank's subsidiary in London. Jaime has also held executive positions as portfolio manager at Nortel Networks UK and as an adviser to private finance initiative projects at KPMG Corporate Finance UK. Jaime holds a BSc in Electronics Engineering from IME, the Military Institute of Engineering in Rio de Janeiro, an MSc in Telecommunications Engineering from PUC-Rio, the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and an MSc in Finance from Cass Business School in London. He is also chair of the board of the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain and serves on the Senior Advisory Council of the Brazil Institute at King’s College London.
Peter Stapleton, heads Maples and Calder's Funds & Investment Management team in the Maples Group's Dublin office. He regularly advises investors, sponsors, fund managers and investment banks on the establishment, structuring, financing, public and private distribution and ongoing operation of UCITS and AIFs, including hedge funds, funds of funds, master feeders, private equity funds, managed account platforms and bespoke structures.
Peter also has significant expertise advising on derivatives, prime brokerage, investment services, MiFID and securities law. His clients include financial institutions carrying out business in Ireland, or transacting with Irish-domiciled counterparties from other jurisdictions. Peter holds several senior positions on industry groups and regularly works with Irish regulatory and governmental bodies on enhancing Ireland’s financial services regime. He is a recognised legal expert in the ESG and sustainable investment space and works with some of the world’s largest managers and financial institutions to implement their internal policies as well as external standards such as UN PRI and the EU’s Sustainable Action Plan.
Peter joined the Maples Group in 2010. He was previously a partner with a leading Irish law firm, where he also managed their North American legal representative office. Peter has also worked for a global investment bank and a law firm in Luxembourg. He is widely recognised as a leading lawyer in the financial services arena in Ireland and has been recommended by industry journals including IFLR1000, Legal 500, Chambers Global and Who's Who Legal.
Peter has been nominated as one of the outstanding practitioners in investment funds in the Guide to the World's Leading Banking, Finance and Transactional Lawyers. Clients commend him for his "incredible knowledge of the law and regulation in funds and financial services", describing Peter as "the AIFMD guru" and commenting that "when any matter touches Ireland, I think of Peter Stapleton". Clients also praise his "ability to analyse complicated regulatory and commercial situations and provide simple and elegant solutions."
Peter has written several articles for the IBA and industry journals, has lectured on Financial Services Law at private conferences and for the Law Society of Ireland, and has advised the Commercial Law Centre of University College Dublin on developments in Financial Services Law. He is Chair of the Irish Funds Alternative Investment Product Group, a member of AIMA's Asset Management Working Group and past chairman of Hedge Funds Care Ireland.
Christina has a legal background, holding an LLB from Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), an LLM from King’s College London (UK) and an MBA from Schulich School of Business (Canada). She has also completed a Diploma in Investment Compliance at CISI (UK) with an excellence award. Christina had 7+ years of legal and compliance experience in the asset management industry in Brazil, UK and Switzerland before joining MSCI ESG research team as Senior Associate in 2018. Christina leads the diversity, equity and inclusion research efforts at MSCI ESG research, including the Women on Boards series. Christina is also the Toronto Co-chapter head of MSCI’s Women Leadership Forum.
Rebecca Chapman is a Specialist in Environmental issues at the PRI. Since 2020 she has been responsible for PRI’s work on Circularity and the activities of PRI’s Plastics Investor Working Group, including the recent publication of investor engagement guides on plastic packaging. Rebecca previously worked in the FMCG sector in innovation, including on water and circular economy initiatives. She holds an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London and a BA in Geography from the University of Oxford.
Marine is a Senior Associate at PRI. As the content manager for the PRI Academy, Marine has been reviewing and revitalising its core offerings and creating new course materials. Before this, Marine worked as a sustainability strategy analyst in the property sector for JLL, and as a project manager for ResponsibleSteel. Marine has a BSc in Conservation Biology and an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London.
Beth Burks is a Director of Sustainable Finance at S&P Global Ratings – the international credit rating agency and one of the largest providers of information to inform debt capital markets. In her role, Beth develops, conducts and oversees the analysis of the environment, social, and governance (ESG) performance of corporations accessing the financial capital markets. This includes both analysing the ESG factors of performance that influence credit quality (the probability of default), and impact on stakeholders that could lead to future financial impacts on these companies. Beth is the lead analyst for EMEA covering all Sustainable Finance evaluations including Second Party Opinions. Beth is one of the architects of S&P Ratings ESG Evaluation, a one of a kind assessment of a company’s ESG strategy and ability to prepare for potential future risks and opportunities.Beth is one of S&P Global’s team of delegates that participates annually in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference of parties (UNFCCC COP). Her research primarily focuses on net zero targets, water risk, and the social implications of climate change. Investment Week nominated her paper on spatial finance in the Thought Leadership category of its Sustainable & ESG Investments Awards 2020. This paper quantitatively linked satellite data on ecosystems to the debt metrics of water utilities in the United States. She holds an MSc Geographical Information Science from Birkbeck College, and a BSc Mathematics from Imperial College in London. Born to British parents, she grew up in Belgium and South Korea.
Luisina Berberian is a Director of the Sustainable Finance group of S&P Global Ratings, based in Madrid. In her role, Luisina develops, conducts and oversees the analysis of the environment, social, and governance (ESG) performance of corporations accessing the financial capital markets. This includes both analyzing the ESG factors of performance that influence credit quality (the probability of default), and impact on stakeholders that could lead to future financial impacts on these companies. Luisina’s experience at S&P Global also includes seven years in Infrastructure Finance Ratings; the analytical group which covers utilities, project finance and transportation in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Luisina holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, and a Master’s Degree in Coaching, Emotional Intelligence and Cognitive Sciences from the University of Alcala (Madrid, Spain).
Alan Barrett is Director of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). He began his career with the ESRI in 1994, following the completion of his doctoral studies at Michigan State University. Between 2001 and 2003 he was seconded to the Department of Finance. Between 2011 and 2013, he spent another period on secondment, this time at Trinity College Dublin. He is a Member of the Royal Irish Academy, a Research Fellow with the Institute for Labour Economics (IZA) in Bonn, Germany, an Honorary Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in Ireland and an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Economics, TCD. In March 2021, he was appointed a Member of the new Northern Ireland Fiscal Council by the NI Minister for Finance, Conor Murphy. He was a member of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council from 2011 to 2015 and a member (ex officio) of the Climate Change Advisory Council from 2015 to 2021.
Gabriel Makhlouf took up his position as Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland on 1 September 2019. He chairs the Central Bank Commission, is a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, a member of the European Systemic Risk Board, and is Ireland's Alternate Governor at the International Monetary Fund.Before joining the Central Bank Gabriel was Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury and the Government's chief economic and financial adviser from 2011 to 2019. During his time as Secretary, he led reviews of New Zealand's three macroeconomic pillars (monetary, financial stability and fiscal policy) and the development of a new framework for the development of economic and public policy focused on intergenerational wellbeing. In addition Gabriel was New Zealand's Alternate Governor at the World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He was also co-chair of the Trans-Tasman Banking Council.Previously Gabriel worked in the UK civil service where his roles ranged from policy on domestic and international tax issues through to large-scale operational delivery. He has also chaired the OECD’s Committee on Fiscal Affairs and was responsible for the UK's Government Banking Service.
Mary is a member of AIB’s Executive Committee leading a number of group functions including the group’s strategy, sustainability and corporate affairs functions. Mary chairs AIB’s Group Sustainability Committee and over the past number of years, she has been responsible for leading a groupwide transformation to place Sustainability are the heart of AIB’s business. Mary has held a number of senior leadership roles across the bank spanning retail, corporate and treasury businesses. Prior to joining AIB, Mary trained as an accountant and tax advisor with PwC.
Since March 2016, Marie-Louise Kelly has worked as the Chief Financial Officer of ORIX Aviation. She has guided the team through significant growth and expansion of the business over the last three years. Marie-Louise joined ORIX Aviation's finance department in April 2009 and after two years moved into a commercial/transaction based role which has included involvement in commercial acquisition projects, strategic planning, tax structuring, risk and funding. Marie-Louise was appointed to the main Board of ORIX Aviation, in November 2018.
Kashyap is Vice President at Tufton Investment Management Ltd (Tufton), a leading investment manager focused on the shipping industry, with over $1.2bn of assets under management across a number of funds, including LSE listed Tufton Oceanic Assets Limited. Tufton is a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment since 2018. Kashyap is a chartered financial analyst and holds a Master in Finance degree from London Business School and has investment experience in public and private markets across the shipping, industrials and energy sectors. At Tufton, Kashyap co‐ordinates ESG initiatives which include retrofit of energy saving devices on ships to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promotion of crew welfare.
Patrick Burke ILIM officially opens Ireland’s 4th ESG Day.
A discussion with Alan Barret and Governor Makhlouf.
Organised in association with the Department of Finance
Speakers
ESG, the opportunity and impact for aircraft leasing
As we enter post covid, ESG will be taking centre stage in the aviation world again. There is a rowing political, industrial and regulatory appetite to improve environmental performance within the aviation sector. The industry has set extremely challenging targets to meet net zero carbon goals, including a 50% reduction in emissions by 2050.
It is no surprise that investors will increasingly favour aviation businesses with high ESG ratings — signaling more resilience and creating long-term business bets. In our discussion, we will look at ESG incentives in financing and investment to present an opportunity for the aviation industry to shake off its reputation for greenwashing and positively impact environmental sustainability over the long term while generating shareholder returns.
Along with the opportunities, we will cover the impact and the challenges too. Aviation businesses and lessors should expect more in-depth sustainability reviews. ESG factors likely to be considered when assessing investments include carbon footprint, employment equity, suppliers and consumer protection, business ethics, board diversity and executive pay.
This event will open with a scene-setting presentation by KPMG, followed by a panel discussion. A deeper dive half-day event will take place mid-January, which will build on this initial discussion.
The popularity of ESG investing is escalating year on year, moving from a niche to dominant strategy. What are the main factors driving this increase in popularity and are female investors at the wheel or just on the journey with everyone else? Join us for this engaging panel event with expert input discussing what impact females have on the growing trend towards ESG Investing and investigating if they really are a key driver.
Organised in association with Ireland’s 100 Women in Finance Next Gen Committee.
This panel discussion will explore the current state of play of the corporate governance framework, addressing its potency in 2021. Join panellists as they discuss the material role ESG factors play in safeguarding a company’s long-term success, creating wide stakeholder value and satisfaction, and maintaining strong reputation and accountability standards.
Organised in association with Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF).
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought social issues to the forefront of the ESG agenda, yet with integration of social performance data is still lagging it’s environmental and governance peers.
This session will explore upcoming trends in terms of social taxonomies and regulation in Europe and the UK, as well as concrete examples of how investors are using S indicators in their investment decision making, and what types of data to be looking out for.
Join us to hear from legal experts, investors rating agencies and data providers alike on how to really start acting on the S.
Organised in association with UN PRI and the Irish Association of Asset Managers (IAIM).
In advance of COP26 in November, hear updates from the COP26 leadership team on the critical role the financial system will play in achieving Net Zero by 2050.
The day is built on COP26’s 4 Private Finance pillars and events will focus on climate related Reporting, Risk Management, Mobilising the trillions needed from public and private sectors, and realising the financial Returns on the global transition to Net Zero.
This day is Supported by Climate Ready.
Brian Hayes, studied at Trinity College, Dublin and at St Patrick’s College Maynooth. Brian served as a member of both houses of the Irish Parliament from 1996 to 2014. In 2011 he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Finance. During his time as Minister of State, Brian attended Eurogroup, ECOFIN and Budgetary. Council meetings on behalf of the Irish Government. He also led on the issues of procurement and public sector reform. Following his election to the European Parliament in May 2014 Brian was appointed to the European Parliaments Economic & Monetary Affairs (ECON) Committee, and also elected as Vice President of ECON. He was the Vice Coordinator of Econ for the European People’s Party. Brian was the European Parliaments rapporteur for the IORPS II Directive and shadow rapporteur for the Money Market Funds regulation and the Pan European Pension Proposal (PEPP). He also worked on the EPs first ever report on Fintech and on the subject of Third Country Equivalence. Brian now leads the bpfi which is the voice of the Irish banking, payments and fintec industry in Ireland. As CEO he is acutely aware of the challenges facing the retail banking sector in the post banking union environment - challenges of capital capture, return on equity and investment in new tech. Bpfi advocates across the FS landscape and especially in the areas of digital transition, sustainable finance and anti fraud/AML related agendas. BPFI also leads on industry non competitive collaboration. Ireland as a euro zone country has significant SSM banking operations so much of the Bpfi work is directly connected to positively influencing what’s happening in the EU across its membership of the EBF.
Laura Quinn is a Managing Director and Head of Primary Markets, Laura is responsible for the origination and syndication of all fixed income products in multiple currency markets. She focuses on the development and growth of existing and new client relationships across supranational, agency, financial and corporate issuers.Laura has over 20 years experience in Capital Markets. She spent six years at The Royal Bank of Canada in their Fixed Income Origination team before joining TD Securities in 2006. After spending most of her career in London, she re-located to Dublin in early 2020 and currently runs the Origination and Syndication business for TD Securities. In this role, she serves TD Securities’ clients in the EU27.Laura holds a first class honours master’s degree in economics, as well as a bachelor’s degree in economics and Italian with first-class honours, both from University College Cork in Ireland.
David Carlin leads the TCFD and climate risk program for UNEP Finance Initiative. He currently is running a pilot for nearly 50 global banks and investors on topics of climate scenarios, climate risk assessments, and climate governance. He is also a contributor to Forbes, where he writes about climate change and leadership.
Prior to joining UNEP FI, he worked as a senior manager in Risk and Public Policy for Oliver Wyman Consulting and in Model Risk Management for PNC Bank. His background is in quantitative modeling and decision science.
He conducted research in financial decision-making at Carnegie Mellon University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams College
Dr. Yue (Nina) Chen is the first-ever Director of Sustainability and Climate Initiatives at the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS). As part of the executive team, Nina is charged with developing the Department’s portfolio of policy initiatives involving sustainability, green financing, and climate mitigation. Under her leadership, DFS became the first U.S. financial regulator to establish a holistic set of expectations for banks and insurers to integrate the financial risks from climate change into corporate governance, business strategies, risk management, and disclosure. Nina also serves as the Vice-Chair of the Climate Risk Steering Group at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors.
Before joining DFS, Nina was the Nature Conservancy’s Director of Conservation Investments in New Jersey then New York. In this role she developed innovative conservation finance programs, advised cities on attracting private capital to accelerate and scale up conservation impacts, and led urban water resilience initiatives.
Nina’s career in finance spanned a wide range of areas, including sovereign bonds, interest rates derivatives, mortgages, and structured credit products, at Goldman Sachs and Royal Bank of Canada, among others.
Nina received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Certificate in Conservation and Environmental Sustainability from Columbia University.
Stéphane Boujnah is CEO and Chairman of the Managing Board of Euronext N.V.
Before joining Euronext, Stéphane Boujnah was Head of Santander Global Banking and Markets for continental Europe. From 2005 to 2010, he was Managing Director at Deutsche Bank responsible for the development of the investment banking operations in France. Previously he founded KM5 Capital, an advisory company specialised in equity raising and M&A advice for venture capital funds and innovative technology companies.
From 2000 to 2002, he was Director of the European M&A team of Credit Suisse First Boston Technology Group in Palo Alto and London. From 1997 to 1999, Stéphane Boujnah was senior adviser to the French Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry, Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
He started his carrier in 1991 as a business lawyer at Freshfields. He graduated from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. He holds a Master degree and a DEA in Law from La Sorbonne Paris, a LLM in Law from the University of Kent, and a MBA from Insead.
Stéphane Boujnah was a member of the Commission pour la Liberation de la Croissance Française established by the then President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007. He is founder and Vice-President of the Board of the think tank En Temps Réel and President of the Board of directors of Accentus and Insula Orchestra.
William Harding is the Head of Implementation at the UN-convened Sustainable Insurance Forum (SIF). Prior to his appointment to the SIF Secretariat in 2021, William worked in the Climate Risk team of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). William joined APRA in 2017 as a member of the Superannuation Policy team before moving to the Insurance Policy team, where he contributed to a wide range of prudential and regulatory issues, including implementing the recommendations of the Australian Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. During his time in APRA, William supported Executive Board member, Geoff Summerhayes in his role as Chairman of UN-convened SIF. In 2019, William was seconded to the Bank for International Settlements as a Financial Stability Institute Fellow. William holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons).
Sheri is the Head of AXA’s Group Risk Management (GRM) P&C Climate & Sustainability. As the dedicated support to AXA’s chairmanship of the Net Zero Insurance Alliance, Sheri is managing the alliance activities alongside the UNEP secretariat. In less than a year the alliance has announced their commitments, joined the Race to Zero, and began a metrics development collaboration with the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) – with more underway! As a member of AXA’s Group Risk Management Team, and previously at AXA’s commercial carrier AXA XL, Sheri is also responsible for bringing the net zero objectives to the underwriting, risk consulting, claims, and other business teams. A seasoned professional in risk consultancy, Sheri is a strong advocate for client engagement in the efforts for climate transition, and will be leading efforts for the development of evaluation and mitigation solutions for real economy transition plan risks.Sheri’s insurance career began in the life business, crafting life and health solutions for commercial clients of AIG in New York and Tokyo. She later moved over to commercial property and casualty at AIG, building a risk consulting and client engagement practice over 13 years in Asia, based in Beijing and Hong Kong. Upon joining AXA XL, a division of AXA, in 2019 Sheri returned to the New York area and took on her current role in AXA GRM earlier this year.Sheri holds an MIM from Thunderbird School of Global Management, an MBA from the University of Cincinnati, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Florida. She is active in promoting engineering studies for girls in her community and mentoring women in the insurance risk profession.
Dublin-based Kasper Elmgreen CFA is Head of Equities and oversees the equities business line at Amundi. The business line spans teams in seven countries with expertise covering actively managed Global, European and Japanese equities as well as convexity solutions (volatility, protected equity and convertible bonds).He joined Amundi from Nordea Asset Management in Copenhagen where he had been Head of Fundamental Equities since 2014 with responsibility for restructuring the investment capabilities. Prior to this, he worked at Bankinvest Asset Management for 10 years in various portfolio management roles including Lead Portfolio Manager for an Emerging Europe equity strategy and was part of the Global Investment Board. Kasper became Head of Equities in 2010.Kasper is a CFA Charterholder. He graduated from Copenhagen Business School in 2005 with a Master of Science in Applied Economics and Finance and also holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Bath, obtained in 2003.
Amundi – a pioneer in responsible investing - is Europe’s largest asset manager and in the top 10 globally with almost €1.8 trillion AuM. It has some 4,800 employees across 36 countries and 100 million clients globally. Morningstar ranks Amundi as the Number 1 Asset Manager by Article 8 and 9 Fund Assets under The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SDFR). SFDR, which came into effect on March 10 2021, is a cornerstone of the European Commission’s Action Plan on Sustainable Finance.
Karl is currently the energy lead in the COP26 Climate Action Champion team, where he promotes greater action on climate change within the energy sector. Karl started his career as a diplomat in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, specialising in climate change and economic diplomacy. This included co-ordinating a campaign on the economic and business case for climate change action and three years as Head of Climate Change and Economic Affairs at the British Embassy in Chile. Prior to joining the Champions team, he was a Senior Commercial Manager in the Asset Management department of Ørsted, the world’s largest offshore wind developer and operator. He holds degrees in Economics and Management from the University of Cambridge and Sustainable Energy Systems from the University of Edinburgh.
Dr. Tanya Harrington is a public policy and regulatory affairs professional with over 20 years’ experience in helping organisations drive the effectiveness and performance of their policy-focused teams. Tanya currently serves as An Post’s Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer, leading the development of the Company’s comprehensive and integrated regulatory strategy and leading An Post’s engagement with government and regulatory authorities and stakeholders at international, European and domestic levels.
Before joining An Post, Tanya spent six years in consultancy, advising a range of Ireland’s largest companies on matters of public policy, government affairs and economic regulation across a range of economically regulated sectors. Prior to her consulting work, Tanya was Director of the NTR Foundation, the corporate foundation of NTR plc - a leading investor and asset manager of renewable energy projects, with a specific focus on wind energy.
These positions built on Tanya’s considerable experience of public policy formation, developed through her work as Ministerial Advisor at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and the Department of Transport. In her early career, Tanya was Head of Energy Policy at business representative group Ibec, a policy analyst at the Institute of International and European Affairs, and researcher at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Trade in Brussels.
Tanya holds a BA (Hons.) in German and History from University College Dublin, and an MSSc. in European Integration and a Doctorate in Governance, both awarded by Queen’s University Belfast.
Vanessa recently joined a Temporis backed Offshore Wind Development Platform as Director of Offshore. Vanessa joins from Ørsted, a world leader in offshore wind, where she was the Head of Asset Management at Hornsea One, the largest offshore wind farm in the world (1,218MW). Vanessa has over 10 years’ experience in the offshore wind sector encompassing 6 offshore projects in the UK including Hornsea 1, Burbo Bank Extension, Walney Extension, Barrow, Burbo Bank and Outer Solway. She has held senior management positions across all stages of the offshore wind cycle, from early-stage development, implementation and execution to project construction and operations.
Vanessa holds an MSc Environmental Technology from Imperial College and BA in Economics from Trinity College Dublin.
Paul Saunders is Senior Investment Director and Head of Climate and Venture Capital with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), Ireland’s €9bn Sovereign Development Fund. Paul leads ISIF’s Climate investment agenda, where ISIF is targeting an investment programme of €1bn over the next 5 years, focused on investments that will catalyse the transition to Net Zero across the Irish economy.Paul has a background in the energy sector and started his career with Shell International in the Netherlands, working on major development projects globally. He then moved into the world of sustainable investing, working with NTR on a range of renewable energy investments. Paul has previously worked as a consultant with McKinsey & Co. in Dublin and London, and as Head of Innovation with An Post.Paul holds a Ph.D. in Earthquake Physics from Cambridge University, U.K., an MBA from INSEAD, France, and is an IoD qualified Company Director.
Séamus joined Macquarie Capital in 2016 and is responsible for the commercial and technical aspects of the Green Investment Group’s offshore wind equity and advisory transactions. He was a member of the Macquarie deal team that acquired the Green Investment Bank in 2017 and on completion of that transaction relocated to the GIG’s Headquarters in Edinburgh to lead their European offshore wind development activities with a particular focus on ScotWind. Prior to joining the GIG Séamus spent an 8 Year period with the utility SSE. Whilst at SSE he was the Ireland Offshore Wind manager leading the development of the Arklow bank Windfarm and subsequently was the commercial lead during the construction phase of the Greater Gabbard Offshore Windfarm. At the time this was the world’s largest offshore windfarm. After completing Greater Gabbard Séamus was a key member of the team that brought Scotland’s first commercial scale offshore windfarm - Beatrice to Financial close. His early career was in the sub-sea sector of the Oil & Gas industry and having transitioned from that industry into renewables he remains passionate about continuing to deliver the energy transition at pace.
Butch Bacani leads UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative (PSI), the largest collaboration between the UN and the insurance industry. Endorsed by the UN Secretary-General and insurance industry CEOs, the PSI is a global framework and initiative for the industry to address sustainability issues—as risk managers, insurers and investors—and to build resilient, inclusive and sustainable communities and economies on a healthy planet.
Butch leads initiatives that contribute to achieving the Paris Climate Agreement, UN Convention on Biological Diversity, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These include creating the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance, supporting the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), convening the world’s leading insurers to pilot the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), championing nature-positive insurance, developing “Insurance SDGs”, creating a Sustainable Insurance Facility with V20 finance ministers for the most climate-vulnerable countries, and working with the California Insurance Commissioner to develop the world’s first sustainable insurance roadmap. He co-led the development of the first global sustainability guide for the insurance business, the creation of the UN-convened Sustainable Insurance Forum for regulators and supervisors, and forged the PSI’s partnership with the world’s inclusive insurance community. Butch was part of InsuranceERM’s inaugural list of the most influential people leading and shaping the insurance industry’s response to climate change.
Butch led the global process that created the PSI in 2012, and UNEP’s insurance and investment programmes from 2006 to 2010, including activities with the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). He has shaped global insurance industry initiatives to address climate change, disaster risks, tobacco risks, illegal fishing and plastic pollution; and to protect UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Butch has authored pioneering studies on sustainable insurance and responsible investment. Prior to the UN, he was in the insurance industry for over a decade, working with leading insurers and reinsurers worldwide.
Butch is also involved in the InsuResilience Global Partnership, Insurance Development Forum, California Climate Insurance Working Group, Microinsurance Network, and World Benchmarking Alliance.
Kyle leads BNEF’s sustainability research team, which publishes content on the private sector's transition to the low-carbon economy. The team focuses on core areas like environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, target-setting, low-carbon pathways and sustainable finance. Kyle specializes in corporate clean energy procurement, net-zero targets and voluntary carbon offsets.
Murat heads Bloomberg’s EMEA and APAC product development for Regulatory & Climate Data solutions. He interacts with clients and regulators, identifying key challenges and supporting the development of new data sets. Murat has 18 years of risk management and compliance experience covering sell and buy side markets. Before joining Bloomberg, Murat worked as a Director at KPMG, advising clients in risk management.
Patricia Torres is Global Head of Sustainable Finance Solutions at Bloomberg, where she leads the Sustainable Finance solutions team, a group that is focused on ESG data, scores, regulatory solutions, third party data, Gender equality index and analytics. Previously, Patricia held several positions at Bloomberg, namely as Global Head for Financial Products Knowledge Group - leading a global team of learning consultants whose job was to create impactful change management programs aligned with Bloomberg’s new Enterprise Operating Model, as Regional Sales Manager, and as Regional Manager in the Data Department. Patricia has also worked as a consultant for Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, spanning different sectors, from the clothing segment, the mobile telecoms sector, and the digital and imaging technology market.
Imelda Hurley was appointed CEO of Coillte in November 2019. With one million acres under management, Coillte is Irelands largest forester, largest provider of outdoor recreation space, enables approximately one-third of Ireland’s wind-energy, processes forestry by-products and undertakes nature rehabilitation projects of scale. Imelda is also a Non-Executive Director at Dole Plc and is Deputy President of IBEC.She has over twenty years’ executive and non-executive experience in public company, state owned, private equity and venture capital backed businesses and has built that experience in multiple geographies including Ireland, UK, Eastern Europe, Hong Kong and China. Her previous roles include Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer at Origin Enterprises plc, Chief Financial Officer & Head of Sustainability at PCH International, Group Finance Director at Greencore Group plc, Non-Executive Director of Valeo Foods and Board Member at Ervia.Imelda holds a Bachelor of Business Studies from University of Limerick, is a Chartered Accountant and an alumna of Harvard Business School.
Francine Lacqua is an award-winning London-based anchor for Bloomberg Television. She co-anchors the weekday 3-hour daily program “Bloomberg Surveillance” with Tom Keene, where she provides insight on foreign policy, global markets and the top business stories of the day. She also presents “Leaders with Lacqua,” a special series where she sits down with top CEOs, entrepreneurs and public figures. Since joining Bloomberg in 2000, Lacqua has covered the World Economic Forum in Davos, IMF in Washington, G20 meetings, the EU Leaders Summit and OPEC. She also led Bloomberg Television’s coverage of the Italian and French elections where she was one of the first international reporters to interview cabinet members. While at Bloomberg, Lacqua has interviewed high-profile figures such as French President Emmanuel Macron, former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, Billionaire financier George Soros and ECB President Mario Draghi. She has also interviewed finance ministers from South Korea, Russia, France, Mexico, Italy and Greece, as well as moderating televised debates from the World Economic Forum in Davos and the European Economic Governance package.
Mary L. Schapiro is the Vice Chair for Global Public Policy of Bloomberg, the global financial technology company that was founded in 1981. She has been at Bloomberg since October 2018, and also serves as a Special Advisor to the Founder and Chairman.
Ms. Schapiro, who has had a distinguished career as a financial services regulator under four U.S. presidents from both political parties, oversees Bloomberg’s public policy and regulatory priorities globally. Her service as the 29th SEC Chair culminated decades of regulatory leadership. She was the first woman to serve as SEC Chair, and the only person to have served as chair of the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). During her four years as SEC Chair, Ms. Schapiro presided over one of the busiest rulemaking agendas in the SEC’s history, during which the agency also executed a comprehensive restructuring program to improve protections for investors and pursued aggressive enforcement of the federal securities laws.
Ms. Schapiro also serves as an advisor to Bloomberg in multiple capacities, including as the leader of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, or TCFD. The TCFD has developed and garnered widespread support for a voluntary framework for corporate disclosure of climate-related risk information to help investors, lenders, and underwriters make informed financial decisions. She is also the vice chair of the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) created at the request of the UN Secretary General to work on scaling climate finance. She serves as vice chair of the Working Group on U.S. RMB Trading and Clearing which works to improve the competitiveness and efficiency of U.S. businesses by lowering trading costs and improving access to China’s markets
Before becoming SEC Chair and working for Bloomberg, Ms. Schapiro served as chief executive officer of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the largest nongovernmental regulator of securities firms. Earlier, she was Chair of the CFTC from 1994 to 1996, and a commissioner of the SEC from 1988 to 1994. She serves on the board of both Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), and CVS Health (NYSE: CVS). She is also a member of the governing board of the Center for Audit Quality and serves on advisory boards at the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Board of Trustees of Franklin and Marshall College and the Humane Rescue Alliance.
Moyagh Murdock is the Chief Executive Officer of Insurance Ireland having taken over the role from Interim CEO Gerry Hassett in April 2020. Previously she was the CEO of the Road Safety Authority, a position she has held since February 2014. Prior to taking up the CEO role in the RSA, she was Chief Operating Officer for Bus Éireann after having first joined the company in 2007 as the Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer with responsibility for the fleet maintenance and garage operations. Originally from Newry, Co. Down, Moyagh graduated from Queen's University Belfast with a B.Eng. Mechanical Engineering. She also holds an MBA from Dublin City University and a Certificate of Professional Competence in Road Transport Operations Management.
Anna Sweeney is Executive Director at the Prudential Regulation Authority. She has responsibility for the Risk & Operations function of the PRA, which includes the Chief Operating Office, ownership of the PRA’s supervisory approach and risk model and support for the PRA’s senior committees. Anna also co-leads Insurance Supervision with Charlotte Gerken, where she is responsible for the supervision of the UK’s general insurance sector, including the Society of Lloyd’s.The PRA’s approach to insurance supervision seeks to deliver the PRA’s statutory objectives to:• promote the safety and soundness of the firms we regulate; and• contribute to the securing of an appropriate degree of protection for those who are or may become policyholders.Anna was previously our Director of Insurance Supervision (between 2017 and 2019). Anna is an experienced insurance and banking regulator, having previously led the supervision of a number of the largest banks and insurers.
Michael Bloomberg has long been a global leader in the fight against climate change. As three-term mayor of New York City, he implemented a groundbreaking strategic sustainability plan and reduced carbon emissions by 13 percent, positioning the city as a model for climate action around the world. His foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, focuses on the environment as one of its key program areas, and he has given more than $1 billion to the global climate fight. Bloomberg serves as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions, as well as Global Ambassador for the Race to Zero and Race to Resilience campaigns.
Bloomberg leads a number of efforts that are making progress in the global climate fight. He serves as president of the board of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and co-chairs the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy and the “America Is All In” coalition. He also created the American Cities Climate Challenge to help the largest U.S. cities make more progress reducing carbon emissions in support of the Paris Agreement goals.
Through the U.S. Beyond Coal campaign, Bloomberg has worked with environmental organizations to retire more than 65% of all U.S. coal plants since 2011 – and in 2017, he expanded the effort to Europe, where Europe Beyond Coal has retired 50% of the continent’s plants. Building on this progress, he also launched Beyond Carbon, the largest-ever coordinated campaign to take on the climate crisis in the U.S., which aims to retire all domestic coal plants by 2030 and stop the construction of new gas plants.
Bloomberg has been instrumental in involving the financial community in the fight against climate change. He serves as chair of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, which develops recommendations to help companies disclose information on the climate-related risks and opportunities they face. And at the UN Secretary-General’s request, he formed the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative with other influential private sector leaders to accelerate investments in climate solutions.
Bloomberg also collaborates with partners and countries around the world to protect marine ecosystems and preserve coral reefs.
He is co-author, with Carl Pope, of the New York Times bestseller Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save the Planet.
Curtis Ravenel is a Senior Advisor to former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, COP26 Finance Advisor and UN Special Envoy for Climate Finance 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 and as a Strategic Advisor to Context Labs BV.
Curtis founded the Sustainable Business & Finance Group at Bloomberg LP and served as its Global Head from 2007-2019. Under his leadership, Bloomberg integrated sustainability considerations into the firm’s operations globally and developed strategies to leverage Bloomberg’s Enterprise Products to evaluate sustainability-related risks and opportunities for its user base of finance professionals and other influential decision-makers.
Prior to his role as Global Head of Sustainable Business & Finance, Curtis served as Financial Controller for Asia, managing accounting, tax, treasury and audit services for 23 legal entities with combined annual revenues exceeding $1billion USD. This was preceded by leadership roles in the Capital Planning and Financial Analysis Groups.
Earlier in his career, Curtis co-managed a small real estate development group, founded a microbrewery and worked with the Recycling Advisory Council in Washington, D.C. conducting Full Cost Accounting and Life Cycle Analysis work.
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. In 2018-2019, he served as the only non-European appointee to the European Commission’s Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. Curtis holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in History from Davidson College.
Russell is a Partner in KPMG Ireland and leads KPMG Sustainable Future, the firm’s dedicated climate & sustainability advisory practice. Russell has over 15 years’ experience in the low carbon and sustainability sector, supporting corporates and semi-state organisations develop and implement ESG and decarbonisation strategies.
Cathal is a member of the leadership team in AIB Corporate Banking leading a large business with responsibility for the Agriculture, Food Manufacturing and Healthcare industry sectors. In recent years, Cathal has also been actively involved in AIB's Brexit readiness initiatives and the bank's Sustainability Regulatory Steering activities. Cathal is currently AIB's representative on the Governing Body of the Inter Alpha Group of European Banks and has previously been chairman of this group. In previous roles, Cathal was a Director of AIB’s Australian business, was Head of AIB’s Corporate Asset Finance business and has worked in AIB’s International Corporate Banking unit.
He serves as an expert to the Sino-German Center for Finance and Economics in Frankfurt. He is also a Fellow of the Think Tank of the Asian Financial Cooperation Association, based in Beijing and is Senior Advisor at Frankfurt Main Finance. Jochen holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg; and a Master in mathematics & computer science from The University of Göttingen.
Zalina has over 20 years of experience, predominantly in corporate advisory, and has worked in five countries in different regions of Asia. Zalina is a Fellow of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) and holds a MBA in Finance from CASS Business School, UK.
Throughout her career Zahra has served as project manager for Börse Stuttgart and served in the treasury department of Daimler AG. Holds a Bachelor in International Business with a Major in Finance from the University of Heilbronnthe University of Pittsburgh. She concluded her academic career with a Master of Science in Finance from the University of Hohenheim.
He has served as Special Assistant to the Finance Commissioner, Delta State; Head, Financial Advisory & Economic Research, Financial Derivatives Company Limited; and Acting Head, Strategy/Chief Economist at Unity Bank PLC, Abuja, Nigeria.
Cathal is Senior Investment Director - Food and Agriculture for the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. He leads a team with responsibility for investments in the Food and Agriculture sector.The ISIF Food and Agriculture portfolio is covers a broad range of sectors and seeks to support Irish companies make transformational changes to enable them scale internationally while delivering on the “Total Food Systems” approach outlined in the recent Government AgriFood strategy.Climate change in agriculture is a key Investment focus of ISIF and it has a flexible capital structure to design a range of tailored financial solutions to support solutions that can be scaled across the sector.Prior to joining ISIF Cathal was Finance Director of the Irish Dairy Board (Ornua) whom he joined from Price Waterhouse.Cathal is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, he holds a B.Comm from UCD, a Diploma in Corporate Treasury from DCU and a Diploma in Corporate Direction from Institute of Directors.
Yvonne Holmes is the Chief Sustainability Officer in AIB and has responsibility for the development and implementation of the Sustainability Strategy across AIB Group. Yvonne is a member of the Chambers Ireland’s Sustainable Business Council and is the Chair of the Sustainable Finance Skillnet. Yvonne’s previous roles include Head of Analytics & Head of Consumer Strategy and Yvonne has also led a number of key programmes across AIB Group, including Retail Transformation, Core Systems Replacement & Digital Customer Experience
Organised in association with KPMG.
A session, organised in cooperation with Temporis, discussing COP26 and the role of finance and offshore wind energy in delivering on Ireland’s energy targets and its net zero ambitions. A key goal of COP26 will be to secure global net zero by mid-century. From an energy perspective this means accelerating the transition from petroleum and coal to clean power. Ireland has already made commitments and therefore our focus needs to be on delivery – the electrification of energy and the harnessing of our best natural resource, our outstanding offshore wind. The offshore sector is only emerging in Ireland and presents a real opportunity for the Irish economy to develop clean power for Irish consumers while benefitting jobs, workers, and communities. To maximise the potential for an Irish offshore wind industry Ireland needs to mobilise finance in concert with visionary public policy support.
Organised in association with UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) and Insurance Ireland.
FINANCING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: The role of business in delivering on Net-Zero "As we approach UN COP26, the financial sector is stepping up on climate action with enhanced climate-risk reporting and adopting net-zero strategies. One year on from Ireland's endorsement of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, companies are not only implementing the TCFD recommendations but are also looking ahead to the actions needed to achieve net zero.
In advance of the publication of the TCFD's annual status report, join us for a virtual event in partnership with Climate Finance Week Ireland 2021, featuring a high-level dialogue on how Irish and European firms are taking concrete steps to reduce their carbon footprint.
This event takes place on the Bloomberg platform - REGISTER HERE Join us for a discussion on:
• What has been achieved and what needs to be done to ensure a smooth transition• How can the TCFD framework support companies' net-zero transition plans
• What are companies doing to integrate climate-related risks - into their day-to-day business operations to reach net-zero targetsThe event will also feature a breakout session following the panel discussion with Bloomberg sustainable finance experts to discuss what a "good" net-zero target looks like, how are investors comparing these targets, and examples of best practices when setting up net-zero commitments."Organised in association with Bloomberg and the Department of Finance.Speakers:• Francine Lacqua, Editor-at-Large, Bloomberg TV• Mary L. Schapiro, Vice Chair of Global Public Policy, Special Advisor to the Founder and Chairman, Bloomberg• Colin Hunt, CEO, AIB• Imelda Hurley, CEO, Coillte• Kasper Elmgreen, Head of Equities, Amundi• Stéphane Boujnah, CEO and Chairman of the Managing Board, Euronext N.V• Pat Cox, Ambassador, Sustainable Finance Ireland• Michael R. Bloomberg, U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions. Founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies. 108th Mayor of New York City• Kyle Harrison, Head of Sustainability Research, BloombergNEF• Murat Bozdemir, Regulatory, Risk & Climate Data Product Manager, Bloomberg • Patricia Torres, Global Head of Sustainable Finance Solutions, Bloomberg
This event takes place on the Bloomberg platform - REGISTER HERE
Organised in association with UN Principles for Responsible Banking and the Banking & Payments Federation of Ireland.
Supported by Sustainable Finance Skillnet.The banking sector in Ireland is at the core of the climate transition, supporting customers to move away from dependence on carbonising and polluting activities and to avail of the opportunities of greener economic activities. BPFI recognises that banks, as intermediaries and advisors, will finance the transition to a carbon neutral future, delivering on EU and national climate objectives. Both domestic and international banking members are already well advanced in integrating ESG criteria into business and investment decisions. This panel discussion will explore best practice in the integration of ESG into banking institutions. Speakers from AIB and from TD Global Finance will discuss with BPFI CEO Brian Hayes, their banks’ robust and sophisticated approaches to achieving their Net Zero commitments.
• Brian Hayes, CEO, BPFI – Moderator• Laura Quinn, Managing Director, Head of Primary Markets, TD Global Finance• Yvonne Holmes, Chief Sustainability Officer, AIB
Ireland’s 3rd Annual ‘Talent and Innovation Thursday’ focuses on key outputs from Ireland’s first Sustainable Finance Roadmap, including skills support and digital technologies available and the launch of Ireland’s first Green and Sustainable Finance TechSprint Challenge.
Sessions will feature updates to various professions and sectors including HR Managers, Accountants, Actuaries, Funds and Data. 'Talent and Innovation Thursday' is supported by Sustainable Finance Skillnet.
Michael Concannon, has worked in financial services for over 30 years. He holds a degree in Financial Services from UCD and is a Licentiate of the Institute of Bankers. Most recently he joined the Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland (FPAI) as Head of Strategy and Development. The FPAI aims to bring banking and Fintechs together for common good. Michael remains passionate about how Fintech is a positive force in financial services and can help bring tangible benefits to consumers and society at large.
Laura Flood, is a Partner in PwC Ireland's Banking and Capital Markets team, has significant experience in providing regulatory, risk management and assurance services to domestic and international banking and fintech clients. She is also a Council Member of the Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland (FPAI). The FPAI represents the interests of fintech and payments businesses in Ireland, helping develop the regulatory, commercial and community ecosystem in which they operate. She is also a member of the FPAI's Regulatory Interest Group.
Laura advises clients on a range of issues including financial reporting and emerging issues in financial services regulation. She has a particular focus on the impact of ESG on financial services and has supported clients in assessing the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors on their business and on their financial reporting.
Jennifer Reynolds is the President & CEO of Toronto Finance International (TFI), a public-private partnership whose mission is to promote and develop Toronto’s financial services sector, and to establish its prominence as a leading global financial centre.
Jennifer’s 20-year career in the financial services industry has included senior roles in investment banking, venture capital, and global risk management. Prior to joining TFI, Jennifer was the President & CEO of Women in Capital Markets (WCM), Canada’s largest industry association and advocacy group for women in the financial sector.
Jennifer is a Director on the Board of Citibank Canada, Director on the Board of BF&M Insurance Group Ltd, Director on the Board of the Canada Development Investment Corporation ("CDEV"), and a Director on the Board of Women’s College Hospital Foundation. Jennifer is the Co-Chair of the UN convened Financial Centres for Sustainability (FC4S) network and also serves on the Advisory Council for the Institute of Sustainable Finance. In 2015 and 2017, she was named a Women's Executive Network (WXN) Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winner.
Jennifer is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Women's Leadership program, and she received her MBA from McGill University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Economics and Political Science from McGill University. Jennifer also holds the Institute of Corporate Directors Designation, ICD.D.
Eimear specialises in the design and delivery of world class and professionally relevant, digital, data and sustainable finance education and training programmes. She is the Director of Digital and Innovation with IOB, working with industry to understand current and future skills needs and developing exciting education propositions that enable individuals and organisations to truly achieve their ambitions. She is the Programme Director for several programmes including IOB’s Professional Certificate in Responsible and Sustainable Finance, Professional Diploma in Data and Analytics and the Professional Diploma in Digital Transformation. She holds a Bachelor of Business Studies and an MSc in Education from DCU.
Marianne Haahr is the Executive Director of the Green Digital Finance Alliance (GDFA) a not for profit foundation co-founded by UNEP and the Ant Group with a mission to scale green finance with fintech. Prior to that Marianne was advisor to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Denmark on digital finance in emerging markets, she has also been leading the think tank Sustainia working of technology for green finance and she started her professional career building micro finance solutions for climate mitigation and adaptation in West and Southern Africa. Marianne holds an MSc from the University of Copenhagen.
Johnny Mattimore is the Managing Director, Global Head of Risk & Sustainable Finance at First Derivative and has 30+ years of experience in the financial markets. He has spent half of his career in investment banking and half in hedge funds and investment management specialising in all aspects of risk trading, group risk management and risk systems design and implementation.
He is leading proponent of open-source standards and has a high level of expertise in all aspects of sustainable finance and its integration to core traditional financial systems. This includes data service, risk models, control frameworks and workflows, and reporting infrastructure. His sustainability experience covers catastrophe risk, climate risk, green securities, carbon offsets, ESG and the wider regulation, reporting and taxonomy frameworks for sustainable finance solutions.
Joe Duffy is a Senior Client Executive within BNY Mellon’s Global Client Management team and has global responsibility for some of BNY Mellon’s most significant client relationships. Joe was previously Head of Global Client Management EMEA for BNY Mellon. He served as Country Executive for BNY Mellon in Ireland for 12 years, is a member of BNY Mellon’s Senior Leadership Team, European Executive and European Operating Committee. He serves as a Director of a number of BNY Mellon entities and has previously served in an executive capacity as Deputy CEO of BNY Mellon’s European Bank.
In his role as Country Executive, Joe was the senior on the ground leader of BNY Mellon’s franchise and senior representative for the company’s business interests in Ireland. In that capacity he was responsible for oversight of the company’s relationships with legislators, regulators, clients, other key stakeholders.
Joe is an active promoter of diversity efforts within BNY Mellon, he has previously Co-chaired BNY Mellon's Women’s Executive Network in EMEA and currently leads their Male Ally group. He is actively involved in the 30% Club in Ireland where he sits on its Financial Services Advisory Committee.
Outside of BNY Mellon, Joe sits on the National Council of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation, is a member of the advisory board of Financial Services Ireland, serves on the Ireland Financial Services 2020 Joint Committee and was most recently a member of the Irish Governments Strategic Advisory Group advising the Irish Government on the formation of a Financial Services Strategy out to 2025.
Before joining BNY Mellon in 2006, Joe worked with JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and PWC, in global, regional and local roles focusing on growing financial services businesses and advising industry participants. He has worked in various locations including Dublin, London, Hong Kong, and the Channel Islands.Joe holds a Commerce degree from University College Dublin and is a fellow of the Institute ofChartered Accountants in Ireland.
Cliodhna Murphy is an Executive Director for Product Development at MUFG Investor Services with responsibility for hedge funds, fund of hedge funds, and ESG business lines. Cliodhna has over 16 years of industry experience. Cliodhna was previously at Man Group, where she served under various roles, including Business Manager for GLG Credit, Head of Investment Management Services, and Head of Investor Services. Prior to Man Group, Cliodhna was the Chief Operating Officer for Decura, a VP at Goldman Sachs Administration Services and an Associate at Morgan Stanley Fund Services.
Deborah is a partner and head of the Asset Management and FS Regulatory team in Eversheds Sutherland Ireland with extensive private practice and industry experience. She is recognised as a leading lawyer in Europe for Financial and Regulatory Services, by ILO/ACC and in Ireland in the Legal 500. Deborah won ‘Financial Regulation Lawyer of the Year’ at the Women in Business Law Europe Awards 2021. Deborah regularly advocates on behalf of industry participants on regulatory matters and has contributed as a regulatory and industry professional to the ESMA and EC roundtables. Deborah is a member of the Steering Committee of the Green Team Network. As part of her industry work she was a contributor to Ireland’s National Sustainable Finance Roadmap.
Prior to joining Eversheds Sutherland, Deborah held the position of EMEA Head of Legal for Securities Services in Citibank. Deborah is a member of and active contributor to many industry working groups such as the Irish Funds depositary, legal and regulatory and Fintech working groups. She is also an expert on the Department of Finance 2025 Blockchain Strategy Group and a member of Blockchain Ireland’s legal and regulatory working group.
Cathal is a Managing Director within State Street and has been working in the funds industry for over 22 years. Cathal holds a number of technical and leadership roles in the Irish and European industry associations. Cathal is currently chair of the Irish Funds ESG Data Servicing Working Group which is supporting the industry on the data requirements of the sustainable finance regime. Cathal is also a member of the Irish Funds Sustainability, Skills and Technology Steering Group and currently sits on the European Fund Asset Management Association (EFAMA) Accounting Task Force. Prior to joining State Street in 2005, Cathal was a senior audit manager in EY.
Sandra is a member of the Executive Management team. Since October 2018, she holds overall responsibility for ILIM’s Wealth and Defined Contribution Corporate Channels. She is also responsible for ILIM's ESG policy and strategy development as well as responsibility for the Client Services Teams. Prior to taking on this position, Sandra held responsibility for ILIM’s International Business and Strategic Partnerships.Prior to joining ILIM, Sandra was Head of Financial Planning and Pensions with Ireland's leading wealth manager, responsible for the establishment and delivery of financial and investment advice to High Net Worth clients, pension funds and charities. Sandra previously worked in Mercer as an actuarial consultant, working with a range of public sector and multinational clients in relation to their pension arrangements.Sandra is a graduate in Actuarial Finance and Economics from University College Dublin, a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in Ireland. She is a Council Member of SIF Ireland (part of the European Sustainable Investment Forums) and a member of the Pensions Council of Ireland. The latter was established to advise the Minister for Social Protection on matters of relevance to pensions, with a particular focus on policies to support the sustainability and adequacy of pension provision.
Over 30 years experience leveraging technology to deliver innovative solutions for customers across Europe, Africa, Asia and America. Originally from the IT side, Sean migrated to the business and into Product management to ensure the solutions delivered addressed real pain points for the business.With experience across multiple sectors including Banking, Cards, Fraud & Identity, Gambling, HR and across multiple digital touchpoints including Mobile / Web and Self-Service, Sean has worked from start-up to large scale corporate business.
Tracey Donnery is an Executive Director with Skillnet Ireland, the agency responsible for the promotion and facilitation of workforce development. She is an experienced executive in learning and development, organisation development and labour market policy. Believing that a highly skilled workforce is essential for Ireland’s competitiveness and productivity, Tracey works to ensure Skillnet Ireland business support and upskilling activities are innovative and align with national workforce development policy.Tracey is a Chartered Fellow of CIPD, member of the Institute of Directors, Fellow of Irish Institute of Training & Development, and the National Council of Business for Digital Tech Women. Tracey holds a Masters in Human Resource Strategies from Dublin City University, Diploma in Executive Coaching, and a Diploma in Leadership from the Irish Management Institute.
Mark is the Chief Technologist at Skillnet Ireland, and has held a number of senior leadership roles in the Financial Services and FinTech industry. Having worked in the UK, US, Switzerland & Ireland, he is an experienced and innovative leader possessing expertise in technology deployment, operational management, system transformation and regulatory compliance. Throughout his career, Mark has managed and delivered many global strategic transformation programs around system redesign, operational workflow improvements, outsourcing, offshoring and process re-engineering. He also specialises in identifying and developing partnerships and successful commercial engagements with governments, industry bodies and subject matter expert companies.Mark has an ICMA from the Henley Business School at the University of Reading. He also holds diploma designations from the Securities Institute, Chartered Insurance Institute and The Boston Institute of Finance.At Skillnet Ireland, Mark is leading the technology skills strategy and agenda. He is engaged with the European Commission, higher education, government departments and industry sectors in Ireland, and is focussed on readying business for the impact technology will have on the future world of work.
Joe is Director of Non-Life Actuarial Services for PwC Ireland with over 30 years professional experience in insurance markets in Ireland and internationally. Previous roles also include working for the World Bank and GOAL. Joe has an MSc in International Development from UCD. A founding member of the Society of Actuaries in Ireland's Sustainability and Climate Change Steering Group, he recently served on the Insurance working group helping to develop a national Sustainable Finance Roadmap to guide Irish green and sustainable finance activities in the context of the European Green Deal and Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy. Joe has also been a member of the (UK) IFoA's Sustainability Board and the Steering Committee for the (North American) Society of Actuaries's Catastrophe & Climate Strategic Research Program.
Bo Qin is the Lead Analyst in the European Carbon team at BloombergNEF, providing research on EU ETS policy development and price forecasting. In addition, she covers utility hedging strategies and business model transitions. She holds a BA in Accounting and MSc in International Business Management.
Yvonne is the Professor of Zoology and co-director of Nature+: The Trinity Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainable Nature-based Solutions. Prof. Buckley has research interests in determining the future of how we live well on the planet, environmental decision making and ecology. She leads a team of researchers and uses discoveries to provide support for environmental decisions in the areas of biodiversity conservation, invasive species management and habitat restoration.
John is a technology and climate entrepreneur. He is the CEO of ChannelSight, an ecommerce software platform recognised by Deloitte as among the 50 fastest growing tech companies in Ireland in 2019 and 2020. He is involved in a number of projects focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in key sectors of the economy such as agriculture and energy. John founded Forestry Partners in 2019 to provide innovative sustainability solutions to corporate partners on a not-for-profit basis.
Ciarán is the managing Director of the Nature Trust and Director of Coillte Nature, the not-for-profit branch of Coillte. Ciarán has held a range of senior management roles in Coillte over the last nine years and has prior experience working in the public and private sectors in Ireland and abroad. He holds a BSc in Engineering, an MSc in Environmental Sustainability and a PhD from UCD which he earned for his research into environmental policy and governance in Ireland.
Antoinette McDonald is Customer and Marketing Director for AXA Insurance dac. Antoinette has a wide range of experience in the Irish insurance market leading strategic programmes to deliver improved profitability and customer engagement. She is co-sponsor of AXA Ireland’s Climate Protection Strategy and led the launch of AXA’s carbon neutral car insurance. She has been a member of Insurance Ireland’s Communication committee and a member of the II European Insurance Forum Conference Committee. Antoinette is a Commerce Graduate and is also a Certified Insurance Director.
Rade Musulin is a Principal at Finity Consulting in Sydney, Australia, focusing on extreme events and climate risk. Previously he served as the Chief Executive Officer of FBAlliance Insurance, Chief Operating Officer of Aon Benfield Analytics Asia Pacific, and Vice President Operations, Public Affairs, and Reinsurance for the Florida Farm Bureau Insurance Companies.Rade serves as Convenor of the Actuaries Institute of Australia Climate Change Working Group, Vice-Chair of the International Actuarial Association’s Resource and Environment Virtual Forum, and was Vice President – Casualty for the American Academy of Actuaries from 2016 – 2018. His main areas of interest include how changing population demographics affect catastrophe exposure, climate change adaptation, applications of catastrophe models for disaster planning in developing countries, building code development, and community resilience. Rade has maintained close ties with academic institutions, including being a lecturer for undergraduate classes in actuarial science, risk management, and political science.
Cheng Wei is a deputy director in the Insurance Department of MAS. He is leading a team that is supervising general insurers and reinsurers. He has been with MAS for more than ten years.Prior to his role in MAS, Cheng Wei has worked in the actuarial departments of various life insurers in Singapore. Cheng Wei is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries.
Dave Fitzgerald leads European Responsible Sourcing for Kellogg. He has worked for over 20 years in the food and beverage sector including 15 years with a major drinks multinational and more recently for 4 years with a dairy cooperative as Group Head of Sustainability. In his current role Dave works with Kellogg’s suppliers to ensure that the ingredients, packaging materials and services that they supply are sustainably produced and delivered. This includes leading the Origins Program™ where Kellogg invests in sustainable agriculture projects, including a wheat project in the UK and a rice project in Spain.
Dee Moran (FCA) is Professional Accountancy Lead at Chartered Accountants Ireland and has significant experience in both practice and industry. The Professional Accountancy team is responsible for a broad technical policy agenda of relevance to the Institute and its membership and works to coordinate policy approaches and develop guidance for members. Dee leads the Institute in the area of sustainability reporting and in responding to consultations in this area.
Susan Rossney is Public Policy Officer with Chartered Accountants Ireland, Chair of the Institute’s Expert Working Group on Sustainability and member of the Sustainability Expert Working Group of the Global Accounting Alliance. She is also author of the Institute’s publication ‘Sustainability for Accountants’.
Organised in association with the Green Digital Finance Alliance (GDFA) and the Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland (FPAI).
Panel discussion focussing on data challenges and evolution of the data ecosystem and forward-looking commentary on what the funds industry and the Roadmap for Ireland initiative is doing to position Ireland to solve these data and digital challenges
Organised in association with Irish Funds.
Organised by Sustainable Finance Ireland.
The webinar is linked to the IAA paper ‘Climate-Related Scenarios Applied to Insurers and Other Financial Institutions’, and will present the regulatory perspective on the paper to a wider audience.
Moderator: Will Harding, SIF Head of Implementation
Introductory comments: Anna Sweeney, SIF Chair, Executive Director – Insurance, Bank of England
Panellists:
• Rade Musulin, Vice-chair of the IAA Resource and Environment Virtual Forum• Joe Kennedy, Non-Life Actuarial Director, PwC Ireland (member of the Society of Actuaries in Ireland's Sustainability and Climate Change Steering Group)• Cheng Wei Ng, Deputy Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore (SIF member representative)
Organised in association with the UN-convened Sustainable Insurance Forum (SIF), the International Actuarial Association (IAA) and the Society of Actuaries in Ireland.
Organised in association with the FSI.
Introducing the Nature Trust, the not-for-profit offering nature-based solutions of the highest standard and setting a new benchmark for sustainable investment in Ireland. This new initiative has started the ambitious journey of planting native woodlands at scale in communities across Ireland through partnership with business. This discussion will explore the challenges and opportunities for ESG investment in tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis, and avenues for taking the action which is urgently needed.
Discussion moderated by Helen Carroll.
www.naturetrust.ie
Practitioners’ Perspectives is a day dedicated to practical 'how to' sessions for various audiences across the financial services sector.
This includes the Green Team Network which invites all financial service businesses in Ireland to pledge to be greener in their operations.
Hear also from accountants as they report on sustainability and overcome their sustainable finance challenges.
Ann Shiels, knowledge lawyer in the Asset Management & Investment Funds team at A&L Goodbody with 20+ years' experience in the investment funds industry in-house and in private practice in Ireland and the Channel Islands. She sits on the steering committee of the Green Team Network. Ann holds a certificate in sustainable finance from the University of Cambridge's Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
Suzanne Senior, Head of Fund Registrations and Listings at BlackRock Dublin and Co-Founder of Green Team Network. She is the EMEA chair for Green Teams within BlackRock. Suzanne has 15+ years’ work experience in the Irish Funds Industry, most recently working in BlackRock since 2018 and previously spent a great number of years in PwC working in various roles in relation to research, marketing, regulation and fund distribution.
As AIB Group plc’s Head of ESG Reporting and Ratings, Caroline leads the Bank’s ESG reporting and disclosures, as well as contributing to the development and implementation of AIB’s Sustainability Strategy. Caroline represented Sustainability on the Working Group behind AIB’s Green Bond issuances, including the €1bn Tier 2 Green Bond issuance in September 2020 – the first Green Bond issued by an Irish Bank and only the second Green Tier 2 capital issue by a European bank.
A career banker with AIB, Caroline has a background in commercial banking, strategic development and credit policy. She joined the Sustainability Team in 2018.
Caroline is co-lead of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Principles for Responsible Banking Reporting Working Group, as well a member of its Implementation Leads Working Group which supports implementation of the Principles amongst all 200+ signatory banks globally. She is also a member of the Sustainable Finance Forum of Banking & Payments Federation of Ireland.
Investors, customers, employees and financial institutions are increasingly using ESG data to inform themselves about a company’s environmental and social activities. A lack of standardisation means this information is often incoherent, inconsistent or not comparable. This session will examine the recent key developments in sustainability reporting, the global trend to make sustainability reporting mandatory for more entities as well as the calls for common reporting standards to ensure sustainability information reported by companies is comparable and sufficient. You will also hear from industry experts who have adopted sustainability reporting within their businesses and they will share how they are informing stakeholders about their sustainability activities.
Organised by Chartered Accountants Ireland.
The aim of the Green Team Network is to address the need to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration regarding addressing sustainability goals across companies within the Irish Funds industry. We have developed the Green Pledge which aims to be a tool to encourage and support firms within the Irish funds industry to take steps to reduce carbon emissions and take action on sustainability issues that affect them. To participate in the Green Pledge, firms select from a list of environmentally.
The surge in sustainable bond issuance has been supported by growth in the range of underlying debt instruments including green, social, sustainability and sustainability linked bonds. This session will explore key developments in sustainable finance debt markets.
Organised by S&P Global Ratings.
Organised in association with KPMG
Many thanks for registering, you will receive an email confirmation, calendar reminder and updates closer to the event.