Net Zero Delivery Summit 2023 speakers

In this decisive decade for climate action, the UAE will seek to bring the world together at COP28 to agree bold and ambitious solutions to this unprecedented global challenge. With a proven track record of building consensus in international negotiations ranging from climate change to energy to aviation, Ambassador Majid Al-Suwaidi brings invaluable diplomatic expertise to the UAE COP Presidency.

As the UAE’s Lead Negotiator on Climate Change, Energy and Sustainability, Ambassador Al-Suwaidi played a key role in the negotiation and adoption of the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015, as well as in the design and adoption of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

In his most recent role, Ambassador Al-Suwaidi served as the UAE Ambassador to Spain, Andorra, and Vatican City. In a previous role as Consul General, he was responsible for opening the UAE’s first ever consulate in New York, where he also led the UAE Mission to the United Nations.

As well as being a firm believer in the power of multilateralism, Ambassador Al-Suwaidi also brings considerable insight into the scale and practical complexity involved in the global transition to clean energy, having worked for almost a decade in the international energy sector.

Ambassador Al-Suwaidi has an undergraduate degree in Geology from Brunel University (United Kingdom), as well as a graduate degree in Earth Sciences from Simon Fraser University (Canada).

A pioneering green building and sustainability advocate for over two decades, Esther has been instrumental in establishing CDL’s leadership in sustainability. It is ranked top real estate company on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World since 2020. It became the first real estate conglomerate in Southeast Asia to sign the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings in February 2021. Named by Reuters as one of 25 trailblazing women leaders in climate 2023, Esther’s pioneering ESG initiatives include publishing the first sustainability report in Singapore in 2008 and issuing the first green bond by a Singaporean company in 2017.

The chairperson of the Sustainability Report Advisory Committee in Singapore, she also sits on board the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Supervisory Board, GRESB Foundation Board, and UN PRI Real Estate Advisory Committee. She chairs the World Green Building Council Corporate Advisory Board; the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association’s ESG Committee; and co-chairs the Urban Land Institute Singapore’s Sustainability Product Council.

A forerunner in embracing the UN SDGs, Esther was conferred 2018 SDG Pioneer for Green Infrastructure and A Low Carbon Economy by the UN Global Compact. A G20 Empower Advocate in 2022, Esther recognizes that youth engagement and female empowerment is crucial for sustainable development. She founded the Women4Green network in 2017 and the Youth4Climate initiative in 2018.

Dr. Anyahara has over three decades of industry experience, of which more than 20 years have been in financial reporting and management, accounting standard setting and financial reporting regulation at the Financial Reporting Council (erstwhile Nigerian Accounting Standards Board). He has also served as the Acting Executive Secretary/CEO of Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (March 1, 2020 to May 18, 2021) and currently the Director/Head, Directorate of Public Sector Accounting Standards of Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria.

He served as the Secretary to the National Stakeholders’ Committee on the Roadmap to the Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Nigeria.

Iheanyi Anyahara is the immediate past Technical Advisor for Christopher Nyong – International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board member - January to December 2022. He is currently the Chair of the Adoption Readiness Working Group (ARWG) for Sustainability Reporting in Nigeria. Dr. Anyahara is member of several professional bodies among which are Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Fellow, Association of Forensic Accounting Researchers and Nigerian Institute of Management.

Iheanyi Anyahara is a first-class honours graduate from University of Nigeria, Nsukka; he also has M.Sc. Accounting from same university and MBA Accounting from University of Port Harcourt. He holds a PhD in Accounting from Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State. He has attended contemporary continuing education programs at Harvard Business School, the London School of Economics, the Booth Business School, University of Chicago, Chicago and Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Lynne leads the PwC UK Sustainability team which brings together the firm’s capabilities across Strategy, Net Zero Transformation, Regulation and Reporting, among other areas.

She leads a team of more than 200 partners and staff in response to a growing demand from clients for support on the climate transition and wider ESG agenda. Her relevant experience includes ESG Regulation, Reporting, Governance, Risk & Control, working with a number of multinational clients across industries including Fortune 500 and FTSE 350.

Lynne has been with PwC for almost 20 years and is a Chartered Accountant bringing together knowledge of Sustainability, Reporting, Risk and Financial/Business Acumen.

On 20 December 2019, Andrew Bailey was announced as the new Governor of the Bank of England. He began his term on 16 March 2020.

Andrew Bailey served as Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) from 1 July 2016 until taking up the role of Governor. As CEO of the FCA, Andrew Bailey was also a member of the Prudential Regulation Committee, the Financial Policy Committee, and the Board of the Financial Conduct Authority.

Andrew previously held the role of Deputy Governor, Prudential Regulation and CEO of the PRA from 1 April 2013. While retaining his role as Executive Director of the Bank, Andrew joined the Financial Services Authority in April 2011 as Deputy Head of the Prudential Business Unit and Director of UK Banks and Building Societies. In July 2012, Andrew became Managing Director of the Prudential Business Unit, with responsibility for the prudential supervision of banks, investment banks and insurance companies. Andrew was appointed as a voting member of the interim Financial Policy Committee at its June 2012 meeting.

Previously, Andrew worked at the Bank in a number of areas, most recently as Executive Director for Banking Services and Chief Cashier, as well as Head of the Bank's Special Resolution Unit (SRU). Previous roles include Governor's Private Secretary, and Head of the International Economic Analysis Division in Monetary Analysis.

Clara Barby is Senior Partner at Just Climate. Previously, Clara was Chief Executive of the Impact Management Project (IMP) and led the IFRS Foundation's project to establish the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), under the direction of the IFRS Foundation’s Trustees. Clara’s public interest work with the IMP was made possible through a secondment from her role as a Partner at Bridges Fund Management, where she led the firm’s sustainable and impact strategies across fund types. Prior to Bridges Fund Management, Clara worked for Acumen’s Capital Markets team and later co-led the Acumen renewable energy portfolio, investing in India and East Africa.

Clara received a BA (Hons) in Greats from Oxford University, and an MBA from INSEAD. She was awarded a CBE for services to International Sustainability Standards in the 2023 King’s New Year Honours list.

Keith is an elected Member of the City of London Corporation and is widely involved in leading on sustainability, climate action, sport engagement, youth, education, environment, and broader policy agendas.

He is Deputy Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Policy and Resources Committee, Chairman of its Port Health and Environment Committee, and Chairman of the Communications and Corporate Affairs Committee.

Keith Chairs the City of London BIDs Strategic Partnership and the Skills for a Sustainable Skyline Taskforce as well as being a Trustee of Heart of the City. He is also a Trustee of Gresham College, Member of Thames Estuary Growth Board, Trustee of Housing the Homeless Central Fund and Bart’s Hospital Guild.

Keith is passionate about advancing the interests of young people and about skills and education. He is Deputy Chair of Governors at the City of London School and a Governor at the new City Junior School. He chairs Partnership for Young London which influences London, Regional and central government on youth policy.

As a Chartered Banker and former Director of Communications at NatWest Group he has a great deal of experience of working at a senior level in the City of London’s dynamic financial, insurance and professional services industry.

Mastercard is embedding sustainability into the fabric of its business, which is reflected in various products and services now offered globally. Jim leads our Priceless Planet global initiative: a platform to engage Customers and their consumers in actions that support environmental sustainability. A key focus is the development of the Priceless Planet Coalition, which is committed to restore 100 million trees in the most vulnerable forests to maximize carbon capture for climate benefit, restore wildlife habitats, and provide financial opportunities for local communities. Coalition membership has expanded to more than 100 partner companies worldwide. In addition and reflecting increasing consumer desire to be better informed about their environmental impact, Jim and his team manage Mastercard’s carbon calculation assets that have been integrated within the Mastercard network. Consumers can now track the carbon footprint of any purchase made using a Mastercard-branded card, and optionally donate towards the Coalition reforestation work.

Jim joined Mastercard from American Express in 2007 as a strategy consultant. Since that time, he has taken on Business Development roles across Europe and Asia Pacific, leading teams of specialists designing and implementing new Mastercard products and services.

Jim holds a Ph.D. in Microbial Chemistry focused on development of novel antibiotics to combat tuberculosis.

Elizabeth has extensive experience in the financial services industry having been CEO of Allianz Global Investors, initially for Europe then globally, from 2005 to 2016. Elizabeth was previously at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, Coopers & Lybrand and Sun Alliance. 

Elizabeth is Chair of the Impact Investing Institute and is a Non-Executive Director of BAE Systems plc.  She joined the board of Schroders plc in September 2021 and became Chair on 28 April 2022.

She is a director of the Green Finance Institute; serves on the investment committee of the Leverhulme Trust; is a member of the CFA Future of Finance Advisory Council, AQR Asset Management Institute, the Committee of 200 and the 300 Club.  As well as being a trustee of the British Museum, Elizabeth is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and is also a published author of crime thrillers.  She was awarded a CBE in January 2015 and a DBE in June 2019 for services to the economy and financial services.

Helen is a Managing Director at Pollination, a specialist climate change investment and advisory firm that leads the Natural Capital Investment Alliance of the Sustainable Markets Initiative. Helen is a recognised nature and biodiversity expert, delivering pioneering and impact-led climate and nature focused solutions across public and private sectors.

Formerly the Head of Sustainable Sourcing Innovation at the French company Kering for over a decade, Helen crafted new solutions for best practices in sustainability, supply chains, and sourcing for luxury and lifestyle brands.

Prior to this, Helen across Africa and Madagascar led conservation programs for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Early in her career, she worked as a senior consultant to companies on building out environmental health and safety programs to encompass broader sustainability issues.

Over the last several years, Helen has also advised the Nature Action Agenda at the World Economic Forum and has been a member of the WEF’s Global Futures Council. Helen has a PhD in Zoology from the Australian National University and has contributed to various non-profit Boards and Advisory Groups including Textile Exchange, Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature US, UK’s Digital Catapult Supply Chain Hub and the Global Environment Facility.

Helen leads the team and sets the strategic direction of the BRC. She joined in January 2013 and has been working with retailers for over 25 years. In 2016 she was awarded an OBE for Services to Retail.

Helen is passionate about diversity and inclusion in retail, acting as the BRC’s Social Mobility Commission ambassador; participating in the Timewise Innovation Unit, looking to support more flexibility in jobs, particularly at senior levels; supporting the Everywoman Retail Ambassadors Programme; and having previously been the Chair of Working Chance, a charity helping women offenders find employment.

Helen believes retail can make a strong contribution to communities, and is also on the advisory board for Pennies, a charity which offers digital charity boxes to businesses. Helen was previously UK Head of Retail at KPMG, driving and developing the retail practice and leading relationships and audits for many clients.

Javier joined Heathrow in 2008 and has served as Chief Financial Officer since 2016. He is accountable for leading the group financially by enabling a sustainable growth strategy and transforming Heathrow’s approach to innovation, risk and investment. He leads the investment of Heathrow’s £35bln masterplan driving long-term sustainable value generation to consumers, community, and shareholders. He was closely involved in establishing the current capital structure and positioning Heathrow as a strong credit in the financial markets, including more than £10bn of fundraising since he became CFO.

Recently, Javier has successfully led Heathrow’s financial response to the COVID-19 global pandemic creating an unprecedented 97% decline in revenue by securing business continuity and accelerating Heathrow’s recovery, while enabling new technology and ways of working to transform productivity and foster growth.

Outside Heathrow, Javier co-chairs the European CFO Leadership Network of Accounting for Sustainability Project (‘A4S’) led by HRH King Charles III. He also chairs the Wellbeing Leadership Team of Business In the Community, the UK largest and longest established business-led membership organisation dedicated to responsible business. He is an executive mentor, member of The 100 Group and teaches on strategy and change management at the MBA programme of UNIR Business School (Spain).

Nathan Fabian is Chief Responsible Investment and Signatories Relations Officer at the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment. The PRI supports over 5000 institutional investors globally to incorporate Environmental, Social and Governance factors into their investment activities. He has been with the PRI for five years.

From November 2020 – October 2022, Nathan was Chair of the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance, a public and private sector expert panel to develop sustainable finance policies and tools in Europe, including the EU Taxonomy, Nathan previously served as the Rapporteur for the Taxonomy Group of the EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. He was an Observer on the EU High Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance and part of the Secretariat for the UK Green Finance Taskforce.

These roles are part of twenty years of professional experience in sustainable finance in government policy, investment research and ratings on companies, and the development of investment processes and tools.

Based in Singapore, Diana Guzman works across the business to deliver on the company’s ESG strategy and commitments, maintain constructive dialogue with key stakeholders, and further embed Prudential’s ESG strategy for sustainable long-term value. Ms Guzman has a wealth and breadth of experience working with public and private institutions on sustainable investments.

Before joining Prudential, Diana was at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Geneva, where she was the Head of Sustainable Development Investment Partnership & Development Finance. Before the WEF, Ms Guzman was Director for CDP (former Carbon Disclosure Project), the global environmental disclosure system.

Chris is the Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation. In his role he speaks for the financial and professional services sector of the UK to Government and internationally.

He is a former Deputy Leader of Hertfordshire and Dorset County Councils and was first elected to Common Council of the City of London Corporation for Broad Street Ward in March 2013 and continually re-elected since.

He had a career as Managing Director of Companies in the Construction, Aviation Infrastructure and Global Events Management Sectors. He is now a Non-Executive Director of various companies in the commercial property, planning and communications sectors.

Chris is an Honorary Bencher of the Inner Temple and Chairman of the Guild of the Royal Hospital of St Bartholomew.

Chris is married to Alexandra. They have two children and live near Chorleywood, Hertfordshire and in the City of London.

Julia Hoggett joined the London Stock Exchange plc as CEO in April 2021. Previously, Julia was at the Financial Conduct Authority as Director of Market Oversight, overseeing the conduct of market participants.

Prior to this, she was a Managing Director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, running various fixed income origination businesses in EMEA. Julia was previously a Board Member and CEO of DEPFA ACS BANK in Ireland. She began her career at JPMorgan. Julia holds a degree in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University and undertook a research scholarship at Kings College, Cambridge University on public policy in East Africa.

Julia was included in Financial News’ 100 Most Influential Women in Europe’s Financial Markets (2010, 2011, 2012, 2021 and 2022). Julia was number 2 on the OUTstanding Top 100 list in 2022 and on its predecessor lists in 2014 and 2013 and also named in the DIVA Power List in 2022.

Julia has been an active speaker on Diversity and Inclusion in the City for two decades.

Janice has a deep and diverse investment background, spanning over 20 years with highly regarded financial institutions in South Africa and the UK. She has significant debt, venture capital and private equity investment experience across multiple sectors and business stages and is a CFA Charterholder. Janice is committed to strategic leadership of impact investments into climate related finance and innovative, growth businesses in key sectors with the potential for significant environmental/social impact and financial return through collaboration, diversity, and inclusion.

Janice spent 10 years with Prudential Capital plc (part of M&G) in London as a senior member of its Principal Finance team prior to joining Edge Growth, a leading SA impact investor and accelerator for SMEs.  She ended up as CE of its Growth Equity portfolio which invests in innovative, high growth companies with the potential for significant financial return and social impact. Thereafter, Janice joined the Identity Partners Group, a majority black women led investment group, which focused on building a leading majority women-led private equity fund platform in strategic growth and impact sectors.

Having worked in the Presidential Climate Finance Task Team which led the negotiation of South Africa’s JET IP, Janice is currently a Financing Advisor in the JET IP PMU, which is tasked with facilitating and co-ordinating the implementation of the JET IP.

Janice is involved in several mentorship initiatives and is the chair of 100 Women in Finance in South Africa.

Dr Ma is the Founder and President of the Institute of Finance and Sustainability (based in Beijing). He is also the Chairman of Green Finance Committee of China Society for Finance and Banking, Co-Chair of G20 Sustainable Finance Study Group, and Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the Green Investment Principles for the Belt & Road.

Between 2018 and 2020, Dr Ma was the Director of Center for Finance and Development at Tsinghua University. Between 2014 and 2017, he served as the Chief Economist at the People’s Bank of China (PBOC)’s Research Bureau and a member of the central bank’s Macro-Prudential Committee. Before joining the PBOC, he worked for 13 years at Deutsche Bank, where he was Managing Director/Chief Economist/Investment Strategist for Greater China. During 1992-2000, he worked as a senior economist and economist at the World Bank and the IMF. From 1988-1990, he was a research fellow at the Development Research Center of China's State Council.

Dr Ma published numerous books and articles on monetary policy, financial market, and green/sustainable finance. He led the drafting of China’s green finance guidelines in 2015-16 and facilitated the global consensus on scaling up green finance under the G20 framework during 2016-18. Over the past decade, he provided advices to policy makers in many areas, including monetary and macro prudential policies, RMB internationalization, green finance, and the Belt & Road initiative.

Dr. Ma received his Ph.D. in Economics from Georgetown University in 1994, and his master’s degree in management science from Fudan University in 1988. He received numerous awards for his research and policy advocacy and was ranked # 1 Asia Economist by Institutional Investors for four years in a row from 2009-2012.

Abyd Karmali is a Managing Director, Environmental Business Advisory at Bank of America based in London. From 2007-2014, he served as Merrill Lynch’s (subsequently BofAML) Global Head of Carbon Markets. In 2014, he became part of the team supporting the bank’s broader capital deployment commitment to mobilise $1.5 trillion in sustainable finance by 2030. He has worked for more than 30 years on climate change and sustainable finance and was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for these efforts in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for 2019. In June 2022, Financial News included Abyd its in inaugural list of “The 50 Most Influential in Sustainable Finance”.

Before joining the financial sector in 2007, he was a partner in a management consulting firm in Washington DC, Toronto and London where he advised companies on their climate strategy and also spent two years with the United Nations Environment Programme in Paris as Energy and Climate Change Programme Officer. From 2013 to 2015, Mr. Karmali was selected to serve as one of two inaugural private sector representatives to the Board of the UN Green Climate Fund in Songdo, South Korea.

His advisory roles include the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), Sustainable Markets Initiative and the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance. He also serves on the Judging Panel for the Sustainable Development category of the King’s Award for Enterprise, the Board of the International Emissions Trading Association and the National Committee for NGO the Aga Khan Foundation (UK). He holds an MS in Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Ambassador Sherif Kamel graduated from Ain Shams University in Cairo in 1991, with a BA in Civil Engineering.

Ambassador Kamel joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1993, and assumed different posts in Egypt’s missions abroad, starting with the Delegation to the United Nations in Geneva (1997-2001), as well as the Embassy in Washington DC (2005-2009), then was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Mission at Egypt’s Embassy in New Delhi (2012-2016). He served as Egypt’s Ambassador to The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (2018-2021), and is currently Egypt’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland since December 2021. 

He is married with two sons.

Alderman Vincent Keaveny was Lord Mayor of the City of London in 2021/22, having served as Sheriff of the City of London for the year 2018/19.

Vincent is a Partner in the international business law firm DLA Piper where he advises on finance and debt capital markets transactions in the UK and Europe. Until 2019 he was International Co-Chair of the Financial Services Sector at DLA Piper. In 2014/15 he served as President of the City of London Law Society. He is an Honorary Bencher of Gray's Inn.

Since his election to the City of London in 2013 he has served on a number of City of London Corporation Committees, including Policy & Resources, Finance and Planning & Transportation. He is currently the Chair of the Samuel Wilson’s Loan Trust and a Governor of the City of London School.

Vincent’s Mayoral theme - People and Purpose - championed a purpose led and people focused UK FPS sector; growing the global competitiveness of the UK as a world leader in ESG and sustainable finance and home to the best and most diverse global talent; driving social mobility at all levels. As Lord Mayor he hosted the inaugural Net Zero Delivery Summit and led the Finance for Impact initiative. He co-chaired the HMT & BEIS sponsored Socio-Economic Diversity Taskforce and is Chair of Progress Together, the financial services membership body promoting greater socio-economic diversity in the financial services industry.

Vincent is a graduate of University College Dublin (BCL) and Trinity College, Dublin (MLitt). He was recognised in 2018 by UCD as its Law Alumnus of the Year. He holds a Doctorate of Science (honoris causa) from City, University of London.

Vincent's interests include theatre and opera. He is the senior independent trustee of the Sir John Soane's Museum, where he has also chaired the Museum’s audit & risk committee. He chairs the board of the vocal ensemble, Exaudi, and is a director of Actors Touring Company.

Vincent is a Liveryman of the City of London Solicitors', the Woolmen's, Distillers', Spectacle Makers’, Stationers’, Framework Knitters’, Upholders’ and Security Professionals Companies. He served as Master Solicitor in 2014/15 and takes office as Master Woolman in April 2023.

Vincent is married to Amanda, an Intensive Care Nurse and in what spare time he has, he enjoys tennis and walking their Labradors.

Bogolo J. Kenewendo is a Global Economist and Strategic Advisor. She has served as the Cabinet Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry and Specially Elected Member of Parliament in Botswana.

She is currently championing climate action and finance as a catalyst for development in Africa and the global south in her role as Africa Director & Special Advisor of the UN High Level Climate Champions Team. Bogolo is a vocal advocate for gender equity and protection of children’s rights.

She has received global recognition for her work, being appointed as a member of the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council, a member of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, Advisory group on the gender architecture of the UN and group on Financing for Development. She is also a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Trade Advisory Group, Global Future Council on Global Public Goods in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and a WEF Young Global Leader. She is a Non-Executive Director in several corporate boards & Non-Profit organizations and is a Non-Resident Fellow with the Center for Global Development. She is frequently named among Africa's Most Influential People by various publications. In 2022 she was named among Prestigious Time magazine’s TIME100 Next Honorees highlighting 100 emerging leaders from around the world who are shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership.

Mark Lewis is Head of Climate Research at Andurand Capital LLP since June 2021. Prior to his current role Mark was Chief Sustainability Strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management (2019-21), and before that a sell-side analyst for 20 years covering the energy space as both an equity and a commodities analyst: as Managing Director and Head of European Utilities Research at Barclays (2015-18), Chief Energy Economist at Kepler Cheuvreux (2014-15), and at Deutsche Bank as MD and Global Head of Carbon and Ener-gy Research (2005-13) and Director, European Utilities equity research, 1999-2004. He has also worked for the leading energy think tank Carbon Tracker (MD and Head of Re-search, 2018) and for the German utility E.ON (Deputy Head of Investor Relations, 2004-05). Prior to his career as a sell-side analyst Mark worked as a sovereign credit analyst at Standard & Poor’s (1997-99), and as an academic at the University f London (1994-97).

Mark has been a member of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) since May 2016, and a Senior Associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) since 2020. His research on carbon and ener-gy markets has won numerous awards and he often writes opinion pieces for the Financial Times on energy and climate topics.

Mark is a UK and French Citizen and holds a BA (First-Class Hons) in Modern Languages and Economics from Sheffield University, an MPhil from Cambridge University, and an MA from London University.

Michael Liebreich is a leading global expert on clean energy and transportation, smart infrastructure, technology, climate finance and sustainable development.

Michael is chairman and CEO of Liebreich Associates and co-managing partner of EcoPragma Capital. He is a member of the UK’s Taskforce on Energy Efficiency, chairing the subgroup on industry, a member of the UK Board of Trade, an honorary fellow of the Energy Institute and visiting professor at Imperial College London. He is a former advisor to the United Nations on Sustainable Energy for All and member of the board of Transport for London. Michael founded New Energy Finance in 2004 and was Chairman and CEO until the sale to Bloomberg LP in 2009. Prior to founding New Energy Finance, Michael helped build over 25 companies as a venture capitalist, entrepreneur and executive.

In addition to the UK Board of Trade, Michael serves on several industry boards, including the UAE’s Women in Sustainability Environment and Renewable Energy, GreenMap Association and the Hawthorn Club, a global network for senior women in the energy industry. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the WBCSD’s Climate & Energy Advisory Council and a member of the Strategic Committee for the Solar Impulse Foundation’s World Alliance for Efficient Solutions. Michael is a member of the International Advisory Board for Equinor, as well as the advisory boards of the UK’s Clean Growth Fund and Switzerland’s Emerald Technology Ventures. He acts as Chair of the Advisory Board for Eavor Technologies, the world’s leading player in deep closed-loop geothermal energy.

In July 2020, Michael started a podcast and YouTube channel called Cleaning Up, where he hosts in-depth conversations with leaders and experts in climate change and its potential solutions. Guests have included Tony Blair, Christiana Figueres, Ernie Moniz, Alex Honnold, Bill McKibben, Fatih Birol, Yanis Varoufakis, Mariana Mazzucato, Tony Abbott, Lord Browne, Lord Stern, Baroness Worthington, Lord Turner, Dan Yergin, Mark Carney, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Wathuti, Johan Rockström and many more.

Michael earned his master's in engineering at Cambridge University and holds an MBA from Harvard.

Elizabeth Lien is Senior Advisor for International Climate Finance in the Department of the Treasury’s Climate Hub, where she works to elevate international climate policy throughout the Department.  Prior to joining the Climate Hub, she was the Director of Treasury’s Office of International Development Policy where she oversaw U.S. participation on the Boards of the Green Climate Fund, Climate Investment Funds, Global Environment Facility, Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).  She previously worked as counselor to the U.S. Executive Director at the Inter-American Development Bank and as Deputy Director in the Treasury Department’s Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs.  She also worked with interagency and international partners on designing the Green Climate Fund while working in Treasury’s Environment and Energy Office.

Prior to joining the Treasury Department, Lien oversaw foreign assistance and domestic civil works budgets at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and worked as the appropriations liaison in OMB’s office of Legislative Affairs.  She holds two Masters of Arts degrees in Public Affairs (Public Policy) and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Public Relations from the University of Minnesota.

Sue Lloyd’s appointment as Vice-Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), effective 1 March 2022, was announced in January 2022.

She served as a member of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) from 2014 and as IASB Vice-Chair from 2016. She also served as Chair of the IFRS Interpretations Committee from 2017.

In addition to her IASB responsibilities, she played a leading role in the establishment of the ISSB from 2020, including as a member of the Technical Readiness Working Group, which was created by the Trustees to give the ISSB a running start.

Prior to becoming an IASB member, Ms Lloyd worked for the IFRS Foundation as a senior technical director, leading the development of new IFRS Accounting Standards, and as director of capital markets with responsibility for the IASB’s reform of accounting for financial instruments. She also worked for the IFRS Foundation from 2002 to 2004 as a technical project manager.

Ms Lloyd has held various positions in investment banking both in the UK and in Australia and has served as a member of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB). She has a Master’s degree in accounting and finance from the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

H.E. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Long arrived in London in early June 2021 to take up his duties as Vietnam's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and to Ireland. After joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam in 1999, he was soon posted to the Embassy of Viet Nam in Rome due to his proficiency in Italian. He returned to Ha Noi four years later in 2003 to join the Europe Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as a desk officer, and then was promoted to Deputy Director-General of the department in 2008. In his position, he was in charge of the relationship between Viet Nam and the UK, and between Viet Nam and Ireland. He had been actively involved in the ASEM Summit (2004), APEC Summit (2006) and ASEAN Summit (2010) in Ha Noi when Viet Nam assumed the Chairmanship of those conferences.

By 2012, at age of 36, Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long was appointed as Ambassador of Viet Nam to Italy, and non-resident Ambassador of Viet Nam to Malta, Cyprus and San Marino as well as Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), The International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and The World Food Programme (WFP), and informal contact point to the Vatican state.

In 2015, Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long returned to Viet Nam and took the position of Deputy Director-General at the Department for Foreign Affairs for Provinces, which he headed as Director-General from 2016 until his appointment to the United Kingdom. In this role he was responsible for developing cooperation between Viet Nam’s provinces/cities and the international world in various areas, especially in education, culture and particularly trade and investment.

In December 2021, he has been given the rank of First Grade Ambassador of Viet Nam.

He graduated from the Milan Bocconi University, with a degree in economics of public administration and international organizations. He received a PhD in Economics from the University of Rome Tor Vergata. He attended various courses of leadership at Harvard Kennedy School, Oxford Said Business School, Princeton University and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. In 2014, he was selected by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as Young Global Leader (YGL). He has been awarded the Order of Grand Officer of the Italian Republic for his important contribution to the Viet Nam-Italy relations. He also received the Vietnamese Order of Labor of Third Degree and multiple Vietnamese Medals of Merit of the Prime Minister.

Alderman Nicholas Lyons is the 694th Lord Mayor of the City of London.

Nicholas attended the King’s School Canterbury and then Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he read history. After time as a political research assistant in London and with the Directorate General for External Relations at the EEC Commission in Brussels, Nicholas joined Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York in London in 1982 where he worked for 12 years, then at Salomon Brothers from 1994 to 1995 before moving with a team to Lehman Brothers where he worked from 1995 until 2003.

He specialised in advising banks and insurance companies on mergers and acquisitions and raising capital. He held a series of global leadership roles at Lehman Brothers, retiring in 2003 to begin a plural career, sitting on the boards of many financial institutions and numerous charities. His City career has spanned over 41 years. He is currently taking a sabbatical from being Chairman of Phoenix Group Holdings, the largest player in the UK retirement and long term savings industry and a FTSE 100 company. Phoenix is the largest asset-owner signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment in the UK

During his year as Lord Mayor Alderman Lyons will champion his “Financing our Future” theme - promoting a resilient, resourceful, and responsible City. It will focus on fuelling the growth economy by deploying capital and expertise to supercharge economic growth nationwide and advancing the UK’s global competitiveness.

Financing our Future will seek to drive growth and investment especially in the areas of long-term infrastructure lending, green and sustainable financing, boosting the early-stage growth economy by mobilising private savings and pension funds, and attracting international asset owners to have more of their money managed by asset managers in the UK. All of which will be underpinned by a commitment to financial inclusion for all

Dr. Mohamed Maait is currently serving as the Minister of Finance. Prior to his appointment as a Minister, he held the position of Vice Minister of Finance for Public Treasury Affairs & Head of the Economic Justice Unit. In addition, he served as the First Assistant Minister of Finance for Treasury Affairs in 2015 and as the Assistant Minister of Finance for Pensions and Social Insurance during the period (2009 – 2013). He also held the position of the Assistant Minister of Finance for Actuarial Administration Affairs in (2013) and the position of the First Assistant Minister of Health & Population during the period (2014–2015). Over his career of 33 years, he occupied many positions such as acting Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (2013-2015), Chairman of the Egyptian Governmental Actuarial Department (EGAD) at the Ministry of Finance (2010-2013), Vice Chairman of the National Organization for Social Insurance (2011-2012), and Senior Advisor to the Minister of Finance (2007-2009). He was also appointed as the Executive Director of the Egyptian Insurance Institute (2007). Regarding his presence in boards of directors, he is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Africa Reinsurance Corporation since 2021, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian General Authority for Universal Health Insurance since 2018. Moreover, he was appointed as a member of the board of directors in many institutions.

Academically, he holds the title of the Assistant Professor in the Department of Actuarial Science and Insurance in the Faculty of Commerce - Cairo University.He also worked as a senior lecturer and has more than 30 years of teaching and researching experience at many universities in Egypt, Sudan, England and Scotland. Dr. Maait holds a BSc degree in Insurance and Mathematics from Cairo University, Egypt (1984), an MPhil in Insurance from Cairo University, Egypt (1992). He also obtained a Diploma in Actuarial Science in 1996, an MSc in Actuarial Science in 1997, and a PhD degree in Actuarial Science from City University, London, UK (2003). His academic and professional activities were shown in several research papers and publications.

Dr. Richard Mattison is President of S&P Global Sustainable1 and Chief Executive Officer of S&P Global Trucost. S&P Global Sustainable1 is the single source of intelligence on sustainability. Our comprehensive coverage across global markets combined with in-depth ESG intelligence provides financial institutions, corporations and governments with an unmatched level of clarity and confidence. S&P Global Trucost assesses and prices risks relating to climate change, water, pollution and natural resource constraints, enabling companies and financial institutions to understand exposure to environmental factors, inform resilience and identify the transformative solutions of tomorrow.

Richard is an expert in sustainable finance and over 22 years he has advised various UN bodies, governments, financial intuitions, companies and NGOs on how to integrate ESG, climate change and natural capital analysis into their decision making. Richard was a member of the EU High Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance, providing key recommendations for Europe’s ground-breaking Sustainable Finance Action Plan.

He has led numerous ground-breaking projects including creating the first portfolio carbon risk assessment for Henderson and the UK Environment Agency, launching the first carbon efficient index with S&P Dow Jones Indices, leading the first global assessment of corporate environmental externalities for the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment, and developing the world’s first Environmental Profit and Loss account for PUMA.

Richard is Chair of the Future of Sustainable Data Alliance Data Council, a member of the Global Advisory Council of the Oxford Smith School Stranded Assets Programme, the Scottish Forum on Natural Capital, the TNFD Forum and the Hong Kong Green Finance Association. He is an Advisory Board Member for IUCN Finance for Nature initiative and the Capitals Coalition.

Previously, Richard was a strategy consultant and began his career as a neuroscientist. He holds a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Edinburgh and is an honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Beatriz leads TNC’s engagement and relationships with Europe’s private, multilateral and bilateral finance institutions and industry-led initiatives to mainstream climate and nature in finance and investment decisions. She works with colleagues across TNC and NatureVest, TNC’s impact investment unit, to drive financial innovation and blended-finance investment opportunities that deliver climate and biodiversity impacts alongside financial returns.

Prior to joining The Nature Conservancy, she was a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan responsible for the bank’s business with governments and multilateral institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, a sovereign analyst at Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings, and an economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Beatriz holds a PhD in Economics from the University Autonoma of Barcelona, Spain.

Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, is an economist with more than 30 years of experience in international finance and development. In February 2022, Dr. Mohieldin was appointed by the Egyptian Government as the UN Climate Change HighLevel Champion for Egypt at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), with aims at enhancing the communication between the Egyptian presidency of COP27 and businesses, the private sector and, international funding institutions working in climate change related fields. Since February 2020, Dr. Mohieldin has been the United Nations Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Development Agenda.

He is the former Minister of Investment of Egypt from 2004 served as the World Bank Group Senior Vice Pres2010, and most recently, ident for the 2030 Development Agenda, United Nations Relations and Partnerships. His professional experience extends into the academic arena as a Professor of Economics and Finance at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University and as a Visiting Professor at several renowned Universities in Egypt, Korea, the UAE, the UK and the USA.

Dr. Mohieldin holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom; a Master’s in Economics and Social Policy Analysis from the Univer sity of York, United Kingdom; a Diploma of Development Economics from the University of Warwick; and a B.Sc. in Economics from Cairo University.

The Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, S.C., M.P., is the 8th Prime Minister of Barbados and leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP).

Born in Barbados on October 1, 1965, Prime Minister Mottley's life has been one committed to highlighting and elevating the qualities of humanity, and developing a spirit of excellence for her country and for the Caribbean region.

Mottley was first sworn in as Prime Minister on May 26, 2018, after leading the BLP to a clean sweep of the General Elections.

On January 20, 2022, she retained Prime Ministership, as she led the BLP to a second consecutive clean sweep victory in a General Elections. Meanwhile, Mottley continues to serve as Member of Parliament for St Michael North East, a seat she has held for eight consecutive terms since first securing it in 1994.

An established Attorney-at-Law and Queen's Counsel who has been called to the Bar in England, Wales and Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley has had an active and successful political life in Barbados for over three decades, becoming Barbados' youngest ever Queen's Counsel, its first female Attorney General, the first female political leader of the BLP, the first female leader of the Opposition and the first female Prime Minister of Barbados, leading Barbados' transition to becoming a Parliamentary Republic in 2021.

Mottley's service of excellence has also been recognised internationally, being bestowed a number of honours including, the Order of Roraima of Guyana, the Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya, being named one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2022, and most recently, being awarded the United Nations Foundation Champion for Global Change Award.

Additionally, the Prime Minister has chaired a number of committees, and currently serves as:

• The Co-Chair of the One Health Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance
• Co-Chair of the Sustainable Development Goals Advocates group
• Lead Head of Government within CARICOM, bearing responsibility for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy

With an unbridled love for all people, culture and the environment, Prime Minister Mottley continues to work tirelessly on behalf of the people of Barbados and the Caribbean region.

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema is Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), in addition to her role as TNFD Co-Chair.

Elizabeth has two decades of experience working in the development and environment sectors. She is biodiversity leader and lawyer, from Tanzania, with a track record of negotiating next-generation policies and enabling instruments for planet, people and prosperity. Prior to her current role, she was Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Elizabeth’s work as Deputy Director of the Ecosystems Division at UNEP focused on the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws both at the national, regional and international level.

Elizabeth has played different roles in UNEP over the years. They included being a coordinator of capacity building, compliance and enforcement projects related to environmental law and the multilateral environmental conventions. She was a Senior Legal Officer and Chief of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) Support and Cooperation Branch in the then Division of Environmental Conventions (DEC), and later a Principal Legal Officer and Chief of the Biodiversity/Land Law and Governance Branch in the then Division of Environmental Law and Conventions. In addition to her role as the Law Division Director at UNEP, she was also the Acting Director of the Corporate Services Division.

Her previous work includes being the Executive Secretary of the UNEP/Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) in which she oversaw the conservation of migratory animals globally.

Ambassador Nasr is currently the Director of Climate, Environment and Sustainable Development at the Arab Republic of Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the country’s Chief Climate Negotiator.

Ambassador Nasr has had a long career as a diplomat and negotiator across a range of domestic and overseas positions. He served as the Chair of the African Group of Negotiators under the UNFCCC 2018 - 2019. He also served as the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Federal Republic of Somalia from 2018 -2021. He is an adviser to Green Climate Fund board member from Egypt, a member of the Official Egyptian delegation to the meetings of the African Ministers Responsible for the Environment, and member of the Compliance Committee under the Kyoto Protocol.

Ambassador Nasr has also acted as head of the official Egyptian delegation to the International Labor Organization (ILO), Egypt's delegate to the UNCTAD, and as a Member of the official Egyptian delegations to the World Meteorological Organization WMO on the establishment of the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS).

Annette L. Nazareth is the Chair of the Integrity Counsel for the Voluntary Carbon Market (Integrity Council), an independent governance body for the voluntary carbon market. Annette has devoted significant attention to virtually all aspects of the body’s workstreams, and has represented the Integrity Council in venues across the globe.

Annette has decades of experience in financial services regulation and corporate governance. She currently serves as Senior Counsel at the global law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, having previously served as a Partner of the firm and the head of the Washington DC office. Annette also led the firm’s Trading and Markets practice within the Financial Institutions Group. She was a key player in U.S. financial services regulation for nearly a decade, most notably as a Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and as the SEC’s Director of the Division of Trading and Markets.

Baafour Otu-Boateng is Investment Director at KawiSafi Ventures, an impact VC fund focused on companies that enable low-carbon growth across Africa. Previously, he was Investment Director at Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), where he led investments in a diverse portfolio of African businesses active in renewable energy, technology, healthcare, agribusiness and financial inclusion. Prior to I&P, he was a TechnoServe Fellow in Ghana, and he started his career as an analyst at UBS Investment Bank in New York.

Baafour serves as Board Director at World Vision International and Board Chair at World Vision Ghana. He is an Eisenhower Fellow. He holds an MBA from the University of Oxford, where he was a Chevening Scholar, and a BA from Williams College, where he was a Herbert H. Lehman scholar.

Stephanie sits on Monzo's Executive Committee and is strategic advisor to Monzo's Board with responsibility for legal, governance and public policy at Monzo. She has 25 years experience in banking having worked across all areas of retail, commercial and investment banking.

She joined Monzo on 1 March 2021 from Barclays where she was the GC for Global Consumer Banking and Strategic Affairs Officer working across a wide range of legal and policy matters.

Baroness Penn was appointed Treasury Lords Minister in the UK Government on 30 October 2022, having been Baroness in Waiting (Government whip) between 19 March 2020 and 20 September 2022.
 
She previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Theresa May from 2016 to 2019 and became the youngest member of the House of Lords when she joined the House on 21 October 2019. From 29 October 2019 to 21 April 2020, she was a member of the Lord’s Science and Technology Committee.
 
Her ministerial responsibilities include international climate and nature finance, ESG in financial services (including Green Finance), as well as economic security, financial sanctions, and countering economic crime and illicit finance. 
 

Stephanie Pfeifer is the CEO of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC). Stephanie has led IIGCC since 2005 and has overseen its expansion into a pan-European investor group during that time. She sits on the Steering Committees for Climate Action 100+ and the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative and chairs the Steering Committee for the Investor Agenda and Executive Committee for the Paris Aligned Investment Initiative. IIGCC is also a co-secretariat of the Nature Action 100 initiative, of which Stephanie will be a Steering Committee member when it formally launches later this year.

Prior to her role at IIGCC, Stephanie worked in investment banking for over seven years, including as a senior economist at Morgan Grenfell and a VP at Deutsche Bank in London. She holds an MSc with distinction in Environmental Studies, a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University and an MA in Economics from Exeter University. Stephanie received an OBE for her services to climate finance in Her Majesty the Queen’s Jubilee Birthday Honours List in 2022.

Curtis Ravenel is a Senior Advisor to the co-chairs and Vice Chair of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) and a founding member of the Secretariat for the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).  He also serves as a Distinguished Fellow in Sustainable Finance at ClimateWorks Foundation, a Board Member of Context Labs BV and a Strategic Advisor to Persefoni Ai and Apollo Global Management.

Curtis founded the Sustainable Business & Finance Group at Bloomberg LP and served as its Global Head, reporting directly to the Chairman, from 2007-2019. Under his leadership, Bloomberg integrated sustainability considerations into the firm’s operations globally and developed a full range of Sustainable Finance products to evaluate sustainability-related risks and opportunities for finance professionals.

He was awarded a David Rockefeller Fellowship with the Partnership for New York City in 2011, appointed by the Obama Administration to serve on the US chapter of the G8 Advisory Board on Impact Investing in 2013 and received the Columbia Business School Exemplary Leadership Award in 2016. Curtis holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in History from Davidson College.

Louis Redshaw has been actively involved in the European carbon markets since before their inception in 2005. While Managing Director responsible for Environmental Markets at Barclays Capital he created the largest carbon business by volume, globally.

Louis has been a true ‘first mover’ in the carbon markets driving forward innovative and ground-breaking products. He created, and more importantly shared with the whole trading community, standardised trading documentation that allowed the secondary Certified Emissions Reduction (CER) market to start and later repeated the initiative in the US by standardising terms that led to the first trades in California Carbon Allowances (CCAs). Both standards were subsequently adopted by exchanges active in carbon trading. Louis commissioned the creation of the Barclays Global Carbon Index that tracked global emission credit prices and its associated NYSE listed iPath Exchange Traded Note. In 2009 he initiated a CER portfolio acquisition process that culminated in the purchase of Tricorona in 2010, a publicly listed company that was the 3rd largest CDM project developer at the time.

Louis has fought hard to protect the integrity of carbon markets, including educating peer financial companies and various authorities including the European Commission, UK Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on VAT fraud in the carbon markets. He has served as a Director on the board of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) and a Director on the board of the Climate Markets and Investors Association (CMIA), spending four years in each role.

Louis has a passion for emissions trading and actively promotes the efficiency of markets to deliver carbon emissions reductions. His mission is to help companies of all types to understand the increasingly complex world of carbon risk management and show them how they can manage those risks. He is regularly invited to give his views on this fast evolving business by presenting at conferences, writing articles and contributing to workshops. He has twice given evidence to the UK Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee as an expert in carbon trading.

Mattia Romani is Senior Counsellor to the Special Envoy on Climate Change and President Designate of COP28. He is an internationally recognised leader on sustainable finance, power system decarbonisation, and transition economics. He is a partner at Systemiq, the systems change company. He was previously at Autonomy Capital, where his work as Head of Sustainability ranged from sustainability investment and carbon market analysis to energy and mobility research.

He previously served as Managing Director for Economics, Policy and Governance at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development between 2014 and 2020, and was formerly Deputy Director General and Chief Economist of the Global Green Growth Institute. He worked closely with Lord Nick Stern on the ground-breaking Stern Review, and was a senior expert in sustainability and resource productivity at McKinsey. He holds a D.Phil (PhD) in Economics from University of Oxford and a MSc in Development from the London School of Economics.

William took office as the 692nd Lord Mayor of the City of London in November 2019. To ensure continuity of leadership during the current COVID-19 outbreak, he remained in office until November 2021. William’s mayoral theme was Global UK: Trade, Innovation and Culture, aiming to grow global trade, champion innovation and promote a rich and vibrant cultural and creative economy. During his mayoralty, William led the Green Horizon Summit at COP26 alongside Mark Carney, promoting the importance of Finance and the City of London to help the UK get to net zero.

William has over thirty years’ experience in the financial and business City including holding senior positions in the national and international Banking sector. In 1987 he went to work for First Boston Corporation before joining Merrill Lynch in 1992 as an Investment Banker in Institutional Equity Sales, working in Asia, New York and London. William is currently co-Chair of the UK-China Green Finance Taskforce with Dr Ma Jun, and a non-executive Director to Augmentum Fintech Investment Trust.

William served on the Board of Innovate Finance, the industry body for the UK based Fintech community and is also an educational entrepreneur, as the co-Founder and Chair of Knightsbridge School and a Director of Knightsbridge School International (KSI). William is a past member of the Campaign Board for Durham Inspired, a landmark philanthropic campaign focused on ensuring Durham remains at the forefront of learning, research and education for generations to come.

David Semaya is Executive Chairman and Representative Director of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management Co., Ltd. His thirty five year career spans three continents in executive leadership roles in financial services 
across the US, Europe, and Asia. Now based in Tokyo, he joined SuMiTrust Asset Management in April 2018.

Previously, David served as Executive Chairman of Nikko Asset Management for four years both in London and in Tokyo. Prior to returning to Japan, he was with Barclays PLC as CEO of UK and Ireland Wealth Management, and Chairman of Barclays Asset Management Ltd. Prior to 
2009, he served as CEO for Barclays Global Investors (now Blackrock) Europe and Asia. Until 2004, David was with Merrill Lynch and Co. in a variety of executive leadership positions in both Asset Management and Investment Banking in New York and Tokyo.

David was also formerly a Trustee Director for one of Europe’s largest pension funds and served on the board of the Investment Association and the Wealth Management Association (UK). He currently serves as Chairman of the ICI APAC Steering Council. He has also been FinCity.Tokyo Ambassador since April 2022.

David holds a BA from The University of Florida, a Masters in Education from Temple University and has completed the Stanford/NUS Executive Program in International Management. He is a dual US/UK National and is fluent in the Japanese language

The Rt Hon Chris Skidmore MP has been the MP for Kingswood since 2010. He has served in five government departments between 2015 and 2020 including as Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation twice between 2018 and 2020. In 2019, he was also appointed Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth, attending Cabinet, during which time he signed the UK's commitment to Net Zero by 2050 into law, and helped secure the UK Presidency of COP26.

Most recently, he served as the Chair of the Government’s Independent Net Zero Review, and published the 340 page ‘Mission Zero’ report in January 2023. He is currently Chair of the All Party Group on the Environment and is also a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Graham Stuart was appointed Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 7 February 2023.

He was previously Minister of State in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 6 September 2022 to 7 February 2023. Graham was the Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office from 7 July 2022 to 6 September 2022. Graham joined the Department for International Trade in January 2018 as Minister for Investment, and he was Minister for Exports from February 2020 until September 2021.

He was elected as the Member of Parliament for Beverley and Holderness in 2005. Before being elected as a member of Parliament, Graham developed a successful career in publishing, and was a member of Cambridge City Council from 1998 to 2004.

Dr Kay Swinburne is the Vice Chair of KPMG UK’s Financial Services practice and Chair of KPMG’s EMA Risk & Regulatory Insight Centre, leading C-suite engagement for FS clients. In recent months, Kay also held the role of Global Co-lead of Sustainable Finance at KPMG.

As a former legislator having made award-winning contributions to regulatory reform, she is a prominent figure in the UK and international financial services community. She is an active voice in the market and heads special projects on ESG, EU/UK political issues and financial regulation – including Fintech, UK competitiveness and capital market infrastructure.

Kay is the Chair of the International Regulatory Strategy Group, one of the most influential regulatory and strategy cross-sectional groups in Europe.

Prior to joining KPMG, she was a Member of European Parliament, and a leading EU legislator serving as Vice Chair of the Economics and Monetary Affairs Committee, shaping EU and global financial services legislation.

Chris Taylor is the UK’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) Envoy at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). He moved to the FCDO from the COP Unit which led the UK’s COP 26 Presidency, where he led on international engagement, including JETP, as the Deputy COP Envoy.

Prior to that Chris worked on international economic policy in the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury and on international climate and energy issues in DECC, DFID, Defra and HM Treasury - including as an author on the 2006 Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change.

Dr. Rhian-Mari Thomas is Chief Executive of the Green Finance Institute, an independent, commercially focused organisation seed funded by the UK Government.

Rhian spent 20 years in investment banking and corporate finance and was the first person to be awarded an OBE for services to green banking. She is an emeritus member of TCFD and co-chaired the launch of the TNFD, to which she remains an advisor.

Rhian sits on numerous advisory groups across UK Government, as well as the World Economic Forum’s Clean Energy Financing steering committee and co-chairs the leadership council for Snowball Impact Investments. Rhian is also a Trustee of the World Wildlife Fund UK. A fluent Welsh speaker, Rhian holds a PhD in Physics from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.

Philippe joined PIDG as Chief Executive Officer in 2014. He has 30 years of international experience in emerging markets infrastructure project and export finance and risk management in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

Prior to joining PIDG, Philippe was one of the founding partners of an EM infrastructure finance advisory firm and before that worked for Depfa Bank’s infrastructure finance unit. Philippe spent 13 years at the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (World Bank Group) in Washington and Singapore, where he headed the guarantees department and was global head of infrastructure. Philippe’s infrastructure experience covers power, renewables, water, transportation, and social infrastructure.

He attended Harvard University’s Business School Executive Program and holds an MBA in International Business and a Bachelor’s degree from George Washington University.

Lesley White is the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s (SMI) Chief Operating Officer. The SMI is chaired by His Majesty King Charles III and Brian Moynihan, CEO, Bank of America, who together lead a group of more than 100 CEOs in a global ‘coalition of the willing’ who share the vision to accelerate the global progress towards a sustainable future.

Lesley is responsible for translating HM’s strategy into executable initiatives.  In this role, Lesley leads the SMI secretariat team and works closely with the Assistant Private Secretary to operationalize HRH’s goals and objectives.

Prior to joining the Sustainable Markets Initiative was the head of Global Commercial Banking International for Bank of America, based in London. With 30 years banking experience across a number of organisations and roles spanning Retail, Commercial, Transaction Services and International Banking. 

Lesley has championed a number of D&I initiatives at Bank of America, serving as co-chair of EMEA Women’s Leadership Council and the Executive Sponsor for Parent and Carers Network in EMEA.   Currently, she is a Co-Chair of the Power of 10 Operating Committee, which connects women and leaders and provides mentor and growth opportunities for participants.

James is Chief Sustainability Officer at Phoenix Group, the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement group with 13 million policy holders and over £300b assets under administration.

James has over 20 years’ experience in climate change and sustainability. Joining Lloyds Banking Group in 2018 as Group Head of Sustainability, he developed a sustainability strategy focused on supporting and financing the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy, his efforts raising the bank to second in ShareAction’s climate change rankings for the top 20 European banks. Prior to this, James was Managing Director at the Carbon Trust, where he worked for 15 years with business and governments around the world on climate change and sustainability related issues, as well as leading their UK business units focused on government policy, market developments and innovation. James previously worked for McKinsey & Company. He has a PhD from the University of Cambridge in Nanotechnology and a first-class undergraduate degree from the University of Oxford, in Metallurgy and the Science of Materials.

Jon is PwC’s Global Banking & Capital Markets ESG Leader and also chairs PwC’s UK Sustainability practice, with a focus on delivering market-leading strategy, transformation & risk management solutions to financial firms. He has a focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, particularly relating to climate change, including Net Zero, climate finance and carbon markets, and natural capital risk management. Jon also leads PwC’s work globally supporting companies to implement the recommendations of the TCFD. His clients include financial institutions in both developed and developing economies, and has also advised companies in the retail, consumer goods, healthcare, energy and mining sectors.

Prior to joining PwC, Jon worked for HSBC for 21 years, with a variety of banking roles in Europe and Asia, most recently as Head of Group Sustainable Development. Jon developed and implemented HSBC’s sustainability risk strategy and their sustainable business strategy, with a focus on lending and investments related to climate change, forestry and microfinance.

Jon is a member of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). He has previously advised the World Economic Forum (WEF) on their Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics and was a member of the City of London Green Finance Initiative Steering Committee, co-chair of the Climate Markets & Investors Association (CMIA) TCFD Working Group, sat on the UK Green Investment Bank Sustainable Finance Group as an adviser and was Project Adviser to the World Economic Forum for the Critical Mass Initiative, the Energy Access Partnership and the Climate Governance Initiative. Jon has also chaired the Equator Principles, the global benchmark for banks to manage social and environmental issues in project finance and the Climate Principles, a framework for the finance sector to respond to climate change.

Mr. Samaila Zubairu was appointed as AFC’s 3rd President and Chief Executive Officer in July 2018, ushering in a new era of leadership in accelerating development impact with the development and implementation of a five-year corporate strategy which at its core, addresses the urgent mandate of increasing energy access for Africans, driving sustainable development of natural resources, transport and logistics infrastructure, heavy industries, and improving telecommunications/ technology access. Key pillars of the strategy include: enhancing the capacity of the team and entrenching a high-performance culture; coherent ecosystem strategy for value-accretive beneficiation and import substitution; proactive risk and portfolio management to improve AFC’s credit profile and diversifying its funding sources.

As a result of the implementation of the strategic plan under Mr. Zubairu, AFC’s total assets have grown exponentially from US$4.1 billion when he joined to $10.6 billion (2022), and Total Comprehensive Income has nearly doubled from US$118 million (2018) to US$214 million (2022) despite the economic shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Zubairu was the CEO of Africapital Management Limited and Chief Financial Officer for Dangote Cement Plc, as well as the Treasurer for Dangote Group. While at Dangote, Mr. Zubairu was a key leader in funding the transformation of the trading group from to a pan African industrial conglomerate. He also worked at Liberty Merchant Bank Plc (banking subsidiary of the Dangote group), FSB Plc (now Fidelity Bank), Denham Management Company and Muhtari Dangana & Co (Chartered Accountants).

Mr. Zubairu is an Eisenhower Fellow and also sits on the Board of Trustees for the fellowship. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Nigeria (FCA). He holds a BSc in Accounting from Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria.