Ravi Abeywardana
Technical Director, IFRS Foundation International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)
Ravi is the Technical Director at the IFRS Foundation International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). He was involved in the development of the inaugural [draft] ISSB Standards: General Requirements and Climate Standard. He was previously the Technical Director at the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) that consolidated with the IFRS Foundation in February 2022, having led the CDSB’s technical work programme to drive uptake of the TCFD recommendations and enhance reporting of environmental and social information globally to investors.
Previously Ravi spent six years at Olam International, a Singaporean listed agro-commodity company, holding management positions in both finance (financial controller for the European cocoa division), sustainable finance and corporate disclosures.
Ravi trained as a Chartered Accountant with Ecovis and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). He has a BA in Geography (First) from The University of Liverpool.
Kate Abnett
European Climate and Energy Correspondent for Reuters
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Andy Agg
Group Chief Financial Officer of National Grid plc
Andy became the Group Chief Financial Officer of National Grid plc in December 2018. Prior to that he has held a number or senior finance leadership roles across the group including Group Financial Controller, UK CFO and, most recently, Group Tax and Treasury Director.
Andy trained as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and spent several years working in different roles there before joining National Grid in 2008.
Ashley Ian Alder, SBS, JP
Chair of the Board, International Organization of Securities Commissions, Chief Executive Officer, Securities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong
Ashley is the Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong. He was first appointed in October 2011. In May 2016, Ashley was elected as Chair of the Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), and was re-elected for a further two-year term in June 2020.
Ashley was previously Chair of the IOSCO Asia-Pacific Regional Committee and Vice Chair of the IOSCO Board. Ashley has represented IOSCO as a member of the Financial Stability Board Steering Committee and Plenary since his election as IOSCO Board Chair.
Ashley started his career as a lawyer in London in 1984. He moved to Hong Kong in 1989 with the international law firm Herbert Smith, practicing corporate and business law. He was Executive Director of Corporate Finance at the SFC from 2001 to 2004, before returning to Herbert Smith, where he became head of the firm’s Asia Region.
Andrew Bainbridge
Chair, PIDG Ltd
Andy has extensive experience with PIDG, having previously been Chair of GuarantCo and a Director of EAIF. Until 2019, he was the Group Chief Executive Officer of the SBM banking group, based in Mauritius. He continues to sit on the SBM group board and certain subsidiaries as a non-executive, is the Chair of the ICF Debt Pool LLP, the Chair of Cable & Wireless Seychelles Ltd and is a Partner at Gateway Partners. He previously held senior positions with Standard Chartered Bank and Barclays Bank and also served as CEO of BMI Bank. Andy is a Fellow of the Institute of Financial Services and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors South Africa.
Hywel Ball
EY UK Chair and UK & Ireland Regional Managing Partner
Hywel has over 35 years of experience with EY and has been a Partner for 25 years. Prior to this he was UK Head of Audit and Managing Partner of Assurance. He has worked in EY’s London, New York and Edinburgh offices and worked with a wide range of clients across a variety of sectors.
Hywel is passionate about the role that business plays in society and is a leading voice on the importance of long-term value creation in business, co-authoring the EY Long-Term Value framework.
More widely Hywel is passionate about the role that business plays in society. Under his leadership, EY in the UK has led the way in a number of areas, including entering into a 10-year zero carbon Power Purchase Agreement so that the majority of the energy EY UK uses will be zero carbon.
A member of HMT’s Professional Services Council, the CBI President’s Committee and the Corporate Advisory Group of the British Academy's Future of the Corporation Programme. In addition, Hywel is on the audit committee of The British Museum.
Sarah Breeden
Executive Director for Financial Stability Strategy and Risk, Bank of England
Sarah is the Executive Director for Financial Stability Strategy and Risk and a member of the Financial Policy Committee (FPC). The FPC is the United Kingdom’s ‘macroprudential’ authority. It is tasked by Parliament with guarding against the financial system damaging the wider economy. Sarah is responsible for the Bank of England’s work to deliver that objective.
Sarah also leads the Bank of England’s work on climate change, domestically and internationally, a role she has held since 2016. This has included being Chair of the macrofinancial workstream of the international central bank and supervisors’ Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS).
Prior to her current role, Sarah was the Executive Director for UK Deposit Takers Supervision, responsible for the supervision of the UK’s banks, building societies and credit unions. Before that, she was Executive Director for International Banks Supervision, where having joined the directorate in 2015, she was responsible for supervision of the UK operations of international banks.
Before moving into supervision, Sarah was a Director in the Bank's Financial Stability Strategy and Risk Directorate, where she focused on developing the UK’s macroprudential policy making framework and supporting the Financial Policy Committee. Previously she was head of the division that assessed risks to financial stability from financial markets, the non-bank financial sector, and the real economy.
Sarah led the Bank’s work to support the transition of prudential regulation of banks and insurers from the Financial Services Authority to the Bank.
Prior to that she was head of the Bank’s Risk Management Division and head of Special Projects in the Markets Directorate, leading the design and risk management of financial market operations undertaken by the Bank including those launched during the financial crisis.
Bruce Carnegie-Brown
Chairman, Lloyds of London
Bruce Carnegie-Brown was appointed Chairman in June 2017. He is currently also Vice-Chairman of Banco Santander, Chairman of MCC and Chairman of Cuvva, a digital motor insurance business.
He was a Non-Executive Director of JLT Group plc from 2016 to 2017, prior to which he was Non-Executive Chairman of Aon UK Ltd from 2012 to 2015, Senior Independent Director of Catlin Group Ltd from 2010 to 2014 and Chief Executive for Marsh UK and Europe from 2003 to 2006. He was Chairman of Moneysupermarket Group from 2014 to 2019 and Senior Independent Director of Close Brothers Group plc from 2006 to 2014 and is a Past President of the Chartered Management Institute.
He previously worked at JP Morgan for 18 years in a number of senior roles and was Managing Partner of 3i Group plc's Quoted Private Equity Division from 2007 to 2009.
Mark Carney
UN Special Envoy, Climate Action and Finance
Mark Carney is currently the UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance and Prime Minister Johnson’s Finance Adviser for COP26. Mark was previously Governor of the Bank of England (from 2013 to 2020), and Governor of the Bank of Canada (from 2008 to 2013). Internationally, Mark was Chair of the Financial Stability Board (from 2011 to 2018), He chaired the Global Economy Meeting and Economic Consultative Committee of the Bank for International Settlements (from 2018-2020), and was First Vice-Chair of the European Systemic Risk Board (from 2013-2020). He is a member of the Group of Thirty, the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, as well as the boards of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Hoffman Institute for Global Business and Society at INSEAD. Mark was born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada in 1965. After growing up in Edmonton, Alberta, he obtained a bachelor degree in Economics from Harvard and masters and doctorate degrees in Economics from Oxford. After a thirteen-year career with Goldman Sachs, Mark was appointed Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada in 2003. In 2004, he became Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Finance. He held this position until his appointment as Governor of the Bank of Canada in February 2008.
Alice Carr
Executive Director for Public Policy, Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ)
Alice Carr is Executive Director for Public Policy at the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), which is working at pace to ensure that the global financial system can deliver on its net zero commitments. Prior to joining GFANZ, Alice had a two-decade career in central banking, most recently leading the Bank of England's international strategy and policy division, including supporting Governor Andrew Bailey on the Bank's contribution to a successful UK G7 Presidency Finance track, G20/FSB engagement post-Covid and work on market access and trade agreements. Alice supported Governor Mark Carney on his international work for three years, including during his time as FSB chair.
Prior to this, she worked for several years at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority on a cross-sectoral resolution framework, and in a niche consultancy supporting Finance Ministries, Central Banks and Regulators in 20 countries to strengthen financial stability frameworks as the global financial crisis began. She started her career at the South Korean Embassy in London. She has a Masters in Economics and Finance from Universidad de Navarra and in History from the University of Cambridge.
Javier Echave Espot
Chief Financial Officer, Heathrow
Javier has served as Chief Financial Officer at Heathrow since 2016. He is responsible for leading the organisation financially by enabling a sustainable growth strategy and transforming Heathrow’s approach to risk, cost and investment.
He leads the investment of a multibillion capital plan driving long-term sustainable value generation to consumers 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 global pandemic creating an unprecedented 97% decline in revenue by securing business continuity and accelerating its recovery.
Outside Heathrow, Javier co-chairs the UK Leadership Network of The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project (‘A4S’), chairs the Wellbeing Leadership Team of Business In the Community (UK) and is professor of strategy and change management at the MBA programme of UNIR Business School (Spain).
Nili Gilbert
Vice Chairwoman, Carbon Direct
Nili Gilbert, CFA, CAIA, is the Vice Chairwoman of Carbon Direct, a leader in scaling carbon management into a global industry through both climate technology investments and client advisory.
She is also Chair of the US$130+ Trillion Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero’s (GFANZ) Advisory Panel of technical experts, as well as a member of its CEO Principals Group. Nili also sits as the Chair of US Policy for the UN-Convened Asset Owner Alliance. In addition to serving as a board member and Chairwoman of the Investment Committees of both the David Rockefeller Fund and the Synergos Institute, she is a Senior Advisor at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Nili is also a member of the Social Mission Board of Seventh Generation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever. Previously, she was Co-Founder and Portfolio Manager of Matarin Capital, which became one of the larger women-owned asset managers in the US. She also previously served as a member of the State of California’s Climate-Related Financial Risk Advisory Group.
Nili has been a recurring speaker on CNBC and Bloomberg television, among others, and her TED Talk on climate finance has received over 1 million views. She has been honored as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, LinkedIn TopVoice in Finance, Entrepreneur of the Year by the National Association of Securities Professionals, and Bloomberg BusinessWeek “One to Watch.” She is a permanent member of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of New York.
Nili received her BA, magna cum laude, from Harvard University, her MBA from Columbia Business School, where she was a Toigo Fellow, and she has completed programs in leadership and sustainability at Oxford and Stanford Universities.
John Glen MP
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
John Glen was appointed Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister on 9 January 2018.
He was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport from 14 June 2017 to 8 January 2018. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Philip Hammond from July 2016 until June 2017.
John Glen MP was first elected to Parliament as the MP for Salisbury in 2010. He previously worked for Eric Pickles and Sajid Javid as a Parliamentary Private Secretary.
Chris Hayward
Policy Chairman, City of London Corporation
As Policy Chairman Chris Hayward leads the City Corporation’s work on policy issues affecting the UK’s financial and related professional services sector as well as the Square Mile’s ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. He strengthens ties with political representatives and business leaders across London, the UK and internationally to ensure the City remains a world leading global financial centre.
His role also covers the City Corporation’s responsibilities as a local authority, overseeing the governing body’s open spaces, educational commitments and cultural institutions.
Prior to becoming Policy Chairman, 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, public affairs and global infrastructure sectors.
He assumes the role after serving almost a decade as an elected Member and was former Deputy Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee.
Her Excellency Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany
Permanent Representative of the UAE to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
Her Excellency Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany is the Permanent Representative of the UAE to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) since April 2018. Previously, Dr. Al Hosany held the position of the Executive Director of Sustainability at Masdar, the international renewable energy leader based in Abu Dhabi. She also served as the Director of the Zayed Future Energy Prize (now known as the Zayed sustainability Prize) for eight years
between 2011-2018. She is currently a Jury member of the Prize. She was also the Deputy Director General of the Emirates Diplomatic Academy (EDA) between 2017-2018.
Apart from her current position and as part of her professional career, Dr. Al-Hosany holds positions across various business sectors, government entities and academic institutions in the UAE and internationally. She is also an active and prominent member of several key international, regional and local climate-focused boards and committees, including the advisory council of National Geographic magazine, the advisory board of the Payne Institute in Colorado School of Mines, the advisory Panel for the Momentum for Change initiative of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). She is a board member of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), the international organization that works in partnership with the United Nations to accelerate action on Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), the Paris Climate Agreement, and the UAE Sailing & Rowing Federation. Concurrently, she serves as the Vice Chair for the Global Council of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Dr. Nawal Al Hosany’s numerous professional achievements have been widely acknowledged through prestigious awards. In July 2018, Dr. Al-Hosany was presented the “Doctor of letters Honoris Causa” from Keele University in the UK in recognition for her achievements in the field of sustainability. Dr Al-Hosany also received the “Arab Woman Award” and the “Emirates Business Women Award”. She graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at the UAE University in 1992 and obtained her PhD from Newcastle University in the UK in 2002. Dr. Al-Hosany is also credited as one of the first two Emirati women to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world at 5,895 metres above sea-level.
Dr. Ma Jun
Founder and President, Institute of Finance and Sustainability
Dr. Ma is the Founder and President of 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, Co-Chair of the UK-China Green Finance Taskforce, 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.
Dr. Dalia A. Kader
Chief Sustainability Officer of Commercial International Bank (CIB) Egypt
Dr. Dalia A. Kader spearheaded the discipline of Sustainable Finance as early as 2003. Ever since, she brought vision and passion to this domain, conceiving far-reaching organizational initiatives and seeing their implementation through. She is currently Chief Sustainability Officer of Commercial International Bank (CIB) Egypt’s leading private sector bank and Board Member of the CIB foundation. She is also Founder, Vice Chairman and Board Member of “We Owe it to Egypt” foundation. Dr. Kader is also a member of the UNEP FI Banking Board “Principles for Responsible Banking” representing the MENA region and a member of the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) Steering Committee representing Africa. Dr. Kader is also a member of the Regional Advisory Board for Sustainable Finance.
She was Head of the Sustainable Finance Committee at the Federation of Egyptian Banks from 2014-2020 where she managed an EGP 400 million FEB integrated Slum Development project and now she is the chairman of the Sustainable Finance committee (Green Finance Committee) at the Federation of Egyptian Banks.
Sustainable Finance is a core focus for her ongoing advocacy since 2003, that entailed challenging mainstream finance, pursuing innovation, making her marks towards creating industry trends. Dr. Kader represented Egypt in the working sessions of the G20 Green Finance Study Group that issued the 2017 Green Finance Synthesis Report. In 2014, she helped launch MOSTADAM, the first platform for advancing Sustainable Finance in the Middle East with a focus on capacity building, policy advocacy and promoting sustainable products and services that initiated an industry movement in Egypt. In 2018, she participated in launching the Principles for Responsible Banking during her term at AAIB and has been appointed by the UNEP FI to promote the principles in the MENA region.
Since 2009, she has been advancing the cause of Equator Principles and introduced social and environmental risk management policies and procedures in banks, along efforts to enact international frameworks within the financial industry including the PRI & the TCFD to advance sustainable finance.
Substantiated with an inter-disciplinary exposure to finance, political science, economics and sustainability, Dr. Kader conceived the concept of “Humanizing Finance” which was launched in a TEDex talk at the American University in Cairo in 2013. She also introduced and lectured a proprietary postmodern interpretation of the Marketing discipline in international platforms. Dr. Kader Initiated advocacy for sustainable finance and sustainability branding through lecturing and speaking engagements in local, regional and international conferences including the Financial Times conference “Future of Marketing” in New York in 2016.
Dr. Kader holds a B.A from the American University in Cairo in 1984 (Major in Political Science & Minor in Economics), M.A. degree in Political Science from the American University in Cairo in 1989 and Ph.D in Political Science from Cairo University in 2003 with distinction.
Dr. Kevin K. Kariuki
Vice-President Power, Energy, Climate & Green Growth, African Development Bank Group
Dr. Kevin Kariuki is the Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth at the African Development Bank and oversees the Bank’s work in universal energy access and advancement of climate-resilient and low-carbon development in Africa.
A Kenyan national with over 30 years of post-qualification experience, Dr. Kariuki is renowned in the power sector for passion and leadership in power systems, renewable energy, energy policy and regulation, utility transformation, infrastructure project finance, and climate resilient sustainable development. He is credited with leading the successful development of over $2 billion of privately financed landmark infrastructure projects across the continent including the $902M 250 MW Bujagali Hydropower Project and the US$650m, 1,280 Gb/s, 17,000km submarine optic fibre cable linking South and East African countries with other international broadband cables in South Africa, India, and France.
Prior to joining the Bank, Dr. Kariuki served as the Head of Infrastructure at the Industrial Promotion Services, which is the industrial and infrastructure arm of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. Before that, he headed the technical division at the Kenya Electricity Regulatory Board, which at the time was one of few independent utility regulators in Africa.
Dr. Kariuki previously served as a non-executive Board Chairman of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and as a non-executive board member of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Consolidated Infrastructure Group.
A Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Dr. Kariuki holds a PhD in Power Systems Reliability, and MSc in Electrical Power Engineering, both from the University of Manchester, and a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nairobi.
Alderman Vincent Keaveny
The Rt Hon. the Lord Mayor of the City of London
Vincent is a partner in the international business law firm, DLA Piper. He advises on debt capital markets, structured finance and securitisation transactions in the UK and banks, financial institutions and corporate clients in the UK and internationally on banking, finance and capital markets transactions.
He is listed as a leading practitioner in his area of practice by all of the principal legal directories and is included in the legal ‘500’ Hall of Fame for securitisation practitioners. Until May 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.
Vincent was elected as Alderman for the Ward of Farringdon Within in 2013 and served as Sheriff of the City of London in 2018-19. Since his election, he has served on a number of City of London Corporation Committees. He is currently a member of the Policy & Resources Committee and the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Sub-Committee. He also a Governor of the City of London School. Vincent is Co-Chair of the HMT & BEIS Socio-Economic Diversity Taskforce.
He 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.
John Kerry
US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate
On January 20, 2021, John F. Kerry was sworn in as the first U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and the first-ever Principal to sit on the National Security Council entirely dedicated to climate change. President Biden announced Kerry would have a seat at every table around the world as he combats the climate crisis to meet the existential threat that we face. In recent years, Kerry was the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s first ever Visiting Distinguished Statesman, following his four years as the 68th United States Secretary of State. As America’s top diplomat, he guided the Department’s strategy on nuclear nonproliferation, combating radical extremism, and the threat of climate change. His tenure was marked by the successful negotiation of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Climate Agreement.
From 1985 to 2013, he served as a U.S. Senator representing Massachusetts, and was Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2009 to 2013. Secretary Kerry served in the U.S. Navy, completing two combat tours of duty in Vietnam for which he received a Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V, and three Purple Hearts. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his law degree from Boston College Law School. Secretary Kerry is the best-selling author of A Call to Service, This Moment on Earth with his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry, and his 2018 memoir, Every Day Is Extra, which The New York Times described as “a bittersweet reminder of what the country once demanded of its leaders.” Secretary Kerry was the Democratic Party’s nominee for President of the United States in 2004.
The Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP
Secretary of State, Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Kwasi Kwarteng was appointed Secretary of State at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 8 January 2021.
He was previously Minister of State at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Kwasi was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Exiting the European Union from 16 November 2018 to 24 July 2019.
Kwasi read classics and history at Trinity College, Cambridge, and then attended Harvard University on a Kennedy Scholarship. He earned a PhD in economic history from the University of Cambridge in 2000.
Before becoming a Member of Parliament, Kwasi worked as an analyst in financial services.
Kwasi was elected the Conservative MP for Spelthorne in 2010. From 2010 until 2013 he was a member of the Transport Select Committee, and in 2013 he joined the Work and Pensions Select Committee where he was a member until 2015.
In October 2016 Kwasi joined the Public Accounts Committee, where he was a member until May 2017.
In 2015 Kwasi was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the House of Lords, and in 2017 he became Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat
Minister of International Cooperation, Egypt
Dr. Rania Al Mashat is Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation since December 2019, and previously served as the country’s first female Minister of Tourism. Prior to that, she was Advisor to the Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC. She specialized in central banking issues and designing monetary policy frameworks. Her other former roles include serving as Sub-Governor for Monetary Policy at the Central Bank of Egypt, Senior Economist at the IMF, Deputy Project Director for the Institutional Reform and Informal Sector Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, USA, and Adjunct Professor of Economics at the American University in Cairo (AUC). Al-Mashat has several publications on monetary policy, financial stability and institutional reforms in transition and emerging markets.
She represents Egypt as Governor in several international financial institutions, including the World Bank Group, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, and Arab Bank for Economic Development; and as Alternate Governor of Egypt at the African Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Islamic Development Bank. She is also Co-Chair of the MENA Stewardship Board at the World Economic Forum (WEF); and Member of the New Economy and Society Stewardship Board at WEF. She had several board affiliations, including the Egyptian Stock Exchange, the Egyptian General Authority for Free Zones and Investment, the Arab International Bank, the Arab Investment Bank, and the Middle East Economic Association.
Al-Mashat received a number of international and domestic awards; the “2019 Global Champion Award” from the World Tourism and Travel Council; the “2019 Global Leader’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Industry”. She was named among most powerful women in the Egyptian Banking Sector in 2015 and selected among the top 50 most influential women in the Egyptian economy in 2015 and 2020; the 2014 and 2015 “Choiseul Institute 100 Africa: Economic Leaders for Tomorrow”; and 2014 Young Global Leaders by WEF.
Al-Mashat received her PhD and MA in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, USA, and BA in Economics from AUC. She completed executive education at Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and SaÏd Business School, Oxford University.
Mairead McGuinness
European Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability & Capital Markets Union
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Cécile Prévieu
Executive Vice President in charge of Energy Solutions, Engie
Cécile is Engie’s EVP in charge of Energy Solutions activities (distributed and urban energy networks, energy efficiency services). She supervises the Energy Solutions Global Business Unit, ENGIE Solutions, the Tractebel Business Unit and ENGIE Impact. Cécile Prévieu began her career in the French government, notably at the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, as energy advisor to the Minister of Industry, then as transportation advisor to the Prime Minister.
She joined the ENGIE Group in 2010, where she held responsibilities with the Chief Executive Officer in charge of the Group's Networks Division, before being appointed Director of Asset Management at Storengy. Cécile Prévieu has been Chief Executive Officer of Storengy since 2015. She secured the storage activity in France through regulation and developed Storengy's decarbonated activities: production and storage of renewable gases (biomethane, hydrogen and e-methane) and the supply of heating and cooling through geothermal energy for cities and eco-neighborhoods.
An engineer by training, Cécile Prévieu is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique, the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.
Noel Quinn
Group Chief Executive, HSBC
Noel Quinn was appointed Group Chief Executive in March 2020, having previously served as interim Group Chief Executive from August 2019.
Mr Quinn has been with HSBC – or its constituent companies – since 1987, when he joined Forward Trust Group, a subsidiary of Midland Bank (now HSBC UK). He led HSBC’s acquisitions of Swan National Motor Finance and Eversholt Leasing Ltd, becoming General Manager of each business in turn.
He subsequently served as Head of Specialised and Equity Finance at HSBC; Group Director of Strategy & Development at HSBC Insurance Services North America; Head of Commercial Finance Europe; and Head of Commercial Banking UK.
From 2011 to 2015 he was the Regional Head of Commercial Banking for Asia-Pacific, based in Hong Kong. Mr Quinn was appointed Chief Executive, Global Commercial Banking in December 2015. He became a Group Managing Director in September 2016.
Mr Quinn qualified as an accountant in 1987.
Alderman Sir William Russell
City of London Corporation
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 Chair of CDAM, a London based Asset Management business and
Senior Advisor to STJ Advisors.
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 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.
William has a number of charitable interests; he has served as Chair of the Development Board of the Royal Court Theatre; he is a Board Member of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Barbican, and is on the Council of the Royal Theatrical Support Trust. He is immediate past Chair of Prostate Cancer UK and is currently Deputy Chair of Place2Be, a children’s mental health charity.
William was elected Alderman for the Ward of Bread Street in March 2013 and has since served on a number of the City of London Corporation Committees including the Policy and Resources Committee and the Education Board. William is a past Governor of the City of London School for Girls, the Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls, Adams Grammar School and Abraham Darby Academy. He served as a Sheriff of the City of London in 2016-17 and, in that capacity, supported the then Lord Mayor, undertaking numerous visits and official functions. In 2021 William was elected as Governor of the Honourable the Irish Society.
William is a Court Assistant to both the Haberdashers’ and the Feltmakers’ Livery Companies, as well as an Honorary Liveryman of the Paviors’ Company.
Mary Schapiro
Vice Chair for Global Public Policy at Bloomberg and Special Adviser to the Founder; Head of the TCFD Secretariat; Vice Chair, Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero.
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 is 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 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. Ms. Schapiro is also the Vice Chair for the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, a practitioner-led coalition working to increase the financial sector's ambition on climate change and accelerate the transition to a net-zero economy. 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 boards of 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.
David Schwimmer
Chief Executive Officer, London Stock Exchange Group
David is CEO of London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and a member of the Board of LSEG plc.
He joined the Group in August 2018, having spent 20 years at Goldman Sachs in a number of senior roles, most recently as Global Head of Market Structure and Global Head of Metals & Mining. He also served as Chief of Staff to Lloyd Blankfein – then President and COO of Goldman Sachs – and spent three years in Russia as Co-Head of Russia/CIS. Before joining Goldman Sachs, he practiced law at Davis Polk & Wardwell.
David holds a B.A. from Yale University, and postgraduate degrees in law (JD) and international affairs (MALD) from Harvard University and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, respectively.
Michelle Scrimgeour
Chief Executive Officer, LGIM
Michelle was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) in July 2019. LGIM is a major global investor, with assets under management of £1.4 trillion (as at 31 Dec 2021).
Michelle holds a number of high profile, public policy and responsible investing roles, focussed on driving industry and thought leadership. She is Co-Chair of the COP26 Business Leaders Group and chaired a number of net zero, financial services-related groups at Glasgow and has a continuing role in the build-up to COP27. She is Deputy Chair of the Investment Association, a member of the FCA’s Practitioner Panel, and sits on the UK Government’s Asset Management Taskforce.
Michelle has spent her career at major global firms and has extensive asset management experience across investments, distribution, product, operations and risk.
Before joining LGIM, Michelle was Chief Executive Officer, EMEA, at Columbia Threadneedle Investments and a member of the Executive Leadership Team of Ameriprise Financial. Prior to that, she was Chief Risk Officer at M&G Investments and a Director of M&G Group Limited, whom she joined in 2012 from BlackRock. Michelle held a number of senior leadership and directorship positions at BlackRock, and previously at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers and Mercury Asset Management, including Chief Operating Officer, International Fixed Income; Global Head of Fixed Income Product and Head of Alternative Investments.
Michelle holds a BA (Hons) in French from the University of Sheffield.
The Rt Hon. Alok Sharma MP
COP26 President
Alok Sharma was appointed President for COP26, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, on 8 January 2021. He is responsible for delivering the Glasgow Climate Pact, and chairing the Climate Action Implementation Committee to coordinate government action towards net zero by 2050.
Dr. Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE
Chief Executive, Green Finance Institute
Dr. Rhian-Mari Thomas is Chief Executive of the Green Finance Institute, backed by the UK Government and City of London Corporation. Rhian spent 20 years in investment banking and corporate finance and was awarded an OBE for services to green banking. She is an Emeritus Member of TCFD and co-chaired the launch of the TNFD. Rhian sits on numerous advisory groups across UK Government including the Net Zero Expert Group, Centre for Greening Finance and Investment, Global Resources Initiative, Department for Transport Expert Panel, Her Majesty’s Treasury Green Technical Advisory Group and the UK Voluntary Carbon Markets Forum. Rhian was also a commissioner on the Zero Carbon Commission and a member of the Climate Change Committee’s Net Zero Finance Advisory Group.
A fluent Welsh speaker, Rhian holds a PhD in Physics from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
Nigel Topping
UN High-Level Climate Action Champion for COP26
Nigel Topping is the UN’s High-Level Climate Action Champion for COP26, appointed by the UK Prime Minister in January 2020 and will serve until COP27. The role of the High Level Champion is to strengthen collaboration and drive action from businesses, investors, organisations, cities, and regions on climate change, and coordinate this work with governments and Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Since his appointment, Nigel, alongside the COP25 High Level Champion Gonzalo Muñoz, established the Race to Zero – a global campaign to commit all actors to net zero by 2050, the Race to Resilience – a global campaign for secure the resilience of 4 billion people by 2030, and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) - a coalition of existing and new net zero finance initiatives. He is now working with the COP27 High Level Champion Mahmoud Mohieldin to forward these campaigns for COP27.
Prior to his appointment, Nigel was CEO of We Mean Business, a coalition of businesses working to accelerate the transition to a zero carbon economy. Prior to that he was Executive Director of the Carbon Disclosure Project, following an 18 year career in the private sector, having worked across the world in emerging markets and manufacturing.
Sven Utermöhlen, CEO RWE Offshore Wind
Sven Utermöhlen has held various senior executive roles in renewable energy for more than 15 years, with a focus on offshore wind.
RWE is a leading global player in renewables and number 2 worldwide in offshore wind.
C.S. Venkatakrishnan
Group Chief Executive, Barclays
C.S. Venkatakrishnan (“Venkat”) was appointed Barclays Group Chief Executive in November 2021.
Prior to his appointment as Group CEO, he was Head of Global Markets, Co-President of Barclays Bank PLC (BBPLC), and a member of the Group Executive Committee of Barclays. He has also served as Chief Risk Officer at Barclays.
Before joining Barclays in 2016, Venkat worked at JP Morgan Chase from 1994, holding senior roles in Asset Management, Investment Banking, and in Risk.
Venkat holds S.B., S.M. and Ph.D. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he is also on the advisory board of the Golub Center for Finance and Policy.
Bryony Widdup
Partner and Head of Sustainable Finance, DLA Piper
Bryony Widdup has over 15 years’ experience in the financial services sector and has spent time working in-house at a major European bank as well as in private practice. Bryony advises on alternative credit, including structured finance, fund finance, fintech, digital assets and funding platforms. She is also active in sustainable finance and investments, advising clients across a range of matters and products in this space, with particular interests in transition finance, scaling capital flows for climate change mitigation and digital assets use cases from a sustainability and ESG perspective.
Shemara Wikramanayake
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Macquarie
Shemara has been Macquarie Group’s Managing Director and CEO since late 2018.
Shemara joined Macquarie in 1987 in Macquarie Capital in Sydney. In her time at Macquarie, Shemara has worked in six countries and across several business lines, establishing and leading Macquarie’s corporate advisory offices in New Zealand, Hong Kong and Malaysia, and the infrastructure funds management business in the US and Canada. Shemara has also served as Chair of the Macquarie Group Foundation.
As Head of Macquarie Asset Management for 10 years before her appointment as CEO, Shemara led a team of 1,600 staff in 24 markets. Macquarie Asset Management grew to become a world-leading manager of infrastructure and real assets and a top 50 global public securities manager.
Shemara is member of the GFANZ Principals Group and leads GFANZ work on mobilising capital for emerging markets and developing countries. Shemara also co-Chairs the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative India and is a board member of the Global Centre on Adaptation.