Aaron Brenner is Senior Analyst in the Capital Stewardship Program at the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which has 1.3 million members in the US and Canada. He helps the CSP spearhead efforts to protect retirement security, promote responsible investment, and ensure corporate accountability.

Aaron serves on the board of directors of Homeland Stores, an 80-store grocery chain based in Oklahoma. He earned a B.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Aaron Cantrell leads work on just transition at UNEP FI, supporting members to integrate social equity into climate action and advance just transition through finance. Before joining UNEP FI, Aaron founded Future Nexus, a consulting firm based in New York City. He authored the UN Global Compact’s guides to just transition and just transition finance, advised the Asian Development Bank on the design of a Just Transition Finance Facility, advised on the design of a U.S. public climate bank, and contributed to key provisions of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. Previously, Aaron was Chief Economist at Record Financial Group, where he developed the world’s first emerging market currency impact investment strategy. Aaron is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

Alex Beck (Beck) is the Head of Land Acquisition at Fernetic Energy Partners (FEP)— a clean energy development company that partners with U.S. farmers to develop battery storage and load opportunities on underutilized parcels of rural land. Before FEP, Beck worked for one of the largest agricultural families in the country, where he led energy investment and hedging operations across a portfolio of more than 75,000 acres of farmland in California’s Central Valley. In addition, from 2012 to 2018, Beck ran trading operations at Lattice Investments, overseeing the firm’s commodity and statistical arbitrage strategies.

As CEO of the Investor Leadership Network since 2020, Amy Hepburn is charged with designing and delivery the long-term strategy of the ILN and representing the Network in collaboration with global stakeholders.

Amy is a recognized impact investing expert and social entrepreneur with deep expertise on gender lens social investments and the care of children in crises. In this capacity, she has spent 20 years driving social change globally in the private, non-profit and public sectors through the creation of unique public/private partnerships and investing for high impact social returns.

Her partners consist of visionary leaders and influencers, governments, social entrepreneurs, non-profits, forward thinking companies, foundations and venture philanthropists seeking innovative solutions to persistent social issues.

Amy was a Delegate on the first G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council created by Prime Minister Trudeau, and an active member of the NationSwell Council and The Global Women’s Forum on Economy and Society.

She has Faculty appointments at Duke University and George Washington University where she teaches on social impact, gender equality, the care of children in crises, human rights and humanitarian action.

Anna Murray is Senior Managing Director, Global Head of Sustainable Investing for Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP). Anna plays a leadership role in supporting OTPP’s long-term plan across the $250 billion fund. Working closely with senior leaders and investment teams, Anna oversees the fund’s ambitious approach to managing sustainability risk, opportunity, and reputational considerations in support of OTPP’s fiduciary obligations. This includes climate & transition strategy and overseeing corporate governance and stewardship activities including proxy voting and public company engagements. She also oversees the integration and assessment of sustainability-related risks and opportunities across the investment lifecycle.

Prior to joining OTPP, Anna spent her career advancing corporate strategy around the globe at major multinationals. Anna sits on the Board of Directors for the Investor Leadership Network, the Responsible Investment Association and serves on the Public Policy Committee for the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, the S&P Global Sustainable1 Investor Client Council and the Advisory Board of Osgoode Hall Law School’s ESG, Climate Risk & the Law Certificate. She is the Founder of the non-profit Young Women in Energy and was the former Co-Chair of the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI) Real Estate Advisory Committee, Co-Chair of the Environmental Committee at the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) and former Board Member of the Canadian Green Building Association (CAGBC) and True North Commercial REIT. Notable accolades include: Top 100 Women in Canada, Clean50, Top 40 Under 40, 50 influencers in sustainable private market, and the Making a Difference for Women Award.

She has an MBA and law degree with a focus on environmental justice and sustainability.

Bertrand Millot steers the development of La Caisse’s sustainable investing strategies, including its climate policy. As such, he is responsible for defining the major strategic orientations in this area and asserting the organization’s leadership in sustainable investing with internal and external stakeholders. He participates in major global forums and maintains open dialogue with civil society.

He also represents the organization before the Board of Directors, depositors and other partners on climate issues. Lastly, he contributes to La Caisse’s international outreach on sustainability. Mr. Millot is one of the architects of La Caisse’s climate strategy and a seasoned investor in infrastructure and corporate debt in growth markets, where sustainability considerations have always been at the forefront. He joined La Caisse in 2015 and has held several positions in sustainable investing and risk management, including supporting the Fixed Income, Capital Solutions, Infrastructure and Cross-sectoral Risk teams. Prior to joining La Caisse, Mr. Millot was CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Cordiant Capital, a fund manager specializing in corporate debt in emerging markets. In his early career, he worked in infrastructure project financing at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London and BNP Paribas in Paris.

He holds an MBA from McGill University and a Master’s Degree in Engineering from École nationale supérieure d’arts et métiers, Paris, and is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D). Since 2022, Mr. Millot has worked with Competent Boards as an expert, providing courses and training for corporate directors and executives. He sits on the Québec government’s Advisory Committee on Climate Change, as well as on the Boards of Ceres, a U.S. NGO leader on sustainability issues, the Datamars Sustainability Foundation and the Sustainable Infrastructure Foundation (SIF).

Mr. Rice is a Portfolio Manager in the CalSTRS Sustainable Investment & Stewardship Strategies (SISS) unit and has been leading on sustainability-aligned investment initiatives at CalSTRS for over 22 years.

Mr. Rice’s principal responsibility is managing CalSTRS Net Zero Portfolio Emissions by 2050 or Sooner pledge, a branch-wide strategic priority that is focused on moving CalSTRS investment portfolio towards net zero through managing financed carbon emissions exposure, increasing portfolio investments in climate solutions, and influencing global financial market participants to accelerate integration of net zero considerations.

Mr. Rice also supports the SISS stewardship team around its three core priorities (corporate and market accountability, workforce and communities and the net zero transition) and oversees the SISS investment portfolio, a platform that focuses on opportunities across private markets that demonstrate positive contributions to a more sustainable global economy and are additive to CalSTRS risk-return objectives.

Mr. Rice received an MBA from the U.C. Davis Graduate School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in Economics-Business from U.C.L.A.

Carine Smith Ihenacho is the Chief Governance and Compliance Officer at Norges Bank Investment Management, the manager of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund. She is responsible for exercising the fund’s ownership rights and promoting good governance and responsible business conduct with the fund’s investments in over 8,000 companies. This includes the development and implementation of the fund’s climate initiatives.

Ms. Ihenacho is passionate about the role of sustainable finance and how it can support the climate transition. She has an extensive career in law and finance and has served as a non-executive director of several boards and advisory councils. Carine holds a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School, a Master of Economics from the Norwegian School of Economics, and a law degree from the University of Oslo.

Christopher Weber is Head of Climate and Sustainability Research within the BlackRock Investment Institute (BII). Dr. Weber leads a team focused on assessing sustainability trends, with a focus on climate change and the low-carbon transition, and developing analytical approaches and tools that support client goals around these themes.

He previously worked at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), where he was the Global Climate and Energy Lead Scientist. While at WWF, Dr. Weber played important roles in the Science-based Targets Initiative for climate and served as the first Technical Director of the nature-oriented Science-based Targets Network. He previously worked at the 2° Investing Initiative, where he led analysis and methodology development on climate-related risk and opportunities in investment portfolios. Dr. Weber’s background in climate and sustainability research also includes academic research, government, and corporate sustainability consulting.

Dr. Weber earned a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Iowa, a MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, and a PhD in Engineering and Public Policy and Civil and Environmental Engineering from Carnegie Mellon.

Cynthia McHale Interim Vice President, Investor Network
Cynthia is the Interim Leader of the Ceres Investor Network, a dynamic, member-driven community working to shape and advance the field of responsible investing. She leads a team of highly skilled professionals dedicated to helping members improve investment outcomes while building a more sustainable, resilient, and competitive capital markets system.

Cynthia brings deep experience to this role. She previously led Ceres Investor Engagement Hub and launched the organization’s Insurance Program. Before joining Ceres, she spent 25 years in strategy and operational management consulting, most recently as Senior Global Program Manager at Accenture Strategy & Consulting. There, she advised financial services clients across North America, Europe, and Asia on their most pressing strategic challenges. Cynthia also led Accenture Research North America, where she combined data-driven insights with industry expertise to help companies navigate change and seize new opportunities.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Dartmouth College and a Master of Science in Management from Hult International Business School. An avid outdoor enthusiast, Cynthia lives in Western Massachusetts where she enjoys all the Berkshires have to offer with her partner and their extended family.

De Rui is Senior Vice President of the Sustainability Office at GIC, a global long-term investor established in 1981 to manage Singapore’s foreign reserves.

He leads research on sustainability-related themes such as climate change, nature, supply chains, and inequality that will have material impact on GIC’s investment portfolio. These issues are often overlooked by investors because they take time to manifest, and their impact is difficult to quantity. By collaborating with industry partners, peers, academic thought leaders, and GIC’s investment teams, De Rui develops investment integration tools, analytics, and strategies for GIC to be future-ready for these long-term trends.

Effective communication is key in bringing investors on their sustainability journey. De Rui leverages his past experience as a macro strategist and equity analyst to translate complex sustainability concepts into insights that investors understand. He is a Board Committee Member of the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC) and chairs its Paris-Aligned Investing working group that shares and advances emerging investor solutions for facilitating the transition to a net zero emissions economy.

In recognition of his passion and expertise in advocating for sustainable investing, he was awarded AsianInvestor’s Top 10 Sovereign Wealth Fund Executives in Asia for 2024.

Outside of his day job, De Rui is passionate about empowering youths. He volunteers with youth mentorship non-profits like Advisory Singapore and The Astronauts Collective, and lectures at universities in Singapore and the US to share the practitioner perspectives on sustainable investing.

De Rui holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Economics from Northwestern University.

To find out more about what De Rui does in Sustainability, you can connect with him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/de-rui-wong/

Diana was General Manager of Search, International & Growth for Google, driving the internationalisation and AI dimensions of Google’s Search Engine; and Google President (Europe, Middle East and Africa Partnerships). She is a Non-executive Director at AstraZeneca, a Council member at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and was formerly the Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, Africa Region.

In addition to her international business career, Diana has also worked as a medical relief pilot in war zones in Africa. The role of Chair at BII is a public appointment. Diana has recently been reappointed for a second term, following No. 10’s agreement on 9 January.

Eric Usher Heads the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative, UNEP FI, a global partnership bringing together the UN with a global group of banks, insurers and investors working to develop the sustainable finance and responsible investment agendas. Eric oversees governance, strategy and day-to-day management of UNEP FI’s work programme and global network development. Over the years UNEP FI has established some of the most important sustainability oriented frameworks within the finance industry, including the Principles for Responsible Investment (2006), the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (2012) and the Principles for Responsible Banking (2019).

Since joining in 2015, Mr. Usher has focused on accelerating the deep integration of sustainability risks into financial practice, including addressing climate change, natural capital loss and human rights abuses, as well as building out the frameworks for positive impact finance needed to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Eric sits on several industry bodies including as UN representative on the Board of the Principles for Responsible Investment, and as a member of the governing boards of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, the Investor Agenda and the impact fund REPP Africa.

Prior to leading UNEP FI, Mr. Usher has over twenty years of experience in the low carbon sectors, spanning technology commercialisation in Canada, solar rural electrification in Morocco and financial sector development across emerging markets. During 2011, Mr. Usher worked on the establishment of the Green Climate Fund and led efforts to create its Private Sector Facility. Eric has been an editor of the Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment report published annually with Bloomberg and was lead author for finance of the IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources. Earlier in his career, Eric was General Manager of a solar rural electrification company based in Morocco.

Florence Roche is Head of Responsible Investments at AXA, where she spearheads the development of Climate Transition and Community Resilience investments within the firm’s investment strategy. Before this role, she led the Corporate Credit Research team, overseeing ESG integration and corporate engagement. With extensive experience in both sell-side and buy-side research role across the Energy and Utilities sectors, Florence brings a comprehensive perspective to sustainable investing. She holds a Master’s Degree in Management & Finance from ESCP Business School, complemented by studies at Lancaster University Business School.

Glen Yelton is Global Head, Sustainable Investing Services at Invesco. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing and driving Invesco’s environmental, social, and governance investment strategy on a global scale. Mr. Yelton joined Invesco when the firm combined with OppenheimerFunds in 2019. He joined OppenheimerFunds in 2017 and served as director of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and impact investing. Before that, Mr. Yelton was head of impact research at SNW Management. Previously, he was a research manager at IW Financial and director of research at American Values Investments. Mr. Yelton earned a BS degree in cross-disciplinary studies from East Tennessee State University.

Guillaume Compeyron is the Head of Responsible Investment of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF), the pension plan of the United Nations.

Guillaume has worked with various public and private financial institutions, including Generali Insurance Asset Management in Italy, SYZ Asset Management and Pictet Asset Management in Switzerland.

He holds a M.A. in European Economic Studies from the College of Europe.

Han Yik is the Senior Advisor to the Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS). He is a member of NYSTRS’ Executive Leadership team and is responsible for leading NYSTRS’ initiatives on stewardship and sustainability and its integration and implementation across the portfolio. Han was formerly the Head of Institutional Investors at the World Economic Forum, where he worked with the senior leadership of the world’s largest asset owners and led the Forum’s initiative on the global pension crisis. Han began his career as an actuarial consultant at Towers Perrin and Mercer, before joining Bank of America Merrill Lynch as a Senior Institutional Portfolio Strategist and Head of Institutional Thought Leadership, where he managed $2 billion in assets as an OCIO for institutional clients. Han earned his B.S. in Applied Mathematics with a concentration in Operations Research from Yale University, where he won the Benjamin F. Barge Prize for Excellence in Mathematics.

Hannah Cool is Chief Operating Officer at B4NZ ( Bankers for Net Zero) and has over a decade of experience with the Big4 leading major transformation programmes and for the last 5 years has worked with executive leadership teams and boards, advising on ESG and sustainability strategy. Hannah has worked with major cross sector organisations, focussing on climate change and risk management. In doing this Hannah has been compelled to work with market coalitions and initiatives which define the future ecosystem where finance can flow with ease and organisations demonstrating the right sustainable behaviours are financially rewarded. The challenges of facilitating the flow of capital to the real economy and working across innovative market solutions is what lead Hannah to join B4NZ.

Jaakko Kooroshy is head of Sustainable Investment Research at LSEG where he oversees a team of researchers and data scientists developing climate and sustainability-related data, scores, and insights for investors. Previously, Kooroshy was an executive director at Goldman Sachs. There, he was the European research lead for GS SUSTAIN, providing insights in investment opportunities around the low-carbon transition and other long-term trends. Kooroshy has also been a research fellow for Energy, Environment, and Resources at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, and an analyst at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS). He holds an MSc in International Relations from the University of Amsterdam, a BSc in International Economics, and a BA in Social Sciences and History from Maastricht University.

Jake joined Wespath in January 2020. As the managing director of Sustainable Investment Strategies for Wespath and its subsidiaries’ investment programs, Jake leads a team that focuses on investment stewardship and ESG integration. In addition, he interacts with key partners in The United Methodist Church (Church), works to foster collaboration with the Church and collaborates with colleagues across Wespath to prepare for General Conference. Before Wespath, Jake worked at Morgan Stanley’s Graystone Consulting. Jake currently co-leads the Engagement Track of the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance and is a Board member for the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. Jake received his bachelor’s degree in Economics, International Studies and Political Science from Ohio Wesleyan University and holds the Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) designation.

Layalee Ramahi is the Regional Lead for North America at UNEP FI. She works closely with financial institutions across the banking, insurance, and investment sectors to strengthen the region’s approach to sustainable finance. In this role, Layalee leads engagement with UNEP FI members in North America, fostering collaboration, supporting knowledge exchange, and helping embed sustainability into financial decision-making and strategy. Her work helps institutions address regional priorities and access the tools and insights needed to contribute to a low-carbon, resilient, and inclusive economy.

He has over 25 years of international experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, social impact, venture and corporate venture capital, strategy and investment banking. Previously he held managerial positions in international financial institutions in Europe. In Intesa Sanpaolo, second largest bank in Eurozone, he served as Global Director Corporate Innovation, CEO of Neva Finventures (corporate venture capital), Head of Venture Capital, Head of Strategy and Marketing of Corporate & Investment Banking. Livio has been Managing Director of the Research & Entrepreneurship Foundation and a steering board member of Masters in Innovation and Engineering (SSSA Pisa).

Lori Kerr joined FinDev Canada as Chief Executive Officer in June 2021. A Canadian national, she is a widely experienced international development finance professional with more than two decades of leadership in private investment in emerging markets with a focus on sustainable infrastructure, climate finance, and blended finance.

Ms. Kerr joined FinDev Canada by way of the Global Infrastructure Facility at the World Bank in Washington, DC, where she was responsible for corporate strategy, thought leadership, partnerships, and international engagement for the largest global fund advising developing country governments on the preparation and structuring of commercially viable infrastructure projects.

Previously, Ms. Kerr served as Senior Director at Climate Finance Advisors developing low-carbon, climate-resilient investment strategies and blended finance solutions to mobilize private capital in developing countries. She also spent 18 years at the Inter-American Development Bank Group serving in management and senior investment roles where she spearheaded strategic initiatives to support the expansion and development impact of private sector activities as well as private sector transaction origination, structuring, and asset management. Ms. Kerr also spent 14 years as an Adjunct Professor of International Project Finance and Investment at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Kerr holds an Honours Bachelor degree from the University of Western Ontario and an International MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Maria NETTO is the Executive Director of the Institute for Climate and Society. She worked at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as a Principal Specialist in Capital Markets and Financial Institutions, and at the New Development Bank (NDB) as Head of the Division of Financial Institutions and Markets.

In both organizations, she was responsible for supervising programs of Innovative Financing Strategies with local financial institutions and capital markets to promote the financial inclusion and investments of the private sector in low carbon projects and resilience in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean, including in sectors of land use, low carbon agriculture, renewable energy and energy efficiency, resilient and sustainable infrastructure and urban mobility, among others.

Maria Netto also worked previously at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), where she was responsible for supervising global projects to support the capacity building of countries and civil society to assess investments and financial flows and policy options to integrate green business in different sectors and economic activities.

Finally, Maria Netto worked for more than 10 years at the secretariat of the Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), where, among others, she was responsible for leading the work of the institution in bilateral and multilateral financial cooperation, for the evaluation and monitoring of investments and financial flows to address climate change and the development of carbon market mechanisms under the Kyoto protocol.

She has a master’s degree in economics from the Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.

Matt Kaczmarek is Managing Director, Head of Emerging Market Credit Strategy for Global Infrastructure Partners, a part of BlackRock, and head of BlackRock’s Los Angeles office. Matt’s team invests in private infrastructure credit in emerging markets and developing countries to support economic growth, infrastructure resilience, and climate change mitigation. He also leads investor relations and engagement with not-for-profit and development finance partners. Prior to joining BlackRock, Matt held senior economic policy appointments in the Administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama, including on the National Security Council in the White House and at the Treasury and State Departments.

Matthew Eby is the Founder and CEO of First Street, where he has led the creation of groundbreaking physical climate risk models to measure past, present, and future risks for every U.S. property, including damage and downtime. Before founding First Street, he launched and served as CEO of Anthro, a digital marketing agency for climate-focused nonprofits. Earlier, he was SVP of Consumer and Brand Marketing at The Weather Company, overseeing The Weather Channel and related brands, and led BlackBerry’s brand marketing in EMEA. Matthew holds an Honors Business Commerce degree and an MBA from McMaster University in Canada.

Moin Syed joined OMERS in 2020. He works closely with OMERS investment, risk, and finance teams on matters related to sustainability factor integration, climate risk and the energy transition. Prior to joining OMERS, Moin worked at a sustainability ratings firm where he focused on sector and company research for institutional investors. He holds a BA from Allegheny College and a MSc from the University of Calgary.

Peter Cashion was named Managing Investment Director for Sustainable Investments in March 2023.

In his role, Peter sets the vision, strategy, and governance for CalPERS’ sustainability work. He’s also responsible for leading all aspects of the fund’s efforts to develop and implement a financially driven sustainability-based research and data framework to support sustainable investment integration throughout the investment decision-making process across the CalPERS portfolio.

Prior to CalPERS, Peter worked at the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) spanning back to 1995. There he most recently served as the global head of climate finance & chief investment officer in the Financial Institutions Group (FIG), in addition to other prior senior roles, including global equity head, principal investment officer, and principal financial officer.

Peter graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in administrative and commercial studies from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from Queen’s University in Canada. He’s also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Philip Haddad is the President and Chief Executive Officer of
Masdar Americas LLC based in Arlington VA and a board member of
Masdar’s US renewable energy platform, Terra-Gen. Masdar
Americas is responsible for originating, executing and managing
Masdar’s activities and its renewables portfolio in the Americas,
which includes wind, solar and storage.

Mr Haddad was the founder and Managing Partner of the
Mubadala Infrastructure Partners (“MIP”) fund and member of the
Board of Directors, Executive and Investment Committees.

Prior to the formation of MIP in 2008, Mr Haddad spent over 15
years with Mubadala in Abu Dhabi where he led the Infrastructure
and Services groups. His experience lies in developing, investing
and operating a number of significant transactions and companies
in the infrastructure, defense support services, real estate, aircraft
maintenance and repair, logistics, financial services, fleet
management, telecommunications and transportation sectors.

Mr Haddad served on a number of boards, including in the nonprofit sector. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from Georgetown University.

Ray Long leads the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) as President and Chief Executive Officer.

ACORE is the oldest nonprofit organization in the United States dedicated to expanding the use of renewable energy technologies for American homes and businesses. This mission is as important and relevant today as it was back in 2001. As CEO, Long is privileged to lead a team of dedicated professionals and an equally passionate group of members and contributors who enable ACORE’s strategic initiatives.

ACORE’s members operate in all 50 states, and in 2022, they financed, developed, built and owned over 90% of new, utility-scale renewable energy projects. Under Long’s leadership, ACORE continues to expand the framework that has enabled the industry’s growth through bipartisan outreach, accurate and compelling analysis, and effective collaboration.

Long is a respected energy executive, having spent over 25 years representing and growing conventional and renewable energy companies in the United States. Most recently, Long was Senior Vice President of External Affairs and a member of the management team at Clearway Energy. Throughout his career, Long helped to build successful government, regulatory and communications teams, utilizing a campaign management approach to policy and project development challenges.

Long earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Policy and Administration from Suffolk University and a Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife.

As the leader of the California Department of Insurance, Commissioner Lara oversees the largest insurance market in the United States and the fourth largest insurance market in the world. Since taking office in January 2019, he has acted to protect California consumers, fight climate change, and expand access to health care for all – while preserving a competitive insurance market.

Commissioner Lara has a long record as one of California’s most effective environmental champions, passing laws that promote innovation and investment in clean air, embrace equity, protect waters from oil drilling, and keep California at the forefront of confronting global climate change. He wrote the nation’s first climate insurance law to protect Californians from climate-linked environmental disasters like wildfires, extreme heat waves, flooding and sea level rise. To confront the growing threat of climate change, he created the nation’s first Climate and Sustainability Branch within the Department of Insurance, issued the first-ever report on “climate insurance,” and launched the first subnational state-level partnership with the United Nations Environment Program to create a “sustainable insurance roadmap.” He co-chairs the first executive level task force of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners dedicated to climate risk and resiliency.

Commissioner Lara received the 2017 U.N. Climate and Clean Air Award with California Governor Jerry Brown for his groundbreaking work to create California’s climate strategy for reducing super pollutants, including methane, HFCs, and black carbon.

Rt Hon Chris Skidmore OBE was the UK’s Energy and Clean Growth Minister in the British Cabinet when he signed the UK’s commitment to net zero by 2050 into law- becoming the first G7 country to do so. He further chaired the UK’s Net Zero Review, publishing the influential Mission Zero report in 2023. He is Chair of the Climate Action Coalition and Chair of the Centre for Economic Transformation (Cetex) at the London School for Economics and a Fellow at the Harvard Salata Institute for Climate. He also chairs the Policy Working Group for the UK’s Transition Finance Council and is Chair of Desmos Capital Partners.

Sheldon Whitehouse represents Rhode Island in the United States Senate, where he is fighting to position America as a leader in the clean energy economy and protect the Ocean State from the consequences of climate change. As Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW), Whitehouse takes on the fossil fuel industry and spearheads policies combatting the climate crisis, leading the transition to a clean energy economy, and strengthening environmental protections. A graduate of Yale University and the University of Virginia School of Law, Whitehouse served as Rhode Island’s U.S. Attorney and state Attorney General before being elected to the United States Senate in 2006.

Simon Fischweicher is the Chief Delivery Officer at CDP, where he oversees the successful delivery of all products and services to CDP’s customers across the public, private and finance sector. These include Supply Chain and other disclosure requestors, Reporter Services and disclosure support, and Capital Market signatory deliverables. Previously, Simon was the Director of Supply Chain and Reporter Services, where he led the global oversight of CDP’s Supply Chain and Reporter Services programming, which supports 750+ corporate members in driving supply chains and improved environmental reporting. He joined CDP in 2015, contributing to the Global Initiatives team to drive corporate climate commitments ahead of the Paris Agreement. Simon holds an MBA in Sustainability from Bard College. Simon’s expertise includes corporation disclosure, supply chain, ESG frameworks and reporting, transition planning, science-based targets, carbon pricing, and Scope 3 emissions.

Stephanie Maier is Global Head of Sustainable and a member of the Leadership Team at FTSE Russell. She is responsible sustainable index product line globally, collaborating closely with clients to evolve our solutions in the index space.

Stephanie joined FTSE Russell in September 2024 from independent Swiss listed asset manager GAM Investments, where she was their Global Chief Sustainability Officer, responsible for leading GAM’s sustainability strategy. This included ESG integration, stewardship, product and client solutions and corporate sustainability. She brings over 21 years’ experience in sustainable investment, with previous roles as Director for Responsible Investment at HSBC Global Asset Management, Head of Responsible Investment Strategy and Research at Aviva Investors and formerly Head of Research for EIRIS, an ESG research and consultancy firm

Steven Maze Rothstein is the Ceres’ Chief Program Officer. He served as the founding Managing Director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets. In his new role, he oversees all aspects of the organization’s programmatic work. Steven’s 40+ years of experience are critical to explore the most effective strategies to focus on and move capital markets towards climate sustainability including the remarkable colleagues in the Accelerator and throughout Ceres.

Steven has had a successful career starting, managing, and growing several nonprofit, social change, and government organizations. After college he was one of Citizens Energy Corporation’s founding team members. He later started and ran Environmental Futures, a management and market consulting company serving enterprises seeking to grow their environmental work. He also ran the New England market for Constellation’s work as a successful electricity broker, the world-renowned Perkins School for the Blind, Citizen Schools, and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

He has worked at local, state, federal, and international levels of government. Steven has served on numerous nonprofit and government boards. He has spoken and written extensively.
Steven has a B.A. with Honors in Political Science from Williams College and an M.B.A. from Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Management. He and his wife, Susan, have two grown sons and an adorable granddaughter.

Thomas H. Shingler is a senior vice president and Callan’s ESG practice leader. Based in Callan’s New Jersey consulting office, Tom leads our ESG research and education efforts, providing ESG support to Callan consultants and creating solutions for Callan’s clients. He also collaborates with our team of ESG subject matter experts to develop research and insights into trends for the benefit of clients and the industry.

Tom works with a variety of clients, including public and corporate defined benefit and defined contribution plans, as well as endowments and foundations. His responsibilities include strategic planning, investment implementation, manager evaluation, education, and special projects. Tom chairs Callan’s Manager Search Committee, is a member of the Management Committee, and is a shareholder of the firm. He is also the co-chair of the Investment Consultants Sustainability Working Group (ICSWG-US) Steering Committee and a member of the CFA Institute ESG Technical Committee.

Prior to joining Callan, Tom was co-head of consulting at Orion Consultants, a consulting firm serving the fixed income divisions of global investment banks, where he worked for 11 years. He was responsible for managing several client relationships, new business development, and leading the firm’s market research studies.

Tom earned an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and a BA in history from Princeton University.