PRI Digital Forum:
Principles to Practice
Meet our speakers
Toby Belsom, Director Investment Practices, PRI
Toby spent 17 years at Aviva Investors and Henderson Global Investors working as a UK equity manager and ESG analyst. He started his city career as an analyst as part of the No.1 Extel rated Aviva & NPI Socially Responsible Investment team in the late ‘90s and then spent 10 years manging UK equities for institutional and retail clients. He is the Director of Investment Practices at the PRI. At PRI his 12 strong team produces guides and tools for fixed income, listed equities, private markets and asset owners to help them integrate ESG issues into policies, processes and practices. Prior to joining PRI, he spent two years managing the research team at Shareaction – a leading capital advocacy NGO. He also sits on the CFA ESG Disclosure Standards working group and CEN ESG Advisors Board.
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Jen Bishop, Head of Responsible Investment and Asset Allocation, Coal Pension Trustees
Jen Bishop is Head of Responsible Investment and Asset Allocation at Coal Pension Trustees which manages around £20bn in assets. Before joining CPT Jen spent 13 years at Willis Towers Watson where she was a portfolio manager for the firm’s flagship multi-asset strategy, The Partners Fund, and was part of the Global Portfolio Management Group where she was a key influence on responsible investment.
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Dorris Kirui, ESG Manager, Gothaer Asset Management
Dorris Kirui is an ESG Manager at Gothaer Asset Management, a position she has held since May 2020. She is based in Köln, Germany, where Gothaer Insurance has its main offices. In her current position she focuses on identifying, managing and monitoring of environmental, social and governance issues within investments and implementation of the overall ESG strategy across the company. The work also includes monitoring and implementing ESG regulations. Prior to her current position she worked in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility at NKD. Dorris holds a BA in Social Science from Maastricht University (Netherlands) and an MSc in Sustainable Management and Eco-Innovation from ESC Rennes School of Business (France).
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Rosmary Lozano, ESG senior associate, Credicorp Capital
Rosmary is in charge of the responsible and sustainable investment strategies for the regional operations at Credicorp Capital Asset Management. She holds an MPA from Columbia SIPA in the Economic Development concentration and the Gender Studies specialization. Graduated in Economics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, she has over ten years of professional experience. Previously, she worked as a Consultant at the Global Impact Investing Network (the GIIN) in NYC, Portfolio Manager, and Investment Strategy Analyst at Credicorp Capital and BCP in Lima. Since 2015, she is a CFA charterholder, and in 2020 she became a Certified ESG Analyst (CESGA®) by the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (EFFAS).
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Maria Clara Rendon, Director, University Pension Plan
Maria Clara Rendon is a noted responsible investing specialist, with more than 12 years of experience in the assessment and management of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors in a wide variety of industries. Her work focuses on the implementation of responsible investing practices by asset owners and managers in both North America and Latin America. As Director, Responsible Investing at University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP), Maria Clara supports the development and execution of UPP’s Responsible Investing (RI) strategy. She works closely with internal and external partners to ensure a seamless integration of ESG factors into UPP’s investment process and implementation of stewardship practices on behalf of over 35,000 UPP members. Maria Clara holds a Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering from the National University of Colombia and earned a M.S., Sustainability Management from Columbia University in New York.
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Peter Dunbar, Senior Specialist, Investment Practices, PRI
Peter Dunbar is a Private Equity Senior Specialist within the PRI’s Investment Practices team. Peter has 20 years’ experience in the asset management industry, and before joining PRI, was a Senior Manager in the private markets team of Capital Group for over a decade. He has significant in-house experience including; ESG, investor relations and fundraising, and operations. Peter holds a BSc in Human and Physical Geography from Reading University in the UK. He is also a CFA charterholder.
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Paul Kwan, Managing Director, General Catalyst
Paul Kwan is a managing director at General Catalyst, a venture capital firm that partners with founders from seed through growth stages to build companies that withstand the test of time. At GC, Paul focuses on supporting and investing in software and internet companies, as well as digital health assurance companies both in the U.S. and abroad. Paul is a board member at AwardCo and a board observer at Anduril. Paul has partnered with category-defining tech companies to understand their strategic business objectives and ensure they have access to the capital required to meet those critical milestones. Prior to joining General Catalyst, Paul was head of west coast technology banking at Morgan Stanley. During his time at Morgan Stanley, he led IPOs and M&A for leading technology companies globally and helped create the modern day direct listing.
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Dr Johannes Lenhard, Co-founder, VentureESG
Dr Johannes Lenhard teaches and researches at the University of Cambridge on both homelessness and venture capital. Beyond his academic work, he is a regular contributor to journalistic outlets, such as Sifted, Techcrunch, the Conversation and Aeon. He is one of the co-founders of VentureESG.
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Suzanne Tavill, Global Head of Responsible Investing, StepStone
Suzanne Tavill is the global head of responsible investing at StepStone, which encompasses ESG and Impact across all asset classes and investment strategies. She is also a member of the private equity team. Prior to StepStone, Ms. Tavill was responsible for AMP Capital’s global alternative investment platform that included private equity, infrastructure and real assets. Before that, she spent five years at Van Eyk Research in Sydney, the last four as head of research. Before moving to Australia, she was an executive director at Goldman Sachs Investment Management, responsible for their UK small-and mid-cap portfolios. Ms. Tavill received an MSc in finance and economics from the London School of Economics, in addition to a BBS with honors in economics and honors in finance from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
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Paul Chandler, Director of Stewardship, PRI
Paul leads the PRI’s work on stewardship, working with signatories to improve practice and collaboration. As part of his role, Paul oversees a team coordinating PRI’s collaborative engagements and is also the PRI lead and steering committee member for the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI). Paul has been at the PRI since 2014, having previously worked in Australia as an ESG Analyst for Regnan and in business development for Colonial First State Investments. Paul holds a Master of Environment from the University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Business, majoring in finance, from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS).
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Mary Nicholson, Head of Responsible Investment, Managing Director, Macquarie Asset Management
Mary is the Head of Responsible Investment for Macquarie Asset Management (MAM). Supported by a global team of experienced sustainability professionals, Mary sets and guides implementation of best practices globally across MAM’s investment lifecycle, and measurement and communication of MAM’s impact and performance. Mary joined Macquarie in 2002. Prior to taking on her current role Mary was the Chief Risk and Sustainability Officer for MIRA, MAM’s predecessor, where she oversaw the management of environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities across MIRA’s global portfolio of investments as well as operational risk within MIRA. Before that, Mary was Chief Financial Officer of the ASX-listed Macquarie Atlas Roads (now Atlas Arteria) and its predecessor Macquarie Infrastructure Group. Before joining Macquarie, Mary worked in the financial services audit practices division of PricewaterhouseCoopers in London and Sydney. Mary holds an MA from Cambridge University and a Master of Finance from INSEAD.
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Sarah Peasey, Director of European ESG Investing, Neuberger Berman
Sarah Peasey, Director of European ESG Investing, joined the firm in 2021. Sarah leads ESG integration and client engagement across Europe, working with our investment teams and analysts in the region to advance our ESG capabilities. Prior to joining Neuberger Berman, Sarah was Head of Responsible Investment Strategy – Investments at Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM). Prior to this Sarah previously held a number of roles at LGIM including Investment Strategist and Head of Fixed Income Investment Specialists. Sarah holds a first class degree in business management from the University of East Anglia.
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Trent Sparrow, Manager, Impact Investments, Wespath
Trent is the manager of Impact Investments at Wespath. He is responsible for evaluating, monitoring and reporting on the impact investments for Wespath and its subsidiaries. Trent also works to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into the investment process. From October 2012 to February 2019, Trent was a senior analyst on the Positive Social Purpose Lending program. Prior to Wespath, he was an analyst at Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago (NHS), where he managed investor relations and portfolio reporting. Before that, he worked as a commercial real estate portfolio manager for Zions Bank. Trent received a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Idaho State University and an MBA from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois.
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Randy Brown, Chief Investment Officer, Sun Life & Head of Insurance Asset Management, SLC Management
Randy Brown joined Sun Life at the start of 2016 and has more than three decades of investment management expertise at highly respected global financial firms. Randy has held senior roles at Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, most recently as Global Head of insurance and Pension Solutions and as Head of Asset and Wealth Management for the UK region. Previously, he was Co-Chief Investment Officer of Deutsche Asset Management, responsible for a global investment staff of 750 and total assets of $1.2 trillion. Before the integration of Deutsche’s asset management and wealth management businesses, Randy was the head of its investment operations managing money for insurance companies, with more than $200 billion of assets under management. Randy’s portfolio of work also includes senior roles in portfolio management at BlackRock, Morgan Stanley & Company and Salomon Brothers. Randy holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering degrees, both in Electrical Engineering, from Cornell University. He also earned an MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, where he was a Lester B. Knight Scholar.
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Laura de Ornelas, Empowering Asset Owners Director, PRI
Laura De Ornelas is the PRI’s Empowering Asset Owners Director. Laura has over 17 years’ experience in investments having worked in some of the most prominent pension funds in the UK. More recently, Laura was an Investment Strategist at National Grid UK Pension Scheme, providing input into the scheme’s dynamic asset allocation process. Laura also led the scheme’s Responsible Investment work, including the design of its climate-related strategy and net-zero commitment. Laura gained a Master’s degree in Finance from the London Business School in 2011, having previously attended the school’s Investment Management Programme in 2007.
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Camilo Santos, CFA, Head of Financial Risk Management, Porvenir
Camilo Santos, CFA, is Head of Financial Risk Management at Porvenir, the largest private pension fund in Colombia. He is responsible for managing financial risks for the portfolios that include market, liquidity and credit risk. In the last few years, he has been leading the responsible investment strategy for the pension fund and is working to include ESG criteria in the investment process of Porvenir. Camilo earned BA degrees in mathematics and industrial engineering from the Universidad de los Andes, a Master in Mathematical Finance from University of Toronto and is CFA charter holder. He is also adjunct professor on the Asset Valuation Course in the Master of Finance at the Universidad de los Andes.
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Emilie Westholm, Head of Responsible Investment and Corporate Governance, Folksam
Emilie Westholm has 15 years experience in the field of responsible investments and corporate governance. Before joining Folksam in 2007 she was a business journalist for a number of years. She prefers the word responsible before sustainable because it includes more. Emilie was born in Uppsala, Sweden, and has a Masters degree in Business Administration from Uppsala University and a Bachelor in Journalism from Stockholm University.
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Alex Bernhardt, Global Head of Sustainability Research, BNP Paribas Asset Management
Alex is a noted expert in sustainable finance. As Global Head of Sustainability Research, Alex is responsible for ESG research and integration across BNPP AM and plays an important role in driving the firm’s overall sustainability research agenda, thought leadership and thematic fund development. Prior to joining BNPP AM, Alex spent 16 years at Marsh McLennan (NYSE:MMC). His final MMC role was as internal strategy consultant, designing cross-business strategies to address climate resilience, sustainability and the catastrophe protection gap. Between 2015-2020, Alex led Mercer Investment’s Responsible Investment advisory business in North America, where he undertook ESG integration work with the boards and investment committees of institutional investors of all types and sizes. He was a co-lead contributor to Mercer’s Investing in a Time of Climate Change research (models released in 2015 and 2019) and undertook related consulting assignments for institutional investors across North America with over USD 800 billion of portfolio assets. While at Mercer, Alex served as a member of the firm’s Global Strategic Research Committee and the Sustainability Committee for the firm’s Sustainable Opportunities private market fund-of-funds and (co)authored several research publications on subjects as wide-ranging as turnover in equity markets and infrastructure investment in Africa. Before joining Mercer, Alex was a Senior Vice President at MMC operating company Guy Carpenter, where he founded and ran the firm’s GC Micro Risk Solutions® division focused on designing and developing index-based micro(re)insurance programs for development banks, microfinance institutions and insurers.received a MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge and graduated from the Ecole Centrale Paris.
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Marie Diron, Managing Director, Sovereign, Subsovereign Risk, Moody’s Investors Service
Marie Diron heads the Sovereign Risk Group for Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Subsovereign Risk Group for Asia Pacific and EMEA. She also co-leads Moody’s Investors Service’s ESG scores initiative. Marie has worked as Moody’s lead sovereign analyst for a number of Asia Pacific credits. Marie has also worked in Moody’s Credit Policy, co-ordinating Moody’s Global Macro Outlook and other credit research work. Marie was previously Director at Oxford Economics, leading the company’s forecasting and scenario analysis service to financial sector and corporate clients, after a number of years at the European Central Bank and Brevan Howard LLP. Marie received a MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge and graduated from the Ecole Centrale Paris.
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Sixtine Dubost, Analyst, Investment Practices, PRI
Sixtine is a Senior Associate in the Investment Practices team at the PRI, focussing mainly on fixed income assets. She works on the ESG in Credit Risk and Ratings Initiative, a PRI’s flagship programme, which aims to enhance the transparent and systematic integration of ESG factors in credit risk analysis. Prior to joining the PRI in 2020, Sixtine was a consultant for Aurexia, a management consulting firm operating within the financial services industry, after working in the investment management industry as an intern for AXA IM and HSBC AM. Sixtine holds a master’s degree in asset management from the Paris-Dauphine University, where she also obtained her bachelor qualification in management.
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Carmen Nuzzo, Head of Fixed Income, PRI
Carmen Nuzzo is responsible for the PRI’s sovereign, sub-sovereign, securitised products and private debt workstreams, as well as the ESG in credit risk and ratings initiative. Carmen works with investors, credit rating agencies, issuers, information providers and other stakeholders to improve the understanding of how environmental, social and governance factors impact debt instrument pricing and can help fund the transition to more sustainable business and growth models. Prior to joining the PRI in 2017, Carmen was an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley. She has over 20 years of experience in economic and market analysis research, working across different financial asset classes, after starting her career in 1993 at Salomon Brothers, subsequently working for Citigroup, with stints in the not-for-profit sector. Since 2014, her work has focussed on sustainable economics and finance.
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John Ploeg, Vice President, ESG Research, PGIM
John Ploeg is Vice President and ESG specialist for PGIM Fixed Income, based in London. In this position, he is involved in all aspects of the firm’s ESG approach, including development of its ESG ratings methodologies and ESG policies, ESG related research, engagement activities, and compliance with ESG regulations. Prior to taking on this role, Mr. Ploeg obtained a Masters in Environmental Policy at Sciences Po, graduating summa cum laude. Before that, he was head of the firm’s European CLO product management team. Earlier, he was on the US CLO product management team, and before that he worked in the CIO department of PGIM’s parent company, initially in its Alternative Assets Group, and later in its Modelling & Analytics Group. Mr. Ploeg received a dual BA degree in computer science and economics from Brown University and holds the CFA designation.
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Angelina Valavina, Senior Director, Head of EMEA Natural Resources & Commodities, Fitch Ratings
Angelina Valavina heads the Natural Resources & Commodities team in EMEA Corporates at Fitch Ratings. Angelina leads the team whose coverage includes oil and gas, metals and mining and chemicals and fertilisers sectors. Prior to that she was a Deputy Head of the EMEA Corporates’ Utilities and Transport team. In her previous capacity at Fitch, she had analytical responsibility for the emerging-market oil and gas portfolio for five years, and the emerging-market metals and mining portfolio before that. Prior to joining Fitch in 2006, Angelina held analytical roles at Renaissance Capital and State Development Corporation VEB.RF and also worked (as an intern) at Merrill Lynch. Angelina holds a B.A. in international economics with distinction from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO-University) and an MBA from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (USA).
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Michal Bartek, Senior Lead, Listed Equity, PRI
Michal joined the investment industry in 1995 and has spent the last five years working at CFA Institute developing the CFA and CIPM curricula covering a wide range of investment topics including asset allocation, security analysis and equity and fixed income investment strategies. His work also included the development of learning materials on incorporation of ESG factors into investment decision-making. He started his career as a sell-side analyst at NatWest Markets and Robert Fleming Securities, but spent most of his professional investing career managing institutional equity portfolios at New Star Asset Management.
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Hortense Bioy, CFA, Global Director of Sustainability Research, Morningstar
Hortense Bioy, CFA, is Global Director of Sustainability Research within Manager Research at Morningstar. Based in London, she leads Morningstar’s ESG research efforts globally, with the objective of educating investors and providing the tools they need to evaluate funds through an ESG lens. Prior to assuming this role in February 2021, she was responsible for Morningstar’s sustainability research in EMEA for three years. Before transitioning to a dedicated ESG focus, Hortense was European Director of Passive Strategies Research. She led an award-winning team that provides research on ETFs and index funds. Hortense joined Morningstar as an ETF analyst in 2010 from Bloomberg where she was a financial journalist. She began her career as an M&A analyst at Société Générale in Hong Kong. Hortense holds a master’s degree in finance from Paris Dauphine University and a postgraduate degree in finance from Paris Sorbonne University. She is also a CFA charterholder.
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Mikael Homanen, Head of Data and Insights, PRI
Mikael Homanen is Head of Data and Insights at Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and an Honorary Research fellow at the Bayes Business School in London (formerly Cass). At PRI, Mikael is driving investor level ESG data research initiatives and academic partnerships. He was previously a Bradley Fellow at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a visiting scholar at the Wharton School and SMU. He has also worked at the World Bank’s Development Economics Research Group (DECRG).
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Elchin Mammadov, ESG Research vice-president, MSCI
Elchin Mammadov is a global utilities sector lead at MSCI’s ESG Research team, where he produces ESG-focused company research and thematic industry reports. He also develops and improves methodology and data for the electricity, gas, water and waste management companies and oversees their ESG ratings. In his previous role as a senior equity research analyst at Bloomberg, Elchin published reports analysing major industry trends and government policies and how they impact financial performance and business strategy of utility companies within his coverage. Prior to joining Bloomberg, Elchin worked at BP and the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic. As well as speaking fluent Russian and Azerbaijani, Mr Mammadov holds a Master’s degree in Business Management from the University of Surrey.
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Jennifer O’Neill, Associate Partner, Responsible Investment, AON
Jennifer is an Associate Partner and holds a senior role in Aon’s Responsible Investment team, where she has responsibility for client education and solution delivery along with thought leadership. As a member of Aon’s UK investment consulting practice, she has responsibility for providing strategic advice to a number of UK institutional investors ranging from £650m to £8bn. Before joining Aon in 2017, Jennifer spent four years as a fund manager, where she was responsible for portfolio construction and management of long-only bespoke portfolios for pension funds, charities, and endowment funds. Prior to beginning her investment career with Morgan Stanley, she graduated with a Master’s degree in European Politics from the University of Glasgow, where she focussed on the macroeconomy of the European Union throughout the global financial crisis.