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Sprecher:innen Germany Forum
Sprecher:innen Germany Forum
Kayode Akinola
Managing Director (Head of Private Equity)
Blue Earth Capital
Kayode Akinola heads the global private equity direct investments practice at Blue Earth Capital. He has more than 20 years of private equity investment experience across developed and emerging markets and before Blue Earth Capital was a Director in the Private Equity team at investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) in London. Prior to KKR, he was a Partner with Helios Investment Partners an emerging and frontier market focused private equity firm. Before Helios, Kayode was with investment firm Investcorp in London focused on private equity transactions in Europe. Kayode started his career in 1999 with Deutsche Bank as a member of the Leveraged Finance team in London focused on private equity transactions and holds an LLB (Laws) from University College London.
Aapo Alenius
Portfolio Manager
Aktia Asset Management
Aapo Alenius: Aapo Alenius (M.Sc. Fin.) is a Portfolio Manager at Aktia. He is the co-manager of UI-Aktia Sustainable Corporate Bond fund and Aktia Short-Term Corporate Bond fund and the lead manager of Aktia Stable Yield fund. His focus areas are short-duration credit and sustainable debt. Aapo joined Aktia in 2021.
Dr. Klaus Bader
Partner
Norton Rose Fulbright
Dr. Klaus Bader is a corporate lawyer based in Munich and head of our European energy practice. He has in-depth experience in domestic and cross-border M&A and private equity transactions, joint ventures and corporate reorganizations with a strong focus on the energy, infrastructure and technology sector. He works predominantly for infrastructure and private equity funds and international corporates. Klaus is recommended as a notable practitioner for corporate M&A and energy in all leading legal directories. Admissions – Rechtsanwalt, Steuerberater
Rankings and recognitions
Recognized for Corporate, M&A and Tax, Best Lawyers, 2022
Energy Projects Advisory Expert of the Year in Germany, Lawyer Network Annual Awards, 2021
Frequently recommended for M&A and Energy, Juve, 2020-2021
Notable practitioner in the areas of M&A, Private Equity, Energy, IFLR100, 2020
The Legal 500 Germany, 2020, Energy: „Norton Rose Fulbright stands out from other market participants for its strong geothermal practice, the specialisation on energy storage and growing activity in Africa and other emerging markets. The mostly Munich based team is part of the firm’s international energy practice and regularly works together with the other European offices on cross-border matters. The team is led by Klaus Bader and advises both established utilities and start-ups, often in matters related to digitalisation.
Languages
– English
– German
– Italian
Dr. Heiko Bailer
Head ESG Investment & Research
LBBW Asset Management
Dr. Heiko Bailer is considered a seasoned investment professional with over 20 years of practice in an investment style that combines ESG with regulation and diversified alpha. He has worked for large corporations, family offices and fintechs in Europe, Asia and the US, including Deutsche Bank, ABN AMRO and Credit Suisse. He holds a PhD in Statistics and a Certificate of Computational Finance from the University of Washington.
Dr. Bailer is Head of Sustainable Investments & Research at LBBW AM. At LBBW AM, he is in charge of the development and active management of sustainable equity and fixed income factor portfolios as well as sustainable strategies with impact.
Sabina Bals
Advisor Sustainable Finance & Policy
WWF Germany
Sabina Bals is Sustainable Finance and Policy Advisor at WWF Germany. WWF’ sustainable finance practice is committed to redirecting financial flows away from activities that harm our planet toward those that heal. Hence, enabling a scienced- based transformation of our economic and social system is at center here. Bals’s work therefore focuses on how private and public actors can contribute to align financial activities with the planetary boundaries. Among others, Bals is in charge of the strategic partnership with DWS Group on the “DWS Concept ESG Blue Economy Fonds”. Its goal: Linking capital investments to the protection of the oceans. Prior to joining WWF Germany, Bals freelanced as Policy Advisor for Sustainable Finance and Climate Justice and studied environmental sciences, economics and environmental policy in Germany, Spain, and France.
Chris Gorell Barnes
Founding Partner
Ocean 14 Capital
Chris Gorell Barnes is a social entrepreneur focussed on solving one of the world’s greatest threats the crisis in the oceans. He is Founding partner of Ocean 14 capital a €150M leading impact fund focused on ensuring a healthy ocean for everyone through a sustainable & regenerative blue economy and co-founder of the Blue marine foundation a world leading marine charity creating marine reserves and establishing sustainable models of fishing & innovative ocean conservation all over the world.
Brenda Barr
Group Financial Controller
XOCEAN
Brenda holds a Bachelor of Art in Accounting and Finance from Liverpool John Moore’s University. She is also a Chartered Accountant, Chartered Tax Advisor and PRINCE2 Practitioner. Prior to joining XOCEAN, Brenda worked as an Associate Director and Leader of Training & Development with Grant Thornton.
She is the Group Financial Controller at XOCEAN Limited, leading the Finance, Supply Chain Management & Business Intelligence teams. XOCEAN limited is a young innovated technology company, delivering Ocean data globally, safely with very low emissions, using its internally development unmanned (robotic) surface vessels. During Brenda’s time with XOCEAN so far, the company successfully closed a significant investment round with the European Investment Bank, solidifying XOCEANs status as the market leader.
Providing over 10 years’ experience of leading respected and motivated teams Brenda takes an energetic, solutions-oriented and commercially-focused approach, has worked in a diverse number of sectors including FinTech, outsourcing, telecommunications and manufacturing. She has built a reputation for being insightful and resourceful; identifying the business-critical issues and then driving the strategic change initiatives required including business, operations and finance programmes to achieve superior service delivery and maximise business valuation.
Karin Barthelmes-Wehr
Managing Director
Institute for Corporate Governance in the German Real Estate Industry (ICG)
Karin Barthelmes-Wehr is Managing Director of the Institute for Corporate Governance in the German Real Estate Industry (ICG) – the leading Think and Do Tank for all topics related to sustainable leadership. She has been involved in building up the institute since 2003.
Karin is also Chair of the International Ethics Standards Coalition which was initiated by the United Nations in 2014. The coalition’s aim is to establish and implement a common code of ethics in the real estate industry worldwide. To date, around 150 real estate bodies from almost 50 countries (as well as just as many companies, universities and government organisations) have joined the coalition.
Apart from other honorary appointments, Karin is member of the advisory committee of the Real Estate Department of HAWK (Hildesheim/Holzminden University of Applied Sciences), a juror for the polis AWARD and founding member and mentor at the cross industry program Initiative Women into Leadership (IWiL).
She holds a Master’s degree (suma cum laude) in English, Romance Philology and Political Science from the University of Münster and has more than 25 years of experience in the real estate industry. Before joining ICG, Karin worked in real estate conference management for EUROFORUM/”Handelsblatt” and in executive search at Heidrick & Struggles.
In 2020, the jury of „Immobilien Manager“ selected her as the top 1 „Real Estate Influencer”, the category of „Real Estate Women with a Strong Presence and High Reputation“.
Dr. Karin Bassler
Managing Director
Arbeitskreis Kirchlicher Investoren (AKI)
Dr Karin Bassler is a pastor and business graduate. She has been working on the topic of ethical- sustainable investment since 1999. Since 2012, Karin Bassler has been coordinator and managing director of the Working Group of Church Investors. Previously, she was a university pastor in Stuttgart and a consultant for financial market regulation and ethical investments at „Bread for the World“. She is also a member of the board of „CRIC – Verein zur Förderung von Ethik und Nachhaltigkeit bei der Geldanlage“ (Association for the Promotion of Ethics and Sustainability in Investment) and the sustainability advisory board of the Evangelische Bank.
Endijs Bernics
Head of Business Development
Aerones
Education:
– Stockholm School of Economics in Riga – Undergraduate degree (2016 – 2020)
Work experience:
– Aerones (2018 – Current)
Head of Business Development (2021 – Current)
Internation Project Manager (2020 – 2021)
Business Development Specialist (2018 – 2020)
Antje Biber
Head of SDG Office
FERI
As a member of the Management Board and Head of SDG Office of FERI AG, Antje Biber is responsible for the SDG Sustainability strategy of the FERI Group. She actively works with various public institutions, has numerous public and educational assignments. She fully commits her work to the integration of the SDGs into the financial industry systems as well as the economy.
She joined FERI in 2005 and is the Chairwoman of the Board of FERI (Schweiz) AG. In Zurich, she is responsible for the entire Swiss business strategy and FERI unit, as well as the development and implementation of an international growth strategy including new innovative investment solutions.
The mathematics graduate (Heidelberg) has built up a global network of international institutions and major investors within her 20 years of experience in the financial industry, which are market leaders in the field of sustainability and impact-oriented investing.
Claudia A. Bolli
Head Responsible Investing, Director
Swiss Re Group Asset Management
Claudia Bolli is responsible for the development and the implementation of the Responsible Investing strategy with Swiss Re since 2014. As part of that, she was instrumental in the switch of Swiss Re’s investment portfolio to ESG benchmarks as one of the first re-/insurance companies.
Before Claudia Bolli moved to the insurance business, she held several functions in the international banking industry, including portfolio management, debt capital markets and project management.
In June 2018, she was selected by the European Commission to join the Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance, and where she worked primarily on developing the requirements for the Climate-transition and Paris-aligned benchmarks, as well as on ESG disclosure of benchmarks.
Since 2019, she has been co-leading the MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification) workstream of the UN-convened Net-zero Asset Owner Alliance (AOA), and was instrumental in developing the Target Setting Protocols published in January 2021, 2022, and 2023. Additionally, she was leading the Reporting workstream of the Net-zero AOA until early 2022.
She also contributed to the establishment of Switzerland’s „Swiss climate scores“, which show best-practice transparency on the Paris Alignment of financial investments to foster investment decisions that contribute to reaching the climate goals.
Claudia Bolli holds a master’s degree in corporate finance and banking from the University of Zurich and is a certified international investment analyst (CIIA).
Anton Bonnländer
Founder and Partner
RE’PUBLIC Sustainable Finance Consulting
Anton Bonnländer has been supporting banks and companies in strategic, sales and product-specific issues for many years. He specializes in the areas of sustainability / ESG and impact investing. In this context, he advises institutional investors on sustainable investment solutions and develops hybrid training concepts and workshop formats for banks, financial distributors and academies.
He is a partner and founding member of RE’PUBLIC SUSTAINABLE FINANCE CONSULTING and GENOVISION. Both companies aim to promote and support the sustainable transformation of the economy and society in Germany towards a better social and ecological future.
Jaclyn Bouchard
EVP, Head of ESG Solutions & Corporate Responsibility
Preqin
Jaclyn Bouchard is the EVP, Head of ESG Solutions & Corporate Responsibility at Preqin. In her role as the in-house subject matter expert on major environmental, social & governance (ESG) and sustainable finance concepts, Jaclyn is tasked with raising Preqin’s profile as the leading provider of ESG data and analytics for the alternative assets market by setting the vision and strategy for Preqin’s ESG product suite. Jaclyn also ensures ESG principles are embedded into Preqin’s culture through the implementation of a corporate responsibility strategy that considers all stakeholders when making business decisions.
Prior to Preqin, Jaclyn was the Director of ESG Products at S&P Global Ratings. As the strategic client facing lead, she grew S&P’s market share by translating market trends and issues facing companies and investors into best-in-class product solutions. She managed and continuously enhanced Ratings’ current ESG products and set the roadmap for future product developments.
Before transitioning to S&P Global Ratings, Jaclyn was the Global Lead of Sustainability & ESG at S&P Global. She and her team were accountable for the management of the Company’s ESG risks and opportunities, as well as disclosure to key stakeholders including investors. As the Global Lead, she spearheaded the responses to notable third party ESG assessments such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), and company disclosures to frameworks such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Taskforce for Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
Jaclyn started her career at S&P Global in 2013. Previously, she worked in sales at Recyclebank, a New York City based start-up that focuses on clean technology and sustainability.
Jaclyn served as a member of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association’s Board of Director’s Development Committee. She is a recipient of the Columbia University Earth Institute Sustainability Management Fellowship award for her academic performance, professional experience, and commitment to sustainability issues. In 2017, Jaclyn received the Responsible 100 award from City & State, which recognizes New York executives, thought leaders, visionaries, and influencers who are setting new standards of excellence, dedication, and leadership in sustainability.
Jaclyn holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Towson University, a master’s degree in Energy Management from New York Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in Sustainability Management from Columbia University.
Markus Böhm
Founding Partner
Planet Ocean Fund
After his degree in finance and management, Markus worked for more than 15 years in different leadership positions in the fast moving consumer goods retail industry in Austria. Besides his agenda as a CFO, he led a successful e-commerce business in a midsized retailing company and built the first corporate VC in the fmcg industry in Austria.
In 2016 he decided to refocus his professional carreer and graduated in biological oceanography. Throughout his studies he realized how massive the threats imposed through climate- and biodiversity crisis are, if mankind is not transitioning at speed and scale to a net zero economy.
He dedicates his time now as founding partner of Planet Ocean Fund fully into the fight of climate- and biodiversity crisis. Planet Ocean Fund invests into early stage VCs focused on transition into plantbased nutrition, enabling technologies for renewable energy, carbon dioxide removal, circular economy and earth data generation. All with a focus on ocean based solutions, as there is no successful way to tackle climate issues without a healthy ocean.
Paul Buchwitz, CESGA, CFA
Head of Investment Strategy
Senior Portfolio Manager Equity
DWS
Paul has joined DWS Investments in September 2007. He studied Business Administration at University of Applied Science in Berlin (FHTW) and holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration („Diplom-Kaufmann“). He also completed a two year banking training at Dresdner Bank, is a CFA Charterholder and a certified ESG analyst (CESGA).Today, Paul is head of the ESG Thematic Active Equities team and manages the DWS Concept ESG Blue Economy and the DWS Invest SDG Global Equities fund.
Olga Braun-Cangl
Senior Investment Director
Cambridge Associates
Olga is a Senior Investment Director at Cambridge Associates and is based in Munich. Olga joined Cambridge Associates in 2022 and focuses on the building and management of Private Markets portfolios for institutional clients across Europe. Before joining Cambridge Associates, Olga spent 14 years with AllianzGI, where she contributed to shaping AllianzGI Private Markets capabilities from different investment and advisory roles in the Munich and New York offices. She managed and advised institutional clients in the building of customized Private Markets Portfolios for European institutional clients. She served as a member of the investment committee and lead sourcing activities for Private Credit, including co-investments and secondaries, Private Equity, and Infrastructure. She also supported executive management, advising on potential strategic acquisition targets and M&A opportunities. Prior to that, Olga began her career in 2002 as a portfolio manager and hedge fund analyst at Berenberg Bank and UniCredit. Olga earned her Master of Science from the University of Munich (LMU) in 2002 and is a certified EUREX Trader and Hedge Funds Consultant (ebs). Voluntarily, she serves the 100 Women in Finance board in Germany and Munich Student Investment Club e.V.
Susanne Bregy
Head of Impact Investing
Phineo
Having worked for many years for traditional private equity and hedge funds in Munich and London, Susanne Bregy set up Rhodanus Capital in 2012 to focus on sustainable and impact investing. She worked with impact PE/VC funds and with traditional and impact investors in order bring impact investing into the mainstream.
In 2021, she took over the position of Head of Impact Investing at PHINEO gAG. With regard to impact investing, PHINEO specializes in impact investing measurement for investors and asset manager and in impact investing advisory.
Susanne Bregy grew up in Switzerland, studied Philosophy and Business Administration in Munich, worked and lived in London and New York and is currently based in Frankfurt.
Matthew Breidert
Senior Portfolio Manager / Managing Director
Ecofin Advisors
Mr. Matthew Breidert joined Ecofin in 2006. He is a senior portfolio manager, overseeing sustainable, impact and ESG strategies, both long only and long/short. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Breidert was an assistant portfolio manager at Millennium Partners, based in New York. Previously, he was an investment banker with SG Barr Devlin, a division of Société Générale, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions and financial advisory to global utilities and power companies. Prior to that, he worked at Cornerstone Energy Advisers and FT Energy/RDI in Boulder, Co., where he focused on energy and utility- focused economic policy. Mr. Breidert earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign and a Master of Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis.
Prof. Dr. Timo Busch
Full professor at the School of Business, Economics and Social Science
University of Hamburg
Timo Busch is a full professor at the School of Business, Economics and Social Science of University of Hamburg and Senior Fellow at the Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth of University of Zurich. He is member of the steering committee on the Science Platform Climate Protection advising the German government. He teaches courses on corporate sustainability, business strategy & the environment, and sustainable finance. Before joining University of Hamburg he worked as lecturer for ETH Zürich and project manager for the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. His research interests include strategies towards a low-carbon economy, the business case for sustainability, corporate eco-efficiency, and sustainable finance. One major research field is centered around impact investments.
Donagh Cagney
Policy Director
Ocean Energy Europe
Donagh Cagney is Policy Director at Ocean Energy Europe – the trade association for the European wave & tidal sector. He oversees OEE’s policy work, and covers topics such as funding, innovation, State aid, EU offshore policy and finance. He previously worked at energy regulator Ofgem – where he focused on the Clean Energy Package and security of supply issues. Before entering the energy sector, Donagh worked on economic issues at Dublin Airport Authority and the European industry body for airport operators. Here his work centred on competition, economic regulation and State aid. He holds an MSc in Economics from Trinity College Dublin
Daniela Cedola
Partner – Advisory
PwC Luxembourg
Daniela is a Partner within PwC Consulting Public Sector. She is an expert in investment platforms, innovation and strategy. Her business focus lies on the intersection between innovation, entrepreneurship, business acceleration, international trade, market growth strategies and public policies. She has worked for different industries and sectors, including Public Sector, Education, Energy and Technology. In her career as a consultant to European Institutions, she has worked in projects related to international trade, innovation, entrepreneurship, support to growth SMEs, performance assessment, competitiveness, market research as well as policy analysis in related areas.
Isabella Chacón Troidl
CEO / Chairwoman of the Executive Board &
Member of the European Executive Board
BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management Germany
Isabella Chacón Troidl has been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairwoman of the Management Board of BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management (REIM) Germany as well as a member of the European Executive Board since 1 January 2023. In 2018, she was appointed to the Executive Board of BNP Paribas REIM Germany as Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and was responsible for pan- European transaction and asset management as well as the company’s research and strategy. As part of the strategic orientation, she was largely responsible for the further development and integration of ESG criteria.
As a change maker at the top of the Management Board, she is pushing for a holistic transformation and implementing the future strategy of her company from the perspective of sustainability. BNP Paribas REIM has set itself the goal of classifying at least 90 percent of the funds open for subscription as „sustainable“ in accordance with Articles 8 and 9 of the EU Disclosure Regulation in the coming years.
Furthermore, Isabella Chacón Troidl is involved in numerous associations and initiatives such as the ZIA (Zentraler Immobilien Ausschuss e.V.), the ULI (Urban Land Institute), the ICG (Institut für Corporate Governance in der deutschen Immobilienwirtschaft e.V.) and ECORE – ESG Circle of Real Estate. In addition to her law degree from the University of Regensburg, the fully qualified lawyer obtained a postgraduate degree in real estate business from the International Real Estate Business School (IREBS).
Young-jin Choi
Co-Head IMM workinggroup
Bundesinitiative Impact Investing
Director of Impact & ESG, Vidia Equity
Young-jin is heading the impact and ESG practice at Vidia Equity, a newly established climate impact private equity investor. Prior to joining Vidia, Young-jin served as the Head of Research at PHINEO gAG’s impact investing advisory team with a focus on social and environmental impact measurement and management. Young-jin’s previous roles further include corporate VC at 3M and strategy consulting in a variety of industries and regions with Monitor Group (now Monitor Deloitte). Young-jin holds three master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering (RWTH Aachen), International Business Studies (University of Maastricht) and Politics, Philosophy and Economics (LMU Munich).
Adelaide Cracco
Head of Climate and Environmental Impact Investments
European Investment Fund (EIF)
Adelaide Cracco is Head of Climate and Environment Impact within the venture capital division of the European Investment Fund. Prior to joining the EIF, she managed the Finaves seed capital funds backing tech start-ups and entrepreneurs in the digital, healthcare and cleantech sectors and has also previously worked at Mixtafrica a pan- African social and economic housing enterprise, and Clairfield International a global corporate finance advisory firm. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from IESE Business School in Spain and a Master’s degree in Economics and International Relations from the University of Louvain in Belgium.
Oliver Dreher, LL.M.
Partner and Head of the Debt Capital Markets practice group
Dentons Europe
Oliver Dreher, LL.M. (King’s College), is a partner in Dentons’ Frankfurt office and Head of the Debt Capital Markets (DCM) practice group in Germany. His main areas of expertise include corporate, bank and sovereign bonds, MTN-, CP- and structured issuance programmes, structured finance products, Schuldschein loans and registered bonds (Namensschuldverschreibungen), derivatives and advising on financial infrastructure, such as the clearing and settlement of financial instruments. Oliver is recognized as one of the leading bond / debt markets lawyers in leading standard directories for many years. Among other industry functions, he is a member of the LMA Working Group for Schuldschein Loans and a member of the equity and debt committee of the German Treasurers’ Association (Verband Deutscher Treasuerer, VDT).
Andrew Eckhardt
Co-Founder
Next Tuna
Andrew has been working on infrastructure and corporate financings, since 2010 with a strong focus on the renewables sector. He has beenbeen involved in and lead in projects totalling more than 5 GW in offshore and onshore wind, PV, CSP, combined cycle and biogas. In 2020, he co-founded Next Tuna. Next Tuna aims to be the first company to reproduce Atlantic Bluefin Tuna at commercial scale. Currently, the company is raising funds to implement the first of its innovative floating recirculating aquasystems. While this system was designed to address challenges in tuna farming, it is a climate-change resilient alternative to open net-cages in marine aquaculture. Besides his work with Next Tuna, Andrew serves as Head of Energy Transition with Westend Bank AG in Frankfurt am Main.
Bernhard Eikenberg
Partner, CIM Emerging Markets
Community Investment Management (CIM)
Bernhard Eikenberg serves as Partner of CIM and co- founded the firm’s Emerging Markets strategy, where he focuses on investment and operations activities and is based out of Indonesia. Prior to that, Mr. Eikenberg spent a decade in various roles at BCP, including as Fund Manager for Bamboo’s fintech equity fund, Head of Financial Inclusion, and Regional Director for LatAm. Previously, he worked for BlueOrchard, responsible for debt operations in Central America and the Caribbean. Mr. Eikenberg began his career at JPMorgan in London, where he focused on fixed income and currency derivatives. Mr. Eikenberg has served as an Adjunct Professor at the Economics Faculty of Universidad de los Andes in Bogota and currently guest lectures at The Graduate Institute in Geneva. He holds an M.A. in Public Affairs and International Development from SIPA at Columbia University), and a BSc in Economics from the LSE.
Tobias Ettlin
Chief Compliance Officer
ONE group solutions
Tobias is a Partner and Chief Compliance Officer with the ONE regulatory consulting business. He has over 15 years’ experience in the asset management sector.
Before joining ONE group solutions, he spent more than 12 years with AQR Capital Management in London, most recently as Chief Compliance Officer for EMEA. During this time, he built the regional compliance programme, to ensure the firm’s adherence to applicable rules and regulations, client mandates and best industry practices.
Prior to joining AQR in 2007, he was a compliance officer at Bear Stearns Asset Management and at JP Morgan Asset Management, both in New York.
Johannes Feist
CEO
Mikro Kapital Management
Johannes Feist is a development finance expert, experienced with mergers & acquisitions and restructurings, and with commercial, governmental and not for profit business models. He has deep knowledge of the functions of DFIs, of MSME and rural financial services industries, and of investment fund regulations in Luxemburg, Germany and Mauritius. He obtained a PhD and Diploma (MSc) in International Economics (University of Munich). He started his career at the EU Commission and European Centre of International Security, then became Assistant Lecturer at University of Munich. From 1999 to 2020 he worked at KFW Development Bank covering different managerial and international roles, among them: Vice President for European Financial Institutions and Vice President for Corporate Strategy. In 2020 he founded his own company, JF Investment Advisory. He is member of Advisory Committee of DWM Displaced Communities Fund. In September 2022 he was appointed CEO of Mikro Kapital Management S.A.
Cornelia Frentz
Manager Corporate Governance
European Circular Bioeconomy Fund
Cornelia Frentz is in charge of the ESG due diligence and monitoring of ECBF’s investment targets and portfolio companies. She is also concerned with the implementation of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation’s requirements (SFDR). Next to dealing with sustainability matters she takes on assignments in the corporate governance, legal and finance department. Before joining ECBF in January 2021, she worked in the banking sector as equity investment manager for assets in Germany, the UK and Latin America for about 10 years. She also gathered work experience at the United Nations in New York as well as with the German foreign service in Honduras. Cornelia Frentz studied international business and commercial law.
Frédéric Degret
Founder – CEO
NOAH ReGen
Blue Carbon Lab
President & Founder NOAH ReGen (Luxembourg – since February 2017)
NOAH ReGen is a fast-growing Start up, with subsidiaries in Luxembourg, France & LatAm.
NOAH has set up an Ecosystem As-a-Service: Global Oriented Solution & toolkit to make an impact at global scale through Ocean’s ReGeneration & Sustainable Blue Growth
www.noah.blue / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySKFlHnVgSA
– NOAH is winner of the EU Ocean Innovation Awards 2018 – Ocean Most Innovative European Start-up of the Year.
– NOAH is a finalist and winner of the public prize at the “Let’s Go France” – by PwC Trophies under the high patronage of the French President – Emmanuel Macron.
– NOAH is National Agency for sovereign Blue Carbon Market for Panama
– NOAH is National Agency for Global Carbon Market for Antigua & Barbuda
– NOAH is Sub-National Advisor Agency for the transition for FLACMA representing 16.500+ municipalities in LatAm
Frédéric DEGRET special Advisory for Oceans & Climate Actions for the World Tourism Organisation – Agency of the United Nations
NOAH Co-founder of AspBAN (Atlantic Smart Ports Blue Acceleration Network) Full Partner“ of the consortium that won a public tender from the European Commission to coordinate the Sustainable Blue Growth Strategy for the Atlantic
President & Founder Blue Wing Capital Partners (Dominican Republic– 2005 to 2017)
BWCP won the Dominican Republic’s government tender to design a new Touristic National Strategy. The Solution offered and designed was the set up of the world’s largest off-grid self-sufficient community: Samanà Peninsula – 730km2.
President & Founder 9 STARS (UK – 2009 to 2015)
Real estate development: Creation of a new form of ownership & traveling to enhance the value of real estate resorts in crisis – private co-owners‘ club & fractional memberships:
BFMTV : https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x18n92f
CANAL + : https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=9SbxhsYgPXc
Managing Director Paris & IDF Region ALLIANCE LABELLISATION (France – 2006 to 2008)
National real estate developer group > +200M€ annual turn over, 1,500 hospitality units/year: development / construction / marketing / brokerage / FF&E / hospitality asset management of service-labelled residences. In charge of PARIS IDF Subsidiary – the largest business unit of the group with 47 employees.
Researcher – Mechanics & materials
UNIVERSITY POLYTECHNIC OF CATALUNYA (Barcelona – 2005 to 2006) Erasmus Course & Research on carbon nanotubes and piezoelectricity for Formula 1 applications. Finalist of the Altran/Renault F1 TEAM Young Talent Award.
Maritime & Naval Engineer (BAC+5)
Ecole Centrale Marseille (France – 2003 to 2005)
Catherine Frideres
Senior Manager, BlueInvest
PwC Luxembourg
Catherine Frideres is Senior Manager for Industry and Public Sector Consulting at PwC Luxembourg. She is responsible for projects in trade and economic development, investment readiness, innovation ecosystem building and green and digital transformation. As part of PwC’s Accelerator, she develops strategies that enable innovative, fast growing companies to go global faster and smarter. Catherine is an operator of the BlueInvest Platform, an EU initiative to boost investment and innovation for a green blue economy.
Dr. Stefan Fritz
Managing Director
Stiftungszentrum der Erzdiözese München und Freising
Dr. Stefan Fritz has been Managing Director at the Foundation Centre of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising since 2016. Before moving to his current position, he worked for a domestic commercial bank as an advisor in the segments of financial planning, asset succession and foundation management. Most recently, he was head of the relevant department there. As a specialist author and lecturer at various universities, the lawyer, who holds a doctorate in foundation law, focuses on legal and economic issues relating to foundation assets. On the initiative of the Association of German Foundations, he is developing the governance tool „Stiftungscockpit“. Fritz has been a member of the advisory board of the Association since September 2022.
Manuela M. Froehlich
Head of New Business & Relationship Management | Co-Founder & Partner
ThomasLloyd GAM (Schweiz)
Fondsfrauen
Manuela M. Froehlich is Managing Director, Head of New Business & Relationship Management for ThomasLloyd Global Asset Management (Schweiz) AG.
She is also co-founder and partner of Fondsfrauen, the largest German speaking career network for women in the financial industry.
She joined ThomasLloyd in 2020 and is responsible for managing wholesale and institutional client relationships. She is also responsible for business development including sourcing new opportunities and strategic partnerships to accelerate the firm’s rapid growth as a leading impact asset manager.
Manuela is a seasoned executive in the international financial industry for more than three decades and held senior leadership roles in London, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Luxembourg, before moving to Zurich.
Steffen Fuchs
Sustainability Officer
VPV Versicherungen
After a classical banking apprenticeship with Dresdner Bank in 1993 and a subsequent specialization in securities investments, I was a securities advisor for wealthy private clients. This was followed by a move to the corporate customer business with the task of assisting advising larger medium-sized companies on securities investments, foreign exchange and interest rate and interest rate hedging and optimization.
After 12 years, HSBC brought me in. Here I successfully built up the new place for interest rate and foreign exchange at the Stuttgart location for corporate clients and made it profitable. this profitable.
The move to HSBC’s German headquarters in Düsseldorf was inevitable. There as COO in the Corporate Clients – Global Markets division, I improved the operational interfaces, restructured the adherence to and monitoring of compliance and regulatory and regulatory requirements as well as parts of the reporting and successfully supported the strategic realignment of the division.
At VPV, between 2014 and 2022, I was responsible for liquid assets amounting to approx. 6.5 billion euros (approx. 90% of investments). Management according to ESG criteria was I initiated, developed and implemented a management system based on ESG criteria in 2018. further developed. During this time, I was a co-founder of the cross-divisional VPV Sustainability Team.
In March 2022, I was appointed to the new position of Sustainability Officer created by the Executive Board. Sustainability Officer, created by the Executive Board, was filled by me to and organizationally coordinate and further develop the topic of sustainability in all its facets. expand.
After 12 years, HSBC brought me in. Here I successfully built up the new place for interest rate and foreign exchange at the Stuttgart location for corporate clients and made it profitable. this profitable.
The move to HSBC’s German headquarters in Düsseldorf was inevitable. There as COO in the Corporate Clients – Global Markets division, I improved the operational interfaces, restructured the adherence to and monitoring of compliance and regulatory and regulatory requirements as well as parts of the reporting and successfully supported the strategic realignment of the division.
At VPV, between 2014 and 2022, I was responsible for liquid assets amounting to approx. 6.5 billion euros (approx. 90% of investments). Management according to ESG criteria was I initiated, developed and implemented a management system based on ESG criteria in 2018. further developed. During this time, I was a co-founder of the cross-divisional VPV Sustainability Team.
In March 2022, I was appointed to the new position of Sustainability Officer created by the Executive Board. Sustainability Officer, created by the Executive Board, was filled by me to and organizationally coordinate and further develop the topic of sustainability in all its facets. expand.
Jon Gallop
Head of Sustainable Investments
HanseMerkur Trust
Jon Gallop is Head of Sustainable Investments at HanseMerkur Trust. As an experienced member of the ESG and investment industry for over 20 years, Jon formerly worked as board member and CIO of a sustainable staff pension funds group and in management positions in consulting and foundations. Jon holds a university degree in economics and business administration.
Ronny Geißler
Director IB Foundation
Internationaler Bund (IB)
Ronny Geißler is Managing Director & Foundation Manager of the IB Foundation, lives and works in Frankfurt am Main. He studied Social Work (B.A.) and Research in Social Work (M.A.) at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. He has worked in various fields of social work. He has been employed by the International Bund (IB) since 2016. There he started as an officer and was responsible for the strategic business field development of the working fields of people with disabilities and offers for older people in the IB in Germany. In the years 2017 – 2019, in addition to his work at the IB, he was a lecturer in the Department of Social Work at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. In 2020, he started as Managing Director at the IB Foundation. The IB Foundation is a non-profit funding foundation and supports the work of the IB. It stands for non- partisanship, denominational independence, tolerance, diversity and cultural understanding. People are at the centre of its activities.
Julia Giese
Principal, Infrastructure
KKR
Julia Giese (London) joined KKR in 2019 and is a Principal on the European Infrastructure team. She has been involved in KKR’s investments in FiberCop, Calvin Capital (Calisen), European Locomotive Leasing (ELL), Caruna and Vantage Towers. Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Giese spent three years with Macquarie’s asset management division MIRA, working on transactions and asset management in the infrastructure space with a focus on German-speaking regions. Ms. Giese holds a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Business Studies (Finance) from Cass Business School.
Sascha Görlitz
Executive Director
Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen (FNG)
Since 2022 the Executive Director of FNG (Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen e. V., German SIF), a founding member of Eurosif and one of the largest SIFs in Europe. I do have a deep understanding of what it means to run a not-for-profit organization in terms of management, finances and strategy with strong skills in management of project teams, personnel responsibility and agile working. In my previous positions as project and investment manager in the field of sustainable investments (ESG, impact) within the last 15 years, I have been able to demonstrate my strategic and forward- looking thinking on operational level as well as in committees and boards making decisions. Working for banks, start-ups and non-profit organizations, the development of business models and the critical questioning of existing processes in order to optimize them have always played a central role.
Dr. Bernhard Graeber
Managing Director
EB-SIM
Dr. Graeber is a member of the management board of EB-SIM since 2022 and responsible for the Alternative Assets division. Since 2017, he led the renewable energy activities at the EB since 2018, at its group company EB-SIM.
He has more than 20 years of experience in the energy industry, renewable energies and infrastructure, as well as 16 years of management experience.
From 2014-2017, Dr. Graeber was Head of Infrastructure Investments at Talanx A.M. GmbH. From 2009-2013, Dr. Graeber was Head of Int. Climate Protection Projects. From 2008-2013 he was Head of Renewable Energies at EnBW AG. Prior to this, he held several specialist and management positions at EnBW Trading GmbH since 2000.
He studied mechanical engineering and physics at the University of Stuttgart and Auckland, New Zealand, and completed his doctorate in energy economics at the University of Stuttgart.
Wendelin von Gravenreuth
Senior Manager Global Forest Investments
MEAG
As Senior Manager Global Forestry Investments, Wendelin von Gravenreuth is responsible for the strategy, acquisitions and portfolio management of the forestry asset class at MEAG. He joined MEAG in 2014 and has been instrumental in growing MEAG’s forestry asset class to a portfolio with a market value of approximately EUR 2 billion. He holds an MSc. in Forestry from the Technical University of Munich. Previously, he worked for the Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF) in Brussels, Belgium, and for the European Forest Institute (EFI) in Joensuu, Finland. MEAG manages over 300 billion euros in assets. When purchasing and managing land, MEAG can draw on the 140 years of expertise and data treasure of the Munich Re Group with regard to risks arising from climate change or natural disasters.
Félix Guérot
Senior Consultant
INDEFI
Félix is mainly involved in strategy consulting projects on behalf of European and global asset managers, aiming at defining revenue growth strategies and adapting to macro trends (e.g. sustainability). He is also responsible for driving Indefi’s growth in the DACH region.
In the last years, Félix supported several European asset managers in their strategic reflections, including on how to bring alternative investments to retail markets. He is a regular keynote speaker on this topic.
Prior to joining Indefi, Félix worked as market and counterparty credit risk consultant at Cognizant Consulting in Paris.
Félix graduated from Ludwig Maximilian University in Germany and Emlyon Business School in France. He is fluent in English, French, German and Swedish.
Roger Havenith
Deputy Chief Executive
European Investment Fund
Roger Havenith is Deputy Chief Executive of the EIF since 1 January 2016. In his role, Roger is part of the Fund’s governance providing leadership and direction to the institution. He deputises for the CE in the day-to-day management of the Fund, has specific responsibilities for supervising the risk management, compliance, financial control and middle/back-office services and acts as main senior counterpart for the EU institutions. Previously, he had several key roles at the EC: among others, he was a Commission negotiator in charge of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) SME Window, as part of the Investment Plan for Europe. He also led the EC’s Designated Service responsible for the negotiation, implementation and oversight of financial instruments under CIP, EPMF, MAP and other initiatives.
He has a B.A. in Business Administration from HEC St. Louis in Brussels (Belgium) and LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from Vrije Universiteit Brussel; He also earned a postgraduate degree in European Studies from Institut d’Etudes européennes de l’Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and M.A. as conference interpreter from Institut supérieur de Traducteurs et Interprètes/ULB.
Jyri Hietala
Fund Manager
United Bankers
Jyri is the CEO of UB Nordic Forest Management Ltd., which is the entity responsible for the management of United Bankers’ Private Equity (AIF) forestry funds. He was a Board Member of the Finnish Forest Economics Forum from 2017 to 2020. Jyri joined United Bankers in 2017 from PTT/Pellervo Economic Research, where he was a Forest Economist since 2010. Prior to that, he was a Research Assistant at Aalto University School of Science and Technology since 2009. Jyri holds a Ph.D. in Forest Economics and Marketing from the University of Helsinki.
Rudolf Hilti
Chair & Founder
The System Change Foundation
Rudolf „Rudi“ Hilti is a non-traditional entrepreneur and visionary who considers himself a global citizen and a responsible optimist. Rudi is the Founding Chair of «The System Change Foundation», which together with the «World Systemic Forum» and «THE HUS.institute» form a platform to explore the transformation of the traditional world into an ecologically and economically sustainable future. The non-profit from Vaduz sees itself as a value-based global village, enabling global topics to be discussed to rethink global challenges, free of higher interests. Everything that Rudi does is based on inspiration, collaboration and holistic thinking. Rudi is also the Founder and CEO of «RHEINEST» and «THE COMBINATOR», an investment group and family office for impactful ventures to scale systemic change.
Dr. Maximilian Horster
Head of ISS ESG
ISS ESG
Maximilian Horster is Head of ISS ESG, leading a global team assisting clients in developing and integrating responsible investing policies and practices through the provision of industry-leading solutions and data. Based in Frankfurt, Germany, Max oversees the unit’s core Data & Analytics, Product, and Index offering as well as ISS’ dedicated climate team that helps financial market participants understand, measure, and act on climate-related risks across all asset classes. In addition, he manages ISS’ financial intelligence unit, EVA, which enables investors to uniquely measure, analyze, and value corporate performance and inform investing decisions.
Max joined ISS in 2017 following its acquisition of the financial industry business of South Pole Group, which he co-founded. There, Max and team developed the world’s largest database of company-level climate change data and pioneered the development of leading, standardized investment climate screening tools. Prior to this, Max worked at Capital Group Companies in North America, Asia and Europe and has, over the past decade, led several European Union-funded greenhouse gas accounting projects while also advising member states on the matter. He is a frequent speaker at conferences, teaches about ESG at several universities, and publishes regularly on the opportunities and challenges of ESG investing.
Max holds a PhD in History from the University of Cambridge.
Dr. habil. Moritz Isenmann
Senior Impact and Sustainability Manager
Invest in Visions
Dr. Moritz Isenmann is a historian by training. During his academic career, he has focused in particular on pre-modern economic history and business ethics. He received his PhD in 2008 from the European University Institute in Florence, and in 2016 he was awarded a “Habilitation” in modern history at the University of Cologne. He is also a Certified Renewable Energy Finance Professional (Frankfurt School of Finance & Management).
Since 2019, he has been working as a Senior Impact and Sustainability Manager for Invest in Visions GmbH. The company, founded in 2006, is a German pioneer in impact investments and oversees assets worth EUR 1 billion (as of March 31,2023). In 2011, Invest in Visions reached an important milestone by initiating the first public microfinance fund in Germany that is also open to retail investors. In addition to microfinance, the financial services provider is also involved in the areas of renewable energies (decentralized projects) and the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Sophie Kazmierczak
Board Member and Co-head Real Estate Working Group
Bundesinitiative Impact Investing
Sophie holds vast experience in the field of impact and sustainability in various functions and sectors. As a former consultant in the field of international development cooperation, she worked on a wide range of issues related to sustainability transformations in the energy, building and mobility sectors. Since fall 2020, she has been in charge of the Impact and Sustainable Finance division of NEXT Generation Invest – a specialized asset manager focused solely on impact investing in the real estate industry. In her current role as Chief Impact and Sustainability Officer, she is responsible for both the impact strategy of the fund as well as its subsequent implementation. In 2021, Sophie took over the co-lead of the newly founded working group „Real Estate“ of a national initiative on impact investing (Bundesinitiative Impact Investing). She is also a member of the initiative’s board since February 2022. Sophie holds two Master of Science degrees, namely in Ecological Economics (The University of Edinburgh) as well as International Economics and Economic Policy (Johann- Wolfgang-Goethe University). She was moreover a scholar of the German National Academic Foundation.
Keimpe Keuning
Principal
LGT Capital Partners
Keimpe Keuning (Dutch) is a Principal at LGT CP Ltd. Prior to joining the Firm in 2018, he was portfolio manager for sustainable private equity at RobecoSAM in Zurich, a boutique investment firm focusing on sustainable and responsible investing. Earlier in his career, he worked for Fortis Bank as an associate director in investment banking in Amsterdam. Keimpe Keuning holds a Master degree in Tax Law from Leiden University and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA). He is fluent in Dutch, English and German.
Thomas Klein
Managing Director
DEG Impact
Thomas Klein has more than 20 years of experience in the financial sector – both in established markets as well as in developed and emerging countries. Before co-founding DEG Impact, he was at DEG mainly responsible for private equity & mezzanine fund & co-investments in Asia and Afrika. In his function he also served as board member in portfolio companies as well as funds. Prior to DEG, he worked for CAM Private Equity and Deloitte in the area of transaction services / M&A. He holds a degree in business administration from the University of Cologne.
Arne Philipp Klug
Biodiversity Research Director
MSCI
Arne Philipp Klug, as Biodiversity Research Director for MSCI ESG Research, oversees thematic research on biodiversity and natural capital. He engages with investors and key stakeholders to help clients set and prioritize their investment objectives to biodiversity. In addition, Arne serves on the ESG Editorial Committee. Until 2021, Arne has led MSCI’S ESG research on the transportation sector. He authored several reports on ESG issues with a special focus on the automobiles and airlines industries. Prior to joining MSCI, Arne worked for more than six years as an ESG analyst and account manager at Sustainalytics in Frankfurt and Toronto. Arne holds a master’s degree in communications science, political economics and Hispanic studies from the University of Münster in Germany.
Patrick Knodel
Founder / CEO
PANDION INNOVATION for IMPACT GmbH
knodel foundation
Patrick Knodel had a classical career with degrees in business studies. He worked in various industries, from sports to gastronomy to real estate and events. Through his backpacking trips around the world after finishing his studies, he increasingly questioned his world view and the so-called „western values“, as they do not correspond to the realities in large parts of the world and ignore the causes of the problems.
In addition to consequences in his personal life, he made the decision to also work professionally for a better world. Today, he advocates for systemic change with the non-profit knodel foundation and invests through PANDION INNOVATION for IMPACT GmbH in business models whose core inseparably combine an economic return with a social and/or ecological return and privately advocates for an open and free society that respects plantar boundaries.
Dr. Steffen Knodt
Head of the Center for Sustainable Ocean Business
Fraunhofer Institute
Dr. Steffen Knodt is the Head of the Center for Sustainable Ocean Business at Fraunhofer and a co- author of the study “Sustainable Blue Economy – Transformation, Value and the Potential of Marine Ecosystems” (in collaboration with the FERI Cognitive Finance Institute). Dr. Knodt holds a PhD in engineering from RWTH Aachen and worked over his career for large corporates and startups. Within his recent positions Dr. Knodt focused his activities on corporate venturing and impact entrepreneurship, what lead to his own consultancy deepblue.earth. Dr. Knodt serves a member of the board in the German Association for Marine Technology GMT and in the board of the German Committee for the UN Ocean Decade of Science for Sustainable Development.
Andreas Knörzer
Managing Partner
Knörzer Consulting
Andreas Knörzer ist geschäftsführender Inhaber von Knörzer Consulting und berät Finanzdienstleister mit Schwerpunkt Nachhaltigkeit. Von 2016 bis 2021 war er in veschiedensten Senior-Positionen, zuletzt als Vice Chairman, bei Vontobel Asset Management immer mit Nachhaltigkeitsbezug tätig. Von Ende 2013 bis 2015 gehörte er der Geschäftsleitung der zu Raiffeisen Schweiz gehörenden Notenstein Privatbank AG an. Bei der Bank J. Safra Sarasin in Basel hatte er von 1989 bis 2013 in diversen Führungsfunktionen als Pionier der nachhaltigen Vermögensverwaltung das nachhaltige Produkteangebot aufgebaut und die Positionierung der Bank als Marktführer in diesem Bereich wesentlich mitgestaltet.
Andreas Knörzer ist eidg. dipl. Betriebsökonom und eidg. dipl. Bankfachmann.
Er ist Mitglied des Strategieausschuss von EnergieSchweiz, einem Programm des Bundesamt für Energie, Co-Leiter der Arbeitsgruppe Wealth & Asset Management beim Branchenverband Swiss Sustainable Finance und fungiert als Nachhaltigkeits-Experte und Berater in verschiedenen Arbeitsgruppen von weiteren Verbänden. Zudem ist er Vorsitzender des Verwaltungsrat der Sustainable Real Estate AG und Mitglied des Verwaltungsrates von Twelve Capital AG und politisch auf lokaler Ebene engagiert. Andreas verfügt über mehr als 30 Jahre Erfahrung im Bereich der nachhaltigen Vermögensverwaltung.
Gerold Koch
Head of Sustainable Investment Advice
Allianz Global Investors
Gerold leads risklab Sustainable Investment Advisory at Allianz Global Investors. His team advises investors on sustainable investments as part of the holistic discussion of their portfolio and investment strategy with a focus on quantitative assessments and solutions to complex sustainability issues, such as Net Zero and climate risk.
Prior to joining Allianz Global Investors in 2021, Gerold worked in financial markets for over 20 years and held roles in portfolio management, product strategy and development and sustainable investment advisory at DWS and Aquila Capital.
Gerold holds a Diplom-Kaufmann degree from the University of Hamburg in in Finance, Marketing and Economics of the Law and has studied at Goethe Universitaet in Frankfurt and ESG Bordeaux. He is a CFA, CFA ESG, CFA Certificate in Climate & Investing and EFFAS Certified ESG Analyst charterholder.
Mag. Uli Krämer
Chief Investment Officer
KEPLER-FONDS
Uli Krämer is Chief Investment Officer of KEPLER-FONDS KAG, the fourth-biggest investment company in Austria. KEPLER gained attention by winning various awards for overall performance and quality (eg. Scope Awards – Best Asset Manager Overall – Austria, Germany) as well as for various investment strategies in the last few years.
Before being appointed CIO in 2014, Uli has been head of Portfolio Management Fixed Income for 15 years. In this time he was involved in the development of the KEPLER Dynamic Asset Allocation (KDAA) model that is the basis for the tactical allocation of multi-asset strategies. Due to his interest and profound knowledge in Sustainable Finance, Uli was one of the main persons who initiated the introduction of the first sustainable mutual fund – making KEPLER a pioneer in ESG investing in Austria. He was and partly is still managing KEPLER Ethik Rentenfonds and various strategies of institutional investors.
In addition to his tasks as a portfolio manager and CIO, Uli is taking on various lecturing and training activities within the company as well as in university classes or external events. He holds a degree in Economics of Johannes-Kepler-University in Linz/Austria.
Dr. Bernd Kreuter
Managing Partner
Palladio Partners
Bernd Kreuter is managing partner and co-founder of Palladio Partners, Frankfurt, Germany. He advises German institutional investors on their infrastructure and other illiquid asset portfolios, including strategy definition, structuring, investments, and asset management.
Daniel Kricheff
Sustainability Credit Research Director
MetLife Investment Management
Daniel is a Sustainability Credit Research Director within MetLife Investment Management’s (MIM) Public Fixed Income team. He is responsible for research and analysis on sustainability, impact bonds and broader market trends. Daniel joined MIM in 2023 as part of the acquisition of Affirmative Investment Management. He was previously a visiting lecturer and research associate in the Department of Anthropology at University College London. He has extensive experience working on economic development initiatives and research in emerging markets.
Dr. Klaus Kunz
Head of ESG External Engagement and Performance Reporting
Bayer
Dr. Klaus Kunz holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry and a degree in economics. He joined Bayer in 2001 and has gained 18 years of experience directing business strategic topics in R&D at a global level, taking leadership roles in research, R&D project management, and regulatory and public / governmental affairs, including issues management and stakeholder engagement. Since 2018 he is leading Sustainability & Business Stewardship in Bayer Crop Science. Klaus is passionate about driving innovation and change, cross-cultural collaboration, politics and history, also holding a lectureship for chemistry at the University of Aachen. He is married with three children.
Silke Küstner
Project Manager Circular Economy
WWF Deutschland
Silke Küstner holds a BSc in International Business from Copenhagen Business School and acquired her Master’s degree in Environmental Management in Montreal, Canada. Prior to joining WWF Germany, Silke has worked as a consultant for renewable energies and waste management and spent several years in the field of Mobility-as-a-Service in North America. As Project Manager Circular Economy at WWF Germany, Silke is focused on transforming the building sector and currently manages the CEWI project. As part of CEWI, Silke leads the Circular Finance working group that analyzed how circular construction criteria can improve the financial performance of real estate investments.
Katja Lammert
Chief Administration Officer
MEAG
Katja Lammert is Chief Administration Officer at MEAG. She is responsible for Legal, Regulatory & Compliance, Operations, Portfolio Administration, Outsourcing Controlling & IT Governance Management und ESG & Sustainable Finance. A fully qualified lawyer, Katja Lammert previously worked as a self-employed lawyer. From 2001 to 2019, she was employed at BayernInvest Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH in Munich, where she was responsible as a member of the management board and head syndicate from 2014. Prior to that, she worked as a lawyer at State Street GmbH in Munich from 2000 to 2001.
Vittorio Lacagnina
Partner
Apollo
Vittorio Lacagnina is a Partner in the Institutional Client & Product Solutions group at Apollo where he leads capital formation for Infrastructure. Prior to joining Apollo in 2022, Vittorio was Managing Director & Head of Business Development, Private Infrastructure at Partners Group.
Vittorio has 25 years of industry experience across a variety of senior investment, advisory and capital formation roles. Vittorio began his career in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs where he acquired relevant transaction and coverage expertise across the Americas and Europe.
Vittorio graduated with a first-class BA (Hons) in international business from the European Business School, London.
Vittorio is a PADI Divemaster with a passion for the protection of animal life and the preservation of ecosystems in ocean habitats. He is a Certified Yoga Teacher and volunteer for Glasswing International in Positive Youth Development, Community Empowerment and Emergency & Trauma-Informed Care in Central America.
Katharina Latif
Managing Director
ClimatePartner Impact
Katharina has 20 years of experience in promoting climate action and sustainability in the finance sector, with a focus on renewable energies, ESG governance, and impact investing.
She is the managing director of ClimatePartner Impact GmbH, a Munich-based project developer in the voluntary carbon market, developing long-term, high-quality and high impact projects across diverse technologies and developing countries.
Katharina is the former head of ESG office, and subsequent group head of sustainability at Allianz Group, and before that was the managing director of Allianz Climate Solutions, Allianz’s dedicated unit for climate change solutions and renewable energies. Katharina served as member of the Sustainable Finance Council of the German government (2019-21). During over 14 years serving Allianz Katharina has successfully setup various new divisions and has led diverse teams of experts to systematically drive climate change and sustainability topics in core business.
Katharina holds a MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College, London and a MA in International Trade from University of Krems, Austria. She also graduated from the “Leading Sustainable Corporations Program” by Oxford University and is a certified SRI Advisor (EBS University).
Tobias Lideus
Principal, European Direct Lending
Ares Management
Mr. Lideus is a Principal in the Ares Credit Group, where he focuses on European direct lending investments and he is the co-author of a white paper titled „Sustainability Linked Loans in Private Credit“ that was published in December 2022. Prior to joining Ares in 2020, Mr. Lideus was part of the Loans and Acquisition Finance Team at Citigroup, where he was responsible for originating and structuring corporate loans across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with particular focus on Western European markets and sustainability-linked loans. Mr. Lideus holds a B.Sc. from Stockholm School of Economics in Business and Economics.
Igor Lukin
Managing Director
Allianz Capital Partners
Mr. Igor Lukin is a Managing Director at Allianz Capital Partners (ACP) in the direct infrastructure investment team in Munich, Germany. He joined ACP in 2012 and has worked on multiple infrastructure transactions in the energy, telecommunication and transport sectors across various geographies.
Currently his focus is on development of infrastructure investment opportunities in the area of energy transition including green hydrogen and similar de-carbonization technologies. He had led ACP’s first direct investment in the sector – Finnish green hydrogen and power-to-gas developer Ren-Gas in 2022.
Igor is currently representing ACP in the boards of a fiber roll-out company Unsere Grüne Glasfaser in Germany, motorway service area operator Tank & Rast in Germany and gas transmission and distribution network companies Net4Gas and GasNet, both in Czech Republic.
Prior to joining ACP, he worked at Oil & Gas financing and advisory team at UniCredit in Munich and New York. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and Computer Science from Technical University of Darmstadt and is a CFA Charterholder.
Leanne Mair
Founder & CEO
Benefactum Consulting
Leanne Mair is the CEO and Founder of Benefactum Consulting, a management consultancy company specialising in helping financial services companies take action in their commitments to gender equity.
Having worked in asset management for over 14 years for global brands such as BlueBay Asset Management and PIMCO. she understands the DNA of the industry with regard to gender equality, leadership and culture. Leanne’s expertise is much in demand and she has delivered keynotes to the likes of HSBC Asset Management, CFA Institute UK, Moonfare, Gulf Investment Bank Asset Management and Dax 40 companies in Germany, on governance, culture, sustainability and gender equity.
Leveraging her professional and personal experience, Leanne helps companies identify and navigate key challenges and create meaningful impact through changing their governance, thus improving their culture.
Paul McMahon
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
SLM Partners
Paul is co-founder and Managing Partner at SLM Partners. He is responsible for identifying and developing new investment strategies, building teams, overseeing research, sourcing capital, and managing investor relations. He sits on the Investment Committees for the SLM Australia Livestock Fund, the SLM Silva Fund and the firm’s separate managed accounts in the USA. Before co-founding SLM Partners, Paul McMahon was Vice-President at Climate Change Capital Limited, an asset manager in London, where he led a team that developed a strategy for a global farmland fund. Before that, he spent 4 years with McKinsey & Company in New York. Originally from Ireland, Paul holds a BA in History and Philosophy from University College Dublin and an MPhil in International Relations and PhD in History from Cambridge University.
Wiebke Merbeth
Partner
Monitor Deloitte
Wiebke Merbeth is a partner in the strategy consultancy Monitor Deloitte. As an expert in sustainable finance, Merbeth supports the optimal design of sustainable transformation. She has over 15 years of experience in the finance industry, with stints at asset managers at HSBC and BayernLB. Wiebke Merbeth is also a member of the German government’s Sustainable Finance Advisory Board, with the aim of developing Germany into one of the leading sustainable finance locations.
Annika Milz
Head of Institutional Asset Management
Fidelity International
Annika Milz is Co Head of Institutional Asset Management at Fidelity International in Europe and member of the Senior Leadership Team at Fidelity (FIL). She joined the Institutional Asset Management division of Fidelity International in April 2015, first being responsible for advising and servicing financial institutions in Germany. In this context, she has been driving several insurance initiatives in order to improve FIL’s value proposition for SII regulated investors. In 2017, Annika was asked to take the lead of the German Institutional Team, covering Pension funds, Insurers, Foundations and Corporates. Her responsibilities were expanding to include European Institutional in December 2021.
Before joining Fidelity, Annika was responsible for the relationship management with regulated clients like insurance clients and savings banks as well as investment consultants, in the end as a Managing Director, at Sal. Oppenheim in Cologne since 2003.
Andreas Mucke
Managing Director
Circular Economy Accelerator GmbH
Andreas Mucke studied safety engineering at the University of Wuppertal and is a graduate engineer in technical environmental protection. Since December 2020, he has been managing director of the Circular Economy Accelerator of the Circular Valley Foundation. Previously, he was Lord Mayor of the City of Wuppertal from October 2015 to October 2020. From June 2011 until his election in 2015, he was Managing Director of the Wuppertaler Quartierentwicklungsgesellschaft (Wuppertal Neighbourhood Development Company) and from 2000 to 2011, he was Sales Manager Energy and Water for private and commercial customers at the Wuppertaler Stadtwerke.
Kevin Naumann
Partner – Financial Services – Asset Management Consulting
KPMG
Kevin is Partner at KPMG Financial Services – Head of Asset Management Consulting. He is in charge for the process analytics and benchmarking solution iPAC Insights for more than 7 years and therefore is also used to projects with goal of optimizing projects to market- and best practices. Additionally, Kevin is leading the Sustainable finance campaign for Asset Management in Germany and EMA. He led numerous regulatory implementation projects and is used to translate regulatory requirements into effective, stable and efficient processes. Moreover, he has extensive project experience in the strategic interpretation of sustainability issues for asset managers, including as engagement partner for a variety of EU Action Plan implementation projects (e.g. EU Taxonomy, Transparency Regulation, MiFID II) and the BaFin leaflet on managing sustainability risks.
Kevin Naumann holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Goethe University and the Green Belt Lean-Six Sigma.
Roger Naylor
Portfolio Manager
Evli Fund Management
Over 17-years’ experience in global forestry investment and asset management. Created access to forestry investment for institutional investors, family offices and high-net-worth individuals, analysing forestry investment vehicles at a global scale. Able to leverage a global network of forestry fund managers, owners and service providers to create a pipeline of opportunities. Experienced in portfolio management to deliver asset level and fund performance. Proven investment track record having led the detailed evaluation of prospective forestry funds targeting over USD 3.7 billion of commitments, with over USD 725 million subsequently invested by clients. Investment Committee experience combining technical forestry skills, market knowledge and investment analysis.
Tara Nitz
Global Circular Economy Manager
Convestro AG
Tara is a German qualified lawyer with extensive experience in ESG legislation, i.e. regulatory frameworks in the area of climate, energy and circular economy of basic industries.
At Covestro Tara works at the interface of sustainability strategy developement and policies and regulatory affairs. Her focus is on building recycling pathways and frameworks for the plastic industry as well as to increase the use of sustainable feedstock sources for a fossil free plastic transition such as circular bio sources and CCU.
Before joining Covestro at its headquarter in Leverkusen Tara has worked ín the field of energy and climate policy at the Federation of German Industries in Berlin and the German Chemical Industry Association in Frankfurt. Before that she has also gained experience from working at the European Commission, the European Chemicals Agency and the European Parliament.
Dagmar Nixdorf
Vorsitzende des Aufsichtsrats und Gründerin
NIXDORF Kapital
Born and raised in the German city of Paderborn. She originates from a family of entrepreneurs who are consistently committed to supporting society and environment, gained many years of experience in succession and turnaround management in Germany responding to the needs of investors. Founded NIXDORF Kapital AG to gather peers with focus on impact investing and mindful market transformation.
Dr. Johannes Ortner
CEO, Co-Founder and Co-Owner
ALIA
Dr. Johannes Ortner is Austrian and has 27 years of experience in corporate banking and general management of financial institutions in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, last CEO of a regional bank in Tyrol. He left the classic banking system to become an entrepreneur to make a change – and started the project ALIA – Austria´s first impact bank (in formation). Clean funds for clean investments with positive impact on planet, people and economy. He is convinced, that the financial sector must take a stewardship in this transformation. As owner of J.O. Advisory, a consulting firm, he advises corporates in financial, sustainability and strategic matters and is a promotor of cooperatives in western Austria.
Nils Ossenbrink
Managing Partner
Twelve Capital
Prior to joining the firm, Nils was the Global Head – Advisory Solutions and Product Management at EFG Bank AG. From 2000 to 2013 Nils worked for Bank Sarasin & Cie AG in Basel and Zürich. Initially as Management Support of the Private Banking division, in 2002 he joined the management board of the Investment Fund division as the Head of Products and Services. From 2005 to 2013 Nils was the Global Head of Products and also the COO of the Asset Management & Products division and acted as the Chairman of the Group’s Fund companies. From 2013 to 2016 Nils was the CEO of Bank J. Safra Sarasin (Deutschland) AG primarily focusing on restructuring and managing various complex projects. Nils began his career in 1995 as a Management Consultant with ZEB in Münster, a consultancy specialising in the financial industry and was also responsible for establishing and managing ZEB’s Zürich office in 1997.
Dr. Vanesa Rodriguez Osuna
Food Systems Lead
UNEP Finance Initiative
Vanesa leads the engagement and technical work related to a High Ambition Group of the Good Food Finance Network, an initiative composed of public and private financial institutions, including global environmental funds, banks, asset managers, and agri- businesses. She supports members of this initiative to set common and individual targets and a roadmap for implementation to support a transition towards more sustainable food systems, covering impact areas from climate, biodiversity to social dimensions.
She is also senior technical adviser for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in the areas of green technologies, sustainable supply chains and policy instruments.
She had previously worked as senior scientist and project manager, leading the development of a science-based framework for measuring social and ecological impacts of global equities affecting water, food and health systems. This R&D project was successful applied on assets held by a large Dutch pension fund manager in a project sponsored by UBS Sustainable Equities.
Vanesa has worked in various roles as technical advisor, project director, senior researcher for the Advanced Science Research Center (New York), the Center for Development Research at the University of Bonn, the Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Conservation Strategy Fund, RARE, Sequa gGmbH and GIZ GmbH. Since 2014, she is lead author of various assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji
The Executive Governor
Ekiti State Government
Mr. Oyebanji started his career in academia as a lecturer in the Department of Political Science, University of Ado Ekiti, Nigeria where he worked for four years (1993 – 1997), before moving on to the financial services industry, serving as Manager, of Treasury, and Financial Services at Omega Bank Plc (now Heritage Bank) till May 1999, thereafter he commenced an illustrious career in politics and governance.
He is one of the longest-serving political office holders in the Government of Ekiti State, having served for over 12 years in various capacities including:
● Special Assistant (Parliamentary Affairs) to the Governor of Ekiti State (June 1999 – July 2001);
● Special Adviser (Parliamentary Affairs) to the Governor of Ekiti State (Aug. 2001– Sept. 2002);
● Chief of Staff to the Governor of Ekiti State (Sept. 2002 – May 29, 2003);
● Chairman, Governing Board, Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre, Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (June 2009 – Dec. 2010);
● Commissioner, Ministry of Integration and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Ekiti State (December 2010 – December 2011);
● Head, Office of Transformation Strategy and Delivery (OTSD), Ekiti State (December 2011 –January 2013);
● Commissioner, Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning and Service Delivery, Ekiti State (January 2013 – October 2014);
● Secretary to the Government of Ekiti State (October 2018 – December 2021). As Governor of Ekiti State, Oyebanji is driving the socio-political and economic development of the State through his administration’s six-pillar development agenda namely;
● Governance
● Youth development and job creation
● Human capital development
● Agriculture and rural development
● Infrastructure and industrialization
● Arts, Culture and Tourism
His administration, within seven months, has made significant investments in infrastructure upgrades and human capital development. Under his watch, Ekiti State’s strategic partnership with development agencies, federal institutions and private organizations has led to a significant improvement in the economy of the state with tangible improvement in the lives of the citizens.
Oyebanji has earned many awards in recognition of his inspirational life journey as a successful businessman and a devoted public servant.
He has also succeeded in Agribusiness, as he owns a thriving farm which has been in operation for over two decades.
Oyebanji is married and has three children.
Virginie Pelletier
Director ESG & Climate Solutions
Moody’s Analytics
I lead the evolution of Moody’s value proposition in ESG & climate solutions and have specific expertise in CSR, sustainable finance, responsible investment, ESG scoring methodologies, climate risks and regulations.
Currently my focus is ESG integration in lending and transition risks to translate industry needs into Moody’s product capabilities to help you make better decisions.
Virginie Pelletier has joined Moody’s Analytics in February 2022 as director on ESG & climate solutions for Europe and Africa. Her role is to help financial institutions integrate ESG and monitor climate change related risks across their value chain as well as comply with their regulatory obligations.
In my previous position, I was overlooking the implementation of CSR policies at BNP Paribas within the Corporate and Investment Banking arm and designed their Sustainable Finance program to promote sustainability across all operational units. Her team pioneered with the launch of the first sustainability-linked loan and led the first green bond issue for the BNP Paribas Group.
Back in 2014, she worked in the Asset Management industry where she led the development of a range of mutual funds investing in multiple assets. This included the creation of a custom climate friendly index and the launch of one of the first index-linked green bond supporting the transition to a low carbon economy built in partnership with Vigeo Eiris.
Emmanuel Parmentier
Managing Partner
Indefi
Emmanuel Parmentier is a managing partner at Indefi, based in Paris. He built and leads the ESG and sustainability advisory practice for financial investors worldwide. Emmanuel joined Indefi in 2007 and has more than 15 years of experience providing strategic advice to asset managers.
He is a thought leader in sustainable investing, publishing articles and speaking frequently at industry events.
Emmanuel is a graduate of Ecole Centrale Paris in engineering and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales).
Nick Parsons
Managing Director, Head of Research
ThomasLloyd Group
Nick joined the ThomasLloyd Group in 2018. He serves as Managing Director, Head of Research. His scope of responsibility includes the macroeconomic research which underpins our ‘top down’ country selection in the ThomasLloyd Investment Process (TIP), the FX and currency research which informs our Treasury Management. Previously within the firm Nick also defined the policies which set out our approach to Responsible Investment. He now focuses on Thought Leadership in Asia’s energy transition. During a 35-year career in investment banking, Nick held various senior leadership roles in Global Markets Research. Prior to assuming his current position, he served as Head of Research, UK & Europe at National Australia Bank. He also worked as Head of Markets Research at Commerzbank and Global Head of Currency Research at Banque Paribas. Nick is a regular speaker at conferences and events and a frequent contributor to TV and financial media. He holds a degree in Economics & European Studies from the University of Sussex and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragements of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA).
Dr. Moritz Paulus
Investment Director
Trill Impact Advisory
Moritz is an Investment Director in Trill Impact’s Munich office focusing on private equity. He has around fifteen years of professional experience, in private equity, strategy consulting and sustainability-related research. Before joining Trill Impact, he worked in senior investment roles at several German Mid-Market PE funds and at the Boston Consulting Group where he focused on the international energy and resource sector. Moritz started his career as a researcher focusing on the green energy transition working for the International Energy Agency in Paris and the Institute of Energy Economics in Cologne.
Moritz holds a diploma in Industrial Engineering from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in energy and resource economics from the University of Cologne.
Patrick Peura
ESG Engagement Manager
Allianz Investment Management
Patrick manages the engagement program within the Sustainable Investing team for Allianz SE’s proprietary portfolio. This includes engaging on Allianz’s climate ambitions. Allianz has committed their 800 billion euro proprietary portfolio to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 in line with a 1.5° maximum temperature rise. Beyond engaging directly with investee companies, he also directs Allianz’s asset manager engagement program to help align asset managers’ diverse investor stewardship approaches with Allianz’s long-term interests. Additionally, he is co-leading the United Nations-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance engagement activities alongside Jake Barnett at Wespath Institutional Investments. Patrick holds a first-class honours degree in business administration and sustainability, a masters of environmental governance, and an executive MBA. Before joining Allianz in 2018, he worked for Chevron Canada, a fully integrated oil and gas subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, which included roles in finance, business strategy and fuel supply & trading.
Tommy Piemonte
Head of Sustainable Investment Research
Bank für Kirche und Caritas eG
Tommy Piemonte is Head of Sustainable Investment Research at Bank für Kirche und Caritas eG, a catholic church Bank based in Paderborn. He is mainly responsible for the further development, operational implementation and monitoring of the bank’s ethically-sustainable investment strategy. He is also responsible for the associated engagement activities, i.e. the active exertion of influence on companies, states or other investment objects with regard to their sustainability efforts. In this context, he is also the Bank’s representative and a founding member of the European engagement network of institutional investors Shareholders for Change. Above all, his expertise helps the Bank’s institutional clients, such as charitable foundations and church and charitable institutions, to develop and implement an individual, ethically-sustainable investment strategy.
Prior to joining the Bank für Kirche und Caritas, Tommy Piemonte was Head of the sustainability rating agency at imug in Hanover, research and sales network partner of VigeoEiris. Mr. Piemonte studied economics in Nürtingen (Germany) and Rome (Italy). The graduate economist supplemented his experience in sustainability research with many years of experience in the financial market, including as a securities specialist at Deutsche Bank. With this combination of experiences, Mr. Piemonte has written numerous publications on sustainable investment.
Contact details: Tommy.Piemonte@bkc-paderborn.de , phone ++49 (0)5251/121-1141
Daniel von Preyss
Head of Private Equity / Infrastructure
Impax Asset Management
Daniel joined Impax in 2009 and heads Impax’s Private E quity /nfrastructure business. Daniel is a member of the investment committees for each of the New Energy Funds Daniel has significant business and senior transactional experience with blue chip companies within the energy and utility sectors. Prior to joining Impax he was responsible for Babcock & Brown’s Northern E uropean infrastructure investment activities. Prior to this, Daniel was Director in the European Energy and Utilities team at Deutsche Bank with a strong focus on M&A activity in Europe and a member of Citigroup’s Utilities team.
Daniel holds an MBA from Cologne University (Germany) and studied International Business for one year under a scholarship at Sophia University in Japan
Tatjana Puhan
Head of Investments, Co-Head of Research, Execuitve Committee
TOBAM
As Head of Investments, Dr. Tatjana Puhan is responsible for the management of all research and product creation-related projects, ensuring the consistency and application of TOBAM’s patented investment process. In her role, Tatjana is co- Head of Research and Portfolio Management as well as managing the trading teams based in Paris and Dublin.
Tatjana joined TOBAM from Swiss Life Asset Managers where she was Head of Equity and Asset Allocation for Third Party Asset Management. In this role, she was responsible for a number of the company’s flagship strategies, most notably its investment solutions utilising systematic and proprietary quantitative approaches, as well as contributing to Swiss Life Asset Managers’ asset allocation and equity research initiatives. She has more than 15 years’ investment experience, worked at a number of leading asset management and private banking businesses while also bringing a strong academic and research background.
Tatjana holds a Master’s degree in Finance and Business Administration from the University of Hamburg, and gained her Ph.D. in Finance from the Swiss Financial Institute at the University of Zurich, with research fellow appointments at the University of Zurich, Kellogg Business School (Northwestern University) and the University of Hamburg. She is a lecturer in finance at the University of Mannheim and an associated researcher of the Hamburg Financial Research Center and member of the editorial board of the Journal of Systematic Investing.
Hendrik van Rahden
Managing Director
FIRSTavenue
Hendrik is responsible for distribution in German-speaking Europe and is based in Hamburg, Germany. Prior to joining FIRSTavenue, Hendrik co-founded Beit Capital Advisors, a placement agent focused on real assets. Prior to Beit, Hendrik was a senior business development professional within real assets at MPC Capital AG in Hamburg, where he focused on clients in Europe and Asia. He began his career at Allianz Global Investors in 2008, managing global dynamic multi-asset strategies for institutional clients and key accounts.
Hendrik received a BSc (Hons) in Finance from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.
Stephanie Rakels
Chief Development Officer
Aqua-Spark
Stephanie brings in-depth knowledge of the fund and its investment strategy to head Development and Investor Relations at Aqua-Spark. Stephanie has been with A-Spark, the investment vehicle that launched Aqua-Spark, since its inception. As one of the lead investment managers, she oversaw a broad range of investments and helped develop the investment strategy in aquaculture. Stephanie built Aqua-Spark’s Expert Network, a group of fifty of the world’s foremost aquaculture experts. Prior to Aqua-Spark, Stephanie dedicated her talents to a variety of ventures, from running a business to healthcare projects to local, sustainable, and community-run endeavors in East Africa and Tanzania. Her experience working with local communities to develop and create solutions focused on possibilities instead of problems is what ignited her passion for helping SMEs launch and grow.
Olivier Raybaud
Managing Director
SWEN Capital Partners
Driven by his passion for the ocean, Olivier co-founded the Blue Ocean fund to invest in innovations that help regenerate ocean health. Blue Ocean is SWEN’s impact venture capital fund launched in 2021 in scientific partnership with Ifremer, France’s leading ocean science institute, and is the largest ocean impact innovation fund in the world with EUR 170 million. Blue Ocean focuses on solutions to overfishing, solutions to ocean pollution and marine solutions to climate change. Before that, Olivier worked 20 years in international banks with positions in France, Cameroon and China. Olivier is a life science engineer and holds an executive MBA from INSEAD.
David A. Reusch
Managing Director
Missionszentrale der Franziskaner
David A. Reusch is Commercial Director of the Missionszentrale der Franziskaner and Managing Director of the Missionszentrale der Franziskaner GmbH.
He studied business administration at the University of Cologne and graduated with a thesis on „Microcredit market in Germany as a potential field of activity for cooperative banks“.
Since 2007, he has worked as an assistant to the Board of Directors for the Franciscan Mission Headquarters. In addition to the fiduciary management of foundations, Mr Reusch is primarily concerned with the topic of ethical-sustainable investment and is responsible for the „terrAssisi“ investment funds initiated by the Mission Headquarters.
Since 2009, David Reusch has been a board member of the investor community CRIC e.V. (Corporate Responsibility Interface Center) and has been chairman of the board since 2016.
He is also a member of the advisory board/board of trustees of various foundations and non-profit organisations.
Since 2018, David Reusch has been Commercial Director of the Missionszentrale der Franziskaner e.V.
David Reusch is married and has two children.
Nico Rheims
Managing Director
Ardian
Nico Rheims joined the Ardian Real Estate team in Frankfurt in 2017, where he contributed significantly to the success of Ardian’s German real estate activities, first as Senior Investment Manager and most recently as Managing Director. Prior to joining Ardian, he was an Investment Manager at QUINCAP Investment Partners, responsible for real estate and platform transactions. He began his career at Fortress Investment Group in 2010.
DI Hubert Rhomberg
Managing Director
Rhomberg Holding
DI Hubert Rhomberg is Managing Director of Rhomberg Holding GmbH and – now in the fourth generation – in charge of the internationally active Rhomberg Group.
After graduating in engineering at Vienna Technical University Hubert Rhomberg worked for the construction company Strabag for three years before, in 1998, joining his family’s company in his role as Manager of the Civil Engineering department and in charge of developing the Railway Technology division. In addition, he supplemented his practical entrepreneurial knowledge by taking a postgraduate course in Company Management at the University of St. Gallen.
Rhomberg extends his range of activities by actively promoting research projects and giving public lectures on the subjects Resource Productivity, Mobility and Sustainable Company Management. In 2015 he published his book “Bauen 4.0 – From the Ego to the Lego principle”, 2021 he was Co-editor of “Grüne Wahrheiten”.
Martin Richter
Manager
KPMG
Martin Richter is manager at KPMG for sustainability in the alternative investment sector. After completing his dual studies in business administration at Siemens AG, he worked as a junior pension consultant with a focus on alternative investments for Siemens Pensionfond from 2017 to 2020. His focus was on quantitative analysis for portfolio management and active performance and risk monitoring for asset managers. Since 2020 Martin Richter worked as an Investment Manager and was responsible for the steering, selection and monitoring of the Hedge Funds and Multi-Asset UCITS portfolio. In addition, he completed his on the job master studies at the Technical University of Munich in 2022 in Responsiblity in Science, Engineering and Technology with focus on Sustainable Finance.
For more than 2 years, Martin Richter has been increasingly involved with ESG topics on a corporate and portfolio level. He supports the development of sustainability strategies and reporting for financial market participants. His main focus is on the integration of sustainability criteria for liquid and illiquid alternative investment strategies. His core topics are the current sustainability regulations, the development of ESG data structures for portfolio integration and the development of sustainability reporting for regulatory compliance and transparent communication.
Kai Rintala
Managing Director
Taaleri Energia
Kai is the Managing Director of Taaleri Energia Funds Management and has over 21 years of experience in the infrastructure industry. Before joining Taaleri Energia in 2016, he worked for 10 years at KPMG, both in Helsinki and in London, advising public and private sector clients on infrastructure strategy and transactions across energy, transport and social infrastructure. Kai built and led KPMG’s infrastructure business at KPMG Finland with clients ranging from utilities and infrastructure funds to state ministries and construction companies. He has executed over 2 GW of wind transactions as well as transactions in hydro power, electricity distribution and decentralised heat services.
Kai holds a PhD in Construction Economics from UCL and an MSc in Engineering and Industrial Management from Tampere University of Technology.
Dr. Timm Rössel
Managing Partner
Etanomics (Viessmann Group)
Dr. Timm Rössel is Managing Partner of etanomics, a leading energy service provider that belongs to the Viessmann Group.
He has many years of international experience in consulting and planning in the fields of rational energy use and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
He completed his work as a research assistant at the Technical University of Munich in 2013 with a doctorate in the subject area of „Concepts for reducing the energy demand of production facilities at international locations“. With more than 25 national and international lectures and training courses, as well as many other lectures at top-class universities such as the TU Munich, and more than 20 publications, Dr. Rössel is a recognised specialist in his field.
Since 2018, he has been responsible for etanomics, a company that has helped customers reduce energy costs and decarbonize in nearly 1000 projects over the past decade.
Kęstutis Sadauskas
Deputy Director General
DG MARE – European Commission
Kęstutis Sadauskas is a Lithuanian national. He holds Master degrees from Vilnius University in Political Science/International Relations and Geography.
From 1993 until 2006 he worked at the Lithuanian Foreign Service on multilateral issues. In September 2006 Kęstutis Sadauskas was appointed Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Vilnius.
From April 2010 until October 2014 he was Head of the Cabinet of Commissioner Algirdas Šemeta responsible for Taxation, Customs, Anti-fraud, Audit, and Statistics. From November 2014 until March 2022 Kęstutis Sadauskas has been the Director for Circular Economy and Green Growth at the DG Environment of the European Commission.
From 1st April 2022 Kestutis Sadauskas is Deputy Director-General in Directorate- General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission.
Christian Salow
Managing Director
alternative investor information (altii)
Christian Salow, is managing director of altii GmbH, a digital marketing and communication portal based in Frankfurt/Main, Germany. Prior to altii, Mr. Salow served institutional investors with interest, credit and alternative investments from international banks. He is a publicist, moderator and author.
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Nicola Schierz
Principal, Insurance Consulting Lead
Mercer Deutschland
Nicola Schierz is the Insurance Consulting Lead in the Investments Consulting Team at Mercer Deutschland GmbH. Her responsibilities include advising insurance and other institutional clients on the development and implementation of their investment strategy, including responsible investment strategies.
She has more than 15 years of experience in the insurance industry. Prior to joining Mercer, she has been responsible for the client relationship management and the development & implementation of a responsible investment strategy at a leading global insurance company.
Nicola holds an MA in International Business Administration from the University of Hamburg and in International Corporate Finance from the ISC Paris.
Michael Franz Schmidt, CFA
Member of the Board
DVFA – Society of Investment Professionals in Germany
Michael Schmidt is Senior Advisor to the Board of LAIQON AG (previously: Lloyd Fonds AG), member of the supervisory board of Anthos Fund & Asset Management B.V. and managing director of the Green and Sustainable Finance Cluster Germany. In a voluntary capacity, Michael is a member of the Sustainable Finance Advisory Committee of the German federal government, a board member of DVFA, the Society of Investment Professionals in Germany, and a member of the Sustainability Advisory Council at Deutsche Post DHL. Before, Michael served on the executive board of Lloyd Fonds AG as Chief Investment Officer, after he had subsequently been a member of the management boards of Deka Investment and Union Investment. Prior to this, Michael worked in the asset management division of Deutsche Bank, in various roles ranging from portfolio manager to research head and investment team leader. He was also a member of the EU Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance („HLEG“).
Lisa Schmitt
Investment Manager
Rentenbank
Since July 2022, Lisa is an investment manager at Rentenbank, where she is developing the Venture Capital investment activities. Before, she has spent 3 years at KfW Capital as an investment manager for German and European venture capital funds. She focused on Climate Tech, AgTech, FoodTech and Social Impact and created KfW Capital‘s sustainability strategy by initiating a VC-specific ESG and impact framework. She is a strong supporter of the impact investing ecosystem and engages as a mentor for impact start-ups. She was also involved in the development of various products strengthening the VC market (eg. German Future Fund). Prior to KfW Capital, she started her professional career at KfW group’s capital markets department. She has an academic background in Finance at Frankfurt University.
Priscilla Schnepper
Investment Manager, Debt Funds
European Investment Fund (EIF)
Priscilla works as an investment manager on LP investments in (senior) private credit funds across Europe. Within the EIF, Priscilla is also actively involved in the area of ESG/sustainability, especially in the context of private credit investments.
At the EIF since 2016, Priscilla has 10 years‘ experience in private credit fund investment, structured credit products and private equity fund audit at the EIF and Ernst & Young.
Priscilla obtained a double degree in International Business Administration from Reutlingen University (ESB Business School) in Germany and Comillas Pontificial University in Madrid. She is a CFA and CAIA charter holder.
Dr. Ralf Seiz
CEO
Finreon
Dr. Ralf Seiz ist CEO und Inhaber von Finreon. Zudem ist er Lehrbeauftragter an der Universität St.Gallen (HSG) und Mitglied mehrerer Verwaltungs- und Stiftungsräte. Dr. Seiz war Assistant Professor an der Universität St.Gallen (HSG), Gründer und Geschäftsführer einer Beratungsfirma, sowie davor Business Analyst im Bereich Financial Services. Bevor er in Ökonomie promovierte (Dr. oec. HSG), schloss er sein Studium der Physik an der ETH Zürich ab (Dipl. Phys. ETH) und arbeitete unter anderem am CERN in Genf. Dr. Ralf Seiz hat eine langjährige und ausgewiesene Erfahrung im Bereich Asset Management, Pension Finance und Mathematical Finance. Die Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) zählte ihn mehrfach zu den einflussreichsten Schweizer Ökonomen. Dr. Ralf Seiz is CEO and owner of Finreon. He is also a lecturer at the University of St.Gallen (HSG) and a member of several boards of directors and foundations. Dr. Seiz was Assistant Professor at the University of St.Gallen (HSG), founder and CEO of a consulting firm, and before that Business Analyst in the Financial Services sector. Before obtaining his doctorate in economics (Dr. oec. HSG), he completed his studies in physics at the ETH Zurich (Dipl. Phys. ETH) and worked, among others, at CERN in Geneva. Dr. Ralf Seiz has many years of proven experience in asset management, pension finance and mathematical finance. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) ranked him several times among the most influential Swiss economists.
Prof. Dr. Dirk Söhnholz
Sole Owner and CEO
Soehnholz ESG
Prof. Dr. Dirk Soehnholz (1963) is the sole owner and CEO of Soehnholz ESG GmbH, a B2B provider of rules-based model portfolios with focus on pure ESG and SDG, as well as of Soehnholz Asset Management GmbH, the advisor of an Article 9 (SFDR) mutual fund. Dirk is also ESG and SDG Advisor to ALLINDEX, a direct indexing provider, honorary professor of asset management at Leipzig University, and financial blogger (www.prof-soehnholz.com). Previously Dirk worked for The Boston Consulting Group, Feri Alternative Asset, Feri Institutional Advisors, and Veritas Investment among others.
Jelena Stamenkova van Rumpt
Director Responsible Investment
Anthos Fund & Asset Management
In her role as Director of Responsible Investment (RI) Jelena drives the further implementation and development of Anthos’ RI strategy. Through a process of full integration Jelena works with all the departments to ensure they have the right tools for integrating RI in their work. In addition, she is also developing Anthos’ Climate Change approach and Human rights policy. With COFRA Holding, she piloted the Impact Management Project assessment of Anthos’ assets under management and helps clients to develop and implement their RI approach. For those involved in RI innovation, Jelena is a great source of inspiration and a sound interlocutor to discuss portfolios on a strategic level.
Before joining Anthos, Jelena led the transition work of ESG integration from the RI team to the front office at PGGM, a not-for-profit cooperative pension fund service provider based in Zeist, the Netherlands. She worked across asset classes with a special focus on private equity and external management selection and monitoring. She also wrote policies, implemented and engaged companies on the topic of Human Rights and Labour and contributed to the Dutch Pension Fund Agreement on Responsible Investment (IRBC). Before PGGM, she helped the RI team in Aegon further implement RI in their process and finished the LLM International Business Law and Globalization summa cum laude at Utrecht University. Jelena is member of the Advisory board of Net Impact in Amsterdam, offering strategic guidance and supporting the mission to help young professionals broaden their thinking, building networks and scaling their impact beyond individual actions.
Jelena comes from Skopje in North Macedonia, where she graduated from the Faculty of Law and successfully finalized the bar exam by the Macedonian Bar Association. She speaks English, Macedonian and Serbian and has a working understanding of Dutch.
Antje Stobbe
Head of Stewardship
Allianz Global Investors
Antje Stobbe is Head of Stewardship and in this capacity leading Allianz Global Investors’ engagement and proxy voting activities globally. Antje is a member of the DVFA commission Sustainability & Stewardship and the BVI working group on Corporate Governance. She also serves as Deputy Chair of the Corporate Governance Council of the Conference Board. Antje joined Allianz Global Investors in 2019 as a Senior ESG analyst and was focusing on corporate governance and proxy voting for European companies.
Previously, Antje was Head of Stakeholder Management in the Investor Relations team of Deutsche Bank leading corporate governance dialogue with the Bank’s top investors and serving as the key IR contact for Deutsche Bank’s ESG investors. Before joining the IR team in 2013, Antje was Head of Sectors, Technology & Resources at Deutsche Bank Research in Frankfurt, and a member of Deutsche Bank’s Environmental Steering Committee and Climate Change Advisory Board. Antje gained a PhD from Friedrich Schiller University Jena and graduated in economics (Georg-August University Göttingen, University of California, Los Angeles).
Andri Stocker
Regional Director DACH
Clarity AI
Andri Stocker is Clarity AI’s Regional Director in the DACH region with more than 7 years of experience in the sustainability space. Prior to joining Clarity AI he successfully led a VC-backed service & consulting business, working with various international brands on developing and implementing corporate sustainability strategies. With his prior roles at Adtelligence (WEC Technology Pioneer), Deutsche Bank and Julius Bär he combines a deep technological understanding with profound knowledge of the financial industry. Andri holds an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain.
Silke Stremlau
Executive Board
Hannoversche Kassen
Silke Stremlau has been on the board of Hannoversche Kassen, a sustainable pension fund, since 2018 being responsible for the areas of capital investment, sustainability and human resources. Previously she was the general representative at BANK IM BISTUM ESSEN eG. Between 2000 and 2015, she built up and managed the ESG division at imug rating, where she developed extensive expertise in the area of sustainable investment.
Furthermore, she is the Chairperson of the Sustainable Finance Advisory Committee of the Federal Government of Germany and she is also member of the Supervisory Board of UmweltBank AG in Nuernberg
She studied social sciences with a focus on environmental policy at the University of Oldenburg and at the Academy of German Cooperatives (ADG) she obtained a degree in banking management.
Heinz Thomas Striegler
Chairman of the Supervisory Board
Evangelischen Zusatzversorgungskasse (EZVK)
Heinz Thomas Striegler is a fully qualified lawyer and has been involved in sustainability issues in the diverse areas of the church, church funds and church banks for over 20 years. As a co-founder of the Arbeitskreises Kirchlicher Investoren (Working Group of Church Investors) (AKI), an institution of the Protestant Church in Germany, founded in 2008, the topic of ethical-sustainable investment is particularly close to his heart. The guideline for safe and profitable financial investments, which was created for this purpose and considers Christian values and socially acceptable, ecological and generationally just criteria, has proven to be a widely used, effective orientation aid.
Mr Striegler chairs the supervisory board of the Evangelische Zusatzversorgungskasse (EZVK) and is a member of the supervisory board and the sustainability committee of the Evangelische Bank. Furthermore, he is frequently involved in advisory boards and criteria committees of sustainable mutual funds with the aim of further developing their ethical-sustainable investment profile.
Michael Strzelecki, CFA
Managing Director, Business Development, Senior Timberland Portfolio Manager
Manulife Investment Management
Mike is responsible for business development activities in North America and Europe, with a focus on capital formation for the firm’s global timberland strategy. Mike is also involved in new timberland product development and is a member of the Timberland Strategy Team. In addition, he manages investment portfolios and large institutional client relationships. Prior to joining the firm, Mike was a partner at Global Forest Partners, where he was directly involved in portfolio management, valuation analysis, and investment research. Previously, Mike was an equity research analyst at Merrill Lynch, where he covered the forest products industry. Mike is a CFA® charterholder and is a member of the CFA Society Boston.
Education: B.S., Finance, Pennsylvania State University
Joined the company: 2017
Began career: 2005
Torsten Thiele
Founder
Global Ocean Trust
Torsten Thiele is an expert in ocean governance and sustainable blue finance, with over 20 years experience with leading financial institutions. He is an Affiliate Scholar at Research Institute for Sustainability, Helmholtz Centre Potsdam and Honorary Fellow at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK, a Strategic Advisor to the IUCN Blue Natural Capital Financing Facility and Senior Advisor, Blue Finance for the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance, a member of the Advisory Board of Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative and of the Scientific Committee of the Ocean-Climate Platform. He consults with a range of international bodies on ocean solutions and innovative blue finance. Torsten Thiele holds graduate degrees in economics, law, public administration and conservation leadership from the universities of Cambridge, Bonn and Harvard.
Klaas de Vos
Independent Consultant
Ocean Fox Advisory
Klaas de Vos is an independent consultant working on finance for the sustainable development of the ocean. Klaas provides a skill set and point of view at the intersection of conservation, finance and policy. He is passionate about the ocean and has worked on a variety of issues including sustainable fisheries, marine conservation and tackling plastic waste. He has worked for the public and private sector in the developed and developing world, including in Vietnam, the UK, the Netherlands, Colombia, Mexico, Mozambique and Indonesia.
In recent years, his focus has been on the application of sustainable financing to the ocean, finding ways to unlock capital for the transition to a sustainable blue economy and pinpointing what sustainability really means for finance. Klaas has authored a number of publications on the topic of finance for the sustainable blue economy, including The Ocean Finance Handbook for the Friends of Ocean Action and Turning the Tide and Diving Deep, practical guidance for financial institutions on finance for the sustainable blue economy released by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative.
Dr. Philipp Wagner
Executive Director
LGT Capital Partners
Dr. Philipp Wagner (German/Swiss) is an Executive Director at LGT Capital Partners in Pfaeffikon, Switzerland, where he focuses on private debt. Prior to joining the firm in 2017, he set up and managed a mezzanine fund focusing on German SMEs at Altium Capital. Mr. Wagner started his career at Bain & Co and then moved to Metro / Beisheim Group, where he held various roles in business development. He was also a founding member of Metro’s corporate venture fund. Mr. Wagner holds an MA in Finance & Accounting and a PhD from University of St. Gallen (HSG). He is fluent in German, English, Italian and French.
Paul Walentynowicz
Managing Partner
AMA International
I am a specialist in mid-market cross-border M&A and placement services. With over 16 years of experience, I have built a network in the LP and GP community in Europe and the US working both on the buy- and sell-side. Recently, we engaged into the Blue Economy fundraising. Our aim is to fundraise 1B EUR for global Impact investment initiatives in the coming 12 months. We work on development of the global decarbonisation projects, regenerative tourism, green hydrogen matching investors with Green and Blue infrastructural investment projects.
Johannes P. Weber
Geschäftsführer, Bundesinitiative Impact Investing
BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt
Johannes P. Weber is program manager at BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt and mainly responsible for activities in the field of impact investing and Sustainable Finance – an issue he had advanced already at the Eberhard von Kuenheim Foundation and the Bertelsmann Foundation. Among other things, he has contributed to a handbook on impact investing specifically aimed at German foundations and helped implement a pilot fund for Mission Related Investments.
Before joining the foundation sector, he gained experiences in public administration and worked as a researcher at an interdisciplinary research cluster at the University of Frankfurt.
Volker Weber
Chairman of the Board
Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen (FNG)
Since 2019, Volker Weber has been a member of the board of NIXDORF Kapital AG as Chief Sustainability Officer. Activities as managing director and board member at various financial service providers and investment companies. Voluntary work as chairman of the board of the FNG – Forum Sustainable Money Investments e. V.. Volker Weber is responsible for the sustainability strategy in the company and the products. He has a degree in business administration and is the author of numerous studies and specialist publications in the field of sustainable investments.
Kai Wiegler
Sector Economist Marine Biodiversity
and Sustainable Fisheries
KfW Development Bank
Kai Wiegler has an academic background as economist and geologist. He has been working for the German governmental development cooperation around the topics of sustainable fisheries, aquaculture and coastal zone management since 2005. This involved project-planning, implementation support and review missions in more than 40 development and newly industrializing countries. Kai helped in designing the „Blue Action Fund“ and is the sector economist for marine biodiversity and sustainable fisheries of KfW Development Bank for over a year now. In 2020 alone, KfW committed more than EUR 264 million on behalf of the German Federal Government to protect marine biodiversity and promote sustainable fisheries & aquaculture around the world. Out of these funds, EUR 28 million had been provided to help protect and sustainably manage 14 conservation areas spanning around 7,200 square kilometres.
Christian K. Winkler
Managing Partner & Founder
asc impact
Christian Winkler is co-founder and Managing Partner at asc impact, an independent owner-led firm primarily managing sustainable investments in agriculture and forestry. Our investment approach is that the management team will actively manage all projects and aims to ensure sustainable value creation operationally. Before joining asc, Christian worked for some 12 years in venture capital, Partner at btov Partners, and in banking at Credit Suisse. Christian holds double master’s degree in business and economics from the Universities of Maastricht, Rotterdam, and CEMS. In 2022 the asc impact forestry fund celebrated a successful first closing with a subscription volume of € 26.1 million. The fund invests under strict ESG criteria in a diversified portfolio of up to 20 sustainable forestry projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. All projects are actively managed by the asc impact management team, combining decades of agriculture and forestry experience with dedicated expertise in venture capital, start-up, and legal.
Inka Winter
Chief Sustainability Officer
Fürstlich Castell’sche Bank
Inka is Chief Sustainability Officer für Fürstlich Castell’sche Bank an independant and family owned private bank in Germany . Since July 2022 she is responsible for the ESG strategy and the integration of sustainability into the banks businesses and processes. Before joining Fürstlich Castell’sche Bank Inka was the CEO of ESG Screen17, a Frankfurt based start up with focus on ESG data and sustainable investing.
At ESG Screen17 Inka and her team built a scalable ESG business including digitalised and automized ESG data analytics processes, agile product development and sales network.
Inka has 20+ years experience in the financial industry working for M.M. Warburg and Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt and Singapore, where she held various positions in investment banking, wealth management and asset management. Her professional focus is on Sustainable Finance and Sustainable Investing with experience in strategical ESG integration into bank and asset management businesses including non-financial reporting, ESG regulation and governance as well as product development.
Norman Wirth
CEO and Bord Member
AfW Bundesverband Finanzdienstleistung
– born 1968, married, 3 children
– studied political science, Korean studies and law in Berlin
– subsequently worked, among others, at the German Embassy in Seoul/South Korea and in a law firm in Canada
– Specialist lawyer for insurance law, financial economist (bbw), data protection officer (TÜV®) – Founder and senior partner at Wirth-Rechtsanwälte
– Member of the Executive Board since 2004 and Managing Director of the professional association of independent financial investment and insurance brokers AfW Bundesverband Finanzdienstleistung since 2006
– Several times already expert in the German Bundestag and with individual parliamentary groups in the Bundestag to regulation topics of the financial and insurance industry
– Member of the Federal Working Commission on Private Pension Plans of the CDU’s Economic Council Germany
Sylvia Wisniwski
Managing Director
Finance in Motion
Sylvia oversees risk management, strategy, and planning, along with Finance in Motion’s Luxembourg branch. She has more than 25 years’ experience in impact investing in over 30 countries.
Her career began at the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) working on agri-finance projects across the globe, after which she served as a consultant for multilateral development banks and held various management positions for consulting companies and asset managers. Sylvia was instrumental in developing the blended finance model for the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) together with KfW Development Bank in 2005, as well as structuring other impact investment funds such as the eco.business Fund in 2014. Sylvia holds both an M.A. in Political Science and Sociology and an MBA from Tübingen University as well as an M.A. in International Studies from the University of Miami, Florida.
Barbara Wokurka
Head of Impact Investing
FINVIA Family Office
Barbara Wokurka is heading the impact investing area at the FINVIA Family Office. Before she worked more than 13 years for Quoniam Asset Management where she was responsible for the international business development. Prior to that she was leading the asset management area of Porsche AG. She started her career at Deutsche Bank with responsibilities in the Corporate Finance area.
