Ivani Benazzi de Andrade
Sustainability Superintendent, Bradesco Seguros (Brazil)

Ivani Benazzi de Andrade is the Sustainability Superintendent at Bradesco Insurance Group, acting in the field since 2017, leading projects such as planning for climate change, sustainable businesses, diversity and inclusion, volunteering, insurance education, sustainability innovation.

In 1984 she started her career at Bradesco Bank, going through different fields. Started in retail and 3 years later in 1987 was transferred to the area of Fiscal Auditing of Bradesco Bank, acting as Fiscal Auditor. Ten years later, she started to work as a buy side investment analyst, specialist in commodities companies at BRAM – Bradesco Asset. In 2007, she became Department Manager at the Department of Market Relations at Bradesco Bank, managing the fields of Investor Relations, Socio-environmental Risks and Sustainability.

She is a graduate in Business Administration, post-graduate in Financial Administration from Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, holds an MBA in Capital Markets from IBMEC – SP and is currently concluding a Masters in Sustainability at Fundação Getúlio Vargas São Paulo(FGV).

Ivani is a member of the commissions of sustainability and innovation at CNSEG, participates in the ASG Integration Commission and the Inclusive Insurance Commission of CNseg(National Confederation of Companies of General Insurance, Private Pension and Life, Complementary Health and Capitalization), in order to accompany the integration of ESG questions in the sector’s operations and the overseeing of the Inclusive Insurance development. She actively participates in discussions on ESG and Climate Change matters promoted by UNEP FI – Principles for Sustainable Insurance and also in the discussions surrounding Microinsurance Network regarding the incentive for the development of the inclusive insurance market directed at low-income persons and small and medium enterprises.

Antoni Ballabriga
Global Head of Responsible Business, BBVA (Spain)

Antoni Ballabriga is Global Head of Responsible Business at BBVA. He reports directly to the Board of Directors. His mission is to ensure that people are systematically placed at the decision-making processes. He assists the CEO in proposing Responsible Banking policy and defines its plans, and is responsible for its implementation & monitoring. He works mainly as second line to challenge and give support to all areas to embed this policy in their operational models. This includes the design of customer solutions to marketing and sales, customer relations & complaints; sustainable finance integrating environmental & social opportunities & risks; reputation monitoring & risk management; integrated report; community investment.

He is CEO of Momentum Social Investment and professor at ESADE Business School. Former President of DIRSE, Spanish Association of CSR Professionals and Former President of SpainSIF, Spanish Forum for Socially Responsible Investment. Antoni holds a Degree in Business Sciences and MBA from ESADE Business School. He has studied at Harvard Business School and is First Mover Fellow at The Aspen Institute.

Vincent Damas
Group Head of CSR, CNP Assurances (France)

Vincent Damas is the Group Head of Corporate Social Responsibility for CNP Assurances. In this role, he leads the company’s efforts to embed and integrate sustainability throughout the organization, including in its investment strategy and underwriting practices. He is involved in the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance as a member of the reporting track. He is also a member of FFA’s (French Insurance Federation) sustainable development board and chairman of G11’s (French Bank-Insurance Federation) sustainable development working group.

He is a senior insurance professional and qualified actuary with 15 years of experience in the insurance industry. Before joining CNP Assurances where he held different senior positions, he worked for the French Insurance Supervisory Authority (ACPR). He holds a Master of Science from Ecole Polytechnique and from ENSAE.

Gareth Hewett
Head of International Public Relations and International Investor Relations ESG, Ping An Group (China)

In ESG, Gareth leads a team in Hong Kong and works with the Ping An Group ESG Team in mainland China to promote international ESG standards and their adoption in the Group companies and subsidiaries. Ping An was the first asset owner in China to become a signatory to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). Ping An is also a member of the pilot group of financial institutions in China and the UK in the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). Ping An has an A+ rating in Hang Seng’s sustainability assessment and is included in Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Benchmark Index. Ping An has an BBB rating in the 2021 MSCI ESG assessment, a Low Risk rating in the 2021 Sustainalyics assessment, a B+ rating in Refinitiv’s ESG assessment, and a B rating from the international Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the highest rating granted to financial companies in mainland China.

Patty Karuaihe-Martin
CEO, NamibRe (Namibia)

Ms Patty Karuaihe-Martin is the Managing Director of the Namibia National Reinsurance Corporation Ltd (NamibRe), a position she has held since 2014. Ms Karuaihe-Martin has more than 28 years of work experience in the financial sector after having worked in various financial institutions which include PWC (Partner/Director within the Strategic Advisory, Risk and Corporate Governance as well as Tax Leader). Ms Karuaihe-Martin has also worked for public institutions such as the Ministry of Finance, Telecom Namibia, TransNamib and the University of Namibia.
Ms Karuaihe-Martin’s work experience includes serving on Trustees and Boards of Public Enterprises as well as Insurance industry bodies. Currently, Ms Karuaihe-Martin serves on the OESAI Board as the Chairperson, is an Executive Committee Members of the Africa Insurance Organisation (AIO) Committee, a Trustee on the UNAM Foundation Board as well as Chairperson of the JP Karuaihe Trust Fund.

Ms Karuaihe-Martin has extensive experience and expertise in areas of Insurance, Reinsurance, Taxation, Internal Audit, accounting and finance, Business strategy, project management, Valuations, Advisory Consulting, Risk, control and fraud and Corporate Governance.

Ms Karuaihe-Martin’s other accolades includes two awards for 2017 Africa’s Most Influential Women in Business and Government awards in the Public Enterprises sector category and received a honouree award at the 2017 EMEA Women to Watch Awards for her transformational work at NamibRe. Ms Karuaihe-Martin’s was also a finalist in Namibia Business awards.

Ligia Noronha
UN Assistant Secretary-General and Head of UNEP, New York Office

Ligia Noronha is the UN Assistant Secretary-General and Head of UNEP, New York Office, an economist with over 30 years of international professional experience in promoting environmental sustainability.

She was appointed in April 2014 as Director of the UN Environment Programme, Division of Technology, Industry and Economics – now known as the Economy Division. The Division works to shift economies from brown to green with a strategic focus on decarbonizing, decoupling, and detoxifying. Ms. Noronha acted as Lead Director of two of the seven UN Environment’s sub-programmes, namely chemicals and waste, and resource efficiency, and leads the emerging agenda on Environment/Pollution and Health. Until 2018, she also led the climate change sub programme.
Prior to joining UN Environment, Ligia Noronha worked in The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) as Executive Director of Research Coordination and Director of the Resources, Regulation and Global Security Division. She has published on issues related to energy and resource security, climate change, India’s environmental and coastal policy, responsible mining, coastal tourism and resource and environmental federalism.

She holds a Masters in Economics from the University of Bombay, a Masters in Sea Use Law, Economics, and Policy, and a PhD from the London School of Economics.

Sung-hyun Park
Head of Strategy and Sustainability, Shinhan Financial Group (South Korea)

Park Sung-hyun was appointed as Shinhan Financial Group head of the strategy and sustainability in January 2020. Prior to that, he served as the head of Shinhan Financial Group’s strategic planning team, the head of Shinhan Bank’s institutional customer division, and the manager of Shinhan General Research Institute.

The Group CSSO is responsible for both strategy and sustainability for the entire Group, including its Bank, Investment, Asset Management and Insurance subsidiaries, and takes the role as the leader in Shinhan’s ESG efforts. Under the leadership of the Group CSSO, Shinhan Financial Group became the first Korean financial institution to declare and implement TCFD-aligned disclosures, proactively drafted and joined the Principles for Responsible Banking with its global peers, and stipulated the Shinhan Financial Group Action Principles towards Climate Change. In the year 2020, the Group CSSO further pushed the Group towards sustainability by, for example, helping Shinhan Life Insurance join the PSI, promoting Shinhan Bank to join Equator Principles, supporting Shinhan BNP Parisba asset management to declare TCFD and fortifying the Group-wide governance system to promote ESG with the establishment of the CSSO Council for Sustainable Management. In October 2020, He led the Shinhan Financial Group to commit to net-zero carbon emission “Zero Carbon Drive” for the first time in the East Asian country.

As the CSSO of a financial institution in South Korea, Park Sung-hyun faces many challenges in promoting the Group’s eco-friendly financial strategy. “I truly believe that we need more domestic best practice cases in climate finances, and that we need to further elevate domestic standards so that it is well in line with global standards.” Shinhan’s mission is ‘Building a better World through Finance’. Based on this mission, he hopes to spread a positive influence and bring about positive changes for various stakeholders with UNEP FI

Judith Sidi Odhiambo
Group Head Corporate Affairs, KCB Group (Kenya)

Judith Sidi Odhiambo occupies the position of Group Head-Corporate & Regulatory Affairs at KCB Group Ltd. Ms. Odhiambo received a graduate degree from United States International University (Kenya) and an undergraduate degree from Daystar University.

Valerie Smith
Chief Sustainability Officer & Managing Director, Citi (USA)

Val Smith is Managing Director and Citi’s Chief Sustainability Officer. She joined Citi in 2004 and oversees Citi’s global sustainability initiatives, including leading the bank’s Sustainable Progress Strategy and $100 Billion Environmental Finance Goal. Val also serves as an advisor and spokesperson on sustainable finance, climate risk, stakeholder engagement, ESG integration and sustainability trends towards a low carbon economy.

Prior to joining Citi, Val spent a decade working in the environmental sector, including the National Audubon Society, Brainerd Foundation, and the Houston Advanced Research Center. She began her career with the U.S. Peace Corps, where she served for two years in Honduras. She serves on the boards of the UN Global Compact US Network and the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, and is a member of the Aspen Institute Leaders Forum. Val earned her MBA from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and her BA from the University of Virginia.

Günther Thallinger
Member of the Board of Management, Allianz (Germany)

Günther Thallinger joined Allianz Group in May 2009. He has been a Member of the Board of Management of Allianz SE since January 2017, responsible for Investment Management and the Center of Competence Life & Health. In January 2018 he additionally assumed responsibility for steering ESG topics within Allianz.

Until his appointment to the Board of Management, Günther Thallinger acted as CEO, and before CFO, of Allianz Investment Management SE and was Chairman of the Allianz Investment Management Board. Before joining Allianz, he was principal at McKinsey&Company.

Günther Thallinger, born in Austria, graduated with a BSc from the Technical University Graz and a MSc from the Technical University Vienna in technical mathematics. He holds a PhD in applied mathematics from the Technical University Vienna.

Mauricio Velasquez
Coordinator of E&S Management Program for Financial Institutions, CAF (Ecuador)

Mauricio has over 8 years of experience as Principal executive of the Environmental and Climate Change Department at CAF (Latin American Development Bank). He has been the head of the Strategic Program of Environmental and Social Management for financial institutions (PGASIF). Moreover, since 2015 Mauricio has been co-chair of the Latin American Task Force UNEP FI, and promoter of the Protocol of Sustainable Finances of the Banking of Ecuador. His career has a remarkable background in terms of sustainability and environment protection. He has participated as member of the main group that elaborated the Management Plan for the Galapagos National Park and he worked at Galapagos National Park as a Coordinator of Investigation and Development Projects. Additionally, he was the Director of the Environmental Area at the Municipality of Guayaquil for over four years and the Sub-secretary of the Natural Capital Department at the Environment Ministry of Ecuador. He strongly believes on the necessity to create resilient and low carbon economies to improve the livelihood of the Latin American citizens. He holds a Master degree in Environmental and Forest Biology at SUNY (State University of New York). More of his biography here.