Regional Roundtable for Sustainable Finance in Africa and Middle East

Hussein Abaza
Senior Advisor, Minister of Environment, Egypt

Dr. Hussein Abaza is currently the Senior Advisor to the Egyptian Minister of Environment. Prior to holding this position he has worked for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) from 1982 up to 2009. During his tenure with UNEP he was responsible for formulating and overseeing the implementation of the UNEP Economics and Trade Programme, led the team which conceptualized and launched the UNEP Green Economy initiative in October 2008, and functioned as the Special Assistant to the Executive Director of UNEP. Positions while at UNEP also included Chief of the Economic and Trade Branch, Coordinator of the Committee of International Development Instituitons on the Envrionment (CIDIE), and Coordinator of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN). Founded the Centre for Sustainable Development Solutions (CSDS) in 2011 with the main objectives of promoting green economy and sustainable development, with particular focus on Egypt and the Middle East. The Centre aims at achieving its objectives through technical support, research, training, community based activities, and public awareness campaigns. As an Advisor to the Minister of Planning, Follow-up and Administrative Reform and Head of the Sustainable Development Team launched in 2018 a process for revising and updating the 2030 Sustainable Development Strategy for Egypt.

Prior to joining UNEP, functioned as Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Physical
and Urban Planning project in Saudi Arabia, Managing Director of the Center of Planning and Architecture in Cairo, Egypt, and Director of the Islamic Investment company, Central and Northern Region, Saudi Arabia. Apart from functioning as the Senior Advisor to the Egyptian Minister of Environment, he is currently a Fellow of the Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology and a member of the Environment Council of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture.
During the course of his professional career he provided technical assistance and supported country projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Projects aimed at strengthening national capacities to conduct integrated assessment as a tool to integrate environment and social considerations in macroeconomic and secotral policies, develop a package of policy measures, including economic instruments for implementing mutually supportive environmental, social, and economic policies. He also participated and delivered keynote statements and attended a series of national, regional and international workshops and events on sustainable development and “Green Economy”. Meetings and workshops were convened in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Florence, Hamburg, Islamabad, Marrakech, Rabat, Qatar, and Tunisia.
During his long and extensive professional life he worked as a consultant/advisor for a number of international organizations, including the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Economic Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the European Union (EU), Plan Blue, the Union for the Mediterranean (UFM), the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED), the Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE), and the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ), SWEEP-Net, SWITCH-Med programme, and the League of Arab States.
He prepared and contributed to a series of publications on environmental and integrated assessment, the interface between trade and environment, valuation of environmental and natural resources, the use of economic instruments for environmental management, and the Green Economy for the Arab Region, and manuals on sustainable development, integrated policy making, environmental assessment, green economy, environmental economics, and trade and environment.

Amro Abouesh
Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, Tanmeyah

Amro Abouesh brings a wealth of experience in the microfinance field. Having previously been Head of Microfinance and SMEs in the Bank of Alexandria, INTESA-SanPaolo, Amro has been involved in building out structures to support the sector from the ground up. Prior to this, he was the Executive Advisor for Microfinance, Personal Loans and Middle Markets to the Chairman of Banque du Caire. He has also held the post of SME Assistant to Egypt’s Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade.

Amro completed his post graduate studies at both the ISMA Center, University of Reading in the UK and The London Business School. Amro received his BA from Cairo University’s Faculty of Economics and Political Science.

Jesica Andrews
Climate Change, UNEP FI

Jesica Andrews joined UN Environment in June 2013. She focuses on climate finance and governance and has held positions in the Africa Regional Climate Change Team, Global Climate Adaptation Team, and most recently on UNEP FI Climate Change Team where she coordinates various climate change and investor initiatives.

Prior to joining UN Environment, she worked as a project management assistant for a public private partnership on behalf of the US government, and as a paralegal for a civil rights law firm.

She holds a BA summa cum laude in Political Science and Economics from the University of New Mexico, and a Master of Finance from the University of Cambridge.

Nuran Atef
Social and Environmental Risk Officer, Commercial International Bank (CIB)

Nuran Atef is a sustainable development advocate with a diverse background, currently holding the position of Social and Environmental Risk Officer at the Commercial International Bank in Egypt. Atef earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Architectural Engineering, and Master’s Degree in Sustainable Development from the American University in Cairo (AUC). Atef joined CIB in 2014, as a Sustainable Development Officer, and got exposed to a spectrum of sustainability external initiatives in the banking sector, while her current role exposes her to other internal initiatives. Atef’s experience in CIB entails the development of first GRI report for CIB, transitioning the bank’s premises to become energy efficient, launching the first corporate-tailored carpooling application in Egypt with ‘Raye7’ , the developent of Social & Environmental Policy Guide, Green Finance products, delivering sustainability training, as well as participating in leading CIB’s role in the development of the recently launched UNEP-FI’s Principles for Responsible Banking. Atef can be reached at Nuran.atef@cibeg.comor n.atef@aucegypt.edu

Butch Bacani
Programme Leader, UN Environment Programme’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative

Butch Bacani leads UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative (PSI), the largest collaboration between the UN and the insurance industry. Endorsed by the UN Secretary-General and insurance industry CEOs, the PSI is a global framework and initiative for the industry to address sustainability issues—as risk managers, insurers and investors—and to build resilient, inclusive and sustainable communities and economies.

Butch leads activities supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the Financial Stability Board’s climate risk disclosure recommendations (TCFD). These include a global initiative to develop “Insurance Sustainable Development Goals”, the largest gathering of insurers to pilot the TCFD recommendations, and working with the California Insurance Commissioner to develop the world’s first sustainable insurance roadmap. He co-led the development of the first global sustainability guide for the insurance business, led the creation of the Insurance Industry Development Goals for Cities, forged the PSI’s partnership with the world’s inclusive insurance community, and co-led the creation of UNEP’s Sustainable Insurance Forum for supervisors and regulators. Butch is involved in the InsuResilience Global Partnership, Vulnerable 20 Group of Finance Ministers, California Climate Insurance Working Group, Insurance Development Forum, and Microinsurance Network. In 2020, he was included in InsuranceERM’s inaugural list of the most influential people leading and shaping the insurance industry’s response to climate change.

Butch led the global process that created the PSI in 2012, and UNEP’s insurance and investment programmes from 2006 to 2010, including activities with the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment Initiative (PRI). He has shaped global insurance industry initiatives to address climate change, disaster risks, tobacco risks, illegal fishing and plastic pollution; and to protect natural and cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Butch has authored pioneering studies on sustainable insurance and responsible investment. Previously, he was in the insurance industry for over a decade, working with leading insurers and reinsurers worldwide.

Toussaint Badolo
Deputy Director of Enterprises and Financial Institutions, West African Development Bank (BOAD)

David Barker
Senior Manager-Banking and Insurance, Financial Services Regulatory Authority, Abu Dhabi Global Market

David joined the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM in March 2018 as a Senior Manager in the Authorisation department responsible for Banking and Insurance applications. David is also responsible for leading or supporting a wide range of initiatives, including the ADGM insurance strategy, developing the FSRA’s risk-based regulatory approach, and implementing ADGM’s Sustainable Finance Strategy Pillar Four initiative to create a Sustainable Finance Hub and Ecosystem.

Prior to joining the FSRA, David was with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) of the Bank England and its predecessor organization, the Financial Services Authority, since 1999, where he led teams supervising insurance groups, including major international groups.

Gregg Brill
Deputy Director: Green Economy Programme, Department of Economic Development and Tourism, Western Cape Government, South Africa

Phd (environmental and geographical sciences), University of Cape Town, South Africa

Gregg is the deputy director of the Green Economy Programme within the Provincial Department of Economic Development and Tourism. He is responsible for developing projects and programmes that aim to increase economic water resilience in the Western Cape. Gregg contributes to a number of other programmes within provincial and local government departments, including the development of financial mechanisms and models toward improving economic water resilience at municipal level, sustainable water management plans, the enhancement of economic options along the Berg and Breede Rivers, the implementation of ecological infrastructure options and many more. Prior to joining DEDAT, Gregg worked in academia and the private sector, with experience in sustainability, natural resource management, and rehabilitation and disturbance ecology. Gregg has a PhD in Environmental and Geographical Science from the University of Cape Town, where his researched focussed on the uses, values, impacts and management of water-related ecosystem services in Cape Town and Table Mountain National Park.

Craig Davies
Head, Climate Resilience Investments Energy Efficiency & Climate Change Team, EBRD

Dr Davies lead EBRD’s climate resilience investment operations in emerging markets from North Africa to Central Asia. He leads a team that works with businesses, financial institutions, utilities and government agencies to understand how they are affected by physical climate risks, and to integrate climate resilience into their business operations. Covering the infrastructure, corporate and financial sectors, the business area led by Dr Davies entails using climate change information to inform innovative investment design, technical cooperation and targeted policy dialogue. Prior to joining the EBRD in 2006, Dr Davies worked for the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), after starting his career in environmental impacts research. Dr Davies holds a PhD in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London.

Dr Barney Dickson
Director of Strategy and Policy at the Global Center on Adaptation in Rotterdam and Co-Director of the Global Commission on Adaptation

Dr. Barney Dickson has been working on climate change adaptation for over ten years. He currently holds a dual position as Director of Strategy and Policy at the Global Center on Adaptation in Rotterdam and Co-Director of the Global Commission on Adaptation. Between 2015 and 2018 he was Head of the Climate Change Adaptation Unit at UN Environment in Nairobi. Before moving to Nairobi, he was at UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, UK. There he headed the Climate Change and Biodiversity Programme and was subsequently appointed Director of Programmes.

Dalia Akmal Nour El Din
Sustainability Communication Specialist, The Arab African International Bank (AAIB)

Dalia Nour El Din is an ambitious member of the society who shows that empowering youth can be of great benefit to the future of the financial industry. She believes that in order for the world to take a step forward, every member of the society has to contribute in this change.

As part of her own contribution to this more responsible future, Dalia Nour El Din started working in the field of sustainable finance as she believed in her ability to make great impact in this scope of work. Whether by having an academic background from working as a Teacher Assistant in the Modern Arts and Science University (MSA) and her constant pursuit of academic achievements, or by having a powerful background in marketing and communications from her career at Arab African International Bank, she managed to combine her knowledge and expertise into an output that greatly contributes to the start of a new era in the financial industry.

Dalia graduated from the Modern Arts and Science University in 2013, with a bachelor degree in “Marketing and international business” and started working in AAIB in 2017, after her career as Teacher Assistant. Working on the Principles for Responsible Banking prepared by UNEP FI and 28 banks around the world including AAIB, she became an active member of the core group working on the project, which gave her the opportunity to be part of the change in the financial industry she wanted to see as she had an impactful input in the general meetings such as the one that occurred in Singapore in 2018.

Dalia is surely an addition to the powerful youth of today and is surely expected to make a difference wherever she contributes her knowledge and expertise.

Wendy Dobson
Head, Group Policy, Advocacy, and Sustainability, Standard Bank

Wendy Dobson is the Head of Group Policy Advocacy and Sustainability in Group Risk for Standard Bank. Prior to joining Standard Bank in 2009, Wendy held executive positions at the Department of Trade and Industry and the National Economic Development Labour Council (NEDLAC). She is an alumnus of the University of the Witwatersrand, with a BA Honours (Industrial Psychology), a Masters of Management Degree (Public and Development Management). Wendy recently completed a Masters of Arts (Applied Ethics for Professionals) focusing on the ethics of corporate lobbying. In her current role at Standard Bank, Wendy leads the bank’s approach to advocacy, stakeholder engagement, sustainability and shared value with the aim of building trust between the bank and its stakeholders. Her particular areas of interest are Business Ethics, Business and Society, Corporate Citizenship, and the political role of corporations in emerging markets.

Adel El-Ashmawy
Head Credit Underwriting, Commercial International Bank (CIB)

Adel El-Ashmawy is a certified banker with over 15 years in the field of Corporate Credit Risk. His banking journey began in CIB in 2001 enriching his experience across a wide range of key economic sectors; tourism, food and beverage, textiles, automotive, pharmaceuticals, as well as cement and building materials. El-Ashmawy is currently the Head Credit Underwriting and was previously the Head of Social and Environmental Credit Risk at CIB. His rich experience has allowed him to lead various projects such as developing Industry Analysis Methodology, Cross Border Exposure System, and CIB’s Social and Environmental Management System. Amongst El-Ashmawy’s role in social and environmental risk management is his contribution to the bank’s strategy with regards to capitalizing on the bank’s role in mainstreaming the notion of Sustainable and Responsible Banking. This notion is spread through the development and implementation of Social and Environmental Risk Policies, the development of Green Finance products, conducting extensive trainings on social & environmental risks internally for CIB staff members, as well as attending international training representing and showcasing CIB’s experience. Amongst the latest projects led by El-Ashmawy at CIB is the launch of the first in-house developed fund for a Green Finance Credit Line, which aims to promote energy efficiency and alternative energy usage by the bank’s Corporate and Retail clients. This credit line has been implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy as well as the United Nations Development Programme, to produce a comprehensive credit line entailing technical support, financing, and a list of trusted suppliers.  El-Ashmawy can be reached on adel.elashmawy@cibeg.com

Dr Wadid Erian
Advisor, League of Arab States, Egypt

Dr. Wadid Erian Professor of soil science at Cairo University since 2001, Senior Advisor for Sustainable Development – LAS since 2016; UNDESA consultants, member of UNISDR G-STAG since 2017 and GAR advisory group since 2018; Programme Coordinator of the League of Arab States – Climate Risk Nexus Initiative (LAS-CRNI) since 2015. Worked as a Senior Advisor, CCA and DRR at LAS (2014- 2016), consultant at World Bank (2016) and Senior Advisor at UNDP in the ACRI (2014 – 2015); Director of Land and Water Uses division in the Arab Center for the studies of Drylands and Arid zones – ACSAD, (2002 – 2014); Member in UNISDR – GAR Advisory Board (2010- 2015); Lead Author in the IPCC/SREX WGII report (2009 – 2012); and Advisor and author of the World Bank Flagship Report, (2010 – 2012). Has a long list of applied researches and studies that covered more than 100 different countries in the world on the topics of “Drought, Land degradation, and Vegetation Cover, Land use planning and Natural Resource studies”.

Mohamed Farag
Chief Global Transaction & Digital Banking Officer, CIB Egypt

Mr. Farag brings in 30 years of experience in banking , in a several functions supporting  various business lines from Financial Institutions, to Cash Management, Custody Operations and Custody Management until he was appointed Chief Global Transaction & Digital Banking Officer at CIB. The first Digital Officer in Egypt and amongst a very few in the MEA region.

He started his career with Citi Bank, to join Arab African Bank briefly before he moved to CIB where he has held different key positions.

Farag has joined various reputable schools such as INSEAD and MIT Sloan where he complemented his vast hands on experience in both Operations and Business by certification and extensive training and development efforts in the areas of Business and IT Management.

Other Positions held

Furthermore, he is a Board Member in different financial associations.

Walid Fawzy
Head of Credit and Investment Exposure Management, Commercial International Bank (CIB)

Mr. Walid Fawzy has more than 28 years of experience in the fields of Banking and Finance. He has started his career in the Commercial International Bank (CIB) in 1991 as a Senior Credit Analyst in the Risk Department and then he moved to EFG Hermes in 1994 where he joined their Investment Banking arm where he raised more than EGP 700 million (Equity and Debt) for both public and private sector companies. Fawzy was also responsible for conducting various financial due diligences and valuations using various valuation techniques.

In 2001, he joined Fincorp Investments one of the leading financial consultants in Egypt where he was responsible for conducting feasibility studies covering different industries for local and regional clients, as well as raising necessary funds for projects under study by allocating equity investors and/or bank finance. In 2004, Mr. Fawzy rejoined the Commercial International Bank where he moved between various departments including Workout Loans department where he overlooked distressed loans and has recovered EGP 500m during his tenure. Afterwards, Fawzy joined the Corporate Credit department where he was responsible for growing the portfolio of industries under management by almost EGP 1bn. In 2010 he joined the Risk Group again as the Head of Credit & Investment Exposure Management where he currently manages the department’s performance towards quality and efficiency, oversee and control the credit quality bank wide, recommend and implement changes to Credit Policies, and oversee non-performing exposures and adequacy of credit provisioning bank wide.

Remco Fischer
Climate Lead, UNEP FI

Remco Fischer joined UNEP FI in October 2006 and coordinates the Initiative’s activities on climate change (through the UNEP FI Climate Change Working Group). These aim to increase the understanding of both the implications of climate change on financial performance and the roles of the finance sector in addressing climate change; as well as to advance the integration of climate change factors, both risks and opportunities, into financial decision-making. Activities include research, advocacy, awareness raising, capacity building and the development of guidelines and tools for financial institutions.

Prior to joining UNEP FI, he worked as an investment management assistant for the German Development Finance Institution (DEG; KfW Group of Banks), designing structured deals in infrastructure project finance (predominantly renewables).

He holds a British BA Honours in Business Administration and Economics from Napier University in Edinburgh, a Spanish Licenciatura from Alicante University and a German Diploma (MSc equivalent) from Aachen University of Applied Sciences.

H.E. Dr Yasmine Fouad
Minister of Finance, Egypt

Abdul-Majeid Haddad
Deputy Regional Director, UN Environment Wes Asia Office, Kingdom of Bahrain

Mr Haddad has over 22 years of expertise in the fields of sustainable development, environmental management and climate change. He has been responsible for overseeing the development of regional programmes to respond to national and regional priorities for environment protection, climate change, pollution control and resource efficiency. Earlier, he played a leading role in scaling up climate finance in the region and assisting countries meeting their obligations under UNFCCC and Paris Agreement and developing projects to reduce green gas house emissions and build resilience through adaptation planning and implementation. Mr Haddad worked at UN Environment Headquarters in Kenya as Global Task Manager for Capacity Building for implementation of Rio Conventions on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Biological Biodiversity (CBD) and Combating desertification (UNCCD). Between 1998-2003, he coordinated a large regional programme for marine conservation of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia after serving Sustainable Development Advisor with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Yemen. Before joining the UN, Mr Haddad was Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Sanaa’ Yemen. Mr Haddad holds a Doctorate degree in Biology from the University of York, UK.

Khaldoun Hajaj
Head of Public Affairs and Sustainability for Africa and Middle East, Standard Chartered

Khaldoun Hajaj is Head of Public Affairs & Sustainability for Africa and Middle East at Standard Chartered since 2017. Prior to this appointment he served as Chief of Staff and Board Secretary at Safanad Global Investments. From 2011 to 2015 Khaldoun headed up Government Affairs for the Africa, Middle East and Turkey regions at the Dow Chemical Company. He has 15 years of Australian public policy and advocacy experience. This includes five years as an Advisor in the Parliament of Australia, seven years as a financial services, sustainability and consumer protection researcher at one of Australia’s leading Law Schools. He was also a leading lobbyist in the $2Trillion+ Australian pension fund system where he was part of numerous climate change reporting initiatives. Khaldoun has degrees in Law and Political Economy from the University of Sydney and UNSW.

Gajanana Hedge
Team Leader, Sustainable Development Mechanisms, UNFCCC

Gajanana Hegde leads the team to develop standards and methodologies for GHG quantification of mitigation actions within the sustainable development mechanism programme of the UNFCCC Secretariat in Bonn. He has over 15 years of professional experience in renewable energy, energy efficiency and waste management. His area of expertise includes climate finance. He is contributing to development of integrated CDM standards for cities, standardized baselines in the refrigeration and air-conditioning sector and an ISO standard related to climate finance. He is also engaged in the work of IFI Technical Working group on harmonization of GHG standards and ICAT Sustainable Development Guidance. His areas of interest include crowdfunding and blockchain applications for climate action. He holds a doctorate in renewable energy applications.

Stuart Hutton
Chief Investment Officer, Simply Ethical

With experience across retail, construction, banking and executive search, Stuart established his own wealth management business over 12 years ago to provide advice and support to high-net worth individuals, families, and companies. In 2015, Stuart joined Simply Ethical as their Chief Investment Officer, where alongside his fellow Directors he is driving an innovative and fresh approach to managing Sharia-observant ethical investments. With a keen interest in new technology including FinTech and Blockchain, he is supporting organisations in this exciting area to find new ways of developing the financial and banking sectors, especially around sustainability and financial inclusion.

Stuart is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for securities and Investments (CISI) and a qualified Financial Planner with the Personal Finance Society. He holds the Islamic Finance Qualification and is an External Specialist Advisor to the CISI on Islamic Finance. At the end of 2017, he was appointed as one of the first Emissary’s of the Responsible Finance & Investment Foundation (RFI).

Over recent years, he has spoken at many events across the UK, Europe, Middle East and South-East Asia, including the World Islamic Banking Conferences (WIBC) and The Responsible Finance and Investment Summits (RFI), focusing on topics such as the integration of ethical and Islamic finance, the role responsible finance has in sustainable investing and the development of technology in this sector, in particular Blockchain.

As well as writing his own articles, Stuart contributes to many periodicals and papers regularly and has written sections for books across Europe and Malaysia on responsible and Islamic finance, and financial technology. Outside of financial services, Stuart holds several Trustee and Non-Executive positions on Boards for a variety of organisations in housing, education and is working with many organisations focusing on achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Mostafa Mahmoud Ibrahim Ismail
Sustainability Communication Executive, The Arab African International Bank (AAIB)

Mostafa Mahmoud is part of the youth who strives towards an evolution of the financial industry working towards the advancement of the world to a more responsible era, where people are considerate of the scarce resources which are needed in order to allow future generations to live in prosperity. Due to his diverse and global background obtained from living in different megacities including Paris, Geneva, and of course Cairo, the belief that a global movement was necessary built a passion for him to work towards a better future.

In 2016, Mostafa Mahmoud graduated from the American University in Cairo with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a minor in Economics. In order to acquire the necessary background of the financial sector, he started working in Price waterhouse Coopers on the year of his graduation. Working with different industries, allowed him to notice that the environmental and social issues presented to this generation can be best tackled by banks, who are the pillars of the modern economic layout.

In 2018, he decided to start working towards the change he was aiming for by joining Arab African International Bank as it is the first bank that initiated the sustainable finance movement in the Middle Eastern Region. Working on the Principles for Responsible Banking prepared by UNEP FI and 28 banks around the world including AAIB, he became the leader of two of the sub-groups working on the project, which gave him the opportunity to be part of the change in the financial industry he wanted to see.

Mostafa Mahmoud’s achievements will not stop at this point as his career is only starting and he shows the continuousness and perseverance to reach the level of Equality, Global Responsibility, and overall Prosperity he always aimed for.

Kishan Khoday
Team Leader in the Arab Region Climate Change, DRR, Energy and the Environment, UNDP

Dr. Kishan Khoday is with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where he currently serves as UNDP Team Leader in the Middle East and North Africa region for Climate Change, DRR, Energy and the Environment. Kishan has held senior management and advisory roles at UNDP for the past 18 years, with assignments in China, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. During this time, he led development and implementation of over $500 million of grant initiatives to help countries transition to sustainable development.  UNDP is the UNs largest provider of grant assistance for climate change and the environment, with over $4 billion of grant projects today in over 140 countries on issues of climate change, disaster risk reduction, sustainable energy, chemicals management, biodiversity conservation, land degradation and water security.

Heather Linton
Senior Environmental and social Risk Manager, FirstRand

Heather Linton holds Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology, Anthropology, and Environmental and Geographical Science,  and a Master’s degree in Business Management: Environmental Management, a postgraduate diploma from the Frankfurt School of Finance in Renewable Energy Financing, and has completed the Cambridge University Programme for Sustainability Leadership Sustainability Practitioners amongst other professional courses.

Heather has 17 years working experience in the field of sustainability and environmental management. Prior to working at FirstRand Limited, she has been employed by the South African KPMG Sustainability team, The National Occupational Safety Association (NOSA), and Murray & Roberts Steel Division.

In this time Heather has conducted and managed projects relating to the evaluation and establishment of systems for the review of environmental and social risks in lending and private equity transactions, consulting on sustainability reporting, verification and assurance of sustainability related KPI’s and reports, consulting on  environmental, health, safety and social risk management, auditing of operational occupational health, safety and environmental management systems and environmental due diligence engagements in the field of mergers and acquisitions.

Heather joined FirstRand in 2009 and her current position relates to the establishment and maintenance of internal processes to asses and mitigate all related environmental and social risks in lending, investment, and equity, the disclosure of these risks, and the facilitation of positive impact finance initiatives within the FirstRand Group across the various business lines of lending, insurance, investment and infrastructure management. Her current focus areas are Climate Change Risk and TCFD requirements, Natural Capital Risk, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Impact Measurement and Reporting, and ESG Risk Management.

David Lunsford
Head of Development, Carbon Delta

David Lunsford works as Head of Development for Carbon Delta, where he designs the regulatory and other aspects of the research tool, manages client feedback on the research and represents Carbon Delta at events. He previously worked for several years as a consultant on greenhouse gas trading issues in Europe and China. He also worked as Policy Director for the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) in Geneva. David possesses several years of experience bringing diverse stakeholders together on varying levels, encouraging new climate change strategies that make sense for business, investors and policymakers alike.

Will Martindale
Director of Policy and Research, Principles for Responsible Investment

Will Martindale is Director of Policy and Research at PRI, the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment. Will leads PRI’s global regulatory affairs and public policy programme, the flagship fiduciary duty project jointly with UNEP FI and the implementation of PRI’s sustainable financial system activities in national policy reform. Will has a background in banking, joining JPMorgan’s graduate programme in June 2004. In September 2010, Will joined French bank, BNP Paribas, as a business manager for their credit trading desk. Will holds a MSC in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and a BSC in Maths from King’s College London.

Dorothy Maseke
Group Head of Risk and Compliance, ICEA LION Group

Dorothy is currently the Group Head of Risk and Compliance at ICEA LION Group. The Group, with interests in Life Assurance, Health and Property insurance, Life Assurance, Asset Management is one of the largest financial services Groups in East Africa. Dorothy started her career at KPMG within the Risk Consulting department, later moving to the financial services sector where she has been for the last 10 years. She holds senior leadership roles in a number of industry forums including the Founding Chair of the Institute of Risk Management (IRM) East Africa Regional Group. Dorothy is a Committee member of the IRM UK Special Interests Group as well as a Task member of the UNEP FI Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Insurer Pilot Group. Dorothy is also a member of the Governance and Nomination Board Committee of World Vision Kenya. Dorothy is a Fellow of the Swedish Institute Management Programme (SIMP), a global programme on Leadership and Sustainability for Young African leaders. She has most recently been named one of the Top 40 Under 40 women in Kenya (2019). Dorothy was the Risk Manager of Year at the 2017 & 2018 Think Business Insurance Industry Awards as well as a Finalist at the Thompson Reuters Innovation Awards 2018.

Simon Messenger
Director, 2degrees Investing Initiative

Mukiri Muthuri
Head of Credit Analysis, Commercial Bank of Africa

Hannah Ndarwa-Karuri
Head of Legal and Human Resources, Credit Information Sharing Association of Kenya

Hannah is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya with over 10 years’ experience in Banking, both in credit and legal departments. Before venturing into the banking sector, Hannah was a practicing advocate specializing in family and commercial law. Currently, Hannah is the Head of Legal and Human Resources at Credit Information Sharing Association of Kenya. She is also the Manager, Sustainable Finance Project at CIS Kenya. The project entails building capacity of CIS Kenya members on sustainable finance and supporting them towards measuring SF risks in their organizations and for their customers.

Puleng Tumelo Ndjwili-Potele
Banking Project Coordinator, UNEP FI

Puleng is the Banking Project Coordinator at UNEP FI. She has been involved in developing the Principles for Responsible Banking, and works with the Founding Banks and various stakeholders to drive the Principles for Responsible Banking initiative.
She started her career as a commercial law attorney. She left practice to work in the legal departments of Investec and then Standard Bank. She spent four years in Standard Bank’s Real Estate Legal department, working on property development transactions. Thereafter, she moved to Standard Bank’s Regulatory Advocacy team, where she worked with a broad range of stakeholders on policy issues. This role involved engaging with policy makers and regulators to provide feedback and input on policies and legislation that they were developing.
Puleng has obtained a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Laws, and Masters degree in Public Policy from Wits University. She is passionate about sustainable development, and working towards achieving the objectives of the SDGs in order to realise an equitable and sustainable future for all.

Anders Nordheim
Ecosystems and Land Use Lead, UNEP FI

Dr Mohammed Omran
Executive Chairman, Financial Regulatory Authority Egypt

Mohammed Omran is the Chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority, the single Regulatory Authority for Non-Banking Financial Institutions in Egypt and a Professor of Finance at the Arab Academy for Science and Technology. Prior to his recent appointment, he was the Executive Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange for 6 years. He was also the Chairman of the Federation Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges (FEAS). He served as a Vice Chairman for Operation of the Insurance Holding Company for one year and the Vice Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange for four years from 2006-2010.

Professor Omran holds an MSc from Cairo University and Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Plymouth. UK. He was a visiting Professor in several research and academic institutions such as University of Plymouth, University of Oklahoma, the World Bank, University of Laval, and Vaasa University. He served for several years as an Economist at both the Arab Monetary Fund in Abu Dhabi and the International Monetary Fund in Washington D.C. He was an advisor to the Minister of Investment and an Acting Executive Director of the Egyptian Institute of Directors.

Professor Omran had been awarded several research grants and prizes. Recently he was the Winner of the Capital Market Personality of the year 2017 in Africa. In the same year, he was one of 9 selected globally and the First and Only Egyptian to get the Distinguished Hubert Humphery Leadership Award. Professor Omran was a Fullbright Scholar and he served as an International Board Member at the Privatization Agency of Kosovo for 5 years from 2009-2014.

Professor Omran specializes in financial markets, corporate governance, corporate finance and privatization concentrating on the MENA region. He served as reviewer for more than a dozen of Economics and Finance Journals. He authored and co-authored more than 40 papers and his work appears in several international Economics and Finance Journals such as: Journal of Economics and Business, Journal of Financial Research, Journal of Comparative Economics, Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, World Development, International Review of Law and Economics, Multinational Finance Journal, International Review of Financial Analysis, Journal of Investing, Emerging Market Review, International Journal of Business, Review of Accounting and Finance, International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Finance, and Global Finance Journal.

Wole Oshin
Managing Director, Custodian Investment Plc

Wole is the founder and Managing Director of Custodian Investment Plc., a financial services group with interests in Life Insurance, General Insurance, Pensions and Trusteeship. He is an industry leader with over thirty (30) years’ experience and has at various times been a member of the Presidential Committee on Pension Reforms, Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association, Council Member of the West African Insurance Companies Association (Ghana) and External Lecturer – West African Insurance Institute, Banjul, The Gambia. He sits on several Boards including the International Insurance Society, New York as well as Council member of the African Insurance Organization (Cameroun), Nigerian Insurers Association and Advisory Board Member of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (United Kingdom). He has received numerous awards including nomination as “African CEO of the Year” by African Reinsurance Corporation.

A graduate of Actuarial Science and a Chartered Insurer by Profession, he holds the Doctor of Finance (Honoris Causa) and is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, The Risk Managers Society of Nigeria and the Association of Investment Advisers and Portfolio Managers. He is a past President of the Lagos Business School Alumni Association (LBSAA), as well as an alumnus of the Harvard Business School.

He spends his free time doing philanthropic work through the WATO Foundation which runs the WATO Group of Schools. Wole is a firm believer in the building and transformation of the economy through the development of Risk management and Insurance.

Chris Perceval
Director, Head of Business Development EMEA (Financial Institutions) at Trucost, part of S&P Global

Gareth Philips
Manager of the Climate and Environmental Finance Division, African Development Bank

Gareth is Manager of the Climate and Environmental Finance Division in the African Development Bank’s Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth Complex based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Gareth has over 25 years’ experience in climate change and sustainability. Trained as a forester with degrees from the Universities of Aberdeen and Oxford, he has worked in a wide variety of sectors on GHG accounting, inventory verification, the Clean Development Mechanism and Emission Trading Systems. The Climate and Environment Finance Division sources climate finance from the GCF, GEF, CIF and bilateral donors. Gareth is currently working on the development of a range of new instruments and initiatives to mobilize finance for low carbon climate resilient development in Africa including the Adaptation Benefits Mechanism, the African Financial Alliance for Climate Change and the creation of an African commercial forestry fund.

Nehru Pillay
General Manager – Research and Intelligence, Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa

Bas Rekvelt
Manager, Financial Institutions Africa, FMO (Dutch Development Bank)

Bas is manager of the Financial Institutions Africa team at FMO (the Dutch Development Bank) since November 2015. In this role he is responsible for the financial institutions (including microfinance) debt portfolio but also for all non-financial activities such as capacity development and sector initiatives. Since 2007 Bas gained extensive deal sourcing, execution and relationship management experience at FMO’s financial institutions department and the syndications team. He closed numerous landmark transactions and opened new markets mainly in Asia and Latam.  Prior to FMO, Bas moved from ING’s corporate clients’ group to Triodos International Fund Management. At Triodos he was responsible for building and monitoring a microfinance portfolio and for managing an investment fund for small scale renewable energy projects.

Bas was the driving force behind FMO’s first Future of Finance conference, which is a 2-year recurring event. In 2018, the 5^th edition was organized, bringing together FMO’s clients and partners from all over the world.

Musa Salah
Head of Environmental and Sustainability Management, Ecobank, Togo

Musa Salah is the Group Manager and Head, Environmental and Sustainability at the Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Lome-Togo. Prior to this, he was a Regional Account Manager, United Nations, Agribusiness and Climate Initiatives in the International Organisations Department of Ecobank. Before joining Ecobank in 2008, he worked at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), with field postings in Ethiopia and Nigeria, from 2003-2008.

Musa is a member of International Association of Impact Assessment (IAIA) and also serving on the Ghana National Climate Change Committee. He has contributed to a number of Policy reports on the Environment and Sustainable Development nexus, including National Councils for Sustainable Development in Africa: A Review of Institutions and their Functioning, UNECA (2005); and Ghana Policy Advisory Series on Climate Change, Africa Adaptation Programme, EPA-Ghana (2011).

He holds MSc degree in Environmental Management, Sustainable Development option, from University of Surrey, UK. He was a Fellow at the UNEP Risoe Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development, Copenhagen, hosted by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, (2011).

Dr. Shahira Abdel Shahid
Senior Advisor to Chairman for Investor Protection, Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), Egypt

Dr. Shahira Abdel Shahid has 35 years of experience in the financial services sector of Egypt including providing advisory services to the regulator of non-banking financial institutions in Egypt, several chairmen of the Egyptian stock exchange, investment banks, and development banks. Her expertise covers various areas i.e. investor protection and education, strategic planning, review of laws, policies, and regulations of financial markets, new product development, financial inclusion, governance & sustainability, alliances & mergers of global exchanges, privatization of stock exchanges, gender diversity, liaising/coordinating with international financial institutions; in addition to part-time teaching.

Dr. Shahira Abdel Shahid is currently the senior advisor to the Chairman of the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) focusing on investor protection.

Dr. Shahira Abdel Shahid earned her master’s and PhD degrees in finance, from the universities of Strathclyde and Aston, in the United Kingdom. She holds a BA and an MBA in Business Administration, with highest honors, from the American University in Cairo, Egypt.

Judith Sidi Odhiambo
Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, KCB Bank

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.

Eric Usher
Head, UNEP Finance Initiative

Eric Usher currently heads the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative, UNEP FI, a global partnership bringing together the UN with 230 banks, insurers and asset managers working to develop the sustainable finance and responsible investment agendas. Eric oversees governance, strategy and day-to-day management of UNEP FI’s work programme and global network development. Over the years UNEP FI has established some of the most important sustainability oriented frameworks within the finance industry, including the Principles for Responsible Investment (2006), the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (2012) and work now underway on the establishment of Principles for Responsible Banking. Since joining in 2015, Mr. Usher has focused on accelerating the deep integration of sustainability risks into financial practice, including addressing climate change, natural capital loss and human rights abuses, as well as building out the frameworks for positive impact finance needed to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Eric sits on several industry bodies including as UN representative on the Board of the Principles for Responsible Investment, as a member of the Evaluation Council of the French sovereign green bond, as Director for the impact fund REPP Africa and founder of the Seed Capital Assistance Facility.
Prior to leading UNEP FI, Mr. Usher has over twenty years of experience in the low carbon sectors, spanning technology commercialisation in Canada, solar rural electrification in Morocco and financial sector development across emerging markets. During 2011, Mr. Usher worked on the establishment of the Green Climate Fund and led efforts to create its Private Sector Facility. Eric has been an editor of the Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment report published annually with Bloomberg and was lead author for finance of the IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources. Before joining the UN, Eric was General Manager of a solar rural electrification company based in Morocco.

Liesel van Ast
Membership and Regional Co-ordination Manager, UNEP Finance Initiative

Liesel is responsible for engagement with banks, insurers and investors, regional coordination and training. Before joining UNEP FI in July 2016, she was Programme Manager of the Natural Capital Declaration (now the Natural Capital Finance Alliance), a joint initiative of UNEP FI and the NGO Global Canopy Programme. She developed a technical work programme and raised funds for collaborative projects with banks and investors to help strengthen management of environmental risks and opportunities. She managed projects to develop innovative tools and methodologies to integrate natural resource and environmental issues into financial products and services. From 2007- 2013, Liesel was Research Editor at Trucost, the environmental research provider. From 2005-2007 she was a Writer and Online Editor for the leading UK environmental business journal The ENDS Report. She holds an Investment Management Certificate; MSc in Business Strategy, Politics and the Environment; and Certificate in Environmental Management.

Bennie van Rooy
CEO (Acting), Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa

Bennie is a qualified South African chartered accountant with diverse financial, executive management and entrepreneurial skills. His personality and professional skills are geared to add value to an environment that is growing and expanding. He is an excellent enabler of ambitious businesses and individuals embarking on a growth path.
He completed his internship at PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2000, where he specialised primarily in IT, Construction and Engineering industries. He further obtained experience in mergers and acquisitions as well as a variety of risk and financial management disciplines at Barclays Africa Group (Absa Bank) during a 6-year career. Bennie was appointed to the position of Group Financial Director of the JD Group (a JSE listed diversified retail and consumer finance business) with effect from May 2010 and held this position until March 2013.

He was then promoted to the position of Chief Executive Officer of JD Consumer Finance (a division of the JD Group), a Johannesburg-based consumer credit business.
He joined the Land and Agricultural Development Bank with effect from June 2015 as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director. During this period the Bank positioned itself as a destination of choice for domestic asset managers, concluded numerous multilateral funding agreements, restructured significant distressed asset exposures, early adopted the IFRS9 (Financial instruments) accounting standard, voluntary adopted Basel II and III principles and enhanced the development effectiveness of its lending activities.

Bennie was appointed as acting Chief Executive Officer of the Land Bank during December 2018. In addition to this role, he is an Executive Director of the Group’s Insurance subsidiaries and is the Chairperson of the Executive Committee and a number of sub-Committees.

He has a strong track record of successes that include the restructuring of bank and corporate Balance sheets, successfully implementing ERP systems, product development (debt and consumer finance assets and insurance products), mergers and acquisitions, distressed asset restructuring, developing and promoting talented staff to executive positions, implementing innovative funding and debt structures and the implementation of the Basel II and III capital management and funding principles.

Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan
Head of Sustainability, Access Bank