Richard was appointed as Aon’s Global Head of Climate Strategy in the fourth quarter of 2021. In this role he is responsible for driving Aon’s customer focused strategy in respect of products and services for climate. Prior to this appointment Richard led Aon’s UK Global Broking Centre – a Specialty and Wholesale insurance advisory and brokerage business, serving clients and Aon offices in over 150 countries throughout the world. Richard is a former director of Aon UK Limited and the London Market Group (LMG). He also served on the Board of the London and International Insurance Brokers’ Association (LIIBA) 2018-2022 (as Chair between 2020 and 2022). His current market appointments include serving as a member of the LMG’s Data Council, the Technology and Transformation Advisory Panel of the Council of Lloyd’s, and the Executive Action Committee of the Sustainable Markets Initiative Insurance Taskforce.

Tom Dickson became CEO of New Energy Risk in 2015, bringing more than 25 years of experience in the insurance and reinsurance industry, including executive and underwriting leadership positions in the US, Europe, and Asia. He has a highly-respected track record of leading companies that respond to market opportunities with creative solutions grounded in high-quality analytics, underwriting, and risk assessment. Prior to leading New Energy Risk, Tom held a variety of senior executive positions at leading insurers and reinsurers, notably as CEO and chief underwriting officer of the Centre Group, a $10B reinsurer that pioneered innovative insurance and reinsurance products to address high-value business risks and support financing. Tom also founded and was CEO of Meetinghouse LLC, a private firm specializing in investment management as well as capital and strategic planning, ratings management, and underwriting for the insurance, reinsurance, banking, and structured credit markets. Tom has served on the boards of a variety of public and private companies, including Flagstone Re, Paragon Insurance Services, Reformation Insurance Services, and as an advisor to Cellcontrol.

Holger Sandte is a senior economist (PhD) with 25 years of experience in in the financial sector. He works as Chief Analyst in Country, Sector and Bank Risk at EKF, Denmark’s Export Credit Agency, where he covers European countries. The transactions he is involved in range from SME exports to project financing for offshore wind parks. Former positions in macro and financial research at WestLB and Nordea. Moreover, he dealt with government debt and financial regulation at the Danish Ministry of Finance. Since 2019 external faculty at the DIS Study Abroad in Scandinavia, Copenhagen.

Alex Brazier, Managing Director, is Deputy Head of the Blackrock Investment Institute (BII). The institute leverages BlackRock’s expertise and produces proprietary research to provide insights on the global economy, markets, geopolitics and long-term asset allocation – all to help clients and portfolio managers navigate financial markets.

Alex helps to oversee all of BII’s activities and ensures that BII integrates research insights on portfolio construction, economics and markets with the long-term, whole-portfolio perspective that BlackRock’s clients need today. He leads BII’s efforts to support the firm’s sustainability agenda and guides economic and markets research to deliver thought-provoking and actionable investment insights for clients.

Prior to joining Blackrock in 2021, Alex served as Executive Director for Financial Stability at the Bank of England and was a member of the United Kingdom’s Financial Policy Committee. He was responsible for macro and market risk analysis, stress testing, Brexit preparations and policy measures to increase the resilience of the UK financial system. Latterly, he oversaw the development of climate stress testing in the UK and the design and execution of market stabilisation measures in the covid crisis. Alex spent more than 20 years at the Bank of England, serving also as Chief of Staff to the Governor and as a macroeconomist.
Alex earned an MA degree in economics from the University of Cambridge and an MSc in economics from the University of Warwick.

As CEO and co-founder of Kita, Natalia is passionate about three things – fighting the climate crisis, restoring and respecting the power of nature, and using insurance as a key accelerator for positive change. Prior to founding Kita, Natalia worked for 15 years as a business development and strategy specialist within the legal sector. Her experience working with large corporates on their climate change-related challenges inspired her to take the leap into entrepreneurship to help drive change faster. She was accepted to Carbon Thirteen, the venture builder for the climate emergency. Natalia believes working together makes us stronger, and nowhere is that more true than the climate crisis.

In his role as Senior Advisor within the Bank of England, Michael Sheren provided counsel and independent challenge to senior BoE Management on critical risk, governance and operational matters within the financial markets. Michael has been one of the Banks leaders in the area of climate risk in the financial system. As part of his climate work, he Co-Chaired the G20 Sustainable Finance Study Group with China, is a UK delegate to the NGFS and a contributor to the digital green bond work within the Innovation Hub of the Bank of International Settlements. Michael was also a co-founder of the BoE’s Fintech Accelerator. Michael is actively involved in the global greentech and greenfintech sectors. He sits on the board or mentors C-Suite leaders within firms advancing sustainable technology. Michael is passionate in the belief technology can enable the real economy and financial markets to transition to a more sustainable world at pace and scale. Michael holds Master’s degrees from Harvard, The London School of Economics and New York University and a BA from the George Washington University.

Glenn is a Director at Howden M&A. Prior to joining Howden M&A, Glenn led the environmental practice at Chubb, overseeing underwriting, claims and product development. At Howden M&A, Glenn specialises in placing environmental insurance, with a particular focus on insuring complex soil and groundwater indemnities. Glenn has an honours degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Wollongong (Australia) and a MBA from Anglia Ruskin University. Outside of work Glenn enjoys running and spending time in the mountains.

Alien Pauw works as Director at PGGM Investments, in the Credit & Insurance Linked Investments (CILI) team and within that focusses on Credit Risk Sharing transactions. The CILI team manages a dedicated mandate, currently around €6.1 billion in size, which invests in tailor-made bilateral risk sharing transactions with financial institutions. Alien joined the CILI team in January 2020, after having worked at both PGGM Investments in the role of Investment Risk Manager, and ABN AMRO Bank as Portfolio- and Credit Risk Manager with a focus on the Energy, Commodities and Transportation sectors. PGGM is a not-for-profit cooperative pension fund service provider with origins in the care and welfare sector and has the ambition to provide for good pensions in a liveable world. PGGM offers clients pension management, asset management and management advice, and manages around € 241 billion (June 2022) of pension assets.

Ms. Whitehouse is a Managing Director and founding member of Newmarket. She is also the Lead Portfolio Manager for IIFC III. Her primary responsibilities are the origination, structuring, and management of investments. Prior to founding Newmarket, Ms. Whitehouse served as a Director at Mariner Investment Group. She has led the origination and structuring for multiple SRT investments, and is a frequent speaker at various industry conferences. Prior to joining Mariner, Ms. Whitehouse served as an Analyst at Cohen & Company and completed the White House Internship Program. In 2019, Private Debt Investor named Ms. Whitehouse one if its “Rising Stars.” Ms. Whitehouse earned her BA in Political Science with Honors from Yale University in 2011 and her Masters of Liberal Arts with a focus in Sustainable Development from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018. Building on her professional experience, her master’s thesis explored capital management practices at multi-lateral development banks.

Tamar Joulia is Senior Advisor at the IACPM and is based in Brussels. Tamar holds various engineering & business management degrees from universities in Europe. She first worked in the infrastructure construction and in the cable manufacturing sectors and joined banking to develop a modern risk management framework for lending, investment and trading books. She was in charge of leading the Credit Portfolio Management function of a global bank-insurance firm, developing solutions for risk, capital and liquidity management, and of leading Credit Capital Markets business during the Global Financial Crisis.

Bio to come.

Bridget Gainer brings a unique perspective to civic life with more than 25 years of experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She is the vice president of global public affairs for Aon and a commissioner on the Cook County Board. Her career at Aon has spanned finance and strategy. Most recently, Gainer has led the effort to bring apprenticeships to the financial services sector through the launch of Aon’s Chicago Apprenticeship Program. In January 2017, Aon partnered with Chicago City Colleges to hire 26 young men and women from neighborhoods across the city as apprentices in Aon’s Chicago office, where they receive a competitive salary and on-the-job training. Gainer was elected to the Cook County Board in 2010 and has brought both finance credentials and a strong commitment to Chicago to lead on several fronts. Gainer’s first act as a county commissioner was to create the Cook County Pension Committee. As chairman, Gainer has led the charge to find a pension reform solution that was fair to both taxpayers and the workforce. She also started and chairs the Cook County land bank, the region’s most comprehensive response to the foreclosure crisis. The land bank is a social enterprise with 400 homes in development and works with more than 100 community-based developers. Gainer is a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana and has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Most recently, and with the support of United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Bridget launched a Chicago chapter of Off the Sidelines in Chicago to encourage more women to ‘take their ideas to action.’ She has quickly grown the organization to 2,500 members.

Dr Nina Seega is the Research Director for Sustainable Finance at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). She leads a broad portfolio of engagements across a variety of sustainable finance themes, including nature-related finance. Nina has worked with De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) on the financial impact of disruptive energy transition, collaborated with the South African National Treasury and Banco de Mexico on embedding environmental scenarios into financial risk frameworks, and was the knowledge partner for the G20 Green Finance Study Group in 2016 and 2017. Previously, Nina was the Head of the London Traded Products Desk for Dresdner Kleinwort. In addition to her role at University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, Nina is an academic visitor at the Bank of England, as well as a member of the Strategic Advisory Board on Sustainable Finance at the British Standards Institute, the Sustainable Finance Scientific Council at S&P Ratings, and the Board of Directors at the Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance.

Kamal Dalal is an associate in the London office of Latham & Watkins and a member of the Derivatives and Structured Finance & Securitization Practices. Ms. Dalal regularly advises clients on structured finance and securitization transactions across a range of asset classes, including SME and consumer loans, auto loans, point-of-sale receivables, trade finance receivables, and residential and commercial mortgages. She has worked with a number of fintech clients, including in connection with the financing of European government-backed SME loan portfolios, as well as banks, asset managers, funds, insurers, and corporates. She also has experience advising clients in relation to OTC derivative transactions, synthetic securtizations, and structured hedging solutions. Ms. Dalal has experience advising clients on regulatory matters and co-authored the UK chapters of Chambers & Partners Securitisation Global Practice Guide 2021. Prior to joining Latham, Ms. Dalal worked at a Magic Circle law firm, where she regularly advised and was seconded to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA).

Tom Stoddard is a Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Global Investment Banking, specializing in insurance and financial services. He has extensive advisory experience, covering hundreds of transactions in M&A, restructuring, takeover defense, private equity, shareholder relations, IPOs and capital markets, plus operating experience in performance management, cost cutting, finance transformation, capital management and cultural change. Tom brings together a range of perspectives from a 35-year, international career as banker, lawyer, CFO, consultant, and public company director. He led Blackstone’s financial services advisory business from 2008 to 2014, including serving as Lead Global Coordinator of AIG’s $182 billion rescue and recovery. Tom joined Bank of America Securities in 2021 after seven years working as a Group CFO, first for Aviva (a globally systemic important insurer – GSII – with ~$500 billion total assets) and then Athora (the Apollo life insurance consolidation vehicle in Europe), as well as serving as a Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Company. As CFO he drove ratings upgrades at both Aviva and Athora, while improving capital ratios and cash generation. Tom has dealt with regulators across the globe and held roles approved by the UK’s Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as well as the Dutch National Bank (DNB) and the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA). He started his career as an asset based commercial lender at PNC Bank, and then worked as a corporate and securities lawyer with Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Tom holds a JD with Honors from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review, and a BA with Distinction in Economics from Swarthmore.

Ramona Dauner is a key member of Citi’s Sustainability & Corporate Transitions Group, with particular focus on harder to decarbonise sectors and their transition towards net zero. She has been with Citi’s Sustainability & Corporate Transition team since its formation in 2019. Ramona joined Citi’s Corporate Investment Bank in 2010; prior to joining Citi, she has worked in Business Development at HSH, M&A at Deloitte and Equity Research at Commerzbank. Ramona holds a master’s degree in International Management from the University of Reutlingen / Northeastern University in Boston.

Steven E. Seitz is the Director of the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. FIO monitors all aspects of the insurance industry and develops federal policy on prudential aspects of international insurance matters, including representing the United States at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). FIO also administers the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program. FIO is also authorized to collect and disseminate data and information from the insurance industry. Steven is a non-voting member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council. At the IAIS, Steven is a member of the Executive Committee and serves as Vice Chair of the Macroprudential Committee. Steven also represents FIO at the Sustainable Insurance Forum. Steven previously served as the Deputy Director of FIO. Prior to joining FIO, Steven worked in Treasury’s Office of the Assistant General Counsel (Banking and Finance). Previously, Steven served as Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Steven holds a B.A. from Cornell University and a J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School.

Camille joined Kensington in 2013 and works in Capital Markets. She focuses primarily on managing the securitisation programs, the new origination warehouse and the derivatives for the Group. Kensington has issued the first Social and Green ABS securitised bonds in 2021.

Rosa is a Physical Climate Risk SME within the Climate Risk team at Citi, responsible for building out and integrating Climate Risk management capabilities into governance and risk processes across the organization. Prior to joining Citi, Rosa worked at re/insurance broker Willis Towers Watson in London for 5 years, most recently as Head of Earth risks research. Rosa’s interest in the intersection of Financial and Environmental Risks has driven her career choices, and in 2011 she completed a PhD in Catastrophe Modelling, followed by several years of academic research at University College London. Rosa also holds a BS in Business Administration, and an Ms in Math, Stats and Operations Research from New York University. Rosa began her career in Retail Banking in 2000 covering acquisition risk for the Credit Card Services Division at JP Morgan Chase in New York, before moving to Portfolio Risk Management for the Auto division of GE Capital.

Michael Schmitz is a principal and consulting actuary in the Milwaukee office of Milliman and has been with the firm since 1993. Mike manages a practice dedicated to financial risks such as mortgage guaranty, financial guaranty, and credit enhancement products. Mike has assisted in structuring and pricing credit enhancement mechanisms for securitizations, both in the United States and internationally, and has spoken at conferences on this topic as well as others. He has also served as the lead consultant on many assignments, assisting the largest banks in the United States in their management of credit risk. Mike has assisted both banks and insurance companies in analyzing the risk associated with residual value exposure on several classes of assets. In addition to working with financial guaranty insurers, he has consulted to the majority of the insurers that comprise the private mortgage insurance industry and to banks and other financial institutions on topics including reserving, pricing, financial analysis, mortgage portfolio credit risk, product development, structured transactions, risk transfer analysis, and capital model design and validation. Another of Mr. Schmitz’s core areas of expertise is property and casualty insurance, particularly ratemaking, loss reserve, and financial analysis. Mike has extensive experience in reinsurance and commercial lines, including workers’ compensation, professional liability, reinsurance, and other long-tail lines. He has also assisted a number of clients in developing self-insured and alternative risk transfer programs for their workers’ compensation and liability exposures.

Kelly was recently appointed Special Counsel and Head of Strategic Delivery – Sustainability & ESG at DLA Piper. In her new role, Kelly will support the delivery of DLA Piper’s International Sustainability & ESG strategy by providing senior guidance on strategic sustainability opportunities. Her efforts will aim to drive change, open new opportunities and accelerate growth for both their clients and their people. Kelly previously held the position of Counsel at Allen & Overy where she specialized in sustainability and ESG regulation, policy and strategy across a wide variety of geographies and sectors. Prior to her return to private practice, she was the sustainability and climate risk lead in the group regulatory policy team of Barclays. She represented the bank in the 2019 inaugural session of the FCA-PRA Climate Financial Risk Forum in the Innovation Working Group. Kelly is a postgraduate student at the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership. Her research interests include UK nature-positive transition policy, ESG ratings, extrinsic drivers for corporate sustainability strategy and approaches to sustainability risk in the legal sector.