ESG Investment Leader | Europe 2023 (2024)

David Carlin leads the TCFD and climate risk program for UNEP- Finance Initiative. He currently is running a pilot for nearly 50 global banks and investors on topics of climate scenarios, climate risk assessments, and climate governance. He is also a contributor to Forbes, where he writes about climate change and leadership.

Prior to joining UNEP-FI, he worked as a senior manager in Risk and Public Policy for Oliver Wyman Consulting and in Model Risk Management for PNC Bank. His background is in quantitative modeling and decision science.

He conducted research in financial decision-making at Carnegie Mellon University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams College.

MARK LEWIS is Head of Climate Research at Andurand Capital LLP since June 2021. Prior to his current role Mark was Chief Sustainability Strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management (2019-21), and before that a sell-side analyst for 20 years covering the energy space as both an equity and a commodities analyst: as Managing Director and Head of European Utilities Research at Barclays (2015-18), Chief Energy Economist at Kepler Cheuvreux (2014-15), and at Deutsche Bank as MD and Global Head of Carbon and Energy Research (2005-13) and Director, European Utilities equity research, 1999-2004. He has also worked for the leading energy think tank Carbon Tracker (MD and Head of Research, 2018) and for the German utility E.ON (Deputy Head of Investor Relations, 2004-05). Prior to his career as a sell-side analyst Mark worked as a sovereign credit analyst at Standard & Poor’s (1997-99), and as an academic at the University f London (1994-97).

Mark has been a member of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) since May 2016, and a Senior Associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) since 2020. His research on carbon and energy markets has won numerous awards and he often writes opinion pieces for the Financial Times on energy and climate topics.

Mark is a UK and French Citizen and holds a BA (First-Class Hons) in Modern Languages and Economics from Sheffield University, an MPhil from Cambridge University, and an MA from London University.

As Chief Sustainability Officer, Lorenzo is responsible for driving Clarity AI’s public and stakeholder engagement, working with peers, industry participants, and clients to develop partnerships that enhance investor value and sustainable outcomes. At the forefront of market developments, Lorenzo shapes Clarity AI’s cutting edge thought leadership.

Lorenzo joined Clarity AI after over 20 years of being at the forefront of sustainable investments. As one of the early professionals at the Principles of Responsible investments (PRI), he held multiple roles in the organisation, driving it from about 300 institutional investors to the over 5,000 it has today. As Head of the PRI Reporting and Assessment he launched the first ever in house global responsible investment reporting framework, which now has over 3,000 institutional investors reporting against. He later led the PRI’s Signatory Relations 50-member team which supports existing signatories to implement sustainable investments and recruits new signatories to ensure broad adoption globally.

Guido Giese is MSCI’s Global Head ESG & Climate Solutions Research where he leads applied research and thought leadership on ESG integration, impact investing and climate investing. Recent publications include Climate Matters: Net-Zero Alignment: Objectives and Strategic Approaches for Investors, How Have Stocks Responded to Changes in Climate Policy and What’s in an ESG Rating and What’s Not.

Prior to joining MSCI in 2017, Guido was responsible for the sustainability index solutions business at RobecoSAM, following his tenure as Head of Research and Development at index provider STOXX Ltd, where he was responsible for developing new index solutions. He has more than 20 years’ experience in research and product development in the asset management industry.

Guido holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and has authored numerous articles in international journals for quantitative finance and risk management.

Cléo Fitzsimons is Head of Responsible Investing at Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC). Cléo leads PIC’s Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) efforts and is a member of the Investment Team. She is responsible for integrating ESG into the investment process, assessing ESG opportunities, embedding ESG into the overall investment strategy, and ensuring PIC is an active member of the sustainable financial industry.

Prior to joining PIC Cléo spent 10 years in the Asset & Wealth Management industry at Schroders. She holds a dual Masters degree from the London School of Economics and ESADE business school in Barcelona and a First Class Honours business undergraduate degree from Concordia University in Montreal. Cléo is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments (CISI) and holds the Investment Management Certificated awarded by the CFA institute.

Nimisha has worked in financial services for over seven years having started her career in investment consulting for pension scheme trustees, on schemes ranging in size from £20m to over £1bn. Following this, Nimisha became Head of ESG Research at KPMG, within their investment team, focused on developing a client-focused ESG proposition, developing an ESG research strategy, and creating an ESG manager assessment and ratings framework. Nimisha has also held roles in asset management and discretionary fund management, where her work included corporate engagement, developing responsible investment policies and a stewardship strategy.

In Nimisha’s current role at Just Group, she is responsible for developing a strategy for Just Group’s £25bn investment portfolio to outline the pathway for the next 30 years. Prior to joining the investment industry, Nimisha was a Teacher of Mathematics.

Helen is Director, Governance at the Church of England Pensions Board which she joined in 2023. She leads on the Pensions Board’s approach to stewardship in support of a ‘just’ world, a remit which includes a particular focus on governance, corporate sustainability, and voting. Helen is passionate about the role of pension funds in moving to a more sustainable business world and brings with her experience from her previous role as head of stewardship and her involvement in industry-wide initiatives to improve standards. Helen was the inaugural recipient of the ICGN Rising Stars award in 2021 and holds a BA (hons) in Business studies.

Helen is eager to improve representation within the industry and at companies in which we invest. She founded and co-leads the Asset Owner Diversity Charter, an asset owner led initiative which aims to build an industry which represents a more balanced and fair representation of diverse societies.

David is a Director at GRESB, the global ESG benchmark for Real Assets. He leads business development in Europe for the GRESB Infrastructure platform, working with institutional investors and managers to support engagement and the improvement in the ESG performance of their portfolios and assets.

David has over 10 years international experience in the Infrastructure and Energy markets, having worked across Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific during his time with Inframation, the news, analysis, data and events provider. He holds a BA in Business Management from the University of Leeds.

Michael was appointed Head of Investment Stewardship in April 2021 in addition to being Head of Responsible Investment Integration for Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), having joined LGIM in 2016 as Chief Operating Officer. In this role Michael is responsible for engagement with investee companies globally across all LGIM’s assets under management as well as regulatory and policy engagement regarding ESG matters. He is also responsible for driving LGIM’s broad responsible investment strategic direction spanning all functions within LGIM. Michael is a member of LGIM’s Executive Committee.

Prior to LGIM Michael had a 28 year career at BlackRock (and its predecessor firms), where he was most latterly regional head of the Client Solutions group. Preceding that role Michael had established and led a number of businesses including the Fiduciary Mandate business, the Aladdin risk management and enterprise tools business and the Transition Management group. Michael is a passionate supporter of inclusion, a vocal ally, executive sponsor of Legal & General’s LGBT network and vice chair of Investment 20/20. He graduated from UMIST in 1987 with a degree in Management Science.

Julia is Operations and Sustainability Manager at Infranode, a long-term infrastructure investor with a particular focus on the Nordic countries. Julia integrates the sustainability work across Infranode´s portfolio which comprises of 16 companies in real asset class, such as power lines, district heating, ports, solar, digital and social infrastructure. Julia’s role includes establishment of sustainability governance to ensure ESG data flow, portfolio performance monitoring and overall sustainability progress. Julia works closely with Infranode´s stakeholders to ensure compliance with SFDR and EU Taxonomy.

In 2023, Julia is honoured to be nominated Woman of Influence in the category “Infrastructure” by Private Equity International (PEI).