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Impact Investment Academy 2021 – the speakers

Full speaker list. Find out more about the speakers and panellists at this year’s Impact Investment Academy.

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Click the names below to find out more about the speakers and panellists at this year’s Impact Investment Academy.

Plenary Speakers

Catherine Howarth is Chief Executive of ShareAction, the UK’s leading authority on responsible investment. ShareAction is best known for its robust rankings of financial actors’ sustainability credentials, as well as for mobilising institutional investors to accelerate corporate action on climate change, health and workforce issues. Catherine is a member of the UK government’s asset management taskforce and has been recognised by the World Economic Forum for her leadership on sustainability. She was recently listed by the BBC as one of 30 women making the greatest contribution to planetary health.

Desiree is the former Group Sustainability Officer at DWS Group (a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank), where she was responsible for driving the firm’s overall sustainability strategy in its role as a corporate and as a fiduciary. She has over 20 years of experience in both sustainable finance and investment banking. Having previously held senior roles at JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Zais Group, in London, New York and Frankfurt, Desiree has built and managed ESG investing as well as structured credit businesses, delivering overall policy and analytical frameworks, investor strategies as well as product innovation. Desiree holds a BSc Economics from the London School of Economics (LSE). She is a member of the Board of MMCC, one of NYC’s largest community centers, and a member of the LSE’s Entrepreneurship Advisory Group.

Martin joined the international business of Federated Hermes as a senior analyst on the European Equities team in March 2013 and is now lead portfolio manager of the Sustainable Global Equity strategy, and co-portfolio manager of the Impact Opportunities strategy. Prior to joining, he was an investment director at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership. Martin joined SWIP as a graduate and spent eight years there, with spells investing in UK, US and Japanese equities. Martin graduated from the University of St Andrews with an MA in Economics & Modern History and is a CFA charterholder. In 2015, Martin featured in Financial News’s ‘40 Under 40 Rising Stars of Asset Management’, an editorial selection of the brightest up-and-coming people in the industry.

Graeme is a portfolio manager in the Thematic Equity team within the Multi-Asset team at Ninety One. Graeme is co-portfolio manager for the Global Environment and Global Energy strategies . He joined the team in 2010. During this time he has been instrumental in driving the team’s work on the Energy Transition and co-authored the 2016 paper on the subject; “Our energy future: creating a sustainable global energy system”. This work has provided the base for the team’s investment process and philosophy around the process of Sustainable Decarbonisation. Prior to joining the firm, Graeme worked as an investment analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management where he focused on Alternatives and Global Equities. Graeme received a BSc in Economics from the University of Bristol and is a CFA® Charterholder, a member of the CFA® Society of the UK, and holds the Investment Management Certificate (IMC).

Annette is a founding Partner at TaylorMade and her time is split between management and advising a portfolio of clients. She has first hand experience of the unique challenges faced by independent advice businesses finding their feet in the world of sustainability and working out what this means for our businesses and our clients as we transition towards a more sustainable future. She is interested in how advice firms take on the challenge and share best practice on structuring discussions with clients to educate them on the broad range of options available in a positive manner, free from judgement and hyperbole.

Gavin has more than 25 years’ experience working in financial services and alongside the advisory community. In 2010, he founded certified B Corp, Worthstone, which was the UK’s first targeted impact investment resource platform for Financial Advice professionals. In addition to co-authoring several ground-breaking reports, Gavin has participated in government working groups to help develop impact investing in the UK. Gavin also co-founded the Impact Investment Academy in 2013.

Panel debate – ESG vs Impact – What’s in a name?

Abigail is Investment Director at Snowball, an asset manager that invests responsibly to achieve positive social and environmental impact alongside financial returns. Since joining Snowball she has developed and implemented their approach to measuring and managing impact across the portfolio. Previously, Abigail led the impact investment work at NPC, a think-tank and consultancy. She has over 20 years’ experience as an investment analyst and fund manager, is a CFA charterholder and was a Director at Threadneedle Investments.

Ben Constable-Maxwell is Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing, leading M&G’s strategy on impact investing as well as covering sustainability issues such as climate change and the circular economy. He has been central to the development of ESG integration within M&G’s investment processes and has supported the development of ESG solutions for clients across asset classes. Ben plays an active industry role as a member of various sustainable and impact investment initiatives, interacting with companies, policymakers, NGOs and other investors. He is a Trustee at Firefly International youth organisation, which provides educational and mental health support for young people in conflict-affected areas in the Balkans and Middle East. Previous to joining M&G in 2003, Ben spent four years with the Equities team at Invesco Perpetual. Ben has an honours degree in Classics from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Louise leads Wellington Management’s sustainability efforts in EMEA. She works in close partnership with our global Director of Wellington’s Sustainable Investment Practice, which sets the research agenda and strategy for the firm’s sustainable investment practice. Her focus is across asset classes and includes ESG research and integration, impact investing, climate, and long-term engagement strategies. Based in London, her focus is to help drive the firm’s sustainability initiatives in Europe and partner with the firm’s clients on their sustainable investment programmes.

Seb is Head of Research and leads the integration of sustainability analysis within the investment process, as well as overseeing engagement activities. Previously, Seb was Head of SRI Research at Henderson Global Investors where he led on the identification and analysis of sustainability themes and company-level corporate responsibility analysis. Prior to Henderson, Seb was the Vice President of Research and Advocacy at SustainAbility. He has published several reports on sustainable business, and has been a member of numerous corporate advisory boards and awards panels. Seb has two degrees in environmental science and technology, from the University of East Anglia and Imperial College and is a Chartered Environmentalist.

Tim Crockford leads the Regnan Equity Impact Solutions team. He previously managed the Hermes Impact Opportunities Equity Fund from its launch in December 2017, having co-founded the Hermes Impact team in 2016. Tim joined Hermes Investment Management in 2009 as a research analyst for the European Equities team and became lead portfolio manager of the ESG-integrated Hermes Europe ex-UK Equity Fund in 2015, which he also managed until he left Hermes.

Panel debate – Bonds: Diversification vs dilution of impact

Murray is a financial planner and principal of Flowers McEwan Ltd, based in Leeds, plus a former chair of the IFP Yorkshire Branch.  Since it started in 2001 FM has offered ethical investment solutions to its clients and this journey has just led to it introducing impact solutions to its clients.

Ashley joined RLAM in November 2013 following the acquisition of The Co-operative Asset Management (TCAM) by the Royal London Group. She is responsible for coordinating and overseeing RLAM’s approach to responsible investing across all of our asset classes. She has management responsibility for our company engagement, corporate governance analysis, and proxy voting. She is RLAM’s spokesperson on responsible investing and corporate governance, and provides regular press commentary. Before joining RLAM, she was a Shareholder Engagement Executive at PIRC where she conducted corporate engagement and ESG analysis for the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF). Prior to that she was a research analyst and corporate engagement consultant for SHARE, a proxy voting and shareholder engagement consultancy based in Vancouver, Canada. She has a Master of Arts degree (Political Science) and a Bachelor of Arts degree (Political Science and Sociology) from the University of British Columbia.

Rebecca Seabrook is a Director and Portfolio Manager within the Credit team. She joined in 2001. Prior to this, Rebecca worked as a Fund Manager for Rothschild Asset Management and Friends Ivory & Sime, having begun her career with London and Manchester as a Credit Analyst. Rebecca graduated from the University of Wales in 1995 with a BA in Accounting and Finance. She holds the IIMR and is a member of UKSIP.

Salima Lamdouar is a Vice President and Portfolio Manager on AB’s portfolio-management team, focusing on thematic credit strategies. Before joining the firm in 2015, she was a generalist portfolio manager at Rogge Global Partners. Lamdouar holds a BSc (Hons) in banking and international finance from Cass Business School. Location: London

Samuel is an Investment Manager at abrdn. He is responsible for managing a number of Global Investment Grade portfolios including dedicated ESG strategies such as Sustainable and Carbon mitigation. Samuel is also a member of abrdn’s ESG Network, an on-desk ESG decision making function, and has been a key figure in the development of carbon analysis and reporting tools including co-designing abrdn’s Fixed Income Climate Transition Framework. Samuel graduated with a BEng (Hons) in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from the University of Nottingham.

Panel debate – Advisers sharing their best practice – addressing the key challenges experienced by your peers

Jo is the CEO of Emery Little, a family-owned financial planning firm of twenty-five. After graduating in 2010, Jo joined Emery Little as a junior paraplanner, working through her qualifications to become a Chartered Financial Planner, Fellow of the PFS and a Registered Life Planner. Since stepping into the role of CEO at Emery Little, Jo relishes the opportunities and challenges that come with leading a business and team. Alongside her responsibilities as CEO, Jo continues to advise clients and is also a Non-Executive Director of NextGen Planners.

Andy joined Heron House in 2014 as part of our graduate scheme and became qualified as an adviser in two and a half years. Early in 2019 he attained his Chartered Financial Planner status and has featured in the New Model Adviser ‘Top 35 Next Generation Adviser’ in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Andy’s role as Head of Investment Research includes ongoing fund research, meeting various fund managers and heading up our in house quarterly investment committee meetings which involve the whole technical and advisory team.

Clémence is a multilingual award-winning adviser. She most recently won the Professional Adviser Women of the Year – ESG Advice award. Having obtained a Bachelor’s in International Management (China) at SOAS, she discovered her passion for finance and sustainable business. After completing a Master’s in Finance & Investment at the University of Bristol she joined Paradigm Norton. Clémence primarily deals with younger clients, families and more complex clients. She specialises in sustainable investing opportunities and is a member of the investment committee leading the development in this area.

James has worked in the Financial Services Industry for over 30 years. Starting at Friends Provident, before Joining Macintyre Hudson Chartered Accountants In 1998 he joined Price Bailey Chartered Accountants where he set up and ran Price Bailey Private Client where he was a partner and sat on the Board of the accountancy practice before moving to become managing Director of Tavistock Private Client for 3 years. In 2020 James set up King Financial planning with the sole aim to provide his clients with the best service possible. Separate to work, James is the proud Chairman of World Child Cancer and married to Karen with 2 children.