Sean Kidney is CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative, an international NGO that works to mobilise global capital for climate action. Projects include a green bond definitions and certification scheme with $34 trillion of assets represented on its Board, working with the Chinese central bank on growing green bonds in China, market development programmes in Brazil, Mexico, ASEAN and Africa, and market tracking services for the green bonds industry.

Sean is a member of the European Commission’s Platform on Sustainable Finance and was a member of its predecessors, the 2017 EU High Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance and the EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. He is also a member of green finance committees in China, India, Mexico and Kazakhstan, as well as being a Professor in Practice at SOAS University of London.

Robert is heading the Sustainable Finance business for ING in the EMEA region. The Sustainable Finance team is covering sustainable lending, Sustainable Structured Finance, supports Debt Capital Markets on the Green/ Social & Sustainable Bonds structuring and supports the Sustainable Investments team.

Robert started his career in carbon trading and energy derivatives. Thereafter he moved into renewable energy financing, where together with a local team he set up the business in India and thereafter in the wider Asia- Pacific region. Robert joined ING in 2016 in the Energy Sector team and stepped into his current role in 2019.

Robert holds a MSc in Business Administration (Major: Finance & Investments) from the Rotterdam School of Management/ Erasmus University and a BSc in Process Engineering from the Utrecht School of Technology.

Jan De Jaeck is leading the Sustainable Finance business for Belux & Nordics. ING’s Sustainable Finance team provides multiple responsible financial solutions: in the loan market (a.o. Green Loans, Sustainability-Linked Loans), in the Debt Capital Markets (supporting on green / social / sustainable structuring) and offers Sustainability-Linked working capital & financial market products.

Jan started his career within the waste management industry and joined ING begin 1999. He has a broad experience as senior relationship manager for Corporate Clients in Belgium (Food, Beverages & Personal care sector).

From 2007 onwards, Jan became Global Relationship Manager for Corporate Clients across the Nordic countries, focused on Finland, and complemented with Baltic region in 2017. He started as Sustainable Finance specialist early 2019.

Jan is a client focused senior banker with a passion for sustainability, and a drive to be a step ahead. Jan De Jaeck holds a Master of Economics (EHSAL – Brussels) and Master of Management degree. (VLEKHO – Brussels).

Alexandre Pouille is now serving as Zone Europe CFO for Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s leading brewer. Alex started as a global management trainee in 2011 and has grown within the organization serving in various functions within the group’s Finance and Commercial functions. Today, Alex is responsible for the group’s Financial Planning & Analysis, Control, Tax, Merger and Acquisition, and finance transformation teams for a geographic scope covering from the Canary Islands to the west, Siberia to the east, and passing through Dubai. Prior to joining AB InBev, Alexandre was a national debate champion in the USA and is still active in supporting high school and university debate initiatives. Alexandre holds a Masters of Accounting degree from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg VA.

Noah Faase is a Treasury expert currently leading AB InBev’s Global Treasury team out of Leuven, Belgium. In addition to funding, trading, risk, & cash management, ABI’s Global Treasury engages in the full breath of the business including supporting the company’s ESG agenda. A seasoned Commodity Trading and Risk Management professional with a demonstrated history of success across asset classes, Noah is a specialist in Corporate Finance and enterprise risk management. A penchant for financial markets and the number systems that underpin them, Faase has directed his career towards opportunities to combine high level finance with Sustainability. Noah is enthusiastic about his work and about partnering with ABI to grow and learn and drive the Sustainability agenda forward, particularly in the Lending and Derivatives space. Noah has a Masters in Social and Applied Ethics and a Bachelors in Applied Mathematics.

Katie Hoard is AB InBev’s Global Senior Director of Sustainability and ESG based in Leuven, Belgium. In her role, she works closely with AB InBev’s Global Finance team on Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) engagement and engages across teams in the organization to lead the company’s ESG disclosure. Additionally, Katie is responsible for the global strategy to achieve the company’s Smart Agriculture 2025 Goal, working with Procurement and Supply teams to build resilient, responsible agricultural supply chains globally through partnerships and the development of innovative solutions.

Prior to joining AB InBev, Katie worked in politics and commodities regulation in Washington, DC. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in International Finance from the University of Arkansas, a Master’s degree in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York.

Donovan Guttieres is a PhD researcher within the Access-To-Medicines Research Centre within the Faculty of Business & Economics at KU Leuven (Belgium), working on systems-based approaches to promoting pandemic preparedness. Donovan has a master’s degree in technology and policy from the Institute for Data, Systems and Society (IDSS) at MIT. Before that, he received a bachelor’s in biomedical engineering from Boston University. Guttieres is a member of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations’ Young Engineers / Future Leaders and currently serves as Global Public Entrepreneurial Policy Liaison on the 2021 IEEE Entrepreneurship Steering Committee.

Hussain serves a dual role as the CEO of the American University of Sharjah Enterprises (AUSE) and as the CEO of the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP). Both these entities were established through royal decree by the Ruler of Sharjah, who also directly appointed Hussain to these responsibilities in order to create collaborative long-term relationships between industry, academia and the public sector, fostering an ecosystem of enterprise and innovation.

Previously, Hussain served as the Director General of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a Member of the UAE Chamber Federation, and GCC Chambers for 8 years. He was responsible for the overall management and operations of the Chamber including the provision of services to its members. In this role, he launched several strategic economic initiatives for Sharjah such as the SME Act, Sharjah Export Centre, Sharjah Commercial Arbitration Centre, and the Sharjah Business Forum.

Hussain has held leadership roles at leading regional and international companies such as the Royal Dutch Shell Group, Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), and several Dubai Holding entities. He currently serves as honorary board member of both, the Tatweer Forum and of Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and as chairman of the Emirates Business Council for Sustainable Development.

He also serves as a board member of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa). Hussain possesses an MBA from the American University of Sharjah and a BA in Economics and Communications from Seattle Pacific University in the US.

Rozita holds a Bachelors degree (B.Hons) in Journalism, Masters degree (MA) in Sustainable Development Practice and a Masters in Science (MSc) in Urban Management and Development (Netherlands Fellowship Program Scholar at Erasmus University). Prior to joining UNDP, she was working as Project Manager, Circular Economy at Royal Philips Netherlands in their Global Sustainability office.

She was a core team member in the Transformation program, leading several strategies on change management. Additionally, she worked on cross functional research projects to test circular value propositions as a Strategic Sustainability Advisor. Previously she was working as an Associate Fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi, India. At TERI, she worked on various projects that focused on planning for climate resilient cities.

She is currently leading the role of Solutions mapping at UNDP India’s Accelerator Lab which is part of the world’s largest and fastest learning network on innovations for SDGs. She is also a mentor at the online climate school- Terra Do and conducts Masterclasses on Circular Economy. Rozita is passionate about promoting composting and back in 2013, she helped in setting up the Delhi chapter of the Bangalore initiative- ‘Daily Dump- Composting at home’.

Ismail is a mid-career Palestinian professional, born and raised in East Jerusalem. He assumes the position of head of solutions mapping at UNDP’s accelerator labs. Ismail has managed a broad range of programs in various sectors including local government, civic engagement, and economic development.

In the last 7 years, he has worked primarily in systems transformation programmes that seek to introduce creative and novel pathways of change to holistically tackle constraints facing an entire system. Ismail holds an MA in History and Cultural Studies from Freie Universität Berlin and a BA in International Studies from University of Denver.

As Director of Corporate & Stakeholder Engagement at Global Reporting Initiative, Sabine Content is responsible for all global corporate engagement, as well as raising awareness and building relationships between GRI and key partner organisations and stakeholders. This includes the GRI Community Program, GRI’s core network of supporters, made up of over 500 organisations in more than 70 countries.

The Corporate & Stakeholder Engagement department brings together a worldwide network of companies and organisations committed to GRI’s mission of empowering decision makers everywhere through its sustainability standards and multi-stakeholder network, to take action towards a more sustainable economy and world.

Sabine is from the Netherlands and before joining GRI she spent over 15 years in the international apparel and textiles industry. It was this work that motivated her to contribute to a world where creating financial value goes hand-in-hand with safeguarding the environment and societies.

Titus is presently Head of Environment and Reporting at Equinor. Previous to this he was Head of Safety and Sustainability for Equinor’s international Exploration business and has held a number of other sustainability leadership roles. He has a PhD from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from McGill University.

Katie Hoard is AB InBev’s Global Senior Director of Sustainability and ESG based in Leuven, Belgium. In her role, she works closely with AB InBev’s Global Finance team on Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) engagement and engages across teams in the organization to lead the company’s ESG disclosure. Additionally, Katie is responsible for the global strategy to achieve the company’s Smart Agriculture 2025 Goal, working with Procurement and Supply teams to build resilient, responsible agricultural supply chains globally through partnerships and the development of innovative solutions.

Prior to joining AB InBev, Katie worked in politics and commodities regulation in Washington, DC. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in International Finance from the University of Arkansas, a Master’s degree in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York.

Nadja Picard is a German CPA and tax advisor and is PwC’s Global Head of Reporting. With an initial focus on ESG, she focuses on enhancing the corporate reporting of PwC’s clients beyond financial reporting to meet investor and stakeholder demands, including appropriate assurance responses. She also drives PwC’s related service offerings and thought leadership.
Nadja continues to advise companies on Capital Markets Transactions, especially Initial Public Offering and has extensive experience in German and cross-border transactions in the US, UK and HK / China.

As Director of Corporate & Stakeholder Engagement at Global Reporting Initiative, Sabine Content is responsible for all global corporate engagement, as well as raising awareness and building relationships between GRI and key partner organisations and stakeholders. This includes the GRI Community Program, GRI’s core network of supporters, made up of over 500 organisations in more than 70 countries.

The Corporate & Stakeholder Engagement department brings together a worldwide network of companies and organisations committed to GRI’s mission of empowering decision makers everywhere through its sustainability standards and multi-stakeholder network, to take action towards a more sustainable economy and world.

Sabine is from the Netherlands and before joining GRI she spent over 15 years in the international apparel and textiles industry. It was this work that motivated her to contribute to a world where creating financial value goes hand-in-hand with safeguarding the environment and societies.

Katie Hoard is AB InBev’s Global Senior Director of Sustainability and ESG based in Leuven, Belgium. In her role, she works closely with AB InBev’s Global Finance team on Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) engagement and engages across teams in the organization to lead the company’s ESG disclosure. Additionally, Katie is responsible for the global strategy to achieve the company’s Smart Agriculture 2025 Goal, working with Procurement and Supply teams to build resilient, responsible agricultural supply chains globally through partnerships and the development of innovative solutions.

Prior to joining AB InBev, Katie worked in politics and commodities regulation in Washington, DC. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in International Finance from the University of Arkansas, a Master’s degree in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York.

Nadja Picard is a German CPA and tax advisor and is PwC’s Global Head of Reporting. With an initial focus on ESG, she focuses on enhancing the corporate reporting of PwC’s clients beyond financial reporting to meet investor and stakeholder demands, including appropriate assurance responses. She also drives PwC’s related service offerings and thought leadership.
Nadja continues to advise companies on Capital Markets Transactions, especially Initial Public Offering and has extensive experience in German and cross-border transactions in the US, UK and HK / China.

Titus is presently Head of Environment and Reporting at Equinor. Previous to this he was Head of Safety and Sustainability for Equinor’s international Exploration business and has held a number of other sustainability leadership roles. He has a PhD from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from McGill University.

Susan Kathy Land is a Program Manager for the U.S. Department of Defense’s Missile Defense Agency. She has more than 30 years of industry experience in the application of software engineering methodologies, the management of information systems, and leadership of software development teams.

Kathy served as the 2018 Vice President, IEEE Technical Activities. She also served two additional terms on the IEEE Board of Directors as Division VIII Director/Delegate in 2011 and 2012 and as Division V Director/Delegate in 2014 and 2015. She was President of the IEEE Computer Society in 2009. Kathy was a member of the IEEE-USA Board of Directors in 2013 and 2016.

Kathy has been an active member of the IEEE Standards Association for more than 20 years and served as the Computer Society Vice President for Standards in 2004. She was the recipient of the 2007 IEEE Standards Medallion.

An IEEE Fellow, Kathy is the author and co-author of a number of texts and publications supporting software engineering principles and the practical application of software process methodologies. She is an IEEE-HKN Member and IEEE Computer Society Richard E. Merwin Award recipient.

Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan is a globally renowned technologist, best known for his technological innovations in addressing global humanitarian and sustainable development challenges. He is a seasoned technology and business leader with over 16 years of experience in Top 500 Fortune companies.

Throughout his career, Veeraraghavan has led business-critical strategic programmes and successfully delivered cutting-edge technologies in areas of conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI), Natural Language Understanding, cloud computing, enterprise systems, infrastructure technologies, assistive and sustainable technologies. Sampath served as an expert in the 2020 Broadband Commission working group on school connectivity co-chaired by UNESCO, UNICEF and ITU to drive “GIGA,” a Global School Connectivity Initiative.

Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan is the founder and president of “The Brahmam”, a humanitarian programme delivering next-generation social innovations to achieve SDGs and benefit marginalised communities all over the world. He spent over a decade launching large-scale transformational global initiatives that brought together academic institutions, industry leaders and government agencies to address pressing challenges faced by children with disabilities, impoverished women and students from marginalised communities in developing nations.

Sampath is the Global Chair of the 2021 IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee (IEEE HAC). (The USA-based IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, is of the world’s largest technical professional organisations.) In this role, he spearheads the global strategy and portfolio of sustainable development and humanitarian engineering programmes, aimed at delivering impactful programmes which engage and benefit 400K+ IEEE members at grass roots level in 160 countries. He is credited with launching several novel global programmes in humanitarian engineering which successfully inspired and engaged students and young professionals in sustainable development activities.

Sampath was Global Chair (2019-2020) of the IEEE Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technologies (SIGHT), which achieved record-breaking growth through high-impact, technology-driven sustainable programmes benefiting members in 119+ countries. He is the founding chair for the IEEE SIGHT day (2020) and SIGHT week (2019), a global programme that showcases the impactful IEEE technology-based humanitarian programmes. He currently leads the IEEE Standards 2021 Corporate Sustainability Working Group. As an active IEEE and IEEE-HKN member, Sampath has spearheaded more than 20+ global committees and has made significant contributions in advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

Sampath is accredited with numerous global awards and media mentions for his leadership excellence and technological innovations in addressing global sustainable development challenges. He was recently honoured with the top global accolade “2020 IEEE Theodore W. Hissey Professional Award”. He has delivered 250+ invited talks at international forums, premier technology conferences and industry panels organised by UN, IEEE, ITU, World IoT forum and leading universities around the globe. He has authored and published 30+ research publications and thought leadership articles in leading global conferences, journals and magazines. His technological innovations and leadership excellence have been featured in cover stories of global media such as IEEE TV, IEEE spectrum, USA today, E-week, AI-news and IEEE transmitter, The Bridge and ACM-News.

Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan has a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA (2010), and a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from Anna University, India (2005). He currently works as a senior technology and programme management leader in the conversational Artificial Intelligence industry, where he spearheads a portfolio of science and engineering programmes to advance spoken language innovations.

Ajay Poddar is an IEEE Fellow, an Electronics & Communication Engineering graduate from the National Institute of Technology Calicut, India, and a Master of Technology in RADAR & Communication Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India. He also holds a doctorate (Dr.-Ing.) from Technical University Berlin, Germany, and a post-doctorate (Dr.-Ing. habil) from Brandenburg Technical University, Cottbus, Germany.

Poddar has received over a dozen awards for scientific and technological innovations and meritorious services, holds over 3 dozen patents, has published 300+ scientific papers in journals and conferences and co-authored 4 technical books/chapters. From 1991 to 2001, he worked as a senior scientist in DRDO and was a visiting professor at the University of Pune, India. He is currently the Chief Scientist at Synergy Microwave, NJ, USA, where he is responsible for design/development of signal generation/processing electronics, opto-electronics, RF-MEMS and Metamaterial- Electronics for industry, medical and space applications. He is also serving as a visiting professor at the University of Oradea, Romania, the Indian Institute of Technology Jammu, India, and is a guest lecturer at Technical University Munich, Germany.

Poddar received the 2015 IEEE IFCS Cady Award, in recognition of his outstanding scientific contributions to a host of frequency generating and frequency-controlled electronics and timing devices for industrial, medical and space applications. He is also the recipient of the 2018 IEEE MGA Innovation Award for his dedicated volunteering service to members, chapters and humanitarian projects, the 2015 IEEE R1 Award for “Outstanding Scientific Contributions, Leadership and Service”, and the 2009 IEEE R1 Award for “Outstanding Leadership and Contributions in the Research, Design and Development of Microwave Systems”. Additionally, Poddar is included in the list entitled “Divine Innovation: 10 Technologies Changing the Future of Passive and Control Components” (Cover page, Microwave Journal, November 2011).

Poddar was elected as an AdCom member of IEEE AP-S in 2018 and IEEE MTT-S in 2019, for 3-year terms, by a 10,000-strong eligible electorate from each society. As chair of the Global Chapter Activity Committee, Dr. Poddar has created more than 100 chapters worldwide in the last 10 years to connect outreach regions for the benefit of members and local communities. Dr. Poddar has been actively involved with IEEE SIGHT/HAC, IEEE sister societies and IEEE MGA activities, including charitable services for addressing inequality, especially in underserved communities. These engagements have served to broaden his experience as a leader and mentor, as well as a proactive volunteer who is able to inspire students, researchers and young professionals.

Poddar has been involved in helping underprivileged and underserved communities for more than 30 years. His wide-ranging experience of technical work and collaboration with industry, academic institutions and research organisations is helping to engage pre-university, undergraduate and graduate students, young professionals and local communities in connecting with these communities, sharing knowledge and assisting educational attainment to promote equality and help reduce poverty.

Fernando Guarín is a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Global Foundries in East Fishkill, New York, where he is currently leading the team qualifying GlobalFoundries RF 5G technology offerings. This follows his retirement from IBM’s SRDC after 27 years as a Senior Member of Technical Staff in 2016.

From 1980 until 1988, Guarín worked in the Military and Aerospace Operations division of National Semiconductor Corporation.  In 1988, he joined IBM’s microelectronics division, where he worked in reliability physics and modeling of Advanced Bipolar, CMOS and Silicon Germanium BiCMOS technologies.

Fernando Guarín is an IEEE Life Fellow and Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Electron Device Society EDS, where he has served in many capacities including member of the IEEE’s EDS Board of Governors, chair of the EDS Education Committee and EDS Secretary. He was also the EDS President 2018-2019.

Guarín earned his BSEE from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, his M.S.E.E. degree from the University of Arizona (USA), and his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, NY (USA). He has been actively working in microelectronic reliability for 40 years.

Ken Stauffer was born and raised in Tanzania, East Africa. He has spent 30+ years in the telecommunications industry, having begun his career at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Holmdel, NJ, after receiving his MSEE from Polytechnic University in New York City. At Bell Laboratories, Ken worked in Data Services Performance where he and the team designed a system called Packet-ASPEN to measure performance in packet networks and to establish Data Applications Labs.

Stauffer later moved to the International Operations Group to design and deploy AT&T’s Global Network Management Center in NYC, and to deploy the Centers in Europe alongside a Pan-European Frame Relay network. For AT&T’s Global Strategy and Business Development Group, Ken developed business and technical models for WORLDPARTNERS2, participated in the creation of CONCERT, the AT&T/BT Joint Venture, and managed AT&T’s business relationship with Japan Telecom in Japan.

Ken left AT&T in 2000 to become an entrepreneur as part of a management team founding EPIK Communications – a $450M start-up in Florida. He designed EPIK’s advanced services strategy, created both the Product Innovation Group and EPIK Labs, implemented a suite of “enlightened” IP and Ethernet products, and served as EPIK’s Senior Vice President of Operations and Chief Technology Officer. He also led a team to create the vision for “The NAP of the Americas” in Miami, which was sold in 2011 to Verizon for $1.4B.

In Jan 2003, Ken formed Technology Assurance Labs to provide consulting, design and testing services to venture capital groups, network equipment manufacturers and service providers. In 2010, Technology Assurance Labs began developing RFID products for the rail industry and IoT products for the propane and natural gas industry.

Ken Stauffer also founded Cypress Equipment, a product sales company.

Ken is a Life Senior Member of IEEE and co-founded the IEEE Entrepreneurship Initiative in 2015. He is currently chair of IEEE Entrepreneurship and chair of the Vaughn College Board of Trustees in NYC.