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People
PRI Secretariat |
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Dr James Gifford, Executive Director
James Gifford is Executive Director of the PRI and has been guiding the initiative since its inception in November 2003. He has a PhD from the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Sydney on the effectiveness of shareholder engagement in improving corporate environmental, social and corporate governance performance. He was a member of the Global Reporting Initiative Working Group on environmental indicators for the finance sector. He has a background in IT and environmental protection. James has degrees in Commerce and Law from the University of Queensland, and a Master's of Environment Management from the University of New South Wales. He is a board member of the Melbourne-based Centre for Sustainability Leadership. |
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Jerome Tagger, Chief Operating Officer
As Chief Operating Officer for the PRI, since 2006, Jerome Tagger is in charge of overseeing operations and signatory relations and recruitment. Previously, Jerome was Head of Research at Eurosif, the European Social Investment Forum, where he led the first comprehensive European surveys of SRI markets, supervised the publication of investor toolkits on Responsible Investment and Active Ownership, and piloted work on transparency guidelines. Jerome has prior experience in the life insurance sector at BNP Paribas Group. He was also on board one of the first CSR supply chain assessments in the non-food retail sector in France at Promodes in 1999-2000. Jerome is a graduate of ESSEC Graduate School of Business, France. |
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Kjersti Aalbu, Small Funds Project Officer
Kjersti Aalbu joined the PRI in London in February 2010. She holds an MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics (LSE), focusing on the IPE of the environment. Her master’s thesis looked at the Kyoto Protocol and the use of market-based mechanisms in the international climate regime. Kjersti also holds a BSc in International Relations from the LSE, and gained experience with responsible investment through her bachelor thesis on the Norwegian Government Pension Fund – Global and their ethical guidelines. |
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Natalie Beinisch, Academic Network Manager
Natalie Beinisch coordinates the activities of the PRI Academic Network. She is also a PhD Candidate at the London School of Economics. Her research addresses company participation in voluntary regulatory systems in the toy and chocolate industries. Prior to joining the PRI in April 2010, Natalie managed the faculty network at Duke Corporate Education, a global learning and development company. She holds a BA from McGill University and an MSc from the London School of Economics. When not consumed by work or studies, she can be easily spotted running along the River Thames. |
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Adrian Bertrand, PRI South Africa Network Manager
Adrian Bertrand joins the PRI (Cape Town, South Africa) as a PRI Fellow assisting the PRI Emerging Markets: South Africa Network. Adrian is currently completing his MBA studies at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) in Cape Town, South Africa. Adrian has worked as a Junior Research Fellow with the Unit for Corporate Governance in Africa, a unit within the USB. Adrian’s work and research included the application of a Corporate Governance Matrix to the Top 40 listed Companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), a project funded by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) in South Africa. Prior to his MBA studies, Adrian worked as a high school English Educator for a few years at a government high school in Bellville, Cape Town. Adrian’s academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts degree (BA Humanities) and a Post Graduate Certificate of Education, both of which were also from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. |
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Kristofer Dreiman, Assessment and Training Officer
Prior to joining the PRI, Kristofer Dreinman worked as a CSR consultant, and has advised companies on the Global Reporting Initiative. He has also worked in academia at universities and managed a sustainable finance project with GlobalFOCUS. Kristofer holds an MSc degree in Industrial Management from the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. His thesis explored how institutional investors can influence corporate responsibility through engagement and dialogue. He also holds a BMSc in Public Health with a focus on sustainable development from the Karolinska Institute. |
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Elliot Frankal, Communications Manager
Elliot Frankal is a communications professional with previous experience as a political PR consultant and journalist.
Prior to the PRI, Elliot worked for five years as a press and policy advisor to the Parliamentary Labour Party in the UK and for the British government's economic development bodies - the RDAs. He also worked as a senior consultant for Linstock Communications a strategic communications agency with a specialist interest in financial services. He has an honours degree in International History and Politics.
Elliot has also worked as a freelance journalist and has been published in a range of national newspapers and magazines including The Guardian, Observer and as a regular contributor to Social Enterprise magazine.
He is also a specialist speechwriter and involved in charitable activities supporting peace projects and microfinance in the Middle East. |
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Britt Keay, Assistant to the Executive Director
Britt Keay joined PRI after an internship with zouk Ventures, a leading private equity firm in the cleantech space.
Prior to relocating to London, Britt worked in Investor Relations for Ener1 Inc., a New York-based cleantech company which engages in the development and
commercialization of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage solutions. She also has valuable experience in the non-profit sector having worked for the UN-backed Global Peace Initiative of Women by helping build youth leadership and women's rights in areas of conflict and post-conflict.
She spent 6 months living in Ghana where she studied Environmental Hydrology and Sustainable Agriculture. Britt has degrees in Economics and Environmental Studies from New York University and a certificate from LSE in Global Environmental Politics.
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Joshua Kendall, Communications Officer
Joshua Kendall joined the PRI in London as a Fellow and helps manage the PRI in Practice site, one of the main implementation support tools for signatories. Joshua is also involved in the communication, research and administrative tasks of the PRI Secretariat. Joshua holds a BA (Hons) in Politics and Modern History from the University of Manchester and is
currently working towards an MSc at the University of London. Joshua previously worked for one of the 'Big 4' accounting firms, and completed an internship at the UK sustainable investment and finance association. Prior to joining the PRI, Joshua helped recruit Turkey's first PRI signatory. |
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Eunjin Kim , PRI Korea Network Manager
Eunjin Kim joined the PRI in Fall 2009. She is based on Seoul, and responsible for the PRI's emerging market activities in South Korea. Eunjin Kim has a Bachelor’s degree from Seoul National University (SNU) in economics (with a focus on international economics and finance) and is currently completing a Master's degree on the same subject at SNU.
Prior to her position at the PRI, she held a position as a Research Assistant at the Bank of Korea, working on a research project on foreign direct investment. She also has previous experience in the financial market, having completed the trainee program of the SC Chartered bank, one of the largest banks in South Korea. |
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Karin Malmberg, Implementation Officer
Karin Malmberg joined the PRI in February 2010. She holds an MSc from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), with a focus on International Political Economy of Development and Conflict. Her thesis explored the potential of CSR for international development. Karin also studied at L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris and at the University of Birmingham, where she obtained a BA in Political Science and International Relations. Before joining the PRI, Karin worked as a researcher, including during an internship with EIRIS. |
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Lauren Miller, Implementation Manager
Lauren Miller joined PRI in December 2008. As an Implementation Manager, she is responsible for the PRI work streams in private equity, property and infrastructure. She also manages to the PRI in Person Annual Event. Lauren holds a joint Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude, in Environmental Studies and Sociology from Middlebury College in Vermont, USA. Her senior thesis explored business responses to climate change, specifically analyzing factors that made companies more likely to adopt climate-related initiatives. Before joining the PRI, Lauren worked in the Social Responsibility Department of a New York interior design company. She also has experience with the Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding and at Granville Capital Inc. |
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Narina Mnatsakanian, Head of Recruitment and Global Networks
Narina Mnatsakanian joined the PRI initiative in early 2008. Narina was initially managing the PRI in Emerging Markets and Developing Countries Project at
UNEP Finance Initiative and was responsible for promoting the PRI within over 30 emerging markets including the BRIC's. Narina's current role includes global recruitment of new signatories and setting up local PRI investor networks around the world. Narina is also working on projects related to environmental externalities and on facilitating investor engagement with companies operating in emerging markets.
Previously, Narina worked in strategy consulting at KPMG. Prior to KPMG she was a consultant at Ernst & Young International Location Advisory. Narina has an MA (Cantab) and BA (Hons) from Cambridge University in Land Economy (Economics, Law, Resource Management) and MSc degree in Financial Economics and Business from Erasmus University Rotterdam.
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Valeria Piani, Head of Investor Engagements
Valeria Piani joined the PRI initiative in June 2008. She is the Head of the Clearinghouse, the PRI global repository of investors’ collaborative engagement initiatives. Her role is coordinating and promoting institutional investors' campaigns with investee companies and policy makers on environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics. Valeria is also responsible for directly managing the PRI collaborative engagements on human rights, labor standards and disclosure on sustainability. Before joining the PRI, she worked for three years as consultant on corporate communications and corporate social responsibility for multinational companies operating in Italy. In 2007, Valeria was awarded the United Nations Fellowship Programme to work in international development cooperation in Argentina for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme. Valeria graduated in International Public Administration and Development at the Luigi Bocconi Business School of Milan. She also completed a Master of Arts in CSR at the University of Nottingham Business School with a dissertation on effectiveness of shareholders’ collaborative engagement activities with companies on ESG issues. |
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Ryan Pollice, Implementation Manager
Ryan Pollice joined the PRI in July 2008. Ryan's current role includes managing implementation support activities related to Principle 1 work streams, including the Enhanced Research Portal, ESG integration in fixed income and responsible investment and passive managers. Prior to PRI he supported strategic planning and operations at a Canadian, environmental and geotechnical drilling company. Ryan has an MA (University of Waterloo) in Environment and Resource Management and BA (Hons. w. distinction) in International Political Economy from Wilfrid Laurier University. From 2008-2009 he jointly held a Bailsillie Fellowship at The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) researching the linkages between the global finance crisis and the global food crisis. |
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Lorenzo Saà, Head of Assessment and Training
Lorenzo Saà manages the PRI's annual signatories' assessment. He is also responsible for identifying and providing solutions for the signatories' training needs. Prior to joining the PRI, between 2004-2009, as a project manager in UniCredit Group, he oversaw microfinance initiatives and advised on responsible investments. Before this Lorenzo specialized in assessments and evaluations both as an independent consultant for development organizations such as the World Bank and IFAD as well as a senior financial analyst at MicroRate, a dedicated rating agency for microfinance institutions. Lorenzo started his career in 1996 as an economic analyst at Arthur Andersen. He obtained his BA in Business and Economics in Università Cattolica, Milan and his joint MBA and Master in International Public Policy at SDA Bocconi, Milan and at SAIS - Johns Hopkins, Washington DC. |
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Titia Sjenitzer, Assessment and Training Manager
As Assistant Assessment Manager, Titia Sjenitzer assists designs and manages the PRI's annual signatory assessment process. She is also involved with the analysis of signatory activities and trends. Prior to joining the PRI, Titia worked on sustainability benchmarking of food and beverage companies at Fairfood International. Titia has also contributed to a number of different sustainability initiatives as a freelance researcher and project manager. In 2002 Titia completed an MSc in Sociology, specializing in Methodology and Statistics, at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Besides her research work, Titia works as sailing instructor on coastal waters. |
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Meagan Thompson-Mann, Special Advisor, Corporate Governance
Meagan Thompson-Mann is the Senior Advisor on Corporate Governance for the PRI Clearinghouse. She is also the President of MCTM Governance LLC and serves as the elected secretary of the Global Institutional Governance Network, which facilitates governance discussion amongst over 20 major international institutional investors. She has served as Senior Project Consultant at the the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance and Performance. Prior to moving back to the United States after twelve years in the UK, Meagan was Corporate Governance Counsel for Railpen Investments in London, responsible for global proxy voting decisions, execution and engagements with corporate boards and government bodies on governance issues. Meagan was named a "Rising Star of Corporate Governance" in June 2008 by the Millstein Center for her work in corporate governance. She is a former non-executive director of the UK Social Investment Forum. Meagan holds a B.A. from Yale University, an M.A. from the University of Bristol and completed her legal education with a focus on commercial litigation at BPP Law School in London. |
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Heidi Vogel, Fellow, Investor Engagements and Public Policy
Heidi Vogel joined the PRI as a Fellow in July 2010. In this role she assists the Manager of Public Policy and UN Engagements, along with the PRI Engagement Clearinghouse team, on investor engagement activities. She will also be working to develop new investor engagements with policymakers, and assisting with the PRI Public Policy Network and the Sustainable Stock Exchanges work stream. Prior to joining the PRI, Heidi completed her MBA at the Wisconsin School of Business and attained a graduate certificate in Business, Environment and Society. Previously, she served as Client Relationship Manager with Domini Social Investments with a particular focus on serving the firm’s institutional and high net worth investors. She has also worked in communications and project management at an environmental NGO promoting green technologies. Heidi also holds a B.A. in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. |
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Olivia Watson, Manager of Environmental Engagements for the PRI Clearinghouse
Olivia Watson is a Project Manager for the PRI Clearinghouse. Her role includes developing, coordinating and facilitating investor engagements, with a focus on environmental issues. Most recently Olivia worked for two years as a corporate responsibility consultant, and advised UK and US companies on projects related to sustainability strategy, stakeholder engagement, sustainability reporting and climate change communications. Previously Olivia worked as a research analyst at PIRC, where she analysed FTSE companies’ ESG performance and contributed to several engagement projects on climate change risks and opportunities. She has an MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics and a BA in Biology from Bates College in Maine, USA. |
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Christina Zimmermann, Manager, Public Policy and UN Engagements
Christina Zimmermann is the Manager of Public Policy and UN Engagements at the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and has been working for the initiative since October 2007. Christina heads the Public Policy Network which is designed to bring together policy makers and investors to increase the visibility of the PRI and responsible investment in the eyes of the public sector, support better policy making and encourage governments' own funds to be aligned with the PRI. As part of this work stream, she manages the Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative that addresses the various ways in which stock exchanges can promote sustainable business practices. Christina also oversees all the collaborative investor engagements with companies signed up to the UN Global Compact. She previously worked at Fortis Investments in Boston where she completed research on prospective institutional investor clients and business development strategies. After Fortis, Christina worked at a Swiss business ethics research firm where she analysed environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues for client reports. Christina holds a double Bachelor of Science in Economics and Political Science from Trinity College in Hartford, CT. |
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Marcela Zonis, Brazil Network Manager
Marcela Zonis has joined the PRI to promote and support the PRI network in Brazil and she is based in São Paulo, Brazil. She has a Bachelors degree from EAESP- Fundação Getúlio Vargas, in Business Administration, with focus in Corporate Finance. Regarding her professional background, she has previous experience in Environmental Finance, particularly in the trading of carbon credits (CERS) and in the investment analysis and funding of clean energy projects. She has also worked in financial markets, participating in the trainee program of Banco Itaú BBA, Brazilian's largest investment bank. |
Chair and UN partners |
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Donald MacDonald, Chair, PRI
Donald has a background in the UK telecommunications industry and the trade union movement, he was a technician with British Telecommunications (BT), and a former President of the Communication Workers Union (UK). He is a Member Nominated Trustee (MNT) and a Director of the Trustee Board of the BT Pension Scheme, a defined benefit (final salary) scheme, with assets of approximately £38bn (€54bn, US$76bn). Donald is also a member and current pensioner of BTPS. BTPS is the UK’s largest occupational pension scheme, with over 350,000 members, of whom over half are current pensioners. The bulk of BTPS investments are managed by Hermes, an institutional fund manager that is wholly owned by BTPS. |
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Paul Clements-Hunt,
Head of Unit,
UNEP Finance Initiative
Paul Clements-Hunt Head of Unit, UNEP FI Paul Clements-Hunt has been the Head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Finance Initiative (FI) since November 2000. UNEP FI, based in Geneva, is the largest partnership between the United Nations and the financial services sector counting more than 170 banks, insurers and asset managers as members. Prior to joining the United Nations, Paul spent 1998-2000 representing the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) directing the organisation’s policy work in energy, environment and sustainable development. From 1991 to 1998, he was based in Bangkok, Thailand, where he founded the country’s first environmental strategy consultancy which developed projects throughout Southeast Asia. Paul graduated BA Economics from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and completed postgraduate studies in journalism at University College, Cardiff. |
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Gavin Power, Deputy Director,
UN Global Compact
Gavin Power is a deputy director at the UN Global Compact, working in the Office of the Secretary-General. In this capacity, Gavin heads financial-markets initiatives for the Global Compact program, which today includes more than 5000 companies and stakeholders in over 100 countries. He also has responsibility for the Global Compact in the USA; in addition, he heads global advocacy and public affairs. Prior to joining the United Nations, Gavin was Senior Vice President for Corporate Responsibility at Ketchum, where he advised Global 500 companies on issues of reputation management, transparency, accountability and stakeholder communications. For five years, Gavin was a senior manager at Levi Strauss & Co. where he worked on a range of corporate reputation and sustainability issues. Prior to joining Levi Strauss, he was a business editor, reporter and columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle where he covered economic trends, financial markets, the apparel industry, and business ethics. |
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Conference organisers note: High resolution versions of some photos for use in conference publications and websites:
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