Steering Group

Achim Steiner

Administrator, UNDP

Achim Steiner became UNDP Administrator on 19 June 2017 and will serve for a term of four years. The United Nations General Assembly confirmed his nomination on 19 April 2017, following his nomination by Secretary-General António Guterres.

Mr. Steiner is also the Vice-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, which unites 40 entities of the UN system that work to support sustainable development.

Over nearly three decades, Achim Steiner has been a global leader on sustainable development, climate resilience and international cooperation. He has worked tirelessly to champion sustainability, economic growth and equality for the vulnerable, and has been a vocal advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals.

Prior to joining UNDP, he was Director of the Oxford Martin School and Professorial Fellow of Balliol College, University of Oxford. Mr Steiner has served across the United Nations system, looking at global challenges from both a humanitarian and a development perspective. He led the United Nations Environment Programme (2006-2016), helping governments invest in clean technologies and renewable energy. He was also Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi. Achim Steiner previously held other notable positions including Director General of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and Secretary General of the World Commission on Dams.

Achim Steiner has lived and worked in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and the United States. He graduated in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (MA) from Worcester College, Oxford University and holds an MA from the University of London/School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

John Denton

Secretary-General, International Chamber of Commerce

He is also a Board member of the United Nations Global Compact, as well as a founding member of the Business 20 (B20), the Australia–China CEO Roundtable and UNHCR in Australia.

Mr Denton serves on the Board of leading global infrastructure group IFM Investors and is Co-Chair of the Trade and Investment Working Group for the G20 Japan.

A former diplomat, Mr Denton served as Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Australia’s leading independent law firm.

In 2015, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services to the business community, the arts and the rights of refugees, including as a founder of Human Rights Watch (Australia) and Teach for Australia.

Mr Denton is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and the University of Melbourne.

Cheo Hock Kuan

Executive Director & CEO, Temasek Trust

Ms Cheo Hock Kuan is currently the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Trust. She assumed the appointment on 1 April 2017.

Temasek Trust oversees the financial management of gifts and endowments from Temasek and other donors. Its purpose is to secure the long-term well-being of our community, locally and in the region, to ensure Sustainable Funding that supports its beneficiaries in pursuing positive social and sustainability outcomes. As CEO, Ms Cheo is responsible for charting Temasek Trust’s strategic path, spearheading and establishing its role as thought partner and convenor in the areas of philanthropy, sustainability and impact investing.

Prior to her appointment at Temasek Trust, Ms Cheo was with Temasek from 2002 until 2017. As part of the senior leadership team at Temasek, Ms Cheo played pivotal roles that shaped the institution’s development and international growth. Most recently as Senior Managing Director and Head, Sustainability & Stewardship Group, she oversaw Temasek’s commitment to the exploration of innovative solutions for sustainability causes, the development of philanthropic platforms for enhancing the well-being of communities, the building of institutional friendships and the management of Temasek’s brand and reputation. Ms Cheo’s earlier responsibilities at Temasek included that of Head, Organisation & Leadership, overseeing organisation development, corporate governance and leadership dynamics. As Temasek extended its footprint beyond Singapore, Ms Cheo was instrumental in establishing its presence in the China market and was co-Head, China. She played an active role in shaping Temasek’s early portfolio in China, including the investments into Chinese banking institutions.

Before her career at Temasek, Ms Cheo was a senior executive of Singapore Technologies, where she was responsible for the executive resource management of the Singapore Technologies group of companies.

Ms Cheo holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the National University of Singapore.

Anna Ryott

Chair of Board, Summa Equity

Summa Equity use investments as a tool to create a better world and at the same time deliver high returns. Anna is also on the board of Norrsken Foundation, Axel Johnson AB, UNF Global Entrepreneurs Council, World Childhood Foundation and Stockholm Sustainable Finance Center.

Recently Anna worked as deputy CEO at Norrsken Foundation supporting the ecosystem of and investing in impact tech entrepreneurs. Previous to that she was CEO of Swedfund – the Swedish development finance institution. Anna has also worked as secretary-general of SOS Children’s Villages and as a management consultant at McKinsey. 

Anna Ryott was 2018 named as Swedens most powerful female change maker by Veckans Affärer and 2014 she was awarded with HM Konungens Medal for “Significant contributions to Swedish society and industry”

Amy Jadesimi

CEO, LADOL

Amy was a Commissioner for Business & Sustainable Development Commission. Amy got financial training at Goldman Sachs & Stanford Graduate School of Business & medical training at Oxford University. Her accolades include being named of the Top 50 Women in Technology by (Forbes, 2018), Oil and Gas Leading Woman of the year (Foreign Investment Network, 2018), voted the Young CEO of the Year (African Leadership Forum, 2018), an Archbishop Tutu Fellow, a Young Global Leader – Alumni (WEF), a Rising Talent (Women’s Forum for Economy and Society), one of 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa (Forbes), one of Top 25 Africans to Watch (Financial Times), one of the Most Influential People of African Descent (Under 40) Worldwide (United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (UN IDPAD), 2018), one of 50 most Influential Women in Business (The Africa Report, Jeune Afrique, Africa CEO Forum) and she is a member Advisory Board of Prince’s Trust International and contributor to Forbes. (MBA from Stanford University, MA (OXON) and BMBCh from Oxford University).

AWARDS:

• 2018: Top 50 Women In Technology (Forbes)
• 2018: Oil and Gas Leading Women of the Year (Foreign Investment Network)
• 2018: Voted the Young CEO of the Year (African Leadership Forum)
• 2018: Named as one of the 2018 Most Influential People of African Descent (Under 40) Worldwide (UN IDPAD)

She is also an:

• Archbishop Tutu Fellow
• Member Advisory Board of Prince’s Trust International
• Young Global Leader (WEF)
• Rising Talent (Women’s Forum for Economy and Society)
• Named 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa (Forbes)
• Named Top 25 Africans to Watch (Financial Times)
• Named as 50 Most Influential Women in Business by The Africa Report, Jeune Afrique and the Africa CEO Forum

Ma Weihua

Chairman, China Alliance of Social Value Investment

Dr. Ma Weihua was an Executive Director as well as the President and CEO of China Merchants Bank, concurrently served as the Chairman of the board of directors for Wing Lung Bank Ltd., CIGNA & CMC life Insurance Company Ltd. and China Merchants Fund Management Co. Ltd.. He holds a Ph.D. in economics. Dr. Ma was a Deputy to the 10th National People’s Congress (NPC)， a member of the 11th and the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

He holds positions in many organizations currently, including the Chairman of China Alliance of Social Value Investment, Chairman of China Entrepreneur Club, the chairman of National fund for Techology Transfer and Commercialization(NFTTC) ,the chairman of China Global Philanthropy Institute, and the chairman of One Foundation. Dr. Ma also teaches as an adjunct professor in several top Chinese universities including Peking University and Tsinghua University.

In March 2019, Dr. Ma was appointed as Chairman of SDG Financing Advisory Committee and UNDP China Special Advisor

Lisa Genasci

Founder and CEO, ADM Capital Foundation (ADMCF)

ADMCF is an innovative philanthropic vehicle to support critical research and impact-driven approaches to promoting environmental conservation in Asia. ADMCF has been widely recognised for its work on solutions to some of our most intransigent challenges: Our depleting oceans, the nexus between forestry and development, air quality and public health, the intersections among food, energy and water. Lisa provides ESG advisory services to ADM Capital funds. She has worked with the Hong Kong based investment manager to shape its environmental and social principles and supported the development of an in-house ESG tool. Additionally, Lisa is a founder, with the ADM group, of the Tropical Landscapes Finance Facility (TLFF): a sustainable lending platform with BNP Paribas, UN Environment and ICRAF also as partners designed to finance green growth projects that aim to improve rural livelihoods and preserve biodiversity in Indonesia. TLFF launched its inaugural transaction in 2018, a USD 95 million Sustainability Bond. A director of the Hong Kong-based Civic Exchange and Angkor Hospital for Children in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Lisa is also an advisor to the Washington DC-based Ocean Foundation and Hong Kong’s Clean Air Network. Lisa holds a BA degree with High Honors from Smith College and an LLM in Human Rights Law from HKU.

Daniel Hanna

Global Head of Sustainable Finance, Barclays CIB

Daniel is the Global Head of Sustainable Finance, Barclays CIB.Prior to that he was the Global Head of Sustainable Finance and the Global Head of Public Sector & Development Organisations for Standard Chartered Bank. Daniel has almost two decades of banking experience in emerging markets providing advice to governments, state owned enterprises, development finance institutions on their credit ratings, raising equity and debt, restructuring their business activities and investing in emerging markets.

Daniel has helped emerging and frontier market sovereigns raise billions of dollars for infrastructure and social development. He, and his team, have led several innovative financing transactions, particularly in the use of “blended finance” and working with development finance institutions to mobilize more than USD 5bn in commercial capital towards the Sustainable Development Goals in developing countries. This included the creation of the USD 50m Post Ebola Reconstruction Facility for Sierra Leone, the World’s first Sovereign Blue Bond for the Republic of Seychelles, and the first World Bank IDA sovereign bond for the Republic of Ghana. Daniel and his team have also supported more than 2.5 million of the most vulnerable households through microfinance.

Daniel’s responsibilities include Standard Chartered’s Environmental and Social Risk Management team, and as part of its commitment to Sustainable Finance, Standard Chartered Bank took the decision to stop financing all new coal-fired power plants, alongside its existing promises to not finance arctic or amazon exploration or deforestation.

Daniel is a member of the steering group of the Sustainable Development Investment Partnership and of the City of London Sustainable Development Capital Initiative. Daniel established and ran the UK India CEO Forum for the chairs, Peter Sands and Ratan Tata, under the sponsorship of Prime Ministers David Cameron and Manmohan Singh. Daniel was also a member of the UK China Emerging Leaders Roundtable. Daniel has also previously worked as a visiting Fellow for Chatham House and for the President of the European Parliament. He has a Masters in Business Administration (Distinction) from London Business School, a Certificate d’Etudes European from Science Po Strasbourg and a BA in economics and politics from Exeter University.

Rajiv Lall

Chairman, IDFC First Bank

Rajiv Lall is Chairman, IDFC First Bank. He was the Founder MD & CEO of IDFC Bank. Earlier, he was CEO and then Executive Chairman of IDFC Ltd. from 2005.

A veteran economist and business leader for the past 35 years, Dr. Lall has been an active part of the finance and policy landscape both in India and internationally. Over his diverse career he has straddled leadership roles both in business and in public policy. His expertise spans international and macro-economics, banking, capital markets, infrastructure finance, private equity/venture capital and social impact investing, with a particular focus on emerging markets including India and China.

In his public policy related roles, Lall has served on numerous committees of the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India including: Raghuram Rajan Committee on Financial Sector Reforms; RBI Working Group on NBFCs; RBI Committee on Household Finance; High Powered Expert Committee for Urban Infrastructure; High Level Committee on Financing Infrastructure; and Expert Committee on Modernisation of Indian Railways. He has also served as India’s representative to the G-20 Working Group on Infrastructure. He is Chairman of IDFC Institute, a “think-do” tank focusing on political economy issues related to India.

On the business front, he was President of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He is a member of various CII Committees; the City of London’s Advisory Council for India; the Board of the Asia Business Leaders Advisory Council, Canada; and the Board of the US-India Business Council (USIBC).

Outside of business fora, Lall is Chairman of Social Finance India; on the Advisory Board of Columbia University, Global Centers, South Asia; and a member of the Founders Circle, Brookings, India. He is also Founder Chairman of Lok Foundation and a Board Member of the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation.

Prior to joining IDFC, Lall was variously, a Partner with Warburg Pincus, New York; Head of Asian Economics Research with Morgan Stanley, Hong Kong; and economist at the World Bank, Washington D.C., and Asian Development Bank, Manila; faculty member at the Department of Economics, Florida Atlantic University.

He is an active public speaker and columnist for various international daily news. He is author of numerous publications and articles.

Lall earned his BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University and holds a Ph.D. in Economics and from Columbia University

Sir Ronald Cohen

Philanthropist, GSG

Sir Ronald Cohen is a pioneering philanthropist, venture capitalist, private equity investor, and social innovator, who is driving forward the global Impact Revolution. For nearly two decades, his ground-breaking initiatives have catalyzed global efforts to drive private capital to serve social and environmental good. He serves as Chairman of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment, the Education Outcomes Fund for Africa and the Middle East and The Portland Trust. He is a co-founder of Social Finance UK, USA, and Israel; and co-founder Chair of Bridges Fund Management and Big Society Capital. He chaired the G8 Social Impact Investment Taskforce (2013-2015), the UK Social Investment Task Force (2000-2010) and the UK’s Commission on Unclaimed Assets (2005-2007). In 2012 he received the Rockefeller Foundation’s Innovation Award for Social Finance. He was a co-founder and Executive Chairman of Apax Partners Worldwide LLP (1972-2005), a global private equity firm. He was a co-founder and Chairman of the British Venture Capital Association and a co-founder of the European Venture Capital Association. He is a member of the Board of Dean’s Advisors at Harvard Business School; a former director of the Harvard Management Company; and formerly a member of the Harvard University Board of Overseers and the University of Oxford Investment Committee. He graduated from Oxford University, where he was President of the Oxford Union. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School to which he was awarded a Henry Fellowship. Sir Ronald was born in Egypt and left as a refugee at the age of 11, when his family came to the UK.

Ken Shibusawa

CEO, Shibusawa and Company, Inc.

Ken Shibusawa founded in 2001, Shibusawa and Company, Inc., a strategic advisory firm specializing in investments, corporate governance, ESG and human resource development. He also founded in 2008, Commons Asset Management, a mutual fund in Japan which strives to make cross-generational, long term investments in sustainable corporate value creation. He has extensive market experience at JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs as well as Moore Capital, a global macro hedge fund, where he was the representative managing director of the Tokyo Office. He is director of Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives), and currently serves as vice chairman of the Africa Committee.　He is also a member of the Japan National Advisory Board of the Global Social Impact Investment Steering Group. In 2019, he was also named chair of the committee on “New financing mechanisms for SDGs” organized under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Japan.

He is also a published author and writes frequently in magazines, journals, and internet media.

Gavin Power

CHIEF OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, PIMCO

Mr. Gavin Power is an executive vice president and chief of sustainable development and international affairs. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2018, Mr. Power was the deputy executive director of the United Nations Global Compact, the platform used to advance sustainability and responsible investment in more than 160 countries. There he advised U.N. secretaries-general and oversaw sustainability initiatives with the private sector in both developed and emerging markets.

He was also a co-founder of the Principles for Responsible Investment, directly supporting the U.N. secretary-general in their development and launch in 2006. Between 2012 and 2015, Mr. Power co-led the U.N. Global Compact’s role in the international consultations leading to development and final adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, authoring numerous SDG policy papers and convening SDG-related workshops.

Mr. Power also led government affairs for the U.N. Global Compact, interacting at ambassadorial and ministerial levels. In addition to his U.N. work, Mr. Power held senior positions at Ketchum and Levi Strauss and worked as a financial journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle. He holds a degree in economics from the University of California, as well as U.N. accreditation in leadership and ethics, human rights, and security in the field.

Mr. Power also serves on the nonprofit board of the Pacific Institute, an environmental research and advocacy organization.

Alexander Bjørklund

IMPACT MANAGER, SUMMA EQUITY

Alex is currently working as Impact Manager at Summa Equity (“Summa”), where he has spent the last five years helping to develop Summa’s methodology for evaluating, enhancing and measuring impact.

Alex has been the editorial lead on Summa’s annual portfolio report, and plays a central role in Summa’s external communication around impact and impact management.

Prior to Summa, he spent several years in banking, working with business intelligence and analytics. Alex has Master’s degree in Development Economics from the University of Queensland (UQ), with a final thesis focused on quantitative methods, emerging markets and renewable energy.