2021 Assembly of Investment Chairs Speakers

Florian Berg - Postdoctoral Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Florian is currently a research associate at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His research interest covers sustainable investing with a focus on ESG ratings, the disagreement between different rating agencies, and how it affects investors, firms, as well as academic research. He received his PhD in economics from Paris-Dauphine University. During his PhD, he held a visiting research position at ETH Zurich. He also holds a BSc in economics and a MSc in financial engineering from Paris-Dauphine University. Florian worked as a quantitative researcher at Amundi Asset Management and as a quantitative strategist/ trader at Alphadyne Asset Management. He also lectured portfolio management and fixed income analysis on the satellite campus in New York of Paris-Dauphine University as well as economics at Sciences-Po.

Renata Blair - Head of Māori Sector and Relationships, Bank of New Zealand

Renata is Head of Māori Business at BNZ. He also holds governance roles with the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust, Eden Park, The Independent Māori Statutory Board and AUT University. He has a background in the corporate and private sectors, and brings a wealth of experience working with Māori entities to help deliver upon their economic aspirations. His strong belief is that a strong and sustainable Māori economy, helps to accelerate the growth and prosperity of Aotearoa-NZ. He is fluent in Te Reo and Tikanga Māori and is of Ngāti Whātua and Tainui descent.

Barry Coates - Founder and CEO, Mindful Money

Barry Coates is founder and CEO of Mindful Money, a charitable social enterprise shifting investment towards ethical investment and sustainability. Barry has been active in sustainability since the Earth Summit in 1992, working in NZ and internationally on ethical investment, fair trade, climate change and poverty. He has been a strategy consultant to government and business, CEO of Oxfam Aotearoa, a Green Party list MP and founded Mindful Money in 2018. He has received the SBN Sustainability Champion award and has a Masters in Management from Yale University.

Chris Douglas - Principal, My Fiduciary

Chris is a Principal at MyFiduciary, one of New Zealand’s largest independent investment consultants. Chris has over two decades of investment experience working in Auckland, London, Sydney and Chicago. He previously spent 12-years at Morningstar where he held leadership roles within the firm’s research and data group and was Director of Manager Research, Asia-Pacific before joining MyFiduciary in 2018.

Johannah Dods - Responsible Investment Manager at ACC

Johannah is the Responsible Investment Manager for the ACC Investment Fund. Driven by a desire to be part of a financial sector that improves lives without compromising the future, Johannah has redirected her career to focus primarily on sustainable investment as part of the ACC investments team. Johannah has an MBA from Said Business School at Oxford University, and a Master of Commerce from the University of Canterbury.

After completing her MBA Johannah moved back to New Zealand shifting her focus from economic consulting, for Experian UK, to investments, for companies including Guardians of the NZ Superannuation Fund, and subsequently to sustainable finance. While sustainable investment featured substantially in former finance roles, Johannah has welcomed the chance to focus primarily on this space, recognising the need for a finance sector that serves people and planet and that supports an urgent and unified global response to mounting environmental threats.

Maria English - CEO, Impact Lab Ltd

Maria is Chief Executive at ImpactLab, an analytics startup that connects decision-makers with the information they can act on so they can grow their social impact and do good, better. As a consultant at Boston Consulting Group, Maria advised senior leaders of public, private and nonprofit organisations on strategy, operations and data governance.Maria has an MBA from Stanford University, where she created an online platform to support children with learning disabilities, and a BA in Politics, Psychology and Sociology from the University of Cambridge.

Sebastian Gehricke - Lecturer in Finance, Deputy Director of the Climate and Energy Finance Group (CEFGroup), University of Otago

Sebastian is an integral part of the Climate and Energy Finance Group (CEFGroup), running several events and pursuing research in climate finance, sustainable investments, carbon and energy markets and derivatives. Sebastian also has financial consulting experience, particularly in project feasibility modelling and investment management. This year Sebastian is bringing the first sustainable investments course in New Zealand to Otago undergraduate students. Sebastian runs the annual Assembly of Investment Chairs, in partnership with the New Zealand Super Fund, a free event for not-for-profit’s and Iwi to gain state of the art sustainable investments knowledge. He has volunteered through helping start-up businesses cement their business plans and sharing his personal and sustainable finance knowledge at community events.

Richard Hilder - CFO, Precinct Properties New Zealand Ltd

Richard Hilder is responsible for investor relations, financial planning and analysis, the execution of capital management initiatives and treasury management alongside leadership of the finance and analyst teams. Richard is also the Chair of Precinct's Sustainability Committee which encompasses ESG topics material to Precinct. Richard holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) (Finance and Economics) degree from University of Auckland.

Lucas Kengmana - Senior Investment Strategist, NZ Super Fund

Lucas is a Senior Investment Strategist at the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation. Last year, he pulled together their first TCFD Report. In the past, he has worked at the Climate Change Commission, looking at land use emissions and at Fonterra, where he led their climate change strategy. He is also a founding member of Greenpreneurs, an online accelerator for young entrepreneurs working on green enterprises in developing countries. Lucas has an MBA from INSEAD and a Bachelor of Arts and Commerce (with Honors) from Victoria University.

Sean Kidney - Co-founder and CEO, Climate Bonds Initiative

Sean Kidney is CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative, an international NGO, working to mobilize 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 how to grow green bonds in China; market development programs in Brazil, Mexico, ASEAN and Africa; and market tracking services for the green bonds industry. He 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. Sean is also a Professor in Practice at SOAS University of London.

Nicola Nation - CEO, The Akina Foundation

Nicola is passionate about combining business models and positive impact to deliver social and environmental change. She holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration from Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington.Nicola has over 15 years’ experience in public and private sector consulting, including roles at MBIE, Kiwibank and Deloitte. She has held senior procurement roles in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally, most recently at ACC and the World Bank. Having been with Ākina since 2018, Nicola started as Tumu Whakarae in October 2021 and is proud to lead a talented and passionate Ākina team on a journey to create positive change in people’s lives and for our planet.

Helen Roberts - Deputy Director, Climate and Energy Finance Group (CEFGroup)

Associate Professor Helen Roberts is a Deputy Director of the Climate and Energy Finance Group at the University of Otago. Her research interests cover Energy Finance and the impact of climate change on firm value; the relationship between CEO compensation, firm performance and governance; Gender pay gap and equity; and the value of board diversity and the role of gender diversity in firm governance. Helen teaches the final year undergraduate paper on financial management to Finance majors; she also coordinates a postgraduate paper that examines governance issues in Finance and teaches finance on the Master of Entrepreneurship program. Dr Roberts is the Director of the Master of Finance degree at Otago and the Deputy Head of the Department of Accountancy and Finance.

Grant Robertson - Minister of Finance

Hon Grant Robertson was born in Palmerston North and lived in Hastings before his family settled in Dunedin. He studied politics at Otago, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in 1995. At university he was the President of the Otago University Students’ Association and became Co-President of the New Zealand University Students Association. Grant joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1997 where he managed the New Zealand Overseas Aid Programme to Samoa. He was then posted to the United Nations in New York, working on global environment and development issues. On his return to New Zealand, Grant became an advisor to former Prime Minister Helen Clark. Following this, he took a business development role with the University of Otago, working with researchers, investors and businesses to develop and commercialise the university’s world-leading research.

Grant’s belief in social justice and a desire to see every New Zealander achieve their potential led him to politics, and he has been the Member of Parliament for Wellington Central since November 2008. In Opposition, Grant held a range of portfolios, including Finance from 2014 to 2017. After the 2017 election, Grant was appointed Minister of Finance, Minister for Sport and Recreation, and Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage. Grant was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in the 2020 Labour Government, alongside Minister of Finance, Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Racing, and Minister for Sport and Recreation. He met his partner Alf in 1998 playing rugby and their family now includes four grandchildren. In 2009 they were joined in a civil union.

Roy Thompson - Co-founder and Managing Director, New Ground Capital

Roy is co-founder and managing director of New Ground Capital, a specialist investment manager spearheading the development of impact investment funds and Build-to-Rent housing in NZ. He is also a founder, shareholder, and chair of NZSIP, an offsite manufacturer of energy-efficient buildings. Over the past 30 years he has started and grown businesses spanning manufacturing, hospitality, aviation leasing and investment management, whilst also holding senior roles in the banking and investment sector.

He was Global Head of Product Management and Investment Solutions for Deutsche Bank AG, based in London, and locally led Westpac’s national Private Wealth Management business and the Business Bank for the Auckland region. A keen hunter and diver concerned for the future of our natural environment, Roy and his wife own and operate the Mamaku Point Conservation Reserve on Stewart Island.

Annawati van Paddenburg (Anna) - Green Growth Professional

Annawati van Paddenburg (Anna) is a green growth professional who brings unique perspectives from her two decades of experience integrating the value of nature in economic and investment decisions. Anna held leadership roles with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and other global organizations and covered projects in the Asia Pacific, Africa and Latin America regions. Throughout her career, Anna led the delivery of cutting-edge projects with multidisciplinary teams across countries. Anna’s expertise is in working with governments, finance and business communities to design investment and policy solutions which shape resilient and sustainable landscapes, where biodiversity is valued and climate risks are managed and people are empowered.

Anna holds several advisory roles in support of boards and expert coalitions including the Sustainable Biomass Program, Predator Free Hauraki Coromandel Community Trust, International Advisory Council of the Global Bioeconomy and Natural Capital Working Group of the Green Growth Knowledge Platform. Anna holds an MSc in Geo-information Science and BSc Hons in environmental science. Born in Papua New Guinea and raised in Indonesia and the Netherlands, Anna has made Auckland her new home since 2020.

Craig Weise - CEO, New Zealand Green Investment Finance

Craig has over 25 years of experience in private capital markets, both in the US and NZ, with a career incorporating roles in investment advisory, law, investment banking and investment management and governance. Before joining NZGIF he held multi-faceted executive roles for the commercial directorate of Treasury, managing teams focused on the New Zealand government’s direct investment and managed portfolios representing over $100 billion in assets.

Immediately prior to his time at Treasury, Craig was a principal at Armillary Private Capital, ultimately active as its Managing Director, Investment Banking. Earlier roles included time with John Hancock Financial Services, Nixon Peabody, Sidley and HHC, a private equity-backed holding company. Craig holds an Honours Degree in Economics from Randolph-Macon College, Virginia, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia. He is also a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, a Certified Investment Fund Director and a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors.

Matt Whineray - CEO, NZ Super Fund

Matt was appointed Chief Executive Officer 1 July 2018. Matt joined the Guardians in May 2008 as General Manager, Private Markets. In 2014 Matt became Chief Investment Officer overseeing the Investments Group, responsible for the Fund’s portfolio construction and investment activity in listed and unlisted markets, both directly and through investment managers. Matt’s achievements in this role included the development of the Fund’s climate change investment strategy, risk allocation process and risk budget framework, along with the strengthening of the Guardians’ New Zealand and international direct investment capabilities.

Before joining the Guardians, Matt was at Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) where he was Head of Financial Sponsor Coverage for non-Japan Asia. Prior to this, he was a Managing Director at First NZ Capital in New Zealand and a Vice President at Credit Suisse First Boston in New York. Matt began his career as a Barrister and Solicitor with Russell McVeagh in Auckland. Matt is a member of Focusing Capital on the Long Term, a Director of Netball New Zealand and Co-Chair of the Aotearoa Circle’s Sustainable Finance Forum. Matt has previously served as a member of the World Economic Forum General Agenda Council on the Future of Investing, and as Chair of the InZone Education Foundation.

Renzhu Zhang - Strategic Postdoctoral Fellow, Climate and Energy Finance Group (CEFGroup)

Dr Renzhu Zhang is the Strategic Postdoctoral Fellow at the Climate and Energy Finance Group (CEFGroup), Department of Accountancy and Finance, University of Otago. Prior to moving into academia, Renzhu interned at a number of Fortune 500 companies, including HSBC, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Telecom. Her current teaching and research interests lie in the area of sustainable finance, corporate finance and financial markets. She holds a BA in Finance, an MSc in Financial Management (Edinburgh), and a PhD in Finance (Otago).