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Speaker biographies
Amongst the experts speaking on the conference programme are:
Stewart Armer
Head of Sustainable and Responsible Investment
Fortis Investments
Stewart Armer is Head of SRI at Fortis Investments. Stewart sees his role as driving innovation in SRI process and product in order to provide clients with funds that perform both from the sustainability and financial point of view.
Fortis Investments has made a strategic commitment to building a market leading SRI capability based in Frankfurt, Germany. In 2005, as part of this strategy, Fortis Investments took a strategic stake in Versiko AG a specialist SRI asset manager based in Germany and in 2006 set up an independent international SRI committee to oversee Fortis Investments SRI product range. Fortis Investments SRI team now totals nine dedicated SRI specialists and manages a range of investment products including equity, bond, balanced and specialist global sustainability funds.
Stewart is an experienced fund manager and is currently responsible for the management of a number of sustainable investment products including the S&P rated “Futurevision” global sustainable equity fund and “Fortis L Fund Equity Environmental Sustainability World” which focuses on investing in environmental technologies. Prior to setting up Fortis Investments SRI unit Stewart held a number of senior positions within Fortis Investments including Director of Equity Investment Processes in which role he had responsibility for investment decision making processes across Fortis Investments equity investment centres.
Stewart has an MA from Oxford (UK) and an MBA from HEC (Paris, France). |
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Jella Benner-Heinacher
Managing Director
Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz (DSW)
DSW is the leading shareholder association in Germany with more than 28.000 members.
She is an attorney having studied in France, Switzerland and the U.S..
Jella Benner-Heinacher joined DSW in 1991 and was appointed Managing Director in 1994.
She is primarily responsible for:
- International activities: Euroshareholders in Brussels,
and European Corporate Governance Services (ECGS)
in London
- Corporate Governance issues in commissions such as Baums- and Cromme-Commission, in speeches and international conferences
- DSW’s participation in the legislation procedure at a national and international level
- Speaking at Annual General Meetings such as SAP, Metro, Henkel and KarstadtQuelle
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Ethan Berman
CEO
RiskMetrics Group
Ethan Berman is CEO of RiskMetrics Group. Before spinning off RiskMetrics Group from JPMorgan in 1998, Ethan was a Managing Director at JPMorgan; responsible for the firm's Risk Management Services Group. As head of that group, he was in charge of JPMorgan's risk advisory work, including developing risk products such as RiskMetrics and CreditMetrics. Ethan joined JPMorgan in 1987 as a bond trader and worked in New York, Tokyo, and Paris. He eventually managed the Mortgage-Backed Securities business, the North American taxable salesforce, and the government option and zero-coupon trading desk. In 1997 Ethan was named one of the new rising stars of global finance by Business Week. |
Antonio Borges
Goldman Sachs
Antonio Borges joined Goldman Sachs International in 2000 as Vice Chairman and Managing Director. He works with Investment Banking clients in Europe and Brazil with particular focus on the Iberian Peninsula.
Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Antonio was Dean of INSEAD from 1993 to 2000. He joined INSEAD’s faculty in 1980 and also taught at the University of Lisbon, Portuguese Catholic University and Stanford University. Between 1990 and 1993, he was Vice Governor of Banco de Portugal, where he took a leading role in the liberalisation of Portugal’s financial system. He also worked at European level on the project of Economic and Monetary Union.
Antonio graduated from the Technical University in Lisbon and holds an MA and PhD in Economics from Stanford University.
He has been a consultant to the US Electric Power Research Institute, the US Treasury Department, the OECD and the Portuguese government.
Antonio serves on the Boards of several American and European companies and foundations. He is the Chairman of the European Corporate Governance Institute and a member of the EU’s Corporate Governance Forum. |
Frédérik-Karel Canoy
Association des Actionnaires Actifs (EADS)
Frédérik - Karel Canoy is attorney at law since 1992, specialized in penal and civil law. He serves as legal council to the ministry of defense and to the ministry of interior. He is currently leading the campaign in France for a class action procedure. He exercises in Vincennes, close to Paris.
Mr Canoy graduated from the Université de Paris X and the Université de Paris II in 1977 and received his Notary and public law degrees. After graduating in Law and prior to setting up his own practice, he practiced corporate and securities law in several private law firms in Paris and financial institutions.
Mr Canoy is married with four children. His non-work interests include reading and music. |
Jean-Nicolas Caprasse
Head of European Corporate Governance Research
RiskMetrics Group
Jean-Nicolas Caprasse heads European corporate governance research for
RiskMetrics Group’s ISS Governance Services unit. Caprasse joined RiskMetrics Group through
ISS' May 2005 acquisition of Deminor Rating, where he had been the Managing Partner since
2000 and a partner of Deminor International since 1993.
Prior to joining Deminor, Caprasse spent five years with JP Morgan, in Brussels and New York,
as a Capital Markets Associate. He started his business career with American Petrofina (now
Fina Inc.), an oil and gas company in Dallas, Texas, as assistant to the Chief Financial Officer.
He has a degree in Commercial Engineering from Solvay Business School ULB/VUB in Brussels
(1986) and an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France (1992). |
Martha L. Carter, Ph.D.
Head of the Center for Corporate Governance
RiskMetrics Group
Martha Carter heads the Center for Corporate Governance, global thought leadership
and policy for RiskMetrics Group’s ISS Governance Services unit. She also chairs the Global
Policy Board.
Prior to joining RiskMetrics Group, Carter served as Director, Listing Qualifications, for The
NASDAQ Stock Market, where she analyzed and reviewed compliance issues for NASDAQ listed
companies to ensure that companies were meeting the market's listing standards.
Carter holds a Ph.D. in Finance from George Washington University and an MBA in Finance
from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She did her undergraduate work in
Mathematics and French at Purdue University. |
Anna Chefter, CFA, FRM
Chief Risk Officer
First Quadrant, L.P.
As Chief Risk Officer and Director of First Quadrant's independent Risk Office, Anna oversees risk management models and procedures across all of the firm’s portfolios and all positions summing up to $39 billion assets under management. Her interest in proprietary risk models developed over the course of a 10-year career in the financial services industry, working for such firms as Western Asset Management, Merrill Lynch, and D.E. Shaw group. Anna leverages her advanced degrees in mathematics and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to implement and automate the strategies to manage risk for First Quadrant's quantitative investments. |
Hye-Won Choi
Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Corporate Governance
TIAA-CREF
Hye-Won Choi serves as Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Corporate Governance at TIAA-CREF. Based in New York, TIAA-CREF is one of the largest private pension companies in the world with over $428 billion of assets.
Ms. Choi oversees TIAA-CREF’s corporate governance program for domestic and international markets, providing legal counsel to the governance area. She is also responsible for TIAA-CREF’s proxy voting and operations.
Ms. Choi’s memberships include: the International Corporate Governance Network, where she serves on the Cross-Border Voting Practices Committee, Global Institutional Governance Network, European Corporate Governance Institute, and the Asian Corporate Governance Association. She also serves on the International Roundtable on Executive Remuneration and the Committee for Economic Development’s Subcommittee on Corporate Governance.
Ms. Choi has been quoted in a number of articles which have appeared in major publications such as The Financial Times, Dow Jones, Pension & Investments, Investors Business Daily, Corporate Counsel, Market Watch.com, Financial Week, The Nikkei and Asahi Newspapers. She has also appeared on CNBC as well as NHK television in Japan. She speaks frequently in the United States and internationally on governance issues.
Ms. Choi received an A.B. cum laude from Harvard in 1985 and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1989. While at Harvard, she was the recipient of the John Harvard Scholarship and the Radcliffe Fellowship for Outstanding Senior Women. She was also a member of the Boalt Hall Journal of International Law.
Prior to joining TIAA-CREF in 1994, Ms. Choi practiced corporate and securities law at the firms of Reid and Priest and Rubin Baum Levin Constant and Friedman in New York.
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William Claxton-Smith
Head of Corporate Governance, Investor Responsibility
Insight Investment
William joined Insight Investment in 1976 after graduating from Exeter College, Oxford with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He initially worked as a UK Equity Analyst, then as a Fund Manager responsible for Insight’s Equity High Income Fund for 19 years until January 2004.
William has been involved in corporate governance and regulation issues for many years and is now focusing entirely on corporate governance activity.
He is a member of a number of industry bodies including the Investment Committee of the Association of British Insurers and the CBI Companies Committee.
He has spoken and written extensively on corporate governance issues. |
Douglas G. Cogan
Head of Climate Change Research
RiskMetrics Group
Doug Cogan heads climate change research for RiskMetrics Group’s Financial Research
and Analysis unit. He is the author of several books on environmental and energy topics, and a
frequent speaker on corporate social responsibility issues.
Cogan’s 1992 book, The Greenhouse Gambit: Business and Investment Responses to Climate
Change, was one of the first to examine the investment implications of global warming for
major industries. In 2003, he wrote Corporate Governance and Climate Change: Making the
Connection. Commissioned by Ceres, this report used a 14-point checklist to evaluate how
some of the world’s biggest carbon-emitting companies are factoring climate change in their
business strategies and governance practices. The Investor Network on Climate Risk
commissioned an update of this report—examining 100 companies—that was released in March
2006.
In 2004, Cogan wrote an Investor Guide to Climate Risk: Action Plan and Resource for Plan
Sponsors, Fund Managers and Corporations. He has also testified before Congress to provide
an investor perspective on climate change and clean air legislation.
Cogan has written extensively on fiduciary issues related to social investing and shareholder
activism. In 2000, he edited Tobacco Divestment and Fiduciary Responsibility: A Financial and
Legal Analysis, commissioned by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This report examined
legal and fiduciary issues raised by fund trustees who seek to align investment practices with
their institutional missions. In 2004, he wrote Unexamined Risk: How Mutual Funds Vote on
Global Warming Shareholder Resolutions. This report addressed mutual fund proxy voting
practices on social and environmental issues. An update of this report was published in
January 2006.
Prior to RiskMetrics Group, Cogan was apart of the Social Issues Service team at Investor
Responsibility Research Center, and helped establish its Environmental Information Service in
1988.
Cogan is a graduate of Williams College. He graduated cum laude and received highest honors
in political economics. |
Fabien Couderc
Senior Researcher, Risk Management Division
RiskMetrics Group
Fabien Couderc is a member of the research team at RiskMetrics Group, working in the Geneva office. Fabien holds a M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from the Engineering School ENSIMAG, and a M.Sc. in Finance from the Business School of Grenoble. He is currently completing a Ph.D. in Finance as a candidate of the International Center FAME Doctoral Program in Geneva. His research focuses on structured products, credit risk, interest rates and econometrics. Fabien previously worked as a consultant for Standard & Poor's in the Risk Solutions Department and as a Strategist for the Société Générale. |
Benoit d’Angelin
Managing Director
Centaurus Capital Limited
Benoit d’Angelin is a Managing Director at Centaurus Capital Limited. Prior to leaving in March 2006, Mr. d’Angelin was Co-Head of Investment Banking for Lehman Brothers in Europe, a member of Lehman Brothers European Executive Committee, a member of the Investment Banking Global Executive Committee and a part of the Global Management Committee of Lehman Brothers.
Prior to taking up this role in June 2000, Mr. d’Angelin was Head of European Capital Markets. During his time at Lehman Brothers, he has worked on a number of high profile transactions and his experience includes advising companies such as Actelion, Blackstone, BNP, CADES, Charterhouse, Fortis, GSK, Permira, etc. Recently, Mr. d’Angelin also worked on several large buyouts including Legrand, Eutelsat, Coral, Saga and Gala. In addition, Mr. d’Angelin led the financing team who managed the largest-ever hostile takeover of Telecom Italia by Olivetti and raised in excess of $35bn of debt and equity financing for the company. He also advised AXA on the largest-ever capital raising exercise for an Insurance Company.
Mr. d’Angelin joined Lehman Brothers in Paris in 1993 as Head of French Capital Markets. Previously, he was with BNP/Paribas.
Mr. d’Angelin, 44, is a graduate of Institut des Sciences Politique de Paris. He is married with four children and lives in London.
He is a member of the Tuesday Club, the APL Foundation, a Board Member of the Private Equity Firm “Matignon Investissement” and member of the Lehman Advisory Board. |
Stéphane Daul
Senior Researcher, Risk Management Division
RiskMetrics Group
Stéphane Daul joined RiskMetrics Group in August 2006 as a member of the research team. Prior to joining RiskMetrics Group, Stéphane spent two and half years heading up the quantitative risk management methods team at EIM, a Fund of Hedge Funds. The team was responsible for developing a risk measurement tool specifically for hedge fund portfolios. From 2001-2003, Stéphane was in charge of the development of statistical methods for group risk modeling at Swiss Re. Previously he was a researcher in theoretical physics. Stéphane is also a Research Associate at the Edhec Risk and Asset Management Center in Nice. He has published numerous articles in both physics and finance. Stéphane is a CFA charter holder and was awarded a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. |
John Deosaran
Head of Environmental, Social and Governance Analytics
RiskMetrics Group
John Deosaran heads environmental, social and governance (ESG) analytics for
RiskMetrics Group’s Financial Research and Analysis unit. In his role, he oversees business
development for ESG products, including corporate governance ratings and environmental and
social screening solutions.
Prior to joining RiskMetrics Group, Deosaran spent twelve years with Thomson Financial,
serving in a variety of roles within Thomson’s First Call, AutEx, and ILX business units. For the
past two years, he led the product management teams responsible for Thomson’s investment
banking and wealth management products.
Before Thomson, Deosaran worked in the Washington, DC office of Kidder Peabody. He holds
degrees in marketing and logistics from the University of Maryland. |
David Diamond
Credit Agricole Asset Management
David Diamond has been a Senior Sustainability Analyst & Head of Shareholder Engagement at Crédit Agricole Asset Management since July 2003 after joining Crédit Lyonnais Asset Management as an SRI analyst in 2001.
Previously, David worked as a European equities financial analyst, advisor to the UN Pension Fund, at BNP Paribas Asset Management from 1998-2001, and in International Marketing at Paribas Asset Management from 1996-98.
He graduated from Williams College (Massachusetts, USA) with a B.A. in Art History and gained a Master’s degree in management from ESCP-EAP (Paris-Oxford-Berlin) in 1996.
He currently is a member of the Corporate Governance Commission of AFG (French Asset Management Association), and participates in various working groups of Eurosif (European Social Investment Forum), FIR (French Social Investment Forum) and the IIGCC (Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change). |
Lawrence Dunn
Head of Risk Management Business EMEA
RiskMetrics Group
Lawrence R. Dunn is Head of the Business Group for RiskMetrics Group in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and is based in the London office. In prior roles at RiskMetrics Group, Lawrence has been Head of Research – Americas, Global Head of Marketing, and Global Head of Credit Applications. Before joining the company in 2002, Lawrence spent two years in the software industry and eight years as a derivatives trader. He was a vice president at Citigroup where he was head trader of the base metals derivatives trading desk. Prior to joining Citigroup, he spent over five years trading derivatives for JPMorgan. Lawrence holds a B.A. in Applied Mathematics/Economics from Harvard. |
Christopher C. Finger
Global Head of Risk Management Research
RiskMetrics Group
Christopher C. Finger is Global Head of Risk Management Research at RiskMetrics Group, and director of the Geneva branch office. Christopher is responsible for coordinating research across the firm, and for overseeing RiskMetrics Group research publications. Prior to his current role, Christopher managed the credit products business, where he was responsible for RiskMetrics Group's services related to credit trading, economic capital and structured products, including the CreditGrades, CreditManager and CDOManager product lines. Christopher was editor of the CreditGrades Technical Document and is the author of numerous articles in the risk management field. Before joining RiskMetrics Group, Christopher worked in Risk Management Services at JPMorgan, where he co-authored the CreditMetrics Technical Document. Christopher holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Princeton University, and a B.S. in Mathematics and Physics from Duke University. |
Rob Fraser
Head of Software Engineering Design, Risk Management Division
RiskMetrics Group
Rob Fraser is a founding member of RiskMetrics Group having previously worked for BAE Systems, Swiss Bank Corporation and JPMorgan. Rob established the RiskMetrics European and Middle East Institutional Business and was responsible for the development of the company's ASP and Web Services business. He is now responsible for the design of RiskMetrics software services and operational infrastructure, and for long term technology strategy. Rob is a Chartered Engineer and Member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers, with a BEng in Aerospace Systems, and a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence. |
Tarik Garidi
Senior Researcher, Risk Management Division
RiskMetrics Group
Tarik Garidi is based in the RiskMetrics Group Geneva office as a member of the research team. He currently works on solutions for handling structured products on the RiskMetrics platform. Prior to relocating to Geneva in March 2006, Tarik spent over a year working as a risk analyst in the RiskMetrics Group London office. His role included risk modelling and consulting as well as client training and product support. Tarik holds a Ph.D. in Mathematical Physics from the University of Paris 7 and a Postgraduate Degree in Mathematical Physics from the University of Geneva (Diplôme de Physique Théorique). Tarik is author of numerous publications in physics and mathematics. |
Stuart M. Grant
Founder and Managing Partner
Grant & Eisenhofer
Stuart M. Grant is a founder and managing partner of Grant & Eisenhofer. His practice consists primarily of representing institutional investors nationwide in securities and corporate governance litigation, proxy contests, and other related matters. Mr. Grant has successfully argued on behalf of institutional investors in many groundbreaking cases including: Gluck v. CellStar (in which State of Wisconsin Investment Board was the first institution named as lead plaintiff pursuant to the PSLRA over the objection of first filed plaintiffs), and In re Digex Stockholders Litigation (in which lead plaintiff provisions were established in Delaware, and in which plaintiffs achieved the largest settlement in Delaware Chancery Court history) , and In re UniSuper Ltd., et al. v. News Corporation, et al. (a landmark case in which the Delaware Chancery Court ruled that shareholders may limit board authority without amending the corporation’s charter). Most recently, Mr. Grant was lead trial counsel in the six-week securities class action trial of In re Safety-Kleen Corp. Bondholders Litigation, which resulted in judgments holding the company’s CEO and CFO jointly and severally liable for nearly $200 million, and settlements with the remaining defendants for $84 million.
Mr. Grant is a frequent speaker on securities issues, particularly from the institutional investor perspective, at the Practising Law Institute, the Council of Institutional Investors and at other securities fora. In 2004, he taught at PricewaterhouseCoopers/University of Delaware Directors’ College. Mr. Grant has also testified on behalf of institutional investors before the SEC and before the Third Circuit Panel on Appointment of Class Counsel. He has published numerous articles on securities litigation including: “Appointment of Lead Plaintiff Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act,” 1070 PLI/CORP. 547 (1998); Practising Law Institute, 1998; “Appointment of Lead Plaintiff Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act: Update 2000,” 1199 PLI/CORP. 455 (2000); Practising Law Institute, 2000; “Appointment of Lead Plaintiff Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act: Update 2001,” 1269 PLI/CORP. 689 (2001); “Appointment of Lead Plaintiff Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act: Update 2002,” 1332 PLI/CORP. 695 (2002); “Appointment of Lead Plaintiff Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act: Update 2003,” 1386 PLI/CORP. 553 (2003); “The Role of Foreign Investors in Federal Securities Class Actions,” 1442 PLI/CORP. 91 (2004); “Institutional Investors and Section 18 of The Exchange Act,” The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation, Vol. 33, No. 5, S&P, March 14, 2000; and “Class Certification and Section 18 of the Exchange Act,” the Review of Securities and Commodities Regulation, Vol. 35, No. 21, S&P, December 11, 2002.
Prior to forming Grant & Eisenhofer in 1997, Mr. Grant was a litigation partner in the Wilmington office of the Philadelphia-based firm of Blank Rome Comisky & McCauley, and prior to that an associate at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, LLP. Since 1994, he has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, leading a securities litigation seminar for third-year law students, and is also a Certified Teacher for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA). Mr. Grant graduated in 1982 cum laude from Brandeis University with a B.A. in Economics and received his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1986. He served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Naomi Reice Buchwald in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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Philip Jacob
Coordinator Analytics and Data, Risk Management Division
RiskMetrics Group
Philip Jacob joined RiskMetrics Group in 2000 as an analytics developer, later managing the team. Philip has recently relocated to the London office from New York and his current role is coordinating research, analytics and data. Philip worked for Salomon Brothers in London prior to joining RiskMetrics Group. He holds a doctorate from the department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Manchester University and was an industrial research fellow at Rolls-Royce, Derby, and Hitachi MERL, Ibaraki. |
Guy R Jubb
Investment Director, Head of Corporate Governance
Standard Life Investments Limited
Guy has a career spanning merchant banking, corporate finance, venture capital and fund management roles in London, New York and his hometown of Edinburgh. Before taking up his present role, Guy was Head of Standard Life Investments’ Smaller Company and Private Equity teams.
He currently heads Standard Life Investment’s Corporate Governance Team, which he pioneered in 1992 to develop and implement an efficient approach to corporate governance. The team is responsible for fulfilling all aspects of Standard Life Investments’ corporate governance responsibilities, including SRI research and Standard Life Investments’ Global Governance Platform. Each year, Guy and his team meet over 100 companies to discuss a wide range of corporate governance topics to assist the evaluation of corporate governance for investment purposes.
Guy has been deeply involved in developing best practice approaches to corporate governance. He is a member of a number of influential committees including the ABI Investment Committee, the CBI Companies Committee, the Accounting Standard’s Board’s Urgent Issues Task Force and the ICGN’s Accounting and Auditing Committee. In addition, Guy was a member of the Corporate Governance Working Group, which assisted the UK Government during its wide-ranging review of company law. He is a member of European Commission’s Auditor Liability Advisory Forum. |
Rob Lake
Senior Portfolio Manager, Environment, Social and Governance Issues
ABP Investments
Rob Lake joined ABP Investments in February 2007 as Senior Portfolio Manager, Environment, Social and Governance Issues. ABP is the ca. €216 billion pension fund for Dutch public sector employees. Rob is responsible for integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into ABP’s investment process. From 2000 to 2006 he was Head of Corporate Engagement at Henderson Global Investors, again working on the incorporation of ESG factors into investment decision-making. From 1990 to 2000 he was a policy analyst for various environmental and international development NGOs. He has been a member of numerous advisory committees to companies and government on the relevance of social and environmental issues to business and investment practice. |
Rich Leggett
Head of ISS Governance Services & Financial Research and Analysis units
RiskMetrics Group
Rich Leggett heads RiskMetrics Group’s ISS Governance Services & Financial Research
and Analysis units. In this role, he oversees RiskMetrics Group’s corporate governance, proxy
voting and financial research and analysis-related businesses.
Leggett brings a broad base of global expertise in investment services to RiskMetrics Group,
including an extensive background in investment banking, equity research, and consulting.
Previously, Leggett was President and Chief Executive Officer at the Center for Financial
Research and Analysis (CFRA) until its recent acquisition by RiskMetrics Group in August 2007.
Before joining CFRA in 2005, he was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs in New York and
London, where he worked in both the Investment Banking and Equity Research divisions.
Before joining Goldman Sachs, Leggett was Managing Director at Friedman, Billings, Ramsey &
Co., Inc. and a senior manager at Accenture.
Leggett is a graduate of Georgetown University and currently serves on the Board of Directors
for Investorside, New York City Outward Bound and the Boys and Girls Club of Greater
Washington. |
Daniel Léon
CIO Investment Solutions
AXA Investment Managers
Daniel Léon joined AXA Investment Managers in 2000. He is the CIO for the Investment Solutions team. Previously he spent five years at Bank Paribas, where he was in charge of derivatives research on the foreign exchange markets for two years and later structured hybrid and fixed income derivatives. He graduated from Ecole Polytechnique, a French engineering school, in 1992. |
Anne Leppälä-Nilsson
Kesko Corporation and the Finnish Corporate Governance Working Party
Anne Leppälä-Nilsson, born in 1953, has a Master of Science in Economics from the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration and Master of Laws from Helsinki University. Since 2001, she has been employed by Kesko Corporation as General Counsel, responsible for Legal Affairs, Internal Audit and Risk Management.
Anne Leppälä-Nilsson is chairman of the Corporate Governance working group established by the Finnish Securities Market Association in December 2006. This group works to update the Finnish CG-Code and to study the need and possibilities for eventual Nordic CG-Code harmonization.
In 2003, Anne Leppälä-Nilsson was a member of a working group to present the Finnish Corporate Governance Recommendations for Listed Companies that were introduced in July 2004. Ms. Leppälä-Nilsson is the chairman of the Competition, Consumer and Business Law Committee of the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK and the chairman of the Law Committee of the Federation of Finnish Commerce. She is a member in the Arbitration Institute and the Committee for Appointment of Arbitrators.
Kesko is the most versatile provider of trading sector services in the Nordic and Baltic countries and Russia. Kesko´s main lines of business are food, DIY hardware, home goods retailing and car distribution. Its 2006 net sales amounted to EUR 8,749 million and it employs 24,000 people, of whom over 12,000 outside Finland. |
Colin Melvin
Chief Executive
Hermes Equity Ownership Services Ltd
As CEO of Hermes Equity Ownership Services Ltd, Colin Melvin provides advice and assistance to pension funds and other institutional investors in the areas of responsible investment, corporate governance, voting and engagement on assets managed by third party fund managers. He is also responsible, as Director of Corporate Governance for Hermes Pensions Management Ltd, for the direction, development and management of corporate governance and responsible investment in relation to Hermes’ equity shareholdings, directing the largest corporate governance resource of any fund management company.
Mr Melvin is currently an active member of various industry steering groups and committees including those of the United Nations Project on Principles for Responsible Investment, the Work Foundation Panel of Inquiry into Work and Enterprise, the Global Institutional Governance Network and the Institute of Directors Professional Accreditation Committee.
He also chaired the organizing committee for the International Corporate Governance Network’s 2005 annual conference, which attracted over 500 attendees from 37 countries. He is currently a member of the ICGN’s standing committees on executive remuneration, cross-border voting and shareholder responsibilities. He has also founded or led various investor groups including the Performance Pay Group and SRI Forum in the UK and co-drafted guidelines for corporate disclosure on social, environmental and ethical matters, which have been issued by the Association of British Insurers. In November 2001, he set up the Responsible Investors Network, to facilitate the development of corporate engagement in this area.
Previously, Mr. Melvin was Corporate Governance Manager and Secretary to the Ethics Committee at Standard Life Investments and Head of Corporate Governance at Baillie Gifford. He is also a former member of the Advisory Board to Aberforth Limited Partnership I, a fund engaged in relational and active-value investing.
Mr Melvin joined Hermes in 2002 and became CEO of Hermes Equity Ownership Services in 2005. He is an associate member of the Chartered Financial Analysts Institute and the UK Society of Investment Professionals. He holds an MA from Aberdeen University and an MPhil from Cambridge University, both in History, and a Diploma in Investment Analysis from Stirling University. He is an Associate of the Centre for Corporate Governance Research of the University of Birmingham.
Mr Melvin is married with three children. His non-work interests include cinema and photography. |
Pradeep Menon
Head of Sales, Risk Management
RiskMetrics Group
Pradeep Menon is the Head of Sales in the Risk Management division of RiskMetrics Group. He has global responsibility for the sales force across North America, Europe/Middle East and Asia. Pradeep has been with RiskMetrics since September 1998 when the company was spun-off from JP Morgan. Prior to RiskMetrics, Pradeep was part of the Equity Derivatives Group at JP Morgan working on the Program Trading, Index Options and Convertible Bond desks. Pradeep joined JP Morgan in 1993 and worked in the New York, London and Hong Kong offices. Pradeep holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Information Systems. |
Peter Montagnon
Head of Investment Affairs
Association of British Insurers
Peter Montagnon joined the Association of British Insurers as Director of Investment Affairs in October 2000. ABI members are large investors controlling funds worth some £1,100bn. Mr Montagnon’s department is responsible for representing the interests of ABI members as investors to the broader public, government and the companies in which the industry holds stakes.
Previously Mr Montagnon had spent two decades as a senior journalist on the Financial Times, including spells as Head of the Lex Column and in charge of coverage of the international capital markets. His last assignment, from 1994 to 2000, was as Asia Editor, responsible for the FT’s coverage of a region stretching from Pakistan to New Zealand.
After graduating in Modern Languages from Cambridge University in 1972, Mr Montagnon joined Reuters news agency as a financial journalist. At Reuters he completed assignments in Hong Kong, Zurich and Washington before joining the Financial Times.
Mr Montagnon has been appointed by the European Commission to serve on the new European Corporate Governance Forum. |
John Noorlander
Head of Portfolio Strategy and Risk Management
Helvetia Insurance
John Noorlander is Head of Portfolio Strategy and Risk Management at Helvetia Insurance – formerly Helvetia Patria Insurance. He is responsible for asset liability management and investment strategy for Helvetia Group as well as risk control and risk management assets. Prior to joining Helvetia in 1995, John spent nine years at Swiss Bank Corporation as a Senior Economist and then as Portfolio Manager for institutional investors. From 1983 to 1986, John was an Assistant at the Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, University of Basel. John holds a Masters Degree and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Basel. |
Luis O'Shea
Senior Researcher, Risk Management Division
RiskMetrics Group
Luis O'Shea is a member of the research team at RiskMetrics Group, based in the New York office. Currently working on volatility modeling, Luis has also worked on MBS, commodities, and synthetic CDOs. Luis has been with RiskMetrics Group for five years. Before joining RiskMetrics Group he worked at McKinsey and Co. Luis holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Cornell University. |
David Paterson
Head of Corporate Governance, NAPF
Director of Research, RREV
David Paterson joined the NAPF as head of corporate governance and RREV as director of research in April 2006, on his retirement from JP Morgan. Mr Paterson continues to serve as a trustee of the JPMorgan UK Retirement Plan.
At JPMorgan, Mr Paterson served as investment director for institutional clients for many years, moving into a role as head of corporate governance in 2003.
Mr Paterson graduated from the University of St Andrews in 1969 and joined Robert Fleming as a trainee. He has held roles as both a fund and a business manager, in Asia as well as in the UK. |
Carl Rosen
Head of Corporate Governance and Communications
AP2
Carl Rosén joined AP2 in 2004. Prior to that he co-founded Nordic Investor Services, the Nordic proxy advisory firm. He is a former CFO of the state holding company Fortia and former editor-in-chief at Affärsvärlden. He has investment banking experience from Europe and the US. Carl Rosén was educated at Stockholm School of Economics and he is an enthusiastic triathlete. |
Marc Siegel
Global Head of Accounting and Legal Research
RiskMetrics Group
Marc Siegel is global head of accounting and legal research for RiskMetrics Group’s
Financial Research and Analysis unit. In his role, he oversees all accounting and legal and
regulatory research. Siegel was the Managing Director of Global Research at the Center for
Financial Research and Analysis (CFRA) until its recent acquisition by RiskMetrics Group.
Siegel joined CFRA in 2001, bringing ten years of audit and forensic accounting experience
from Arthur Andersen, LLP. In addition to his work as a research analyst, Siegel manages the
accounting and legal/regulatory team of research analysts and was recently asked to join the
FASB’s Investors Technical Advisory Committee. His publications include “Accounting
Shenanigans on the Cash Flow Statement,” The CPA Journal, March 2006, “Recovery of
Embezzled Assets Half a World Away,” Journal of Accountancy, August 2001, as well as
countless CFRA stories.
He frequently appears on CNBC and Bloomberg Television, and was credited with
bringing widespread attention to the options backdating scandal. Siegel holds a BS in
economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. |
Robert Stamicar
Head of Risk Management Research Americas
RiskMetrics Group
Robert Stamicar is Head of Risk Management Research Americas at RiskMetrics Group. The research group is responsible for specifying methodology, analytics, and publishing research. He supports the business from a research perspective and is a key resource for sales and client services. Prior to joining RiskMetrics Group in January 2003, Robert worked in the Risk Methodology and Technology group of the Royal Bank of Canada. Robert holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics and has published several articles in mathematical finance. |
Christian Strenger
DWS Investment GmbH
Christian Strenger is a Board Member of DWS Investment GmbH and Fraport AG (Frankfurt), Incepta plc (London) and Chairman of The Germany Funds (New York). From 1991 to 1999, he was Managing Director and CEO of DWS Investment GmbH. Prior to that, he was with Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, London and New York, latterly as Chief Executive Investment Banking North America.
He is a member of the German Government Commission on Corporate Governance, a member of the Capital Markets Committee of the German Ministry of Finance, and an Initiator and Member of the German Panel on Corporate Governance (author of the 'Code of Best Practice for quoted German companies'). He is also a member of the Private Sector Advisory Group of the World Bank - OECD Global Corporate Governance Forum.
Christian Strenger has a Master of Business Administration (Banking, Finance, Taxation) from the University of Cologne. |
Michael Treschow
Chairman, Ericsson
Chairman, Confederation of Swedish Enterprise
Non-Executive Director, Unilever
Michael Treschow is Chairman of the Board of Ericsson since March 2002.
Michael Treschow was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Electrolux Group until April 2002, a position to which he was appointed in 1997. As of May 2004, Mr Treschow is Chairman of the Board of AB Electrolux.
Before joining Electrolux, Michael Treschow was President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Copco AB. He spent three years in the United States as Area Manager out of his 22 years with Atlas Copco. Mr Treschow also spent one year in France as responsible for the set- up of Bahco Ventilation’s operation in France.
For his excellent efforts in Swedish trade issues, Mr Treschow received in June 2000 the King's Medal of the Twelfth Dimension with the Ribbon of the Order of the Seraphims from His Majesty the King of Sweden. In May 2000, Mr Treschow was awarded the Spanish order "Insigna de Gran Cruz de la Orden del Mérito Civil" for strengthening the trade relations between Sweden and Spain. In September 2002, Mr Treschow was awarded the French order "Grade de Chevalier dans l'Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur" for strengthening the trade relations between Sweden and France. In 2004 he was bestowed the title of Commandor of the Order of the Crown for strengthening the trade relations between Sweden and Belgium.
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Carola van Lamoen
Corporate Governance Specialist
Robeco
Carola van Lamoen is corporate governance specialist at the Corporate Governance & Sustainability department at Robeco. Robeco is a major Dutch asset management firm with EUR 142 billion assets under management. Carola is responsible for entering in constructive dialogues with invested companies on corporate governance issues. She speaks at shareholder meetings and exercises voting rights for Robeco. She is active in the field of corporate governance since 2001 and joined Robeco at 2007. Previously, Ms. van Lamoen worked at the Ministry of Finance as a policy advisor in the corporate governance area. She was involved in the implementation of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code in state owned companies and participated in several privatization processes. Ms. van Lamoen holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Erasmus University Rotterdam. |
Nada Villermain-Lécolier
Head of SRI Strategy
Fonds de Reserve pour les Retraites (FRR)
Nada Villermain-Lécolier (McGill University, Masters degree in Economics and ABD 1990, member of European equivalent of CFA, SFAF 1998). Nada joined the French Fonds de Reserve pour les Retraites (FRR) in early 2003 as an Investment Director and became head of asset management selection between 2004 and 2006, before taking in charge FRR SRI Strategy beginning 2007.
Before joining the FRR, Nada Villermain-Lécolier has managed international diversified portfolio for the State owned Caisse des Dépôts for three years where she started her career as an economist within Caisse des dépôts’ economic and financial research department. |
Gavin Watson
Head of Institutional Business Strategy, Risk Management Division
RiskMetrics Group
Gavin W. Watson joined RiskMetrics Group in 1999 and is the Head of Institutional Business Strategy at the company. Gavin has served as a Business Manager for Asset Managers, Pensions, and Insurance, Senior Risk Advisor for Market Risk and as Head of US Account Management. He has lead implementation projects for key buy-side clients. Prior to joining RiskMetrics Group, Gavin served as Vice President for 17 years at JPMorgan Securities in trading and underwriting. He managed the US Treasury Zero Coupon trading desk and arbitraged US Treasuries, US Federal Agencies, and Financial Futures. He also managed Brady Bond collateral purchases for eight Latin American, European and Asian countries and priced structured portfolio optimizations for In-substance Defeasance. Gavin has an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and a BA from Williams College. |
Chris Young
Head of Mergers and Acquisitions Research
RiskMetrics Group
Chris Young heads up mergers and acquisitions research for RiskMetrics Group’s
Financial Research and Analysis unit. In this role, Young provides analyses and vote
recommendations for high-profile and contentious mergers and proxy fights via M&A Edge, a
premium research solution. M&A Edge clients include leading institutional investors,
investment banks and law firms.
Previously, Young was an investment banker at Bear Stearns (New York) with a focus on capital
raising and M&A in the technology sector. Prior to that, Young was an attorney specializing in
M&A at Sullivan & Cromwell (New York) and a futures and options trader at The Sumitomo
Bank, Ltd. (New York).
Young received a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service
and a JD, magna cum laude, from Boston University School of Law. He is also a CFA charter
holder. |
Gilles Zumbach
Senior Researcher, Risk Management Division
RiskMetrics Group
Gilles Zumbach joined the RiskMetrics Group research team in 2005 and is based in the Geneva office. Before joining RiskMetrics Group, Gilles was an independent consultant working with banks and hedge funds on real-time optimization problems. Prior to that Gilles spent five years at Olsen and Associates in Zurich, first as a researcher and subsequently as Head of Research. Before his move to finance Gilles held research positions at the University of Roma, the Max Planck Institut in Stuttgart and at Harvard University. Gilles is a physicist and holds a Ph.D. from the Swiss polytechnic school in Lausanne. Gilles is author of more than 40 publications in physics and finance, and is referee for several scientific journals. |
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