Isabella Burke Vice President - Relationship Manager Moody's Investors Service

Isabella Burke is a Vice President Relationship Manager for Africa and is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Isabella’s responsibilities encompass increasing coverage and revenue from new and existing customers in Southern and West Africa. Prior to joining Moody’s Investors Service, Isabella was covering South Africa as Business Development Manager for a London based hedge fund manager. She was tasked with introducing long-only and hedged solutions into the South African market. Isabella has a great depth and breadth of knowledge of capital markets ,having previously worked at Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse and Investec. Isabella studied at King’s College, London and is fluent in Italian and has basic French.

Atsi Sheth Managing Director, Chief Credit Officer and Global Head of Credit Strategy & Standards Moody's Ratings

Atsi Sheth is Managing Director and Global Head, Credit Strategy and Research.

Moody’s Credit Strategy & Research group includes global teams focused on Macroeconomic Research, Default & Ratings Analytics and Global Emerging Markets as well as regional credit strategy teams each focused on Asia-Pacific, the Americas, and EMEA.

Together these teams establish and articulate Moody’s house views on the trends that drive risk across countries, sectors and asset classes. They undertake in depth data driven analysis and leverage the expertise of ratings and research analysts across Moody’s to generate global, regional and sector insights on macro-economic, political, policy, technology and environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks.

In her capacity leading the group, Atsi also serves as a spokesperson on Moody’s analytic views, engaging with investors, the media and a wide range of public and private sector stakeholders.

Atsi is a long-time champion of Moody’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) as well as our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. She serves as co-chair of the CSR Thought Leadership & Solutions working group and the Senior Advisor to Moody’s Asian Leadership Initiative - a Multicultural Business Resource Group.

Prior to her current role, Atsi was Moody’s Chief Credit Officer for the Americas and before that Managing Director in Moody’s Sovereign Risk Group. She has also served as Chief Economist at Reliance Capital and taught courses on International Political Economy and Emerging Markets at Columbia University and Northwestern University. Atsi has a PhD from Northwestern University and a B.A. from Bombay University.

Steve Cochrane Chief APAC Economist Moody's Analytics

Steven G. Cochrane, PhD, is Chief APAC Economist with Moody’s Analytics. He leads the Asia economic analysis and forecasting activities of the Moody’s Analytics research team, as well as the continual expansion of the company’s international, national and subnational forecast models. In addition, Steve directs consulting projects for clients to help them understand the effect of regional economic developments on their business under baseline forecasts and alternative scenarios. Steve’s expertise lies in providing clear insights into an area’s or region’s strengths, weaknesses and comparative advantages, relative to macro or global economic trends. 

A highly-regarded speaker, Dr. Cochrane has provided economic insights at hundreds of engagements over the past 20 years and has been featured on CNBC, CNA, Bloomberg TV, Wall Street Radio, and the PBS News Hour. Through his research and presentations, Steve dissects how various components of the macro and regional economies shape patterns of growth. His extensive expertise on U.S. and global economic issues makes also him a popular speaker at client conferences and executive briefings.

Steve holds a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and is a Penn Institute for Urban Research Scholar. He also holds a master's degree from the University of Colorado at Denver and a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Davis.

Dr. Mark Mobius Founder Mobius Capital Partners

Dr. Mark Mobius

Dr. Mark Mobius is synonymous with emerging and frontier markets investing with a reputation as one of the most successful and influential money managers over the last 30 years.

In May 2018, he founded Mobius Capital Partners with two former colleagues. The firm uses a highly specialized active investment approach with an emphasis on improving Environmental, Social, Governance and Company Culture (ESG+C) standards in emerging and frontier market companies.

Prior to this, Dr. Mobius spent more than three decades at Franklin Templeton Investments, most recently as Executive Chairman of the Templeton Emerging Markets Group. Under his leadership, the group’s assets under management grew from US$100 million to a whopping US$50 billion having launched numerous funds focused on Asia, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe.  

Dr. Mobius has also contributed to developing international policies for emerging markets. He served on the World Bank's Global Corporate Governance Forum as a member of the Private Sector Advisory Group and as co-chairman of its Investor Responsibility Task Force in 1999.

He earned his Ph.D in Economics from MIT in 1964 and has studied at Boston University, University of Wisconsin, Syracuse University, Kyoto University and the University of New Mexico.

Dr Mobius has won numerous industry awards and has authored a dozen books, including his most recent and timely, The Inflation Myth and The Wonderful World of Deflation. Some of his books have been translated into several languages, a testament to his global reach and influence.

He also shares his expertise and knowledge on emerging markets through his frequent media appearances on global networks including Bloomberg, CNBC and Fox Business.

List of published books:

•The Inflation Myth And The Wonderful World of Deflation (2020)

•Invest for Good (with co-authors Carlos Hardenberg and Greg Konieczny, 2019)

•The Little Book of Emerging Markets (2012)

•Bonds - An Introduction to the Core Concepts (2012)

•Foreign Exchange - An Introduction to the Core Concepts (2009)

•Mark Mobius - An Illustrated Biography (2007)

•Mutual Funds: An Introduction To The Core Concepts (2007)

•Equities: An Introduction To The Core Concepts (2007)

•Passport to Profits (1999/2012)

•Mobius on Emerging Markets (1996)

•The Investor's Guide to Emerging Markets (1994)

•Trading with China (1973)

List of industry awards:

•Life Time Achievement Award in Asset Management (2017) Global Investor Magazine

•50 Most Influential People (2011) Bloomberg Markets Magazine

•Africa Investor Index Series Awards (2010) African Investor

•Top 100 Most Powerful and Influential People (2006) Asiamoney

•Emerging Markets Equity Manager of the Year (2001) International Money Marketing

•Ten Top Money Managers of the 20th Century (1999) Carson Group survey

•Number One Global Emerging Market Fund (1998) Reuters Survey

•First in Business Money Manager of the Year (1994) CNBC

•Closed-End Fund Manager of the Year (1993) Morningstar

•Investment Trust Manager of the Year (1992) Sunday Telegraph

Atsi Sheth Managing Director, Chief Credit Officer and Global Head of Credit Strategy & Standards Moody's Ratings

Atsi Sheth is Managing Director and Global Head, Credit Strategy and Research.

Moody’s Credit Strategy & Research group includes global teams focused on Macroeconomic Research, Default & Ratings Analytics and Global Emerging Markets as well as regional credit strategy teams each focused on Asia-Pacific, the Americas, and EMEA.

Together these teams establish and articulate Moody’s house views on the trends that drive risk across countries, sectors and asset classes. They undertake in depth data driven analysis and leverage the expertise of ratings and research analysts across Moody’s to generate global, regional and sector insights on macro-economic, political, policy, technology and environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks.

In her capacity leading the group, Atsi also serves as a spokesperson on Moody’s analytic views, engaging with investors, the media and a wide range of public and private sector stakeholders.

Atsi is a long-time champion of Moody’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) as well as our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. She serves as co-chair of the CSR Thought Leadership & Solutions working group and the Senior Advisor to Moody’s Asian Leadership Initiative - a Multicultural Business Resource Group.

Prior to her current role, Atsi was Moody’s Chief Credit Officer for the Americas and before that Managing Director in Moody’s Sovereign Risk Group. She has also served as Chief Economist at Reliance Capital and taught courses on International Political Economy and Emerging Markets at Columbia University and Northwestern University. Atsi has a PhD from Northwestern University and a B.A. from Bombay University.

Matthew Pirnie Group Head of Ratings GCR Ratings (GCR)

Matthew is a multisector credit ratings expert. Since 2008 he has specialised in African capital markets.  In 2018, Matthew was appointed as the Group Head of Ratings at GCR Ratings.  GCR is an emerging market-focused Credit Rating Agency, and an affiliate of Moody’s Investor Services, with around  525 ratings across the continent originating from offices in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and Mauritius.

Matthew has authored numerous cross sector criteria pieces and remains the main custodian of the GCR Ratings Framework, a structure which allows for improved transparency, differentiation, and comparability of ratings in an Emerging Market context.   He has worked on ratings in over 25 African countries, including the African Development Bank, African Reinsurance Corporation, the Republic of Botswana, and Standard Bank of South Africa, among others. He also rated the first Nigerian bank eurobond, the first Basel 3 compliant subordinated debt issue out of South Africa, and the new African Bank Ltd. (South Africa) at the commencement of its resolution.

Matthew has also rated a significant number of companies going into, or emerging from, a default or a distressed restructuring and is a specialist on debt covenants and their consequences. As a result, the focus on Management and Governance in GCR ratings framework is created on a flagging-based system which captures changes in behaviour rather than static gaps.  

Sim Tshabalala CEO Standard Bank Group

Simpiwe “Sim” Tshabalala is Chief Executive of the Standard Bank Group.

Sim was born in Hlabisa, in rural KwaZulu-Natal. He grew up in Soweto and was educated at   Sacred Heart College in Johannesburg.    

Sim attended Rhodes University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988, and a Bachelor of Laws in 1990.  He served his articles at Bowman Gilfillan, and went on to do a Master of Laws at Notre Dame in the US, which he was awarded summa cum laude, in 1993.  

Sim was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa in 1994. He joined Real Africa Durolink Investment Bank in 1994 and worked in its structured finance division until 2000. In that time he continued his studies on a part-time basis, and completed the Higher Diploma in taxation law from the University of the Witwatersrand (‘Wits’) in 1996.      

Sim joined the Project Finance Division of Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank as head of structured finance in 2000, becoming a Director in 2000 and Managing Director of Stanbic Africa in 2001.  In 2006 he was appointed Chief Executive of Personal and Business Banking, South Africa. In the same year, he completed Harvard University’s Advanced Management Programme.

In March 2008, Sim was appointed as Chief Executive of Standard Bank South Africa. He was appointed as one of three Deputy Chief Executives of the Standard Bank Group in April 2009.  In June 2012, Sim took on the additional responsibility for Corporate and Investment Banking’s client franchise in South Africa.

In March 2013, Sim was appointed joint Chief Executive of the Standard Bank Group, extending his responsibilities to the banking businesses on the African continent outside South Africa and to the bank’s Wealth businesses. In September 2017, Sim was appointed as the sole Chief Executive of the Standard Bank Group.

Sim serves on the boards of the International Monetary Conference, and the Institute of International Finance, of which he is Vice-Chairman and Treasurer. In August 2018, Sim was made a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers of South Africa. Sim is an Honorary Professor at the University of Stellenbosch Business School for 2021 to 2023.

Aurelien Mali Vice President - Senior Credit Officer, Sovereign Risk Moody's Investors Service

Aurélien Mali is currently Vice President Senior Credit Officer. He acts as the firm’s expert in Africa. His position is a combined lead analyst and analytical outreach/credit ambassador role. As a member of the Sovereign Risk Group since August 2002, he was involved in Moody’s sovereign ratings in Europe and the Middle East at the beginning of his career. Over the last 8 years, he has been at the forefront of Moody’s growing footprint in Africa. He has been sovereign lead or backup analyst for almost all sovereign issuers and multilateral development banks we rate in Africa. Aurelien was relocated to our Dubai office early 2013 from our London office. Aurelien manages a research programme that supports the development of Moody’s reputation for analytical insight and excellence. He also assumes a greater role in participating in regular Moody’s and third-party conferences on the continent, Africa-related investor briefings, and undertaking analytical outreach to inform and explain Moody’s credit judgments. Aurelien also supports other Moody’s franchises using his unique experience and visibility across multiple sectors and asset classes in the region. Finally, he remains the lead/backup sovereign analyst for few countries including Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and South Africa. Aurélien holds a BSc in Economics and a postgraduate degree (DEA) in Money, Finance and Banking from the Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris.

Antonios Kastanas Senior Director Moody's Analytics

Antonios is a Senior Director in the Banking strategy group, focusing on market development for banking solutions. Previously with the Moody’s Analytics EMEA advisory team, he has led engagements on IFRS9 provisioning, portfolio modelling and stress testing among others.

Prior to joining Moody’s he was helping clients improve and develop their risk and capital management capabilities as part of the EY Financial Services advisory practice in the UK, after a number of years in quantitative and analytics leadership roles in banking.

Antonios holds a Masters in Economics and Finance with focus in Econometrics from Warwick Business School and an Economics honours degree from Bradford University.

Joanna Fic Senior Vice President, Infrastructure Finance Moody's Ratings

Joanna Fic is a Senior Vice President in Moody’s EMEA Infrastructure Finance team, based in London. She is currently responsible for a portfolio of utilities and transport infrastructure companies in the United Kingdom and Africa, in addition to certain transport infrastructure companies in Norway and Turkey. With extensive credit experience across both the utility and infrastructure sectors, Joanna has a deep understanding of both conventional and complex structured financing arrangements.

Over the course of her career at Moody’s, Joanna has written extensively on transport infrastructure credit, covering airports, ports and toll roads. She has contributed to the development of a number of transport infrastructure methodologies and was the author of Moody’s Rating Methodology for Privately Managed Toll Roads, published in October 2017. Joanna has also published widely on European utilities, including in Germany, United Kingdom and Central and Eastern Europe. A highly regarded analyst and respected commentator, Joanna is a frequent speaker at conferences, investor roundtables and other events.

Prior to joining Moody’s in 2007, Joanna was a credit risk manager at Citigroup in Warsaw, where she was responsible for a diversified portfolio of corporates. Joanna holds a master’s degree in Finance and Banking from Warsaw School of Economics.

Constantinos Kypreos Senior Vice President - Financial Institutions Group Moody's Ratings

Constantinos is a Senior Vice President and leads a team of analysts covering banks in Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans.

Since joining Moody’s Limassol-based banking team in 2005, Constantinos has followed banks as lead analyst in South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Israel, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Montenegro, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. He has authored numerous articles covering the African and Balkan banking systems and is a regular speaker at regional conferences.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Constantinos worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in London, both in audit and advisory. He holds a BSs in Economics from Queen Mary, London University and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Rehan Akbar Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance Moody's Ratings

Rehan Akbar is a Senior Vice President – Senior Credit Officer in Moody’s EMEA Corporate Finance Group based in Dubai. He covers a diversified portfolio including Oil & Gas, petrochemicals, transport and mining companies situated in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa. Prior to joining Moody’s in 2011, Rehan worked as a credit analyst at Mashreq Capital where he covered emerging market corporates. He started his career as a software engineer and technology consultant.

Rehan has a Masters degree in Management Sciences and Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from Lahore University of Management Sciences. He is a CFA charterholder.

Stephen Boyer Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer BitSight

Stephen Boyer is a technology entrepreneur and executive, currently serving as the Chief Technology Officer at BitSight. Stephen ensures an aligned vision between industry challenges and platform offerings, enabling organizations to create trust in the digital economy. He is a frequent speaker for security, risk, and insurance topics. He co-founded BitSight in 2011.