Rahul Ghosh Managing Director – Sustainable Finance Moody’s Ratings

Rahul Ghosh is Managing Director, ESG Outreach & Research for Moody’s Investors Service.

Rahul leads global oversight for the credit rating agency’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and outreach strategy. In this capacity, he is responsible for co-ordinating high quality and impactful research exploring the credit implications of ESG, as well as digital and in-person outreach to meet the growing market needs of investors, issuers and other important stakeholders.

Rahul is a regular participant at high-profile industry working groups, market briefings, external conferences and media engagements. He is a member of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, a market-led initiative to develop a risk management and disclosure framework for nature-related risks. He has also represented Moody’s on the UN Principles for Responsible Investment's advisory committee on credit ratings and the Green and Social Bond Principles working groups. He has presented on the impact of climate change on emerging market sovereigns at the G20 Green Finance Study Group and on sustainable finance trends at the International Finance Corporation’s Global Debt Mobilization Conference.

Before his current role, Rahul oversaw Moody’s ESG Solutions Group outreach and engagement activities globally with the sustainability stakeholder community. He also previously worked in Moody’s Credit Strategy & Research team where he was responsible for thematic research and outreach on global emerging market (EM) credit trends. Prior to joining Moody’s in 2013, Rahul was the Head of Asia at BMI Research (Fitch Solutions) in Singapore, leading a team of macroeconomists and industry specialists in analysing sovereign risk, sector performance and the capital markets.

Rahul is a passionate impact leader for Moody’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in London, chairing the pillar on “activating an environmentally sustainable future”. He holds a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Edinburgh and a Certificate in ESG Investing from the CFA Society of the UK.

Matt Kuchtyak Vice President – Sustainable Finance, Regional Manager Second Party Opinions Americas Moody's Investors Service

Matt Kuchtyak is Vice President – Sustainable Finance for Moody’s ESG Solutions Group (MESG). In this capacity, Matt is responsible for the origination and publication of thematic research related to the global sustainable finance markets. He has authored Moody’s market-leading quarterly sustainable finance market update since its inception in 2015 and has developed into a leading market voice on sustainable finance developments.

Matt leads outreach and engagement on sustainable finance issues, cultivating relationships with asset managers, asset owners, financial institutions, corporations, standard setters and other market participants. He frequently participates in high-profile outreach including investor briefings, webinars, third-party conferences and media engagements. Matt also represents MESG on a variety of industry initiatives, such as the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles (GBP) working groups.

Before his current role, Matt was an analyst on the ESG team at Moody’s Investors Service (MIS), where he advanced the rating agency’s efforts to systematically and transparently incorporate ESG considerations into its credit ratings. He was a key contributor to the development of MIS’s cross-sector ESG methodology, launch of ESG Issuer Profile Scores and Credit Impact Scores and the development of Carbon Transition Assessments. He was also the lead analyst for the MIS Green Bond Assessments. Previously, Matt was an analyst in the MIS US Public Finance Group, where he served as a lead analyst for a diverse portfolio of hospitals, public and private universities and other not-for-profits.

Matt is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) impact leader, working directly with Moody’s CSR team to shape, communicate and implement the firm's global CSR strategy and initiatives. He holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science summa cum laude from Rutgers University-New Brunswick, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Vivian Lee Associate Lead Analyst, Sustainable Finance Moodys Investors Service

Vivian is an Associate Lead Analyst for the Second Party Opinion (SPO)- Sustainable Finance team based in San Francisco. In this role, Vivian serves as an SPO analyst in the Americas region in which she assesses the sustainability credentials of green, social and sustainability bonds and loans and its contribution and alignment with sustainability principles. Prior to joining the sustainable finance team, Vivian spent four years in the Moody’s US local government credit ratings team as both a lead and associate analyst covering a diverse portfolio of credits primarily in California, Washington, and Oregon. 

Vivian holds an MSc in Policy Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BA in Finance from the University of Hertfordshire.

Diya Sawhny Managing Director, Head of Strategy & Marketing Moody’s RMS

Diya Sawhny is Managing Director and Head of Strategy & Marketing for Moody’s RMS. Most recently she was MD for Acquisition Programs at Moody’s Analytics. Diya has had a variety of strategy, business growth, and corporate development roles at Moody’s, including identifying, executing, and integrating acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances. She has also previously been responsible for public policy engagement for Climate and ESG, and for leading Moody’s Investors Services’ Innovation activities.

Diya joined Moody’s in late 2013 with experience in a variety of roles within financial services. Diya started her career in investment banking at Citigroup and Bank of America Securities. She largely focused on capital-raising transactions (debt and equity) and mergers and acquisitions for companies in the consumer products sector, completing transactions worth over $30 billion.

A graduate of St. Stephen’s College in New Delhi, India with a B.A., Diya also holds an M.B.A. in Finance from the Stern School of Business of New York University.

Nigel Topping UN High-Level Climate Action Champion COP26

Nigel Topping, CMG was appointed by the UK Prime Minister as UN Climate Change High Level Champion for COP26. In this role Nigel mobilised global private sector and local government to take bold action on climate change, launching the Race To Zero and Race To Resilience campaigns and, with Mark Carney, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. Nigel is now a global advisor to governments, financial institutions and private companies on climate and industrial strategy.  He is a non-executive director of the UK Infrastructure Bank, an Honorary Professor of Economics at Exeter University and was awarded the honor of CMG in Queen Elizabeth’s final honors list in 2022. 

Nigel read Mathematics at St Johns and won two rugby blues, before entering a career in the manufacturing industry.

Swami Venkataraman, CFA Associate Managing Director, ESG Moody's Ratings

Swami Venkataraman, CFA, is an Associate Managing Director in Moody’s Environmental, Social and Governance group. He manages a team of analysts responsible for the development of ESG analytic tools, assessments and the integration of ESG considerations into Moody’s credit ratings and research. He is the primary spokesperson for Moody’s Ratings on ESG and sustainable finance with regulators and investors. Before moving to the ESG team, Swami was a lead analyst in the North American utilities and infrastructure team, with rating committee chair responsibilities. Prior to Moody’s, he was a project and export finance banker with Standard Chartered bank in Asia.

Swami has broad credit and banking expertise in the power, clean energy and infrastructure sectors over the past 20 years. He has worked in New York, San Francisco, London, Mumbai and Mexico City. Swami is a CFA charter holder, with a B.Tech in Electronics Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras and an M.B.A. in finance from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM),Calcutta.

Sean Kidney Chief Executive Officer 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.

Karen Nickerson Associate Managing Director, Corporate Finance Group Moodys Investors Service

Karen Nickerson is an Associate Managing Director within Moody’s US Corporate Finance Group where she leads the Basic Industries team and oversees ratings research of approximately 170 investment grade and high yield issuers with $500 billion in debt outstanding. She brings more than 20 years of financial market experience and extensive industry coverage including Business Services, Building Materials, Building Products, Chemicals, Commercial Real Estate, Construction, Distribution, Manufacturing, Metals & Mining, Non-Bank Finance, Paper & Forest Products, and Software.

Karen is a leader in strategy, process enhancement and talent development. She chairs Global Chemical and Global Paper and Forest Products forums, where she ensures clear communication and consistency around industry fundamentals, global credit conditions and ESG-related themes, and coordinates Moody’s industry opinions through global research and investor outreach. Since 2017, Karen has been a leader in various ESG strategic working groups, leading regional and global project teams that facilitated the integration of ESG risks into credit analysis and research. Karen is active as a coach and mentor for analysts, junior associates and other colleagues, and has developed and led strategy on complex recruiting initiatives. Karen is also an active member of the WBRG’s Lean-In subcommittee and a peer mentor for Moody’s mid-level women’s development program. 

Prior to joining Moody’s, Karen worked at ING Realty Partners as Principal, Portfolio Manager and Director of Investor Relations. Before that, she worked at The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York as an asset manager for distressed loans and foreclosed assets. Karen has served as Chairwoman of the Board and President for the New York Commercial Real Estate Women Network. She has also served as a Board Member and Treasurer of the Riverside Symphony. Karen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Indiana University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Dan Seligman Director, Clean Energy Ceres

Dan launched Ceres’ Clean Steel Initiative in 2019 to help investors reduce the

carbon risk of portfolio steel companies. Since then, 80% of America’s

domestic steel industry has adopted targets to curb greenhouse gas (GHG)

emissions. Dan also serves on the board of ResponsibleSteel, a private,

voluntary sustainability standard with 66 company members in the steel value

chain.

Since joining Ceres in 2016, Dan has supported investors in persuading dozens

of leading companies to adopt science-based GHG reduction targets and other

climate risk management solutions. His work has crossed every major industry

to benefit such companies as Advance Auto, Albemarle, American Tower,

Booking Holdings, Century Aluminum, Dollar General, General Electric, Lowes,

McKesson, Newmont, Realty Income, Sherwin Williams, and others.

Before joining Ceres, Dan led clean energy and environmental protection

initiatives for the Maryland Energy Administration, the United Nations

Foundation/Energy Future Coalition, the Apollo Alliance, the Sierra Club., and

the World Resources Institute,

Dan speaks frequently before industry groups on clean energy solutions, has

testified before Congress, and authored reports on clean energy solutions. His

work has been covered by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the

Financial Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and other news outlets.

He holds degrees from the University of Chicago and the Johns Hopkins

University School of Advanced International Studies.

Natalie Ambrosio Preudhomme Associate Director, Commercial Real Estate Moody’s Analytics

Natalie Ambrosio Preudhomme is an Associate Director at Moody’s Analytics on the Commercial Real Estate thought leadership team, where she does research and outreach focused on climate and ESG. Previously Natalie led climate-related thought leadership at Moody’s ESG Solutions which she joined through the acquisition of Four Twenty Seven, a leading provider of data on physical climate risk. At Four Twenty Seven she led communications and editorial strategy, leveraging her background in climate adaptation, communications and environmental sciences to translate technical information into actionable insights for climate risk assessment and resilience-building across sectors. Previously, Natalie helped develop an assessment of U.S. cities’ vulnerabilities to climate change and their readiness to adapt, at the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN). Natalie holds a B.S. in Environmental Science, a Certificate in Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy from the University of Notre Dame and a Certificate in Climate and Investing from the CFA UK.

Becky Leeper Partner Program Leader Moody's RMS

Becky Leeper is a Partner Program Leader at Moody’s Analytics, working for the past 11 years with insurance and financial services organizations on deploying catastrophe models to understand climate and climate change risk. At Moody's RMS she leads internal and external partnership work to maximize opportunities for our climate models and data. This includes promoting the use of RMS models, analytics, and data across a variety of climate use cases within banking, CRE, investment management, corporates, and governments. By clearly understanding the impact from climate change, these organizations can quickly and accurately respond to regulatory reporting and be prepared when a large event such as a flood, wildfire, earthquake, or hurricane happens.

Prior to RMS, Becky spent more than a decade partnering with financial firms in the use of models for valuation and risk management within fixed income. Becky holds a BS in computer science from Duke University.

James Bergius Senior Vice President Lockton Companies

James is a senior vice president and senior client manager in Lockton Northeast’s New York City office. He leads all aspects of the Client Engagement process, responsible for placing and managing complex property programs. He specializes in accounts that purchase large limits, utilizing global capacity within real estate and hospitality. He also focuses on market strategy and placement of portfolios that have significant exposures in natural catastrophe zones, in particular California earthquake and Tier 1 windstorm/hurricane exposures. He negotiates insurance capacity in the U.S., Bermuda, London and European insurance markets, enabling the most appropriate capacity for Lockton clients and ensuring that all clients have access to the global insurance market.

James has more than 17 years’ experience working in the U.S. and London/European markets.

Michael Kashani Managing Director, Head of ESG Credit Apollo Global Management

Michael Kashani joined Apollo Global Management as the Head of ESG Credit in October 2021. Michael is responsible for supporting ESG integration across the Credit business as well as further incorporating ESG into Apollo’s lending and other non-control investments processes. Michael currently represents Apollo across several industry initiatives, including as the inaugural Steering Committee Chair of the ESG Integrated Disclosure Project. 

Michael formally served as the Global Head of ESG Portfolio Management within the Fixed Income division at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Within that role, Michael was responsible for coordinating the ESG integration efforts across all fixed income teams as well as serving as the lead portfolio manager for ESG focused mandates. 

Michael was previously on the Goldman Sachs Asset Management municipal team as a senior research analyst covering healthcare, education and distressed municipalities and was instrumental in the developing its ESG capabilities as well. 

Prior to his time at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Michael worked as a credit analyst at American Capital Access and Standard & Poor’s, focusing predominantly within the healthcare and education sectors.