ESG Advisory Panel

Purpose

The ESG Panel is a standing sub-committee of the Education Advisory Committee (EAC). Its primary responsibility is to ensure the ongoing relevance of the syllabus for the Certificate in ESG Investing. The ESG Panel reports annually to the EAC on revisions to the syllabus/CBOK for the certificate, and activities undertaken in developing these. The specified activities of the panel include:

Providing input to CFA Institute in setting the strategic direction of the Certificate in ESG Investing.
Determining developments to be made to the syllabus (for approval by the EAC).
Setting the process for syllabus developments and engaging Practice Analysis in undertaking relevant research.
Reviewing curriculum readings during development and providing recommendations for enhancements.

Members

ESG Product Specialist and Co-Chair of ESG Strategic Steering Committee, Western Asset Management, United Kingdom

Brishni Mukhopadhyay, CFA is the ESG Product Specialist and Co-Chair of the ESG Strategic Steering Committee for Western Asset Management, which is a Specialist Investment Manager of Franklin Resources, Inc, the holding company for Franklin Templeton Investments and its subsidiaries. Prior to this, Brishni worked at Lazard Asset Management, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and J.P. Morgan Investment Bank.

Brishni is currently the Chair of the ESG Working Group responsible for the Certificate in ESG Investing, having previously served as the Vice-Chair of the working group with CFA UK since inception in 2017. Brishni holds a M.S. in Operations Research (Finance) from Columbia University, M.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sheffield and is a CFA charterholder.

Maxine Wille, CFA, an investment analyst dedicated to the Regnan Global Equity Impact Solutions strategy. Maxine joined from Federated Hermes, where she was an analyst on the Hermes Impact Opportunities Equity Fund; a fund to whose design and launch she contributed. Prior to this, Maxine was an engagement professional at Hermes EOS, which she joined in 2014. She holds an MA in International Relations from Edinburgh University, an MPhil degree in Management from Cambridge University, an MSc in Applied Neuroscience from King’s College London and is a CFA charterholder.

Shuen Chan, Head of ESG, Real Assets at Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) and is responsible for LGIM’s responsible investment strategy and integration across the portfolio covering real estate equity, infrastructure equity and private debt. Shuen has been working for over a decade in the intersection of sustainable finance, climate change and impact investing, following a successful career in asset management and capital markets.

She was previously co-founder of a purpose driven ESG advisory firm that helped institutional investors to build the case for sustainable investments and the transition to a low carbon economy. Prior to that, she established a climate investment firm focused on nature-based solutions. Shuen was previously a founding team member of one of the fastest growing credit asset management firms in Europe, European Credit Management, where she was Head of Structured Product Origination. Shuen’s early career started in debt capital markets teams at Deutsche Bank, Macquarie and HSBC across Asia and Europe.

Shuen serves on the CFA ESG Advisory panel and is also a co-author of the ESG certification learning materials. She is also an independent trustee of The Lightbulb Trust, a charitable foundation that supports social inclusion, equality and education through grant giving and impact investing. Shuen is also a board member of the Better Buildings Partnership, a collaboration of the UK’s leading commercial real estate owners who are working together to drive greater sustainability, including meeting net zero carbon goals. Shuen has a degree in Economics and an MBA from Imperial College and has been a guest tutor on climate change at Oxford University Saïd Business School on their Executive Impact Investing programme.

Monica Filkova, CFA has expertise in debt capital markets, property finance, climate and sustainable finance. Her current focus is on climate and nature analytics, market research, criteria definitions, and strategy. She is currently a Climate Change and ESG Manager – Shareholder Investments at Aviva Life, and also technical lead on standards and metrics landscape assessment for the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). She chairs the Climate and Investing Panel, which is responsible for the Certificate in Climate and Investing launched by CFA UK in 2022, and has been a member of the ESG Panel since 2019. Between 2017-2020 Monica was Head of Market Intelligence at climate finance NGO Climate Bonds Initiative, and in 2020, Director, Sustainable Finance at Fitch Ratings.

Prior to pivoting to sustainable finance, Monica’s focus was on property finance and debt capital markets. Starting in property consulting with Arthur Andersen, she moved on to real estate investment banking with Deutsche Bank, then into large loan origination and CMBS, becoming Head of Structuring – Debt Capital Markets at Eurohypo. After the Global Financial Crisis, she was involved in CMBS restructuring (Brookland Partners), bank property debt exposure and policy assessments (Alvarez & Marsal) and distressed debt credit research (Chalkhill Partners), among other mandates.

Monica is a CFA charterholder. She holds the GARP Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR) Certificate. She holds a Master of Management degree from Cornell University, USA, and a BBA from the American University in Bulgaria. She is the current chair, Certificate in Climate and Investing, CFA Society UK and Climate Change and ESG Manager – Shareholder Investments, Chief Investment Office, Aviva.

Claudia Gollmeier, CFA, CIPM, Managing Director (Singapore) and Senior Investment Officer at Colchester Global Investors. As a Senior Investment Officer, Claudia manages global and emerging bond portfolios. She also conducts ongoing economic and ESG research. Before joining Colchester, Claudia held positions at UBS Reality investors and was a portfolio manager at Western Asset Management.
Claudia also chairs the PRI Sovereign Debt Advisory Committee, having previously been a PRI Fixed Income Advisory Committee member and chaired the PRI Sovereign Working Group. She is a member of the CFA UK ESG Working Group, which developed the first professional ESG qualification. In addition, Claudia sits on the CFA Institute ESG Verification Subcommittee.

Matyas Horak, CFA, FRM is the ESG Investment Manager responsible for driving broader ESG integration and climate transition alignment at Legal and General Retirement Institutional, one of the UK’s largest bulk annuity providers and part of Legal and General Group (L&G). Prior to joining L&G, Matyas worked as a lead analyst in the research team of Trucost, part of S&P Global (now Sustainable1), responsible for developing methodologies, products, and delivering projects for financial institutions to help understand their exposure to climate and other environmental risks and opportunities. Before S&P he had spent six years in project and commercial real estate finance in client facing roles from origination to restructuring and another 4 years as a credit analyst, working in Central Eastern Europe, the Netherlands and the UK. Matyas holds two masters in Sociology and Economics and has completed the UNEP FI Environmental and Social Risk Analysis Course. He is also a Financial Risk Manager – Certified by the Global Association of Risk Professionals, a CFA charterholder and has been a member of the ESG Panel since its inception.

Director, Private Asset Management, Baird, United States

Christopher K. Merker, PhD, CFA, is a director with Private Asset Management at Robert W. Baird & Co. He also serves as the part-time director of the Sustainable Finance and Business program at Marquette University. He is a past member of the CFA Institute ESG Working Group, responsible for development of the global ESG investment product disclosure standards and a member of the CFA Institute ESG Advisory Panel. He publishes the blog, Sustainable Finance, and is co-author of the book, The Trustee Governance Guide: The Five Imperatives of 21st Century Investing. Chris received his PhD from Marquette University and MBA from Thunderbird, School of Global Management.

Fionnuala O’Grady is a Director in the Responsible Investment team at BMO Global Asset Management (a part of Columbia Threadneedle Investment). In her role she is focused on ESG integration strategy and delivery. Fionnuala previously worked at Franklin Templeton as an ESG analyst also supporting ESG integration across asset classes. Prior to this she was employed by Threadneedle Investments from 2011 as a Governance and Responsible Investment Analyst focused on ESG research, engagement and proxy voting.

Fionnuala has served in an advisory capacity to the CFA Certificate in ESG Investing since 2019. She holds a BSc in International Development and Food Policy from University College Cork and an MSc in International Accounting, Finance and Strategy from the University of Sussex.

Vincent Piscaer is the head of Alternative Investments for EEA Fund Management Limited, which is part of EPIC Investment Partners, an independent investment firm established in 2001 with offices in London, Dublin, Guernsey and Delhi. Prior to this, he worked at Deutsche Bank as part of the principal finance team. He focuses on illiquid assets, having covered project finance and infrastructure project development, trade finance as well as insurance products.

Vincent holds an M.B.A. (High Honors) from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.”

Priyanka Shukla, CFA, works in Investment Sustainability & ESG Research, Engagement, Strategy and Climate Physical risk, across TCW’s asset classes. Prior to joining TCW, Priyanka worked as a Senior Portfolio Manager, managing portfolios at the County of Orange. Priyanka serves as a Governor for CFA Los Angeles and as a Member of the CFA Institute’s ESG Advisory Panel. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Mumbai, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. Priyanka is a CFA and CAIA charter holder and a CIPM designation holder.

Sylvia Solomon, ASIP, is Director of ESG and Business Development for Equitile Investments Ltd and serves as a CFA Society of the UK (CFA UK) Board Member. Sylvia has over 30 years of investment industry experience in both equities and sustainable investing. She spent 25 years managing a wide range of funds, including pensions, life funds, endowments, unit trusts and hedge funds at firms such as Baring Asset Management, Hermes Investment Management and Ennismore Fund Management. In her current role at Equitile Investments, Sylvia is a member of the Investment Committee and Chair of the Governance Committee. She co-manages two Global Equities Funds that fully integrate ESG into the investment process at the research, evaluation, and portfolio construction stages. Sylvia also represents Equitile Investments as a member of the PRI Global Policy Reference Group and is a member of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) Global Responsible Investment Committee.

In addition to her Board role at CFA UK, Sylvia is Chair of the CFA UK Examinations and Education Committee, and she is a member of the CFA UK Sustainability Steering Group. In her former role as Chair of the CFA UK Certificate in ESG Investing Panel, Sylvia was instrumental in leading practitioners in the design, development and launch of the CFAI Certificate in ESG Investing. Sylvia was also a member of the CFA UK Certificate in Climate and Investing (CCI) Panel responsible for the first professional qualification of its kind in the UK, which delivers the knowledge and skills required by investment professionals to understand climate as it relates to investing, and how to integrate climate change considerations into the investment process. Sylvia continues to serve as a member of the CCI Working Group.

Peter Wilmshurst, CFA, is an executive vice president at Franklin Templeton Investments Australia, working within the Templeton Global Equity Group, where he has research responsibility for banks in Europe, Middle East, and Africa, as well as for Asian telecommunications companies. He is also the portfolio manager of a number of Templeton's global portfolios. Prior to joining Templeton, Mr. Wilmshurst worked as an equity portfolio manager and analyst with Norwich Investment Management and as an actuary at MLC Life Company. He earned a bachelor of economics degree and a master of economics degree from Macquarie University. Mr. Wilmshurst is a CFA charterholder and is a past president of the CFA Society Melbourne.

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