2025/04/09 | Sustainable Finance Conference Agenda

Agenda for the 2025 Sustainable Finance Full Day Conference:

8:30 am – 9:00 am: Registration
9:00 am – 9:10 am: Introduction
- Henry Shilling, Founder and Director of Research, Sustainable Research and Analysis LLC and FIASI Board Member

9:10 am – 9:45 am: Morning keynote address
- Tensie Whelan, Distinguished Professor of Practice for Business and Society and the Founding Director of the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business.

9:45 am – 10:45 am: Panel I — Innovations in Sustainable Debt Instruments and Markets for Climate Finance: Achieving Scale:
- Panelists:
  - Daniel Ballesta Quintana, Senior Director at The Nature Conservancy
  - Michael Bennett, JD, Head of Market Solutions & Structured Finance in the Treasury Department at the World Bank
  - Marcy Block, Global Head of ESG Ratings for Sustainable Fitch
  - Philip Brown, Managing Director, Sustainable Debt Capital Markets Citi, Investment Banking
- Moderator:
  - Stephen Liberatore, CFA, Senior Managing Director, Head of ESG/Impact, Global Fixed Income Nuveen

10:45 am – 11:00 am: Break

11:00 am – 12:00 noon: Panel II — AI and Other Financial Technologies to Advance Sustainable Finance: The Pluses and Minuses:
- Panelists:
  - Justina Gallegos, former member of the National Economic Council
  - Cindy Jia, JD, Head of ING Sustainable Finance, Americas
  - Mathew Lee, Vice President, MSCI Research
  - Deborah Yang, CEO, Daizy
- Moderator:
  - Robert Chiang, Ph.D., Professor, Marta Mooney Distinguished Research Scholar in Business, Information, Technology, and Operations, Fordham University

12:00 Noon – 12:30 pm: Lunchtime keynote address:
- Herbert Crowther, Analyst, Energy/Climate/Resources at Eurasia Group

12:30 pm – 12:45 pm: Introduction of Table Discussion Leaders
- Table 1: Debt for Nature Swaps – Lead by: Daniel Ballesta Quintana, Senior Director at The Nature Conservancy
- Table 2: Private Credit – Lead by: TBD
- Table 3: AI issues – Power Sector – Lead by: Robert Chiang, Ph.D., Professor, Marta Mooney Distinguished Research Scholar in Business, Information, Technology, and Operations, Fordham University
- Table 4: Resilience & Opportunity – Lead by: Shiva Rajgopal, Ph.D., Kester and Byrnes Professor of Accounting and Auditing at Columbia Business School
- Table 5: Sustainable Muni Bond Indices – Lead by: Rachael Camargo, CFA, Senior Index Sales Executive, ICE Fixed Income & Data Services
- Table 6: Sustainable Finance & High Yield – Lead by: Amy Levine, CFA, Director of ESG at Shenkman Capital Management
- Table 7: Investing in America Agenda – Lead by: Justina Gallegos, Former member of the National Economic Council

12:45 pm – 2:00 pm: Lunch & Breakout Table Discussions
- Choose to sit or move around to different breakout sessions:
  - Table 1: Debt for Nature Swaps
  - Table 2: Private Credit
  - Table 3: AI issues
  - Table 4: Resilience & Opportunity
  - Table 5: Sustainable Muni Bond Indices
  - Table 6: Sustainable Finance & High Yield
  - Table 7: Investing in America Agenda

2:00 pm to 2:30 pm: 5^th Annual Sustainable Finance in Fixed Income Research Competition Winners Announcement:
- Introduction to Competition:
  - Barbara M. Porco, Ph.D., Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Business & Managing Director of the Responsible Business Center, Fordham University
- Award Winners Announced:
  - Mark Howard, CFA, Senior Multi-Asset Specialist at BNP Paribas
  - An Yan, Ph.D., The Robert Bendheim Chair Professor in Economics & Financial Policy Professor of Finance and Area Chair Finance and Business Economics, Co-Director of the Center for Research in Contemporary Finance, Fordham University

2:30 pm – 3:30 pm : Panel III — Resilience & Opportunity: What are the Macro & Micro Risks, Challenges & Opportunities in the light of the US Presidential Election Results:
- Panelists:
  - Timothy M. Doyle, Founder and Principal of Doyle Strategies, LLC
  - Andrew Poreda, CFA, Senior Research Analyst at Sage Advisory
- Moderator:
  - Shiva Rajgopal, Ph.D., Kester and Byrnes Professor of Accounting and Auditing at Columbia Business School

3:30 pm – 3:45 pm: Break

3:45 pm – 4:45 pm: Panel IV — Private-Credit Market’s Role in Advancing the Climate Agenda:
- Panelists:
  - Jeff Cohen, CAIA, Managing Director, Head of ESG & Sustainability, Oak Hill Advisors, LP
  - Peter Gardett, Managing Partner for Karbone Research
  - Jennifer Louie, Managing Director, Closed Loop Partners
  - Marc R. Pinto, CFA, Managing Director Financial Institutions, Moody’s Ratings
- Moderator:
  - Stanislas Rouyer, Associate Credit Rating Officer, Global Fundamental Ratings, Rating Practices, DBRS Morningstar

4:45 pm – 5:00 pm: Concluding Remarks
- Monica Aggarwal, CFA, Team Head of Retail and Consumer, Fitch Ratings

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Cocktails & Refreshments

We also wish to acknowledge the role of the following Sustainable Finance in Fixed Income Research Competition review Committee Members:

Sris Chatterjee, Gabelli Chair in Global Security Analysis Finance and Business Economics
John Finnerty, Ph.D., Professor, Finance and Business Economics
Mark Howard, CFA, Managing Director and Senior Multi-Asset Specialist, BNP Paribas
Amy Levine, CFA, Director of ESG at Shenkman Capital Management
Stephen Liberatore, CFA, Senior Managing Director, Head of ESG/Impact, Global Fixed Income at Nuveen
Henry Shilling, Director of Research, Sustainable Research and Analysis LLC
Mariarosa Verde, Senior Vice President and Group Credit Officer for the Americas Corporate Finance team, Moody’s Investors Service
An Yan, Ph.D., The Robert Bendheim Chair Professor in Economics and Financial Policy, Professor of Finance and Area Chair, Finance and Business Economics, Co-Director of the Center for Research in Contemporary Finance