ESG Unlocked: Mastering Opportunities for Sustainable Performance

Mirjana is Chief Executive Officer for the CFA Society Switzerland, one of the largest CFA Institute societies globally. She is responsible for implementing the Society's overall strategy and management. Core to her mandate is continuing to deliver outstanding member value, providing quality, independent and reliable content and resources for multiple key stakeholders and promoting high ethical standards in the investment industry. In her leadership role, Mirjana oversees all the Society’s staff and operations. 

Before assuming a role of CEO of CFA Society Switzerland, Mirjana was co-leading the University Relations Commitee where she was responsible for the strategy development and execution of the CFA Institute Research Challenge. Mirjana also worked with volunteer committees to execute successful Swiss Pensions and Generations Conferences. She further developed and maintained various initiatives in an ongoing effort to deliver, improve and refine Society's programs to its members.

Mirjana is a trained neurobiologist and has previously worked as a scientific advisor and program director in a NPO, family office and at the University of Zurich and University of Groningen. 

Dimitri Senik, CFA, leads the Investor Trust Services at PwC Switzerland. With 27 years of professional experience, he provides assurance services to investment managers and investors with respect to investment process and governance, investment performance and risk management, compliance with the GIPS standards, and ESG Investing. 

Dimitri Senik is also a member of the Investment Committee of the Pension Funds of PwC Switzerland. He has been a long-standing volunteer in the global standard-setting bodies of CFA Institute and currently chairs the GIPS Technical Committee and the ESG Examination Subcommittee of CFA Institute and also the ESG Committee of CFA Society Switzerland. 

Dimitri is a CFA Charterholder, Chartered Certified Accountant and a holder of the CFA Institute Certificate in ESG Investing.

With a career spanning over 25 years in the Social Business, Health Tech, and Impact Investing sectors, Karen Hitschke brings a wealth of expertise and a profound commitment to driving positive change. She is a firm believer in bringing together people, cultures, and ideas to transform business and society.

Former Chief Operating Officer of the WHO Foundation, Karen’s leadership and strategic vision have driven organizations towards greater impact and sustainability. Graduating with a degree in Biology, she later obtained an MBA from INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France. Karen’s career has encompassed roles in both for-profit and non-profit sectors, including board memberships and advisory positions. She is a Board Member, Co-Founder, and former Managing Director at Yunus Social Business Global Initiatives, an Impact Investing organization funding social businesses across India, East Africa, and Latin America.

Her deep knowledge of finance, in both the public and private sector throughout multiple geographies, lies at the heart of the initiative and supports the execution of the Building Bridges Foundation’s mission to further align finance with sustainability.

As a Senior Lecturer at the ZHAW, Tomasz Orpiszewski focuses on development and application of evidence-based ESG data to investments. By combining data science methods, Natural Language Processing, geospatial and remote sensing information, he actively seeks to uncover the risk exposures and investment opportunities across liquid and illiquid asset classes.

Tsuyoshi Iwata is a quantitative data analyst at RepRisk, specializing in ESG investment and risk management. Previously, he worked in Nomura Asset Management's quantitative research and product development group in Tokyo.

He holds a Master of Science in Banking and Finance from Zurich University of Applied Sciences and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Finance at the University of Zurich, focusing on ESG investment.

Martin is a Global Portfolio Manager for Principal Equities. He specializes primarily in the management of global responsible and thematic strategies, as well as ESG strategy and advocacy. He is also active in company research, with an emphasis on the global industrials, materials, and utilities sectors.

Prior to joining Principal, he served as a senior portfolio manager for Danske Bank Asset Management managing the firm’s Global Sustainable Future strategy. Martin also served as a member of the firm’s ESG integration council, and previously supported the firm’s hedge fund unit, focused on green energy transition investments. He also worked previously as an investment analyst for Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, where he focused on renewable energy and infrastructure.

Martin received his Master of Finance and Investments from Copenhagen Business School, where he today serves as a lecturer, and received his Bachelor of Arts, in Economics and Business Administration, from Aarhus University.

Benjamin Schofield is a seasoned professional in the financial industry, having spent the past 14 years with Morningstar. His career trajectory took a significant turn in March 2023 when he assumed the role of Director, ESG Products EU Regulatory Solutions at Morningstar Sustainalytics in Zurich, Switzerland. This position marked a new chapter in his career, focusing on guiding the company through the complexities of ESG regulatory standards.

Prior to this, he spent  over a decade at Morningstar, developing a rich portfolio of experiences and a deep understanding of the mutual fund industry. From June 2014 to March 2023, he served as the Sales Director, where he was instrumental in driving the company's sales strategies and fostering client relationships across Switzerland. His role as an Implementation and Client Relationship Manager from June 2012 to May 2014 highlighted his skills in managing and implementing enterprise solutions. 

With an academic foundation rooted in Business Management from the University of Surrey, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree between 2007 and 2011, Benjamin embarked on his career path with a solid understanding of business dynamics. 

Frederik von Ameln, CFA is a senior portfolio manager and strategist at the Swiss Federal Pension Fund PUBLICA, the second pillar pension provider for the Swiss federal administration and associated organizations. 

Frederik joined PUBLICA Asset Management in 2014 as a portfolio manager and strategist, focusing on (listed) equity and commodity investments. He’s responsible for overseeing the management of the listed equity allocation, and co-manages the precious metals allocation. 

Prior to joining PUBLICA, he worked as a senior portfolio manager for indexed equities at a Swiss asset manager. Frederik started his career in finance in 2002 at UBS AG in credit portfolio management after graduating from Technical University of Dortmund with an M.Sc. equivalent degree in Statistics. He is also a CFA charterholder.

Erol Bilecen is Head of Sustainable Finance at the SBA since October 2024. 

Erol has in-depth knowledge of the financial industry and is also a lecturer due to his many years of experience in the field of sustainable finance.

From 2016 to September 2024, he was responsible for the sustainability of products and services at Raiffeisen Switzerland, focusing from 2021 onwards as Head of the Competence Centre Sustainability Pension & Investment. In this role, he was key in designing the standardised integration of ESG criteria into the Raiffeisen Group's investment and pension products and services and implementing all the necessary accompanying measures, such as sustainability reporting. 

During this time, he was a member of the respective sustainable finance working groups of the European Association of Cooperative Banks (EACB), the Asset Management Association Switzerland (AMAS) and the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA), where he was involved in and helped to shape regulatory developments at both national and international level. 

Erol studied economics at the University of Basel and completed the interdisciplinary degree programme MGU (Man-Society-Environment). He has been a lecturer at various teaching institutes such as AZEK and Fachschule Personalvorsorge for many years. 

He started his career in the private sector in 1997 as one of the first sustainability analysts at Bank Sarasin (now Bank J. Safra Sarasin). From 2000 to 2013, he established and headed the Client Services Asset Management unit. 

Guillaume Toffel read law in the Universities of Fribourg (CH) and Heidelberg (D). After his bar exam, he studied at UPenn (USA). He practiced the bar in Geneva, then joined the leading Swiss consulting firm in financial cross-border matters.

Before joining AMAS, Guillame worked at FINMA, in the Asset management Division.

Katja has been working in the financial sector for more almost 20 years. As “Director Legal & Regulatory” with Swiss Sustainable Finance she is mainly responsible for legal aspects and regulatory projects related to sustainable finance.  

Prior to joining Swiss Sustainable Finance, Katja spent many years in various leading and expert positions with the Swiss regulator (government, FINMA), at the banking and asset management sector and in the consulting industry (big 4). She has been responsible for leading many projects in the area of financial market regulation and its implementation in the respective industry.

Katja has extensive knowledge of the financial market law and specialized in Sustainable Finance many years ago. She is an attorney and was admitted to the Geneva State Bar. From the University of Zurich, she obtained an LL.M. in International Business Law.

Florence joined Alpiq as Lead of Enterprise Risk Management in 2024. 

Prior to that, she has held key roles in risk management for big four companies, banks in Switzerland and also in the EU, leading ESG practice for a consulting firm covering Switzerland, France, Belgium and leading ESG internal audit for a cantonal bank in Switzerland. 

Florence is a CAIA charter holder, CESGA holder and has over 20 years of experience in risk management. She performed a Doctorate in Business Administration between Paris and Washington in collaboration with Georgetown University on ESG and impact investing. 

Sara Razmpa, CFA is a Sustainability and Investment Specialist with over 13 years of experience in investment management, including a decade dedicated to responsible investment and sustainability. She joined Piguet Galland in 2024 as the Sustainability Investment Specialist within the investment team.

Prior to this role, Sara served as Head of Responsible Investment and Senior Equity Portfolio Manager at Unigestion, where she was also a member of the Equities Investment Committee. Before 2018, she was a portfolio manager in the Fundamental Fixed Income team at Lombard Odier Investment Management. Her career in finance began in 2012.

Sara holds a bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Tehran University, a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of British Columbia, and a master’s degree in Financial Engineering and Risk Management from HEC Lausanne. A CFA Charterholder, she is an active member of the CFA Society Switzerland ESG Committee. Additionally, she has earned the CFA Institute’s Certificate in ESG Investing and the Certificate in Climate and Investing.

Sebastien Lieblich is Managing Director, Head of EMEA Index and Global Sustainability & Climate Indexes and Asset Owners.

As Head of EMEA Index, Mr. Lieblich is in charge of the development of the MSCI Index franchise across the region. His responsibilities include the definition and execution of the regional index strategy, the management of the regional P&L to ensure alignment between investments and revenue generation as well as engaging with strategic MSCI clients to foster and nurture commercial relationship.

As Head of Sustainability & Climate Indexes, he focuses on further expanding MSCI’s footprint globally across Sustainability and Climate indexing by defining and executing agile commercial strategies as well as innovative product development roadmaps while accounting for regional and investor segment specificities.

Recently, Mr. Lieblich took on the new role of Head of Asset Owners. In this expanded role, he is tasked with further growing the Index business footprint with Asset Owners globally by developing new solutions to meet the evolving needs of this rapidly changing client segment.

Mr. Lieblich joined MSCI in 2001 in Geneva. Prior to joining the Index Products team in 2021, he held different roles within the Index Research organization that have focused on index rebalancing, market analysis, index creation and methodology development. Most recently, he led the global Index Solutions team and served as chairman of the MSCI Equity Index Committee and secretary of the MSCI Index Policy Committee.

Mr. Lieblich earned a MSc in Economics from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and he is a CFA Charter holder.

Alexandra Pastollnigg is Head Responsible Investing at Graubündner Kantonalbank, where she is responsible for continued ESG integration and sustainability initiatives across the bank's investment activities. 

Since joining Graubündner Kantonalbank in 2023, Alexandra has also been driving the bank's stewardship activities, including its commitment to Climate Action 100+, Ethos engagement activities and the AMAS Engagement Letter for Swiss companies to contribute to a climate-neutral economy, amongst others. 

Alexandra is a CFA Charterholder and holds a Master of Finance from the University of Hong Kong. She has also earned the CFA Institute Certificates in ESG Investing, Data Science for Investment Professionals, and Climate Risk, Valuation, and Investing. 

Since 2024, Alexandra has been an active member of the CFA Society Switzerland ESG Committee.

Aurélia Fäh is an investment professional with 10+ years of experience in sustainable finance. In her current role within the Asset Management Association of Switzerland (AMAS), Aurelia leads the Swiss asset management industry’s efforts in transitioning to climate-neutral strategies and a sustainable economy by building best-practices directed to enhance transparency in this area.

Passionate about combining finance with purpose, Aurelia started her career at the IFC (World Bank Group), the largest asset manager focused on emerging markets. Successively based in Johannesburg (South Africa), Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire) and Washington DC (US), she executed debt and equity transactions in banks, fintechs, and insurance companies across Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. After 7 years working and living abroad, she returned to Geneva to join and develop a Swiss-based start-up providing credit to SMEs in emerging countries before joining the AMAS as a Senior Sustainability Expert.

Aurelia graduated from the University of St. Gallen and from Sciences Po Paris with a Master in Finance and a Master in International Affairs.

Olivia Villette is the Head of Switzerland & Liechtenstein at the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) - the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment. As such, she seeks to build a local responsible investment ecosystem and to support local PRI signatories in incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their investment and ownership decisions. 

Prior to joining the PRI, Olivia was Programme Supervisor at the UN Environment’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI). She also worked in Brussels, where she held positions contributing to European regulatory and policy debates in the fields of finance and insurance, in addition to completing a European Commission Traineeship. 

Olivia holds a Master degree in Politics and Governments from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a L.L.M in International Commercial Law from Durham University. 

Sandro Leuenberger is the author of the climate rating of pension funds, now in its sixth year. His aim is to promote a shift towards sustainable investments in equity, bonds, real estate as well as for impact generation in economy and society. He engages in challenging and consulting with a large number of institutions, which account for 90% of the investment volume in the pension sector.

As a PhD chemist, he was a senior manager in the chemical industry in his previous professional life, responsible for quality management, environmental protection, food law and chemical safety. This role included working in associations at the European Union and Swiss level. He is familiar with finance through his membership of the board of trustees of the company pension fund.

Vincent Kaufmann has been the CEO of Ethos Foundation and Ethos Services since June 2015. Vincent joined Ethos in 2004 as a Corporate Governance Analyst, later becoming a Senior and Deputy Head Corporate Governance. He has been Member of Ethos Services’ Management in charge of investment since 2011 and deputy CEO since 2013.

Since June 2019, he has been a Member of the Board of Swiss Sustainable Finance. Vincent Kaufmann, a Swiss Certified Expert for Accounting and Controlling since 2009, holds a Master’s degree in Business Economics of the University of Geneva (2004).

Théo Milliez is Senior ESG & Climate Analyst. He joined Ethos in April 2021 as an ESG Analyst. In this capacity, he is in charge of conducting environmental, social and governance assessments of international companies and specific studies on ESG issues. He is especially active on climate-related analyses and methodologies.

Prof. Dr. Eelco Fiole, CFA, Fellow IoD, is co-founder (2015) and Managing Partner of Alpha Governance Partners, an international boutique fiduciary partnership, honorary professor of Finance Ethics at the University of Neuchâtel, Chair Switzerland of Tiger21, where he facilitates peer governance for a diverse group of primarily Swiss-based UHNWIs, and a nominee director for the IFC. With almost three decades in finance, including over 15 years of board, CFO and COO-experience with multi-billion USD alternative investment organizations, a.o. with Credit Suisse Asset Management, Eelco is an accomplished governance specialist and investment executive. His board mandates are in complex investments, impact and blockchain.

A Dutchman, he holds a.o. a PhD in Economics from the University of Basel and various professional designations, and volunteers for a variety of high-end bodies. In 2022, Eelco was one of four recipients of the global CFA Institute Inspirational Leadership Awards. In 2024, he was named an Exemplar by the DRCOI for a career of Integrity, Innovation, Leadership, and Service.

Captain Cornelissen has participated in more than 25 Sea Shepherd campaigns, beginning as Chief Cook, rising through the ranks to become Captain. After six years on the ships, he spent another six years running a successful campaign in the Galapagos Islands as the Director of Operations.

In his current role as Chief Executive Officer for Sea Shepherd Global, Captain Cornelissen guides global operations. Leading a highly capable team of professionals that spans five continents, he oversees a wide array of international public-private partnerships, manages country agreements, and is responsible for the movements of all vessels in Sea Shepherd Global's fleet.

Captain Cornelissen is an expert on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing as well as marine wildlife protection.

Over the last eight years the organization has broadened its conservation reach by partnering with countries worldwide to combat IUU fishing. This has resulted in the arrest of nearly 100 vessels.