Nature Finance – The Next Wave

André Hoffmann is the Vice President of Roche Holding, Switzerland, and a member of the Board of Directors of the wholly owned subsidiary Genentech Inc. in California (USA). In addition to his non-executive positions within the family business, André Hoffmann has a strong background in nature conservation and sustainability. Among other things, he has served on the board of WWF International as Vice President. He is the President of the MAVA Foundation and of the Fondation de la Tour du Valat in Camargue, France. André Hoffmann has joined the board of SystemIQ to help positively disrupt key economic systems; the board of the World Economic Forum; and the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco. He was also instrumental in establishing the Hoffmann Global Institute in Business and Society (HGIBS) at INSEAD, his alma mater, and is Chairman of the Advisory Board. André Hoffmann studied economics at the University of St. Gallen and received an MBA from INSEAD.

Fabienne Fischer is a lawyer and politician belonging to the Green Party. She was elected on 28 March 2021 to the Geneva State Council and is currently State Councilor in charge of the Department of Economy and Employment. Ms. Fischer became a City Councilor in 2011. She was also a member of the board of directors of Geneva Airport, as well as vice-president of the board of directors and chair of the real estate committee of the Hospice General. Ms. Fischer acted as a teacher in social sciences at Collège Rousseau and was a partner at BM & Avocats. She has a law and a history masters from the University of Geneva.

Mark Halle is the Principal at NatureFinance and a Senior Advisor to the international network of Financial Centres for Sustainability. Mark Halle co-founded Better Nature, an initiative that aims to offer a fresh new approach to nature conservation and restoration. Prior to this, he founded and ran the European office for the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) until his retirement in 2016. He has worked with many major environmental organizations including five years in the UN Environment Programme’s Policy Planning Division, four years in the WWF’s Conservation Division, and fourteen years at the International Union for Conservation of Nature where he held roles including Director of Development and Director of Policy and Partnership.

Christoph Baumann is Envoy for Sustainable Finance at the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF). In this role, he leads the Swiss government's international and national sustainable finance activities. Mr Baumann is a SL4SF member.

Patrick Odier has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank Lombard Odier & Co Ltd. since January 1st, 2014. He was Senior Managing Partner of the Lombard Odier Group from 2008 until 2022. He joined the Lombard Odier Group in 1982 and completed his training in Zurich, New York, and Montreal, before becoming a Managing Partner in 1986. He holds an economics degree from the University of Geneva and an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago. Patrick Odier is president of Swiss Sustainable Finance (SSF). He is also Chairman of Building Bridges. He is member of the Board of economiesuisse (Swiss Business Federation). He was Chairman of the Swiss Bankers Association from 2009 to 2016. He is also a board member of several Swiss and international academic institutions and philanthropic organizations.

Emeryc Kpenou is a Partner at Southbridge and actively participates in the development of SouthBridge’s green finance operations.

Hannah Jones has served as the CEO of Earthshot Prize since 2021. Previously, she served as President of Nike Innovation Labs and has held numerous positions at Nike since 1998.

Nakul Saran was previously Chief Operating Officer of Sea the Future, Minderoo Foundation’s global industry-led initiative to end plastic leakage to nature and accelerate the transition toward a circular plastics economy. At Sea the Future, Nakul leads a global team spanning Australia, Asia, Europe, and the United States to design innovative market-based mechanisms that can enable plastics circularity and kick-start commercially viable recycling markets. He also oversees the initiative’s programs on Transparency, Advocacy, and Technology & Innovation. Nakul’s work has largely focused on developing financing and governance solutions to restore the world’s fragile ecosystems. Prior to joining Minderoo, he served as an independent consultant for major public and social sector clients including the World Bank, World Economic Forum, and Friends of Ocean Action. From 2016 to 2018, he was the Head of Special Projects and Sustainability at Tata Trusts, where he was responsible for the organization’s portfolio on energy, climate change, and the environment in India. A passionate lover of oceans, Nakul has served as Vice President, Fish Forever at Rare, where he led the global conservation organization’s efforts to revitalize oceans, scaling the program to span five countries and over 100 coastal communities, and was awarded the Mulago Foundation’s Rainer Arnhold Fellowship for his leadership. He also spent seven years at McKinsey and Company, where he led the Oceans and Fisheries service within the Sustainability and Resource Productivity Practice. Nakul holds master’s degrees in Ocean Engineering and Engineering Management from Florida Institute of Technology.