Summit 2022: Finance for Nature: Strengthening Standards, Data, Disclosure and Innovation for Biodiversity

Sonja Gibbs leads the Institute of International Finance's (IIF) work on sustainable finance and sovereign debt policy, focusing on research and advocacy for the Institute’s global membership across the financial services  industry. Her research interests include the economic impact and financial market pricing of climate and ESG risks, sustainable investment and capital markets development in emerging markets. Ms. Gibbs oversees the IIF Weekly Insight, which offers a concise perspective on global financial markets with an ESG lens, and the IIF Global Debt Monitor, which looks across mature and emerging economies for debt-related vulnerabilities such as the rapid buildup in EM corporate debt levels. She also serves on  the boards of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (IC-VCM), and of Egypt’s Regional Center for Sustainable Finance (RCSF).  Ms. Gibbs has spent over 20 years in banking and financial markets, most recently with Nomura International in London, where she was Chief Equity Strategist. Earlier positions include stints as a U.S. economist and bank credit analyst in New York and Los Angeles. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), has an MBA and BA from the University of California, Berkeley.

Antoine Sire was Deputy Director of Communications and Regional Action at the Association Française des Banques – now FBF – from 1992 to 1995, then Director of Communications at the Confédération Nationale du Crédit Mutuel (1995-1997). He then spent 16 years as Head of Communications for the BNP Paribas Group, overseeing the construction of the brand resulting from the merger of BNP and Paribas, then its internationalization and the expansion of its social commitments. For 13 years, he co-hosted the Atelier Numérique, a radio program on BFM Business dedicated to new technologies. In 2013, he left BNP Paribas to devote himself to the writing of a historical book on actresses of the golden age of Hollywood, published in 2016. At the same time, he had been working since 2015 as a Partner in the Havas Paris agency. Since 2017, Mr. Sire has been Head of Company Engagement for the BNP Paribas Group and a member of the BNP Paribas Group Executive Committee, with the mission to make the bank's commitment to society one of its strategic assets. Antoine Sire is a graduate of IEP Paris and holds a DEA in Public Law.

Emma Crystal is the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) of Credit Suisse. Emma’s responsibilities include setting the sustainability strategy and ambition for the bank and partnering with the divisions, regions and functions, to deliver on our sustainability commitments, including expanding the wealth management product shelf, investment banking financing offering and net zero deliverables. Emma is an executive sponsor of the bank's LGBT & Ally network in Switzerland. Previously, Emma led the Wealth Management business for Northern & Western Europe and the Sustainable Client Solutions unit, which established the integrated delivery of sustainability services for wealth management clients. Since joining Credit Suisse in 2013, Emma has held a number of senior leadership positions in Wealth Management focusing on European clients. Prior to that, she also covered Family Offices for the UK and Nordic markets. Before joining Credit Suisse, Emma worked in Global Markets at Deutsche Bank for 10 years. Emma graduated from Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden, with a master’s degree in Economics and Business.

Margaret L. Kuhlow leads WWF’s Finance Practice, providing strategic direction and thought and content leadership to WWF’s global engagement with the finance sector. Before joining WWF, Ms. Kuhlow was Vice President of Investment Policy at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, where she also led the agency’s approach to the Sustainable Development Goals. She has worked in development assistance as a member of the team that established and implemented the U.S. Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation, leading the new agency’s approach to environmental and social assessment of major investment projects. She worked on issues of global macroeconomics and development at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and in her 25-year career has lived and worked extensively in developing and emerging markets and has broad sectoral experience in sustainable investment, project finance, and grant making. She holds a Master's degree in Public Policy with concentration in International Trade and Finance and Political and Economic Development from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.