Tech Talk: The ESG agenda, the technology landscape, data challenges and solutions.

Conducting business sustainably and investing responsibly is a focused industry priority. We are all on a journey to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles into our core corporate purpose & strategy. We all have a responsibility to lead on climate change, to support a transition in how we do business in the future.

Clients expect an approach that explicitly acknowledges ESG factors at the core of how they & their providers deliver sustainable objectives. There are many associated opportunities and challenges facing investment management for consideration as we seek to develop effective ecosystems.

Accelerating innovation to help scale up climate change solutions, source trusted data and establish global partnerships is more important than ever in supporting transitions to net zero.

The power of data, demand for transparency & forward thinking technologies are making a positive contribution to more informed investment decisions, reduced risks, optimized connectivity, cost management & how we evolve effective ecosystems.

In this TechTalk we’ll be exploring a number of topic areas:

• The role of data, innovation and partnerships
• The role of the CTO in the ESG agenda

Don’t delay, register today!

14:30 Registration with networking and refreshments 

15:00 Opening Remarks
Gillian Painter, Head of Membership and Engine, The Investment Association

15:10 Presentation: ESG Ecosystems and partnerships
Suman Bhadresha, Managing Director, Global Head of Product Delivery, Direct Custody & Clearing, HSBC
Pamela Kavanagh, Digital Product Manager, Markets & Securities Services, HSBC

15:30 The role of the CTO in the ESG agenda
James King, Senior Policy Adviser, The Investment Association
Bharat Bhushan, Partner and CTO, KPMG

15:50 Panel: The ESG and technological landscape
The future of business is changing; ESG principles, sustainability objectives and trusted data has never been more important.
Join us as the panel review the ESG and technological landscape, exploring opportunities to optimise performance and connectivity.
Suman Bhadresha, Managing Director, Global Head of Product Delivery, Direct Custody & Clearing, HSBC
Bharat Bhushan, Partner and CTO, KPMG
François-Guillaume de Lichtervelde, CFO and Chief of Staff, Greenomy
Tim Fox, Senior Associate, element22
Maria Knight (Moderator), Goldman Sachs

16:15 Closing Remarks
Gillian Painter, Head of Membership and Engine, The Investment Association

16:20 Networking

17:30 End

Gillian Painter, Head of Membership and Engine, The Investment Association
As Head of Membership and Engine, Gillian is a senior member of the IA Enterprises management team. Engine is the IA’s Innovation hub and FinTech accelerator. Since its launch in October 2019, Gillian has managed the growth of Engine which now encompasses an ecosystem of over 130 firms, innovator programmes, as well as a regional co-working hub in Birmingham and an international programme. Engine is focused on innovation and transformation for the investment management and wealth sectors providing an extensive programme of thought leadership, resources and connectivity. Gillian has a strong experience in technology having worked in technical and operational roles for global IT and telecom firms.

James King, Senior Policy Adviser, The Investment Association
James King is the Senior Policy Adviser at the Investment Association responsible for operational resilience, cyber resilience and technology. James manages the IA Tech Forum – a group of around twenty chief technology officers or similar role holders from investment management firms. The Tech Forum is focused on providing leadership and foresight to the IA on matters relating to technology and digitisation.

Pamela Kavanagh, Digital Product Manager, Markets & Securities Services, HSBC
Pamela is a Digital Product Manager in Markets & Securities Services (MSS) at HSBC. Pamela is focused on creating digital solutions across Securities Services, and working closely with partners to improve the Client Experience for a global client base.
Pamela joined HSBC in 2011, where she initially joined the Global Markets business. Her role has evolved during her tenure and she has held cross functional positions in Operations, Risk, Change Management and Delivery. During this time, she has had opportunities to work in London, Malaysia and Hong Kong, and now Dublin.
Pamela studied in Dublin acquiring a BSc in Marketing & Management and a professional Diploma in Fintech. Prior to HSBC, she worked in BAML & Westpac in various roles.
Pamela is an avid traveller and is passionate about exploring different cultures and cuisines.

Suman Bhadresha, Managing Director, Global Head of Product Delivery, Direct Custody & Clearing, HSBC
Suman Bhadresha is Global Head of Product Delivery at HSBC Securities Services, with responsibility for product development of for Direct Custody & Clearing. He leads a global team that leverages new technologies to design and deliver new products, strategic product enhancements, regulatory change and the digital transformation of Custody products – with focus on creating an outstanding customer experience, and operational efficiency.
Based in London, Suman joined HSBC in 2010, as Head of Middle Office Technology for Cash Equities, with focus on Front and Middle Office platform transformation. Since joining Securities Services in 2016, he has led functions such as Business Management, Strategy, Change and Technology globally across Post Trade and Custody products.
Prior to HSBC, Suman has worked at Citi and Credit Suisse, in various roles across Product and Technology and Strategy functions.

François-Guillaume de Lichtervelde, CFO and Chief of Staff, Greenomy
Greenomy is an EU sustainable finance market infrastructure helping companies and financial institutions leverage the EU regulations (Taxonomy, NFRD/CSRD, SFDR) to accelerate their environmental transition. François-Guillaume is a former international lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, based in Brussels, where he focused on EU law and contributed to the launch of a sustainability practice. He has experience working at the European Commission and practising law in Argentina. Graduate in Law and Business engineering from the London School of Economics, KU Leuven and Saint-Louis University. Passionate about the EU project, technology and environmental matters.

Tim Fox, Senior Associate, element22
• Tim is A Senior Associate with element22, a Data Management and Analytics boutique consultancy. He is also Regulatory and Product lead for ESGi
• Over 30 years experience within the Financial Information business.
• Deep domain knowledge across Instrument, pricing, reference and corporate actions, legal entity and ESG data
• A specialism in Regulatory interpretation to establish data and reporting solutions

Maria Knight, Goldman Sachs
Maria Knight leads Goldman Sachs Asset Management Business Intelligence and Automation, dedicated to fostering a data-driven culture by improving process efficiency, identifying risks, reducing costs, and ensuring quality service through analytics by training and development in low and no code tools. She has delivered a number of commercial and industrialisation initiatives across the Asset Management Division since joining from the consulting industry in October 2013.