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• Is there a need for ESG ratings to be effectively defined and standardized to provide a clear understanding of environmental, social, and governance factors?
• What measures can be implemented to improve transparency regarding the operations and methodologies employed by ESG rating providers?
• What steps can be taken to improve the comparability of ESG ratings across different providers?
• How can potential conflicts of interest of ESG rating providers be effectively identified and mitigated?
• Should ESG rating providers be authorized and supervised by ESMA?
• What strategies can be implemented to limit the risks of greenwashing and social washing in ESG ratings?
• What types of oversight mechanisms can be introduced to ensure the proper functioning and accountability of ESG rating providers?
• How can we ensure that rating methodologies are rigorous, systematic, objective and subject to validation?
• How can transparency be improved regarding the impact of ESG risks on individual credit ratings?
• How can we ensure that the rules are proportionate for smaller ESG rating providers?
Professor of Accounting, Head of the Accounting Group, University of Bristol Business School
Giovanna Michelon has been at the University of Bristol since June 2019 and has been Head of the Accounting group since September 2020. She obtained her PhD from the University of Padova. Her research interests are in the field of sustainability accounting and reporting, and her published work has focused on the governance process and systems that underpin corporate actions and accountability on sustainability issues, as well as on the role that sustainability information plays in capital markets. Giovanna has more than 40 publications in leading academic journals such as, among others, Science, Accounting, Organizations and Society, European Accounting Review, Accounting Auditing and Accountability Journal, and the Journal of Business Ethics. Highly engaged with both the academic community and practitioners, she is currently Editor of Accounting Forum, where she advocates and promotes the diversity of interests and epistemologies in accounting research and also serves on the editorial board of several Journals. She is Chair of the EAA Virtual Activities Committee, and a member of the EAA Management Committee and EAA Publications Committee. She is also a Council member of the Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research (University of St. Andrews) and Chair of the ACCA Global Forum for Governance, Risk and Performance where she helps setting the research agenda of this professional body in the fields of corporate governance and risk management.
Member of the European Parliament
A former Irish Minister for Trade, Commerce and Industry, Billy was elected to the European Parliament in 2019, representing the people of Ireland South. Prior to his election, Billy was his party’s national spokesperson on Business, Enterprise and Innovation and led his party’s work on amending the Constitution with regard to abortion rights. Serving as a full member of the ECON and FISC committees, Billy is particularly interested in retail financial services and consumer rights, the digitalisation and greening of the economy, and macro-economic and taxation policies. Billy is currently a shadow rapporteur on the review of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), the review of the European Economic Governance Review, and the proposed Regulation on the transparency of ESG ratings. Additionally, Billy serves as a substitute member of the ENVI committee, responsible for health and environmental issues, and of the SANT committee responsible for public health.
Head of corporate reporting, audit & credit rating agencies, European Commission
Sven Gentner is the head of unit for corporate reporting, audit and credit rating agencies in the European Commission's directorate-general for financial stability, financial services and capital markets union. Sven joined the European Commission in 2004 and has served in various positions in its Brussels headquarters and abroad. From 2004-2006 he was responsible for the coordination of the EU-US Financial Markets Regulatory Dialogue, in 2006 he served as a member of the private office (cabinet) of the Commissioner responsible for the Internal Market, from 2007-2011 he was executive assistant to the director general of Directorate General Internal Market and Services with special responsibility for financial services. In 2011 he was seconded to the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa to advise the AUC on building an African internal market. From 2012 to 2013 he was head of unit for human resources and planning in DG Internal Market and Services. From 2013 to 2015, Sven was a counsellor in the Economic and Financial Affairs Section of the Delegation of the European Union to the United States. He dealt with EU-US regulatory issues and TTIP negotiations in financial services. From 2015 to 2021 he headed DG FISMA’s unit in charge of asset management. Sven started his professional career in the private sector where he worked for an insurance company. Sven holds masters degrees in economics from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, and the University of York, UK.
Economic and Financial Counsellor, Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU
Economic and Financial Counsellor in the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU since 2020. In charge of capital markets, sustainable finance and AML legislation. From 2012 to 2020 he worked in the Spanish Treasury in financing and financial regulation and has been head of cabinet of high officials in the Ministry of Economy and Finance, including the Minister of Economy.
Vice President, Head of Government Affairs & Public Policy, EMEA, S&P Global
David leads S&P Global’s Government Affairs & Public Policy team in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa where he is responsible for engagement with regional and international bodies. He is also a member of S&P Global Sustainable1’s leadership team and coordinates matters relating to sustainable finance policy and regulation for the company globally. Prior to joining S&P Global, David was Head of Financial Services at an international consulting firm focused on financial services regulation, commodity markets, and investor relations. He has also worked in a financial software company, a leading European security and defence think tank, and as a researcher for an international organization. David is the Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU’s Sustainable Finance Task Force, a member of the High-Level Group on Financing Sustainability Transition, and a member of the Industry Advisory Committee for the Irish government’s financial services strategy. He is also a member of the ESMA Sustainability Standing Committee and the UK ESG Data and Ratings Code of Conduct Working Group. In 2014, he was named by Financial News as one of the 40 Under 40 Rising Stars of Trading and Technology. He holds degrees from Trinity College Dublin and the University of Cambridge.
Managing Director, BVI
Rudolf Siebel is responsible for Legal, Statistics & Research and IT at BVI, the German Investment Funds Association. Mr. Siebel represents the interests of the fund industry on the Technical Committee at the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). He is a member of the European Commission Expert Group on European Financial Data Space (EFDSEG) and the associated Open Finance sub-group. He was appointed to the Product Advisory Committee of the Digital Token Identifier Foundation (DTI PAC). He is also a board member of the German Asset Management Standards Committee (GAMSC) the Country Sponsor of the GIPS in Germany. He was a member of the ESMA Post Trade Standing Committee Consultative Working Group (PTSC CWG), the EU Commission European Post Trade Forum (EPTF), and the German SEPA payments council jointly organized by the German treasury BMF and Deutsche Bundesbank. Furthermore he was Chair of the Trading, Reporting & Market Infrastructures Standing Committee (TMR SC) of the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) until the end of 2021. Until April 2019 he served also as Vice Chair of the International Securities Market Practice Group (SMPG). Previously, he was a Vice President - Senior Credit Officer - with Moody´s Investors Service and responsible for analysing and rating money market, bond investment funds as well as life insurance. Mr. Siebel started his career as counsel for securities investment and international law with BVI. He is a trained German lawyer (Rechtsanwalt) and holds a Master of Law degree from Georgetown University, Washington D.C.
Managing Director & Global Head of ESG Methodology, ISS ESG, Deutsche Börse Group
Kristina leads the methodology development of ESG company and country ratings, controversy and sector-based screenings, SDG impact, regulatory and fixed income solutions, and a wide range of other products for institutional investors at Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). She is also responsible for the Quality Management and Assurance processes at ISS ESG. With two decades of experience in ESG research, Kristina Rüter was Head of Research of oekom research AG when it was acquired by ISS in 2018. Kristina has driven innovations such as Green Bond Second Party Opinions, the Carbon Risk and the Water Risk Rating, SDG Impact Assessments as well as the EU Taxonomy Alignment measurement and has developed and supported customized rating models and thematic indices for investor clients. She has actively contributed to various international initiatives on voluntary reporting and quality standards and is a thought leader on topics such as quality, credibility and materiality of ratings. Kristina Rüter holds a Dipl.-Ing. (TU) degree in environmental engineering from the Technical University of Berlin.
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