15 transformational leaders in ESG space
ESG framework is another way of looking at a company to assess how it affects the world we live in. The ESG framework can bring assured and rewarding possibilities for business leaders who leverage it to make future-proof decisions that mitigate uncertainty and risks. Bringing to you 15 exceptional leaders working in the ESG space.
Ezgi Barcenas, AB Inbev
Barcenas is the Global Vice President of Sustainability for AB InBev, the world’s leading brewer where sustainability isn’t just part of our business, it is our business. Barcenas is responsible for AB InBev’s environmental sustainability vision and strategy, particularly the brewer’s plan to achieve its ambitious 2025 Sustainability Goals, which are integrated into the company’s business strategies across the supply chain, procurement, and sales functions. She and her team focus primarily on agricultural development, climate action, water stewardship, packaging sustainability and responsible sourcing for the company’s global supply chain, which spans more than 50 countries.
Meghna Das, UNICEF
Das is Head of International Programmes Engagement at UNICEF UK leading a team providing strategic insights & advice on programmes, policy, advocacy, communications, fundraising and partnership development in UNICEF areas of work. Included in the Top 100 Women in Sustainability 2022, she is also a Chartered Environmentalist with over 19 years of proven experience in leading environmental, climate change, WASH (water, sanitation & hygiene), biodiversity and sustainability initiatives, both internationally & in the UK. She has helped raise the profile of sustainability initiatives, developed multi-million partnerships with the private & public sector, overseen programmes, and influenced policies both in the UK and internationally for better environmental outcomes and children’s right to a safe & healthier environment.
Nancy Hobhouse, EVRi
Hobhouse is Head of ESG at Evri, the UK’s biggest dedicated parcel delivery company, delivering more than 700 million parcels on behalf of Europe’s top retailers. Evri has a mission to be the most convenient way to send, receive and return parcels, without costing the earth. She’s responsible for spearheading several key initiatives and developing an ambitious and robust ESG strategy. Her remit covers every aspect of the business from product development and innovation to operational changes around key touchpoints, such as alternative fuel usage, industry knowledge sharing and people-centric initiatives.
Cécile Texier, Alstom
Texier has been Alstom’s Vice President of Sustainability & CSR since January 2018. She drives the company’s Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility and Climate strategy and policies, local communities’ investment program, sustainability in marketing, extra-financial reporting activities, and dialogue with stakeholders. She was also appointed in 2018 Global Diversity Champion of the Company to support the deployment of Alstom Diversity & Inclusion programs. Cécile is a member of the Board of the Alstom Foundation and vice-chairman of the UITP Committee on Sustainable Development. Before her current role, she was Sustainability & CSR Director for Alstom Transport then the Alstom group.
Kate Brandt, Google
Brandt leads sustainability across Google’s worldwide operations, products, and supply chain. In this role, Kate coordinates with Google’s data centres, real estate, supply chain, and product teams to ensure the company is capitalizing on opportunities to strategically advance sustainability and a circular economy. Previously, Kate served as the United States’ first Federal Chief Sustainability Officer. In this capacity, she was responsible for promoting sustainability across Federal Government operations, including 360,000 buildings, 650,000 vehicles, and US$445 billion annually in purchased goods and services.
Ida Krabek, Orsted
Krabek is head of global sustainability at Ørsted, a global renewable energy leader. Together with her team, Ida helps ensure that Ørsted sustainably develops green energy through implementing relevant climate and sustainability programs, setting and achieving science-based targets and delivering on an ambitious program for supply chain decarbonization
Richa Arora, ESG Stewardship Services
Arora is a business transformation leader, with a deep understanding of strategy, marketing & operations in the consumer goods space. She has driven significant results for businesses in her career of 30+ years: Building businesses & brands from scratch, nurturing them at inception & scaling up established ones. Richa has recently joined ECube Investment Advisors, as Managing Partner & CEO of ESG Stewardship Services. In this entrepreneurial venture, her mandate is to drive the strategy and implementation of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) assessment & engagement.
Scott Tew, Trane Technologies
Tew is the founder of the Center for Energy Efficiency & Sustainability at Ingersoll Rand (CEES) which supports all of the company’s strategic brands — Club Car, Ingersoll Rand, Trane and Thermo King — and is responsible for forward-looking sustainability initiatives aimed at transitioning to more efficient and climate-friendly solutions, and minimizing resource use within company facilities. Scott serves as a thought leader in linking public policy, economic impacts and a value-stream approach to sustainability. His recent efforts have led to the development of world-class initiatives including the introduction of the company’s comprehensive triple-bottom-line targets, the creation of the EcoWise product portfolio, and industry-leading public commitment to combat climate change at the UN Climate Summit; and as a pioneer in integrated reporting.
Mike Froman, Mastercard
Froman serves as vice chairman and president, of Strategic Growth for Mastercard. In that role he is responsible for growing strategic partnerships, scaling new business opportunities, and advancing the company’s efforts to partner with governments and other institutions to address major societal and economic issues. He and his team drive financial inclusion and inclusive growth efforts and work to develop new businesses key to the company’s strategic growth.
Ruth Harper, ManPower Group
As Chief Communications & Sustainability Officer, she leads all aspects of communications strategies and channels, research, thought leadership and content creation across ManpowerGroup’s 80 countries and family of brands – Manpower, Experis, ManpowerGroup Solutions and Right Management. She co-authored recent reports including Skills Revolution, Millennial Careers: 2020 Vision, and Seven Steps to Conscious Inclusion: A Practical Guide to Accelerating More. Women Into Leadership and ManpowerGroup’s Sustainability Plan and Report 2015/16. Ruth also leads ManpowerGroup’s partnership with the World Economic Forum, serving on the Education and Skills Steering Committee for the Future of Education, Gender and Work Initiative. Previously, Ruth worked for ManpowerGroup in Europe, leading Public Affairs, Government Relations, Marketing, CSR and PR and representing the industry to advise government and business on the European labour market.
Bill Thomas, KPMG
Thomas is the Chairman and CEO of KPMG International where he leads and supports more than 236,000 remarkable people focused on delivering exceptional services to clients throughout the world in 145 countries. Ensuring everyone at KPMG lives up to and abides by the values that have made KPMG the trusted partner of the business community is Bill’s first priority. Bill has more than a decade of executive-level leadership experience and previously served as Chairman of KPMG’s Americas region from 2014 to 2017 and as CEO and Senior Partner of KPMG in Canada from 2009 to 2016. During each stage of his career, he has propelled the firm’s global strategy throughout local, regional and international geographies, always pairing pragmatism and creativity to deliver concrete results.
Laura Cha, HKEX
Cha is Chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd and a member of the Financial Leaders Forum in Hong Kong. Mrs Cha is also an Independent Non-Executive Director of Ant Group Co., Ltd., a Senior International Advisor of Foundation Assets Management Sweden AB and a member of Sotheby’s International Advisory Board. In addition, she is also Vice Chairman of the International Advisory Council of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and a Director of the World Federation of Exchanges. Mrs Cha became the first, and to date, the only person outside Mainland China to join the Central Government of the People’s Republic of China at the vice-ministerial rank when she was appointed as Vice Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission in January 2001. She served in that position until 2004. Mrs Cha worked for the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong from 1991 to 2000, becoming its Deputy Chairman in 1998.
John Schultz, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Schultz is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Hewlett Packard Enterprise. In this role, John heads the Operations, Legal and Administrative Affairs organization which comprises a variety of business functions including the Legal Department, Ethics and Compliance Office, Data Office, Global IT, Global Real Estate, Corporate Affairs, and Global Security. With John’s proven leadership and pan-HPE view of the business, he also leads the Transformation Office, a cross-business team that functions as the driving force to accelerate HPE’s vision to be an edge-to-cloud company. As a result, John also leads the newly created Services Reliability Engineering (SRE) and Cloud Services Operations teams, as well as the Unified Cloud & Platform Experience Office. Before his current role, John served as Chief Legal and Administrative Officer overseeing most of the same organizations.
Renjen became Deloitte Global CEO in June 2015. He was re-elected in 2019. Deloitte operates in 150 countries, with more than 400,000 professionals and 2021 revenues of $50.2 billion. Punit is also a member of the Deloitte Global Board of Directors. As CEO, Punit developed and executed a global strategy that resulted in Deloitte becoming the leading professional services organization in the world and recognized as the strongest and most valuable commercial services brand. During his tenure, Deloitte has led its competitors in growth and impact, becoming the largest of the Big Four while also the leader in audit quality.
David Schmid, SAP
As SAP’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Daniel Schmid is globally responsible for sustainability at SAP SE since 2014.
Daniel Schmid started his career in CRM consulting and held various senior management positions within SAP Consulting before joining the sustainability leadership team established in 2009 to start SAP’s sustainability journey and lead the Sustainability Operations team. Schmid holds a degree in industrial engineering from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany. He is a member of the steering committee of econsense, a forum for the sustainable development of German business.
