Adam is an associate portfolio manager for Nuveen's Global Fixed Income, Responsible Investing strategy, supporting both the senior manager and co-manager on the strategy. Immediately prior to his current role, Adam was a senior research analyst for Nuveen’s Global Fixed Income team, covering municipal bonds. Prior to joining the firm, Adam held various positions in state and local government for 13 years. While working for the New York State Budget Office, he led a reform of state banking regulations, provided support to the Atlantic Yards, Hudson Yards, and Farley Building projects, and was the primary support to Governor’s staff for the Empire Zones tax credit program. As debt manager for the City of Charlotte, he oversaw a $4 billion debt portfolio, was lead support for redevelopment of the local NBA and NFL stadiums, and developed the debt model for a $1 billion capital program.

Adam graduated with B.A., summa cum laude, in Environmental Studies from Binghamton University and an M.P.A. from the Maxwell School.

Agathe Gouot is Senior Advisor to FinDev Canada’s Chief Investment Officer, supporting the organization’s growth and investment strategy across Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Indo-Pacific. She is an experienced international development finance professional with more than a decade of experience in private investment in emerging markets with a focus on infrastructure and climate finance.

Prior to joining FinDev Canada, Agathe held a variety of roles in the export and project finance space, originating and structuring debt for infrastructure projects worldwide. She was Director for the Andean region at KfW-IPEX (based out of Sao Paulo and Frankfurt) and brings previous experience working in BNP Paribas CIB structured finance teams (based out of Bogota and Paris). 

Fluent in five languages, Agathe holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from HEC Montreal and a Master’s Degree (M.A.) in Political Economy from City University in London. 
 

Ashok Parameswaran is the President and Founder of the Emerging Markets Investors Alliance (EMIA) and a member of the EMIA Board of Directors.

EMIA is a New York City based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that enables institutional investors to support good governance, promote sustainable development, and improve investment performance in the governments and companies in which they invest.

Ashok has over 20 years of experience relating to emerging markets, mostly as an emerging market sovereign debt analyst. During his career, he has worked at asset managers including Invesco, AIG Investments, and Fidelity Management and Research. Ashok was part of an Invesco team that performed in the top third of Bloomberg-listed emerging market peers for four out of five years.

Ashok also has significant experience in international economics and development. At the US Treasury Department, he advised the US Treasury Secretaries Paul O’Neill and John Snow on economic policy towards South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa. During this time, he served as Treasury’s Coordinator for Afghan Reconstruction. Ashok helped to start the India Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where he worked with CSIS Executive Vice President Doug Johnston, US Ambassador to India William Clark, and Congressman Stephen Solarz, former Chair of the House Subcommittee on Asia and Pacific Affairs.

Ashok has served on the Board of the microfinance non-profit United Prosperity and on the Junior Board of Seeds of Peace.

Ashok earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Avinash Persaud is Special Advisor on Climate Change to the President of the Inter-American Development Bank. Persaud has over 30 years of experience in finance, public policy, and academia. Prior to this appointment in January 2024, he was Special Climate Envoy to the Prime Minister of Barbados and an architect of the 'Bridgetown Initiative’ that played an instrumental role in helping to set the international financial reform agenda in recent years.

Persaud is a member of the High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance of the COP26, 27 and 28 Presidencies and a member of the Independent Expert group on Debt, Nature and Climate, established by the Governments of Colombia, France and Kenya. He previously served as Chairman of the Caribbean Community's Commission on the Economy and Commissioner of the UN Commission on Financial Reform.  Prior to his public policy roles, Persaud was a senior executive at several major banks including J. P. Morgan, State Street and UBS.

Persaud has authored multiple academic publications with particular emphasis on financial policy. An Emeritus Professor of Gresham College in the UK, he is 2024 Perry World Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, former Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute and winner of the Jacques de Larosiere Award in Global Finance for his work on financial risk management and systemic crises.

Chris Clubb has 20+ years of experience financing development projects in more than fifty emerging and frontier markets. Prior to joining Convergence, he was the Director leading the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) financing/investment activities in its early transition countries, where EBRD increased its annual investments five-fold to become the largest investor in these low-income countries. While at EBRD, Chris innovated and implemented, in partnership with more than 20 donors, many of EBRD’s blended finance programs – including the leading local currency program for SME finance and development.

Prior to EBRD, Chris provided long-term financing to strategic European infrastructure projects while at the European Investment Bank, provided cross-border financing to international buyers while at Export Development Canada, and started his banking/financing career in corporate banking at Toronto Dominion Bank. Chris has held senior strategic risk management positions at EBRD and EDC, including designing and implementing an enterprise-wide risk management framework.

Daniel Ballesta is a Partner at Enosis Capital. Enosis Capital is a credit firm that structures and finances developing countries to achieve their development priorities.

Prior to Enosis Capital, Daniel spent five years at The Nature Conservancy, most recently as Senior Director of Debt Swaps, leading and developing commercial debt swaps in LATAM and the Caribbean – refinancing USD 2.5 billion of debt for Ecuador, Bahamas, Barbados, and Belize, and unlocking over USD 800 million in funds for national priorities.

Daniel started his career at Banco Santander in 2012, where he worked in multiple roles in credit and liquidity portfolio management.

Daniel holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, a Business Management and a Law Degree from ULPGC in Spain. He earned his CFA Certificate in 2017.

Erin Bigley is a Senior Vice President, AB’s Chief Responsibility Officer, and a member of the firm’s Operating Committee and Women’s Leadership Council. In this role, she oversees AB’s responsible investing strategy, including integrating material environmental, social and governance considerations throughout the firm’s research, engagement and investment processes.

Bigley joined the firm in 1997 and previously served as a portfolio manager and trader for the global and Canadian bond strategies. She spent two years based in London as the global head of Fixed Income Business Development for institutional clients. Bigley served as a fixed-income senior investment strategist for over a decade, and as head of the strategist team from 2018 to 2021.

Prior to taking her current role, she served as head of Fixed Income Responsible Investing, overseeing the Fixed Income team’s responsible investing strategy.

Bigley holds a BS in civil engineering from Villanova University and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. She is a CFA charterholder.

Dr. Gautam Jain is a Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. His research focuses on the role of financial markets and instruments—including thematic bonds, blended finance structures, and carbon markets—in advancing the energy transition, with an emphasis on emerging economies and high-emitting sectors, where mobilizing capital for decarbonization remains challenging.

Dr. Jain has an extensive background in the financial industry, where he covered emerging markets as a portfolio manager and strategist. He has worked at asset management firms and an investment bank, including The Rohatyn Group, Barclays Capital, and Millennium Partners. He has helped manage emerging market local-currency and hard-currency bond portfolios.

He holds a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Columbia University. He is a CFA charter holder and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Ms. Hassatou Diop N’Sele has been the Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the African Development Bank Group since October 2022. She served as the Group Treasurer from May 2015 through the end of 2022.

Ms N’Sele is responsible for the mobilization and investment of financial resources for the Bank Group, financial reporting and financial risk management, as well as Client solutions and Syndication. She oversaw the launch of successful balance sheet optimization transactions of the Bank and the introduction of innovative instruments.

She is a seasoned professional, with more than 30 years of banking and finance experience. As Treasurer, she led the expansion of the AfDB capital markets activities across the globe. During her time in Treasury, Ms. N’Sele led a diverse team of professionals in the management of the Bank’s +USD 33 billion borrowing portfolio, oversaw the investment of the Bank Group’s liquidity in multicurrency portfolios, and supervised the back-office operations.

Prior to this position and from 2008, Ms. N’Sele was the Head of funding of the AfDB. Prior to joining the Bank in 1999, she was the finance director of Tiger Denrees Senegal, a commodity trading company, and a Manager at Citibank in Senegal.

Ms. N’Sele is a Senegalese citizen and holds an MBA in Finance and a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Jennifer is a Partner and Head of Impact at ALTÉRRA and brings over 20 years of experience across law, finance, and climate and energy policy.

Prior to ALTÉRRA, she served as Senior Adviser on UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ Climate team. Jennifer’s near-decade experience at the UN spans two Secretary-Generals, where she played a key role in shaping and advancing global climate and energy strategies and partnerships.

Jennifer holds a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University School of Law, a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University (Sustainable Energy), and a Bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College. She is also a CFA charterholder.

Joseph Francis Maji is a senior banking executive with over seventeen years of experience in Treasury management, Capital Markets, and institutional partnership development across Africa. As the Group Head of Treasury & Strategic Partnerships at CRDB Bank Plc, he leads the bank’s group-wide liquidity strategy, funding diversification, and market risk management, while steering high-impact partnerships with global DFI’ s, international banks, fund managers, and capital-markets players.

Joseph has been instrumental in structuring innovative funding solutions, executing landmark capital-markets transactions, and expanding CRDB ’s access to international investment pools. His leadership has strengthened the bank’s balance sheet resilience and broadened its strategic footprint across the region.

He is a Chartered Global Investment Analyst (CGIA), a Certified Public Accountant, and holds professional credentials in Financial Markets Dealing (ACI) and Executive Leadership Development from Stellenbosch and Strathmore University. Joseph holds a bachelor’s degree in business accounting and finance from Mzumbe University.

Katrina Butt is a Vice President and Portfolio Manager for Emerging Markets Debt, where she is responsible for the management of hard-currency emerging-market sovereign portfolios. Previously, she was a senior Latin America economist in the Global Economic Research group for Fixed Income, focusing on macroeconomic analysis and fixed-income strategy in Latin America and the Caribbean. Earlier in her career, Butt was an economic research associate, supporting G10 and emerging-market economists at AB. She joined the firm in 2013 as a rotational associate for Fixed Income, serving in roles in quantitative research, credit research and portfolio management. Butt holds a BA (cum laude) in economics and mathematics from Bucknell University, an MPA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and is a CFA charterholder. Location: New York

Leticia Ferreras Astorqui is the Head of the Development Finance team at Allianz Global Investors. She joined AllianzGI in July 2020 to help expand AllianzGI’s expertise in Emerging Markets (EM) across various private debt investment strategies, which now manages over USD 4bn of commitments.

Since joining AlianzGI, Leticia has focused on fundraising and deploying the credit-enhanced EM investment strategy (launched in 2021). In addition, she has led the structuring and launch of the Allianz Credit Emerging Markets strategy, AllianzGI’s third blended-finance debt fund, which reached first close in December 2025 with USD 690m in commitments.

Prior to joining AllianzGI, Leticia worked at Macquarie Capital, focusing on principal investments across energy projects in Latin America. Before that, she was part of the Project Finance team at MUFG Union Bank based out of New York, focusing on infrastructure and energy transactions across the Americas.

Lisa Sachs is the Director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), a Center of Columbia Climate School at Columbia University; Associate Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia Climate School; and Director of Columbia’s M.S. in Climate Finance.

Since joining CCSI in 2008, she established and oversees CCSI’s interdisciplinary research and advisory work on the alignment of investment law, practice, and policy with the Sustainable Development Goals. She is a globally recognized expert in the ways that laws, policies and business practices shape global investment flows and affect sustainable development. She works with governments around the world, regional and international development organizations, financial institutions, companies, civil society organizations and academic centers to understand the inter-relations of investment flows and sustainable development, and to influence investment policies and practices to promote the SDGs and the Paris Agreement.

She received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Harvard University, a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School, where she was a James Kent Scholar and recipient of the Parker School Certificate in International and Comparative Law.

Lourdes Robaina is an agile industry leader with over 25 years of experience spanning underwriting, regional strategy, and executive leadership. Throughout her career at top-tier firms like SCOR, Partner Re, and AXA, she has built a reputation for successfully leading teams through corporate transitions and acquisitions.

Formerly the Head of Casualty for Latin America and the Caribbean and the leader of AXA’s Miami office (managing over 50% of the LatAm premium), Lourdes excels at building regional strategies, mentoring teams, and driving growth across diverse lines of business.

Luke Franson is the Head of Treasury & FX at Finance in Motion, where he brings a distinguished background in development finance and a deep commitment to fostering sustainable economic growth in emerging markets.

Driven by a mission to create long-term, commercially viable impact, Luke leverages his deep understanding of corporate finance and new business development to drive systemic change. Under his leadership, his team’s implementation of green lending programs has catalyzed significant environmental and social advancements globally.

Renowned for his analytical acumen, Luke has successfully facilitated numerous renewable energy transactions. His strategic efforts have directly contributed to both the alleviation of poverty and the reduction of millions of tons of CO2 emissions, proving that financial strategy and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand.

Lydia Knoll is an Associate Underwriter in AXA XL’s Political Risk, Credit & Bond team. She is a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU).

Lydia holds a BA in Business Administration in International Business from Loyola University Chicago.

Marie-Aimee Boury is a structured finance professional with more than 30 years of international business experience at Société Générale in New York, London, and Paris. She has a demonstrated track record in advising, structuring, and executing complex transactions in project finance, structured finance, and project bonds, where she developed a strong network of relationships amongst corporate, financial sponsors, MDBs, institutional, and impact investors.

Throughout her various positions, she has developed an in-depth understanding of debt financing and capital markets in energy and infrastructure on a global basis, with a strong focus on emerging markets and blended finance, in particular in Africa and Latin America.

She is currently Head of Impact Based Finance, a team that sits in the Investment Banking division of Societe Generale. Its mission is to act as a catalyst for financial innovation to originate, execute, and distribute impact investments in the public and private markets, using an impact-driven and blended finance approach. 

The team also contributes to thought leadership in collaborative initiatives to build an ecosystem supportive of an efficient scale-up.

Marie-Aimee holds a Master’s degree in International Finance from EDHEC.

Marie Clara has more than 15 years of cross-sector sustainability experience, helping advance the bank’s clients’ ESG strategies, programs, and financing needs. She focuses on the linkages of ESG strategy to capital allocation and sustainable value creation in line with investor expectations, regulatory requirements, and market best practices.

Before joining SG, Marie Clara advised corporates and large institutional investors on developing sustainable business practices and investment stewardship strategies. She also worked as a World Bank consultant, focusing on the linkages between development finance and private sector activities to advance social and environmental objectives. She holds an MSc in Global Business and Finance from Georgetown University and a Master of Law from the University of Vienna.

Matt Kaczmarek is Managing Director, Head of Emerging Market Credit Strategy for Global Infrastructure Partners, a part of BlackRock, and head of BlackRock’s Los Angeles office. Matt’s team invests in private infrastructure credit in emerging markets and developing countries to support economic growth, infrastructure resilience, and climate change mitigation. He also leads investor relations and engagement with not-for-profit and development finance partners. He is a member of the emerging market infrastructure credit investment committee and co-chairs BlackRock’s global LGBTQ+ employee network. 

Prior to joining BlackRock, Matt held senior economic policy appointments in the Administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama, including on the National Security Council in the White House and at the Treasury and State Departments. He is a member of the Boards of Directors of the Pacific Council on International Policy, the UCLA Foundation, and the Campaign Board of the national LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. Matt received his BA from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and MA from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Niki is a senior emerging market structured finance specialist with 17 years of global, cross-sector experience in origination, development, and execution. She has raised billions of dollars of development finance institution debt, equity, guarantees, and political risk insurance for projects in energy, infrastructure, retail, financial services, real estate and hospitality, logistics, conservation, climate, agribusiness, and others.

In 2023, Niki joined the Sustainable Debt team of The Nature Conservancy, the world’s largest conservation non-governmental organization, where she leads large-scale sovereign financings in Africa and Asia to unlock funds for climate and biodiversity. As a part of her role, she successfully led the closing of the Gabon Blue Bond in 2023.

Nikki has a Master's in Finance from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University.  She obtained security licenses and held FINRA - SIE, 79, 63, 82, 24 certificates.

Pallavi Sherikar co-leads CPI’s work on Adaptation & Resilience and is based in the Washington, DC, office. She guides and supports adaptation-relevant work across CPI’s programs, with a particular focus on the Catalytic Climate Finance Facility, the FiCS Financial Innovation Lab, and the ClimateShot Investor Coalition, and supports the tracking of adaptation finance.

Prior to CPI, Pallavi served for four years as a Senior Adaptation Advisor to the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, at the US State Department. In that role, she helped design and implement a 20-agency strategy focused on accelerating U.S. support for adaptation in climate-vulnerable countries and led adaptation-related negotiations in bilateral and multilateral fora, including the Paris Agreement, UNFCCC, G20, G7, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. She began her career working on local climate adaptation planning in the Bay Area and has since worked at several think tanks and development institutions focused on improving access to and use of adaptation finance. 

Pallavi holds a master's degree from the Yale School of the Environment and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Economics and Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

With over a decade of experience in capital markets, Rekha Nair is currently the Managing Director at Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking, driving growth in fixed income and derivatives. Her journey includes impactful years at Standard Chartered Bank, where she honed her expertise in emerging market sales.

Rekha’s team's mission aligns with Société Générale's culture of innovation and excellence, leveraging her field expertise to navigate complex market dynamics. She brings a strategic mindset to the table, focusing on ethical practices and a goal to foster enduring client relationships.

Sara Rosner is a Senior Vice President and AB’s Director of Responsible Investing Research. She leads the Responsibility team’s work with AB’s investment teams and clients to identify, research, and engage with material environmental and social issues that arise in the investment process.

Rosner also leads AB’s collaboration with the Columbia Climate School, which focuses on enhancing investors’ ability to integrate climate change considerations into their decision-making and investment processes. She has developed and is implementing AB’s approach to managing material risks and opportunities stemming from the global transition to a lower carbon economy and has managed firmwide initiatives on climate scenario analysis, carbon offsets, and ESG education and training.

Prior to joining the firm in 2018, Rosner performed research for the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, where she worked on projects related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and renewable energy alternatives in the extractive industry. She spent most of her early career as a journalist covering energy and infrastructure finance in the Americas for Euromoney Institutional Investor.

Rosner holds a BS (magna cum laude) in international studies from Pepperdine University and an MS in sustainability management from Columbia University. She is a global member of 100 Women in Finance and a member of Women Investing in a Sustainable Economy (WISE). Rosner was named one of Crain’s New York Business Notable Leaders in Sustainability 2023.

Sebastien Renaud has more than 25 years of experience in the energy, finance, and investment sectors. He is currently the Head of New Products Development at Octobre Liquidity Guarantee Facility (OLGF).

Over the last 10 years, Sebastian's craft has been to finance innovation by taking executive roles at technology companies and partner roles at finance companies and investment funds. 

Before joining OLGF, Sebastian was the Deputy CEO and CFO at Arverne Group. Prior to that, he became a venture capital investment director in BNP Paribas Solar Impulse Venture Fund. 

Sébastien holds an engineering degree from Ecole Polytechnique (X92), a master's degree from IFP School (the school of energy innovation and sustainable mobility), and an executive master's degree from HEC Paris in corporate finance.

Virginia  Guazzelli currently drives Climate Investments at Patria Investments. Her work stands at the intersection of private equity and sustainability, proving that environmental regeneration and strong economic returns can go hand in hand. Before joining Patria, she was a Business Analyst at McKinsey & Company.

Virginia holds a degree in Engineering, Production Engineering, and Industrial Management from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.