Our people
The Climate Governance Initiative’s Executive team is based in Cambridge. The Executive is hosted by the Centre for Climate Engagement at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. The Climate Governance Initiative is overseen by a Governing Board and an Advisory Board.
Executive team
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Alexandra Bolton
Director, Climate Governance Initiative
Alexandra has had a varied career, having qualified as a chemical engineer and holds a Post-graduate Diploma in Law. She has worked in industry, the City, the University of Cambridge and as an independent consultant. She has held a number of senior positions including as the founding Executive Director of the Centre of Digital Built Britain, and most recently as the founder of an independent consultancy providing strategic advice on digital transformation, digital twins, and organisational strategy.
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Rachel Allen
Knowledge Exchange Manager
Rachel has a Natural Sciences degree from the University of Cambridge and is driven by a delight in communicating complex data to a broad audience. Rachel works across Centre projects, including the Climate Governance Initiative as well as Hughes Hall community engagement and outreach.
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Sylvie Baird
Head of Operations
Sylvie was the Secretariat’s first employee in September 2020 and now oversees its business operations, implementation of the Climate Governance Initiative strategy and its impact. Sylvie studied modern languages at Cambridge University and subsequently an MBA at the Open University Business School, whilst working at Save the Children.
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Barry Fuchs
Partnerships Manager
Barry is Partnerships Manager with CGI, working to develop and strengthen agreements with the key partners that help the Initiative achieve its goals and objectives. Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, Barry has previously held several roles within Hughes Hall, where CCE is based, and worked with member-driven organisations throughout his career.
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Esme Montgomery Friedner
Communications Manager
Esme holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and International Relations from New York University and comes from a career in strategic communications in the UK Government and public relations agencies in New York and London. She is experienced in developing impactful communications strategies for large international organisations and is the Climate Governance Initiative’s Communications Manager.
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Matthew Moss
Associate Director for Communications and Engagement
Matthew manages the Communications and Engagement teams. He served as Chief of Staff to the Vice-Chancellor for 10 years and gained extensive experience as a speechwriter. At Homerton College, Cambridge, he helped the College transition to its current status as Cambridge’s newest College. He is an associate with Global Philanthropic, a strategic fundraising consultancy.
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Nobuhle Ndlovu
Network Manager
Nobuhle is the Network Manager for the Climate Governance Initiative.Nobuhle has a background in Natural Resources Management having worked as a Forest Manager for Forestry Commission in Zimbabwe. She has a Physical Sciences degree from the university of Cambridge. Nobuhle works with the team to support the coordination, communication and engagement with our chapters of Non-Executive Directors.
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Abigail Plet
Executive Assistant & Administrator
Abigail comes from a background of administrative roles in both the public and private sectors. Abigail began working in a French startup company before joining a Cambridge University, most recently at a centre partnering Cambridge University and the UK Government. Abigail will work to help assist with the support Climate Governance Initiative gives to chapters and to the core team and as Executive Assistant to the Director.
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Jacquie Storey
Team Coordinator
Jacquie is the Team Coordinator for the Climate Governance Initiative Secretariat. She comes from a conference management and publishing background with extensive experience of supporting global teams to deliver high impact, high value programs and events with the minimum impact on the planet.
Our Governing Board
The Climate Governance Initiative’s Governing Board consists of eight elected Chapter representatives, a World Economic Forum representative and the Director of the Climate Governance Initiative. Each member of the Governing Board brings a wealth of knowledge and experience of boardroom best practise and is committed to promoting effective climate governance in boardrooms globally.
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Julie Baddeley
Chair of the Governing Board, Climate Governance Initiative; Chair and Founder, Chapter Zero
Julie Baddeley has served on the boards of major organisations in the public and private sectors for more than 20 years. She is a non-executive director at FTSE 250 company TI Fluid Systems, which is in the forefront of the transition to electric vehicles, Remuneration Committee Chair at Ebiquity plc, and Senior Independent Director of Marshall of Cambridge. She is also Co-Director of the Hughes Hall Centre for Climate Engagement, at the University of Cambridge.
Julie is leading a series of initiatives with investors, academics and advisors to help chairs and non-executive directors recognise the challenge of climate change to their businesses, and their business’ impacts on global warming. Her background was in change management consulting with Accenture, and she sees delivering a zero carbon economy as the biggest challenge for business in her lifetime.
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Sabrina Bruno
Founder, Chapter Zero Italy
Sabrina Bruno is full professor of comparative company law at University of Calabria and Luiss G. Carli and has served as non-executive director in Italian banks and in an energy listed company since 2012. She is currently non-executive director at Carige Bank (where she is member of the Remuneration Committee and of the Nomination, Governance and Sustainability Committee) and Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Lux Vide S.p.a. She is the author of two monographs and several articles and chapters published on Italian and international editions on corporate governance, sustainability, directors’ duties and liabilities with particular reference to climate change. She obtained an M.Litt. Degree from Oxford University (1990-1993) and was Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Harvard Law School (2010) and Visiting Scholar at Stanford Law School (2019).
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Charles Ehrhart
Member of the Steering Committee, Chapter Zero New Zealand
Charles Ehrhart is passionate about building a global community of non-executive directors equipped to ensure their companies are future-fit and that global net zero ambitions are transformed into measurable action.
Charles is a Steering Committee member of Chapter Zero New Zealand and a professional advisor with more than twenty years of climate-focused experience working within the private sector, governments, the UN, and non-profit organisations on five continents. He is currently KPMG New Zealand’s Lead Partner, Climate Change and Sustainability. Charles has supported directors’ climate change journeys across energy, agriculture, transport, and financial services sectors.
His primary interests are adaptation to climate change, sustainable land use, the transformative potential of environmental entrepreneurship, the role of green economic growth in nationally determined contributions to mitigate climate change (NDCs), and public-private partnerships for climate action. Charles has a PhD in Social Anthropology from Cambridge University.
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Liselotte Engstam
Chair and Co-Founder, Boards Impact Forum, the Nordics Chapter
Liselotte Engstam is a Chair at FCG Group, a Non-Executive Director at TietoEvry, Transtema, Zalaris, Ografy and at the academic foundation IMIT.
Engstam is the founder of Digoshen, a Think Tank hosting board membership networks and programs, is an affiliated academic researcher in board topics, and co-author of several books about boards.
She has a background from international executive leadership positions in major European, American, and Indian companies in technology, engineering, and professional services sectors. Engstam holds an M.Sc. in Engineering and Sustainability from Chalmers University of Technology, an international board certification (IDP-C) from INSEAD, is a Fellow at the Institute of Coaching, Harvard Medical School, and was appointed one of 2021 Modern Governance Top 100 in the world.
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Shai Ganu
Steering Committee member, Climate Governance Singapore; and Co-Founding member, ASEAN Climate Governance Network
Shai Ganu is passionate about enhancing board effectiveness, combating climate change, ensuring cognitive diversity on boards, embedding ESG priorities, and driving meaningful behavioral change through incentives and human capital governance. He is the Global Leader for Executive Compensation & Board Advisory business at WTW. Based in Singapore, he has extensive experience working closely with some of the largest companies in the world on Remuneration Committee, Nomination Committee, and Sustainability Committees issues.
Shai serves on Boards and HR Committees of leading companies and not-for-profit organizations in the region. He is a Fellow and Governing Council member of the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID), chairs its Partnerships Committee and is also a member of its ESG Committee. He is also a faculty member with universities and at director associations in the region, teaching courses for current and aspiring Board members. He was also the WTW sponsor and engagement leader for recent collaboration with the Initiative on the Executive Compensation Guidebook for Climate Transition.
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Yves Hayaux-du-Tilly
Co-Founder and Co-Chair, Chapter Zero México
Yves Hayaux-du-Tilly is a Partner of the Mexican law firm Nader, Hayaux & Goebel, head of its (Re)Insurance Practice and its Sustainable/ESG Transition Working Group. For more than thirty years he has been a trusted advisor of multinationals, Mexican and foreign investors in mergers, acquisitions and financing transactions, corporate and governance-related matters.
Yves has been serving over twenty two years as non-executive director and secretary of the board in various financial institutions; he currently serves as non-executive and independent director of Dentegra Seguros Dentales, Pensiones Principal, Sofia Salud and GNP International Ltd.
Yves is a co-founder of the Mexican Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain (MexCC) and served as its Chairman from 2011 to 2019. He also served as Chairman of the Mexican Association of Insurance and Bonding Law (AMEDESEF). He is currently a member of Chapter Zero UK (the Director’s Climate Forum), founder and Co-Chair of Chapter Zero México, the Climate Governance Initiative, member of the Presidential Council of the International Association of Insurance Law (AIDA), and honorary member of the Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR).
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Cristián Rodríguez-Chiffelle
Board and Executive Committee member, Chapter Zero Chile
Cristián Rodríguez-Chiffelle is a Fellow at Harvard’s David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Senior Advisor, Global Advantage and Public Sector, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Cristián is a former Managing Director of InvestChile, the country’s foreign investment promotion agency; former head of trade and investment policy at the World Economic Forum, where he was also a member of the B20. He served at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, including as Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) lead negotiator on trade and environment, and at the UNFCCC’s COPs. He holds masters of Laws and in Public Administration from Harvard, and is a Chilean and a Swiss national.
Cristián serves on the boards of Start-Up Chile – the leading start-up accelerator in Latin America.
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Agnes K Y Tai
Member of the Steering Committee, Climate Governance Initiative Hong Kong
Agnes K Y Tai is Director of Great Glory Investment Corporation and Senior Advisor of iPartners Holdings Ltd.
She has served the financial community across four jurisdictions in the past 43 years, is a frequent speaker, author and training facilitator. Her board training in sustainability, climate, governance, strategy and risk oversight spans five continents.
She is a Steering Committee member of Climate Governance Initiative Hong Kong Chapter, an Expert Review Panel member for the MTR Corporation sustainability reports since 2014, Advisory Board member of Asia Climate Forum, an ESG/climate judge for Benchmark Funds of the Year Awards, a Council member, Publishing Board of Magazine member and a Deputy Chair of the training committee of the Hong Kong Institute of Directors, faculty of Competent Boards, CSIA and FITC, board member of Hope of the City, advisory council/committee member of GARP (HK), BlueOnion, FarmacyHK and Shao Ming Lo Foundation.
Agnes has a PhD (2022) from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology with dissertation titled “Do carbon risks matter for Hong Kong equity prices?”, an MBA (1980) from the University of Chicago – Booth School of Business, a BSc (Honors, 1978) from Roosevelt University in USA and is a graduate of the Stanford University Senior Executive Leadership Program and the 2011 Stanford Directors’ College. She holds a Climate Designation certificate from Competent Boards, a Sustainability and Climate Risk certificate and a Financial Risk Manager certificate from Global Association of Risk Professionals, an ESG Investing certificate from CFA UK and a CAIA certificate from Chartered Alternative Investment Association.
She has authored a book on investing in H-shares, a Harvard Business case, a chapter in CFA Society Hong Kong’s 30th anniversary book ‘Rise from Crises’, a book ‘Tall Miracles’ and business articles on carbon risks.
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Pim Valdre
Head, Climate Ambition Initiatives, World Economic Forum
Pim Valdre is the Head of Climate Ambition Initiatives at the World Economic Forum. Prior to her current position she also worked in the Industry Decarbonization team and the European government team at the Forum. She has broad experience on climate, net zero action, public private cooperation and sustainable development and international security policy, having worked in the Executive Office of the UN Secretary General (2012-2015) and in the Office of the President of the UN General Assembly (2004-2005). Other experience includes working to develop policy recommendations and research related to climate security and peacekeeping affairs at the New York based think tank International Peace Institute. She also worked as a Special Adviser in the UN Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during Sweden’s membership in the UN Security Council (2017-2018) where Sweden among other issues put climate on the agenda of the Council.
MA and BA in political science from Uppsala University and Institute d’Etudes de Science-Politiques in Paris. Worked and studied in Sweden, Australia, France, UK, US, Jordan, Switzerland.
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Alexandra Bolton
Director, Climate Governance Initiative
Alexandra Bolton is the Director of the Climate Governance Initiative. Alexandra has had a varied career, having qualified as a chemical engineer and holds a Post-graduate Diploma in Law. She has worked in industry, the City, the University of Cambridge and as an independent consultant. She has held a number of senior positions including as the founding Executive Director of the Centre of Digital Built Britain, and most recently as the founder of an independent consultancy providing strategic advice on digital transformation, digital twins, and organisational strategy.
Our Advisory Board
The Climate Governance Initiative Advisory Board provides overall strategic guidance for the Initiative and comprises of distinguished business leaders, representing diverse disciplines and sector experience.
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Laura M Cha
Chairman, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.
Mrs Laura M 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.
Mrs Cha was a member of Executive Council of the Government of Hong Kong from 2004 to 2022. She was also Chairman of The Financial Services Development Council of Hong Kong from January 2013 to July 2018, and Chairman of the University Grants Committee from 2007 to 2011.
She was awarded a Silver Bauhinia Star in 2001, a Gold Bauhinia Star in 2009 and the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2017 by the Hong Kong Government for her public service.
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Alejandro Díaz de León
Former Governor of the Central Bank of Mexico and current Executive Director of Grupo Bal
Alejandro Díaz de León has been Corporate Director of the BAL Group since March 2022. He provides strategic advisory services to the group, which includes leading Mexican enterprises across multiple sectors.
As Governor of Banco de México his 4-year tenure focused on attaining stability, increasing transparency, sustainability and competition, his achievements in those areas were recognized by numerous international and regional awards. He included Banco de México as a founding member of the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System.
Alejandro has served on boards for the Bank for International Settlements, Financial Stability Board and IMF as well as representing Mexico at the G20 finance meetings.Throughout his career he has participated in numerous international working groups and economic research projects, as well as in collegiate bodies dealing with central banking, development banking and pensions.
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Angeles Garcia-Poveda
Chair, Legrand
Angeles Garcia-Poveda has been chairperson of the Board of Legrand since July 1, 2020. She joined the Board as an independent director in 2012 and chaired the Nominations and Governance Committee and the Remuneration Committee, sat on the Strategy and CSR Committee, and has served as Lead Director since 2013.
Until 2008 Angeles worked at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). She sits on the Boards of Directors of Edenred, Bridgepoint and Puig. She is a member of the Executive Council of MEDEF. She also sits on the Boards of Directors of IFA and NEOMA.
Aged 52, Angeles graduated from ICADE in Madrid and NEOMA in Reims, and completed the Business Case Study Program at Harvard University
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Pedro Gomez
Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum
Pedro Gomez is a Member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum leading the work on industry decarbonization. Before holding this position, Pedro led the Forum’s work Mobility leading the transport sector’s agenda on sustainability, business resilience and inclusiveness. Prior, he was Head of the Partnership Against Corruption Initiative team (steering one of the longest-standing collective action initiatives in this field). He was also part of the leadership of the Energy Team at the Forum where he oversaw the production of the Energy Transition Index and Oil and Gas industry transformation. Prior to joining the Forum, Pedro served at the Mexican Ministry of Energy as Director for Sectoral Studies where he contributed energy reform & transition policies and at Pemex. In Academia, he was Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies working on the political economy of energy in Latin America and Chevening Fellow at the University of Edinburgh’s Business School where his focus was low-carbon investment and finance. He was also a senior consultant for Deloitte’s energy practice and was a Partner at the Swiss-based Shipbroking Firm 1.8.9 Shipping GmbH. Pedro holds a Master’s Degree from St Antony´s College at the University of Oxford.
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Joaquim Levy
Director of Economic Strategy and Market Relations, Banco Safra Brazil
Joaquim Levy is the Director of Economic Strategy and Market Relations, Banco Safra Brazil. Mr. Levy is an economist with extensive experience providing innovation and leadership across the public and private financial sector. He is the former Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank. Other previous leadership positions include Brazil’s Minister of Finance, president of the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration at the IDB, and President of Bradesco Asset Management. He is currently member of the global boards of WRI and CPI and the advisory board of ICVCM.
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Anand G. Mahindra
Chairman, Mahindra Group
Mr. Anand Mahindra is the Chairman of the Mahindra Group. His tenure has seen the Group expand domestically and internationally into a range of major industrial sectors from automobiles and agriculture to renewable energy, IT and aerospace.
Mr. Mahindra graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard College (1977) and secured an MBA from the Harvard Business School (1981). In 2008 he was bestowed the Harvard Business School’s Alumni Achievement Award and in 2014 he became the first Indian recipient of the Harvard Alumni Association’s Harvard Medal
He has served on several influential bodies including the Reserve Bank of India Board, UN Global Compact Board, Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the World Bank Group’s Advisory Board for Doing Business. Mr. Mahindra has been conferred with the Padma Bhushan Award (2020), India’s third-highest civilian honour. Mr. Mahindra also initiated the Nanhi Kali programme, which has provided over half a million underprivileged girls access to high-quality education.
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Sheila Murray
Chair, Teck Resources
Sheila Murray has been a director of Teck since April 2018 and was appointed Chair of the Board in February 2020.
She is a graduate of Queens University (B.Comm and LLB). Ms. Murray served as President of CI Financial Corp. from 2016 to 2019 and was previously Executive Vice-President, General Counsel and Secretary of CI Financial Corp. Ms. Murray played a key role in directing the operations and setting corporate strategy for CI Financial Corp. and its operating companies, including CI Investments Inc. and Assante Wealth Management. Her role included leading CI’s mentoring program, which fosters the advancement of high-potential female employees. Prior to that, Ms. Murray had a 25-year career at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, where she practised securities law with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and corporate reorganizations.
Ms. Murray is the past Chair of the Dean’s Council at Queen’s University Law School and has also taught Securities Regulation at Queen’s University and Corporate Finance at the University of Toronto’s Global Professional LLM in Business Law Program. Ms. Murray is also a director of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada, and a trustee of Granite REIT.
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Dave Regnery
Chair, Trane Technologies
Dave Regnery is chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of Trane Technologies plc, a global climate innovator focused on sustainable solutions for buildings, homes and transportation.
Under Dave’s leadership, Trane Technologies has sharpened its strategy as an industry leader in climate solutions with a singular purpose – to boldly challenge what’s possible for a sustainable world.
Dave has been with Trane Technologies for his entire career. He was appointed CEO in July 2021, and named chair of the company’s board of directors in January 2022. Previously, Dave served as the company’s president and chief operating officer, with direct responsibility for its three regional reporting segments and full portfolio of businesses, as well as mission-critical company operations including supply chain, engineering and information technology.
Throughout his tenure, Dave has led the majority of the company’s businesses around the world, including Commercial HVAC and Transport Refrigeration. As president of the Commercial HVAC business, Dave led the launch of the company’s successful EcoWise™ portfolio of products, designed to lower environmental impact through high efficiency operation and low global-warming potential refrigerants.
Dave serves on the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders for the World Economic Forum, and is active in climate industry, business and manufacturing associations. When he is not with investors or customers, Dave devotes significant time and focus speaking with early talent, new hires and leadership development groups.
Dave graduated from Northeastern University with a bachelor’s degree in finance and holds a Master of Business Administration from Lehigh University. Dave and his family live in Charlotte, NC, where he is active in the local community.
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Feike Sijbesma
Chair, Philips and Honorary Chair DSM
Feike Sijbesma, CEO Royal DSM from 2007 till 2020, transformed DSM from a bulk-chemical company into a purpose driven science-based company, focused on nutrition, health & sustainable living.
He is DSM’s Honorary Chairman; Royal Philips Chairman, and Unilever and Dutch Central Bank board member.
Feike is co-chair Global Center on Climate Adaptation, World Bank Climate Leader (carbon pricing). Feike is co-chair CEO Climate Leaders Alliance and IMF advisory board member, and advisor of Africa Improved Foods and The Ocean Cleanup.
He is UN Humanitarian of the Year; received honorary doctorates from Maastricht and Groningen University; was listed on Fortune’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders, and a world’s 100 most successful CEO’s by Harvard Business Review.
Feike studied molecular biology and business administration.
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