ESG Impact
October 6, 2022

ESG Impact

Measuring What Matters

In turbulent times when the nation is increasingly more divided and inflation is weighing on consumers’ minds, where does ESG belong in your portfolio and within your company’s strategy? Measuring success when it comes to major issues, such as climate change and stakeholder capitalism, in a volatile stock market is no easy task, but there are those who have cracked the code.

Join us virtually on October 6th where you’ll meet the business leaders, investors, activists and startups that are solving key ESG challenges and are turning ideas into action to ensure a more sustainable and equitable future for decades to come.

Speakers

Cambria Allen-Ratzlaff

Cambria Allen-Ratzlaff joined JUST Capital on May 31, 2022 as its new Managing Director and Head of Investor Strategies, to oversee the nonprofit’s work in the pensions, investments, and finance industry. In her new role, Cambria will be responsible for advancing JUST’s mission of building a more inclusive form of capitalism by developing and leading JUST’s investor stakeholder and financial markets strategy. She is also responsible for cultivating industry partnerships and initiatives with key market actors, with a focus on the asset owner, asset manager, sustainable and impact investing, and stakeholder communities.

Prior to joining JUST, Cambria was the Corporate Governance Director of the $63 billion UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, the largest non-governmental purchaser of retiree health care benefits in the United States, where she led and executed the Trust’s global liquid markets portfolio corporate governance program and oversaw the Trust’s global proxy voting program. Prior to joining the Trust in 2011, she served as Senior Corporate Governance Analyst for the Office of Connecticut State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier and an Analyst for the Council of Institutional Investors.

Since 2013, Cambria has also led the Human Capital Management Coalition, a cooperative effort among a group of 36 institutional investors representing over $8 trillion in assets to elevate effective human capital management as a critical driver of long-term shareholder value. She is a recognized leader in corporate governance and sustainable investment, specifically board structure and accountability, executive compensation incentives and alignment, governance risk management and mitigation, shareholder rights, the role of transparency and accountability in ensuring efficacy and efficiency in the capital markets, and the relationship between public policy and value creation.

Cambria was appointed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Investor Advisory Committee in 2019, and is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors. In 2016, Cambria was named a Rising Star of Corporate Governance by the Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School. Cambria previously served as an Officer on the Council of Institutional Investors board of directors. She received her A.B. in Political Science from Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and her M.A. in Public Policy from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.

Reginald DesRoches

Reginald DesRoches is Rice University’s eighth President. He also serves as a professor of civil and environmental engineering, and professor of mechanical engineering. As president, DesRoches serves as the chief executive officer of the university and its 7,500 students, seven schools and more than 700 faculty. He previously served as Rice's Howard Hughes Provost and William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering.

DesRoches’ top priorities are to enable Rice to reach a new level of distinction nationally and internationally for impactful research, award-winning scholarship and insightful creative work. He also wants to build graduate programs that are of the same distinction as Rice’s top rated undergraduate programs while maintaining Rice’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

During his tenure as provost, DesRoches led the university’s academic, research, scholarly and creative activities through the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the sudden suspension of classroom instruction and Rice’s successful conversion to remote learning. In addition, he dramatically increased the university’s research awards, launched several new centers and institutes, and forged new partnerships and programs with institutions and organizations in the Houston area, including the Texas Medical Center.

Under his leadership, several new majors and professional master’s programs were launched, including a new undergraduate business major. Several new online programs were created during his time as provost as well, including the online degrees in the Jones Graduate School of Business and several online master’s degrees in the School of Engineering. During his time as provost, DesRoches made diversity, equity and inclusion a priority, establishing the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which has been instrumental in dramatically increasing the diversity of Rice’s faculty and graduate student population. He also began leading the first major expansion of the undergraduate body in over a decade.

DesRoches' tenure at Rice began in 2017, when he accepted the post as the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering at the George R. Brown School of Engineering. As the leader of Rice’s engineering school, he was in charge of nine departments, 137 faculty and 2,500 students. During his time as dean, the school dramatically increased in size, stature and department rankings. It also saw a significant growth in research programs. Several key interdisciplinary initiatives were launched during DesRoches’ time as dean, some of which were neuroengineering, synthetic biology and data science. He also led the establishment of the a collaborative research center in India with IIT-Kanpur, the first of its kind.

Before his appointment at Rice, DesRoches served as chair of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. As chair, he led a major renovation of the school’s main research and teaching home, and he spearheaded a major fundraising effort for the school that doubled the number of endowed chairs and professors. During his tenure as chair, the school dramatically moved up in the U.S News & World Report graduate rankings, achieving a ranking of No. 2 in the nation — the highest in the history of the school.

DesRoches’ primary research interests are in the design of resilient infrastructure systems under extreme loads and the application of smart materials. His research is highly interdisciplinary and spans micro- to macro-scales. He has published approximately 300 articles and delivered more than 100 presentations in over 30 different countries. He also has mentored more than 30 doctoral students, many of whom hold faculty positions at top universities around the world.

A fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the society's Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), DesRoches served as the key technical leader in the United States’ response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, taking a team of 28 engineers, architects, city planners and social scientists to study the impact of the earthquake. He also has participated in numerous congressional briefings to underscore the critical role that university research must play in addressing the country’s failing infrastructure and enhancing the nation’s resilience to natural hazards.

DesRoches chaired the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) National Construction Safety Team Advisory Committee (NCST), which is overseeing NIST’s investigation of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South Condominium in Surfside, Florida. He is on the advisory board for the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) Simulation Center, the California Department of Transportation Seismic Advisory Board, the Halliburton Labs Clean Tech Accelerator and the HTX Impact Fund, which is focused on minority led startups.

He previously served on the advisory committee for the Engineering Directorate for the National Science Foundation, the National Academies Resilient America Roundtable (RAR), the Global Earthquake Modeling Scientific Board and the National Science Foundation Engineering Advisory Council. In recent years, DesRoches has testified before U.S. House and Senate subcommittees on the science of earthquake resilience, and he has participated in Washington, D.C., roundtables for media and congressional staffers on topics ranging from disaster preparedness to challenges for African American men in STEM fields.

A member of the National Academy of Engineering, DesRoches’ distinctive research record has been recognized for its impact and innovation. He received the Distinguished Arnold Kerr Lecturer Award in 2019, the John A. Blume Distinguished Lecturer Award in 2018, and the 2018 Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Distinguished Lecturer Award, one of the highest honors in the field of earthquake engineering. He also is a recipient of the 2015 ASCE Charles Martin Duke Lifeline Earthquake Engineering award, the 2007 ASCE Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, and the Georgia Tech ANAK Award, which is the highest honor the Georgia Tech student body can bestow on a faculty member. He received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2002, the John A. Blume Distinguished Lecture in 2018 and the Georgia Tech Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Adviser Award in 2010. DesRoches is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Alumni in Civil Engineering at Berkeley and was recently named an honorary alumnus of Georgia Tech.

In 2014, DesRoches became Georgia Tech’s Faculty Athletics Representative, serving as the liaison between the university and its athletics department. He worked closely with the athletic director and university leadership — including the president, provost and senior vice provost for academic affairs — to formulate policies affecting intercollegiate athletics on campus. His responsibilities also included representing the institute to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. During the 2016-2017 school year, he was appointed to the ACC leadership team as vice president of the conference.

DesRoches was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and grew up in Queens, New York. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, a Master of Science in Civil Engineering and a Doctorate in Structural Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.

DesRoches is married to Paula DesRoches, a highly accomplished healthcare professional, nurse practitioner and administrator recognized for her leadership in occupational health. The couple has three children, Andrew, Jacob and Shelby, who is a student at Rice.

Abigail Disney

Abigail E. Disney advocates for real changes to the way capitalism operates in today's world. She has worked with programs supporting low-income families, women's rights, and global poverty for thirty years. She is an activist and Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker. Her latest film, “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,” which she co-directed with Kathleen Hughes, made its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. She is co-founder of Fork Films, a nonfiction media production company, which produces the podcast "All Ears," where host Abigail Disney interviews bold, solutions-oriented thinkers from the front lines of America's urgent inequality and race crises. She is the Chair and Co-Founder of Level Forward, a new breed storytelling company focused on systemic change through creative excellence, balancing financial and social returns. She created the nonprofit Peace is Loud, which uses storytelling to advance social movements and the Daphne Foundation, which supports organizations working for a more equitable, fair and peaceful New York City.

Anders Forslund

Anders is the founder, CEO and Chairman of Heart Aerospace. He founded the company in 2018 together with Klara Andreasson with the aim of electrifying short-haul regional aviation, with an early focus on the Nordic countries.

Before starting Heart, Anders was an aerospace researcher at Chalmers, where he was a driving force behind the research project Elise-Electric Aviation in Sweden, funded by the Swedish Innovation Agency Vinnova. He spent 2013-2014 at MIT, where his work on geometric variation of aerospace components was awarded the Charles M. Manly Memorial Medal. He is also a founding member of the Nordic Network for Electric Aviation.

Anders has a Ph.D. in Aerospace Product Development and a B.Sc. in Engineering Physics from Chalmers. He has a dual M.Sc. in Astronautics and Space Engineering from Cranfield University and Luleå University, as a part of the SpaceMaster program. He is also a member of the Prince Daniel fellowship for young entrepreneurs.

Jennifer Grancio

Jennifer guides the firm’s strategy and vision. She has over 25 years of experience scaling businesses across financial services that have a positive impact for investors.

Before Engine No. 1, Jennifer founded an advisory firm where she worked closely with CEOs to accelerate growth. Prior to that, she served as a founding member of BlackRock’s iShares business, where she led European, US, and global distribution and drove the growth of the global ETF industry and iShares’ leadership role within it. During her tenure at BlackRock, she also led teams across wealth, personal investing, technology, and venture investing. She started her career as a consultant at PwC.

Jennifer received a BA in Economics and International Relations from Stanford University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. She serves on the boards of MannKind Corporation and Ethic. She is passionate and active in mentoring and developing diverse leaders.

Daniel Gross

Daniel Gross is a venture capital, private equity and infrastructure investor focused on clean energy, climate tech, and other sustainable technologies. He currently serves as Director of the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, a $2 Billion corporate venture capital fund established by Amazon.com. Mr. Gross also serves as a Lecturer at Yale University, where he teaches courses on renewable energy project finance at the Law School, the School of Management, and the School of the Environment. He was previously Chief Investment Officer of Climate Real Impact Solutions, a special purpose acquisition company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Gross was one of the founding Partners of Hudson Clean Energy Partners. Previously, he was a Vice President in the U.S. alternative energy investment group at Goldman Sachs. Prior to Goldman, Mr. Gross founded and headed the renewable energy investment group at GE Capital Energy Financial Services. Mr. Gross is a Fulbright Scholar and a three-time graduate of Yale University, from which he received a Masters in Environmental Management, M.B.A. and B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa).

Ola Källenius

Ola Källenius has been a member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG – now Mercedes-Benz Group AG - since January 1, 2015, and Chairman of the Board of Management since May 22, 2019. He is also Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG.
Ola Källenius was born on June 11, 1969, in Västervik/Sweden. After obtaining Abitur (university entrance examination) at Grammar School of Danderyd (Sweden), he did his military service in the Swedish army in 1988/89. From 1989 until 1993 he studied at the Stockholm School of Economics (Master in Finance and Accounting) and the CEMS Programm (Master of International Management) at the University of St. Gallen. He joined the former Daimler-Benz AG as Trainee within the International Management Associate Program in 1993.

Previous positions in the company:
Member of the Board of Management, Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, 2017
Member of the Board of Management, Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales, 2015
Member of the Divisional Board, Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales, Daimler AG, 2013
Vice President, Managing Director, Mercedes-AMG GmbH, Affalterbach, 2010
Vice President, President & CEO, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc., Tuscaloosa (USA), 2009
Managing Director, Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines Ltd., Brixworth (Great Britain), 2005
Executive Director, Operations, McLaren Automotive Ltd., Woking (Great Britain), 2003
Director, Procurement Mercedes-Benz Cars Powertrain, DaimlerChrysler AG, 2002
Director, Project Alliance, Procurement Mercedes-Benz Cars, DaimlerChrysler AG, 2001
Senior Manager, Procurement Mercedes-Benz Cars Engine Emission Management, DaimlerChrysler AG, 2000
Senior Manager, Corporate Controlling, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc., Tuscaloosa (USA), 1998
Manager, Corporate Controlling, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc., Tuscaloosa (USA), 1995

Mike Leskinen

Michael Leskinen serves as the president of United Airlines Ventures, United Airlines’ corporate venture fund that allows the airline to continue investing in emerging companies that have the potential to influence the future of travel. Launched in June 2021, this new fund concentrates on sustainability concepts that will complement United’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050 - without relying on traditional carbon offsets - as well as revolutionary aerospace developments and innovative technologies that are expected to create value for customers and United’s operation. In addition to this role, Michael is vice president of investor relations and corporate development at United. He is responsible for United’s strategic investment activities, including those in partner airlines, as well as positioning the airline following unprecedented industry disruption.
Prior to this role, Michael was the managing director of investor relations at United. He joined United in 2018 and has played a vital role in improving the company’s relationship with shareholders. Before that, Michael was an executive director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, where he led the firm’s investment efforts in aerospace, defense and airlines.
Michael received his bachelor’s degree in finance from Arizona State University and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ken Mehlman

Ken Mehlman (New York) joined KKR in 2008 and is a Partner, Global Head of Public Affairs & Co-Head of KKR Global Impact at KKR. Since joining the firm, Mr. Mehlman has architected KKR’s responsible investment efforts to create shared value for KKR investors and other stakeholders. He has also worked to identify investment opportunities by leveraging geopolitical, public policy & ESG trends. KKR Global Impact is the firm’s private market investing platform investing in commercial solutions to global challenges associated with climate change, lifelong learning, sustainable living & inclusive growth. Mr. Mehlman has focused on purpose & equity throughout his career in government, politics, business and philanthropy. He spent a dozen years in national politics and government service, including as 62nd Chairman of the Republican National Committee and Campaign Manager of President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, the only Republican presidential campaign in 30 years to win the popular vote. Mr. Mehlman also served in high level positions in Congress and the White House. He holds a B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College and J.D. from Harvard Law School. Mr. Mehlman is a trustee of Mt. Sinai Hospital of New York, Franklin & Marshall College, Teach for America, the United Negro College Fund and Seizing Every Opportunity (SEO). Mr. Mehlman was active in the successful effort for marriage equality, employment non-discrimination and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Sylvester Turner

Sylvester Turner is the Mayor of Houston in Texas.

Rhonda Schaffler

Rhonda Schaffler has been reporting on business for NJ Spotlight News since 2016. Previously, she worked as an anchor and reporter for CNN, Reuters and Bloomberg.

Courtney Thompson

Courtney Thompson is an Executive Director in Morgan Stanley’s Global Sustainable Finance group, supporting development of sustainable investing products and solutions across the firm’s Institutional Securities, Investment Management and Wealth Management divisions. Courtney began her career in economic consulting at Analysis Group, followed by a strategic advisory role at Next Street. She graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Williams College and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. Courtney currently serves as Board Co-Chair of Microlumbia, a student-led impact investing fund, and was previously a member of Columbia University’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing.

Julia Boorstin

Julia Boorstin is CNBC’s Senior Media & Tech Correspondent based at the network’s Los Angeles Bureau. She covers media with a special focus on the intersection of media and technology. Boorstin also plays a key role on CNBC’s bi-coastal tech-focused program “TechCheck” (M-F, 11AM-12PM ET/8AM-9AM PT) delivering reporting, analysis and interviews around streaming, social and the convergence of media and technology. She joined CNBC in May 2006 as a general assignment reporter and in 2007 moved to Los Angeles to cover media.

In 2013, Boorstin created and launched the CNBC Disruptor 50, an annual list she oversees, highlighting the private companies transforming the economy and challenging companies in established industries. Additionally, she reported a documentary on the future of television for the network, “Stay Tuned…The Future of TV.” She also helped launch CNBC’s ‘Closing the Gap’ initiative covering the people and companies closing gender gaps, and leads CNBC’s coverage of studies on this topic. She is currently writing a book called, “WHEN WOMEN LEAD: What they achieve, Why they succeed, and How we can learn from them,” about female founders that Simon & Schuster’s Avid Reader imprint is publishing in October 2022.

Boorstin joined CNBC from Fortune magazine where she was a business writer and reporter since 2000. During that time, she was also a contributor to “Street Life,” a live market wrap-up segment on CNN Headline News.

In 2003, 2004 and 2006, The Journalist and Financial Reporting newsletter named Boorstin to the “TJFR 30 under 30” list of the most promising business journalists under 30 years old. She has also worked for the State Department’s delegation to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and for Vice President Gore’s domestic policy office.

She graduated with honors from Princeton University with a B.A. in history. She was also an editor of The Daily Princetonian.

Contessa Brewer

Contessa Brewer is a correspondent and substitute anchor for CNBC appearing throughout Business Day as well as the network’s 7pm ET newscast “The News with Shepard Smith.” She covers major news stories for CNBC including presidential elections, hurricanes, the coronavirus pandemic and trade wars. Her specialty coverage areas are casinos, the gaming industry and the insurance industry. Brewer joined the network in 2017 and is based at CNBC Global Headquarters.

A National Emmy-Award winning journalist, Brewer is known for her marathon on-air coverage of breaking news and big political stories. While an anchor for MSNBC, she hosted daily news programs and the long-running, primetime series “Caught on Camera.” As a correspondent, Brewer has contributed reports to CBS News, CBSN, WNBC, NBC News and MSNBC, where she covered a wide range of stories including presidential elections, debt ceilings, government shutdowns, natural disasters, terror attacks and celebrity news. She began her career in Reno, NV followed by Palm Springs, CA and Milwaukee, WI.

Brewer is a Remembrance Scholar and magna cum laude graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication and Honors Program. She’s narrated several audiobooks and resides in New York with her husband, twin sons and a dappled dachshund.

Jim Cramer

Jim Cramer believes there is always a bull market somewhere, and he wants to help you find it. He is host of CNBC's "Mad Money," (M-F, 6PM ET) featuring lively guest interviews, viewer calls and most important, the unmatched, fiery opinions of Cramer himself. He serves as the viewer's personal guide through the confusing jungle of Wall Street investing—navigating through both opportunities and pitfalls with one goal in mind—to help them make money.

Cramer is also co-anchor of the 9 a.m. ET hour of CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" (M-F, 9AM-11AM ET) and the founder of TheStreet, a multimedia provider of financial commentary.

He graduated from Harvard College where he was president and editor-in-chief of the prestigious daily, The Harvard Crimson. After graduation, he became a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat and later for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, where he covered stories ranging from homicides to sporting events.

Cramer is a former hedge fund manager and founder/owner and senior partner of Cramer Berkowitz. His compounded rate of return was 24 percent after all fees for 14 years at Cramer Berkowitz. He retired from his hedge fund in 2001, where he finished with one of the best records in the business, including having 36 percent-plus year in 2000.

He helped Steve Brill launch American Lawyer magazine before attending Harvard Law School and earning a law degree. Upon graduating and passing the New York State Bar Examination and being admitted to the N.Y. State Bar, Cramer joined Goldman Sachs in sales and trading. While at Goldman, Cramer wrote for The New Republic about stock market issues.

In December 2013, he published the book, "Jim Cramer's Get Rich Carefully," in which he creates a guide to high-yield, low-risk investing. Cramer is also the author of "Jim Cramer's Getting Back to Even," "Stay Mad for Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich," "Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich," "Jim Cramer's RealMoney" and "Confessions of a Street Addict."

Sara Eisen

Sara Eisen is co-anchor of the 10AM hour of CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” (M-F, 9AM-11AM ET) and co-anchor of “Money Movers” (M-F, 11AM-12PM ET), which both broadcast from Post 9 at the New York Stock Exchange. She is known for her deep expertise in financial markets and the global economy as well as regular news making interviews with some of the most prominent names in the financial world, including Phil Knight, Janet Yellen and Christine Lagarde, among others.

Previously, Eisen anchored CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” “Squawk on the Street,” “Power Lunch” and “Worldwide Exchange.” She also reported on the one-hour documentary, “Inside Track: The Business of Formula 1,” that explores the world’s most prestigious racing series, what is fueling its popularity and who is profiting. Eisen joined CNBC in December 2013 as a correspondent, focusing on the global consumer.

Prior to CNBC, Eisen was co-anchor of “Bloomberg Surveillance” as well as a correspondent for Bloomberg Television, where she covered global macroeconomics, policy and business. During that time, she covered the European debt crisis, the tsunami aftermath and Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan. Eisen also hosted the Bloomberg Radio program, “On the Economy.”

She is the editor of “Currencies After the Crash: The Uncertain Future of the Global Paper-Based Currency System” published by McGraw-Hill in Jan. 2013.

Eisen holds a master’s degree in broadcast journalism with a concentration in business reporting from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Frank Holland

Frank Holland is anchor of CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange” (M-F, 5AM-6AM ET), which broadcasts from CNBC Global Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.

He is also a Transports & Tech Correspondent for the network. Holland focuses on reporting and executive interviews for cloud computing, enterprise software and cybersecurity companies in the technology sector as well as trucking, e-commerce and shipping companies in the supply chain sector. Previously, he was a general assignment reporter for CNBC starting in September 2018.

During his time at the network, Holland has covered a wide range of national stories including: the first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine, the death of George Floyd, Hurricane Ida and the first Kentucky Derby after the pandemic.

Holland also covers Diversity, Equity and Inclusion under CNBC’s Equity and Opportunity brand including the 100th Anniversary of Black Wall Street, diversity in tech and various network specials.

Before joining CNBC, Holland was an anchor and reporter at NBC Boston and WCVB in Boston covering national stories and major local news including the famous “28-3” Patriots Super Bowl victory, The “Texting-Suicide” trial and the Boston Marathon. Holland also enterprise original series and hosted live events, including “Black in Boston”, a weekly business segment and the NBC Education Town Hall in Boston.

Prior to Boston, Holland spent three years as an anchor/reporter at WGN-TV in Chicago, where he covered the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, the Republican and Democratic national conventions, as well as the National College Football Championship. He also held positions at NBC Affiliate WDIV in Detroit, News 12 in New York, and spent several years in television news in both the Virgin Islands and Alaska.

Holland holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Bentley University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., the Urban League and the National Association of Black Journalists.

Steve Kovach

Steve Kovach is Technology Correspondent for CNBC covering Apple, Microsoft, E-sports and video games for the network.

Most recently, he served as Technology Editor for CNBC.com, where he managed technology coverage for CNBC Digital. Kovach joined CNBC in 2018 from Business Insider, where he was Senior Technology Correspondent. He has a dual degree in journalism and English from Syracuse University.

Phil LeBeau

Phil LeBeau is a CNBC auto and airline industry reporter based at the network’s Chicago bureau. He is also editor of the Behind the Wheel section on CNBC.com.

LeBeau has reported one-hour documentaries for the network, including “Dreamliner: Inside the World’s Most Anticipated Airplane,” “Ford: Rebuilding an American Icon” and “Saving General Motors” and “Failure to Recall: Investigating GM,” which won a 2014 Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) Award.

Prior to joining CNBC, LeBeau served as a media relations specialist for Van Kampen Funds in Oak Brook Terrace, Ill., and was instrumental in implementing an initiative to communicate the company’s mutual fund and investment practices to the public and the press. While at Van Kampen, LeBeau held a Series 6 license.

Previously, he held general assignment reporting positions at KCNC-TV, the CBS affiliate in Denver, and KAKE-TV, the ABC affiliate in Wichita, Kan. LeBeau began his career as a field producer at WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, where he wrote, produced and researched consumer stories. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and broadcasting.

Tyler Mathisen

Tyler Mathisen co-anchors CNBC's "Power Lunch" (M-F, 1PM-3PM ET), one of the network's longest running program franchises. He is also Vice President, Events Strategy for CNBC, working closely with the network's events team to grow the rapidly expanding business.

Previously, Mathisen was co-anchor of "Nightly Business Report," an award-winning evening business news program produced by CNBC for U.S. public television. In 2014, NBR was named best radio/TV show by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW). Since joining CNBC in 1997, Mathisen has held a number of positions including managing editor of CNBC Business News, responsible for directing the network's daily content and coverage. He was also co-anchor of CNBC's "Closing Bell."

Mathisen has reported one-hour documentaries for the network including "Best Buy: The Big Box Fights Back," "Supermarkets Inc: Inside a $500 Billion Money Machine" and "Death: It's a Living." Mathisen was also host of the CNBC series "How I Made My Millions."

Prior to CNBC, Mathisen spent 15 years as a writer, senior editor and top editor for Money magazine. Among other duties, he supervised the magazine's mutual funds coverage, its annual investment forecast issue and its expansion into electronic journalism, for which it won the first-ever National Magazine Award for New Media in 1997.

In 1993, Mathisen won the American University-Investment Company Institute Award for Personal Finance Journalism for a televised series on "Caring for Aging Parents," which aired on ABC's "Good Morning America." Mathisen served as money editor of "GMA" from 1991 to 1997. He also won an Emmy Award for a report on the 1987 stock market crash that aired on New York's WCBS-TV.

A native of Arlington,Va., Mathisen graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia.

Diana Olick

Diana Olick is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, currently serving as CNBC’s senior climate and real estate correspondent. She also contributes her climate and real estate expertise to NBC News NOW, MSNBC, NBC’s “Today” and “NBC Nightly News.” She is a regular guest speaker and does guest segments on NPR and C-SPAN. Her work on CNBC.com won the Gracie Award for “Outstanding Blog” in 2015.

Soon after joining CNBC in 2002, Olick recognized the quick run-up in the housing market, fueled by investor flipping, and consequently launched the network’s real estate beat. She covers both commercial and residential real estate as well as the mortgage market. Olick was at the forefront of reporting on the housing boom, the subprime mortgage collapse, the resulting housing crash and the ongoing recovery. She also launched the real estate page on CNBC.com and is its primary author.

In 2018, Olick envisioned a new series for the network called “Rising Risks,” which examines all aspects of the growing risk to real estate from climate change. The series grew beyond real estate and in 2021, Olick began covering climate full-time across all sectors. That same year, she covered the COP26 United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, reporting on government, corporate and private sector investments in the fight against climate change.

In early 2022, Olick launched an additional climate series, Clean Start, which follows venture capital money into climate startups. The series airs weekly and has its own page on CNBC.com/clean-start.

Prior to joining CNBC, Olick spent seven years as a correspondent for CBS News. Olick began her career as a local news reporter at WABI-TV in Bangor, Maine; WZZM-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan; and KIRO-TV in Seattle. She joined CBS in 1994 as a New York-based correspondent for the “CBS Evening News with Dan Rather” and “The Early Show.” She also contributed pieces to “48 Hours” and “Sunday Morning.”

At CBS, Olick worked in the New York, Dallas and Washington, D.C. bureaus, covering such stories as the World Trade Center conspiracy trial, the crash of TWA Flight 800, the JonBenet Ramsey murder mystery and was the exclusive correspondent for the trial of Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols. She also took a temporary assignment in CBS’ Moscow bureau, where she chronicled the brief presidential campaign of Mikhail Gorbachev.

Olick has a B.A. in comparative literature with a minor in soviet studies from Columbia College in New York and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.

Follow Diana Olick on Twitter @DianaOlick on Instagram @DianaOlick and on Linkedin.

Leslie Picker

Leslie Picker joined CNBC in February 2017 as a reporter covering hedge funds, private equity and asset management. She is based at CNBC Global Headquarters, and her reporting appears on television and CNBC’s digital platforms.

Picker has interviewed some of the most prominent investors on CNBC, including Citadel’s Ken Griffin, Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn, Omega Advisors’ Leon Cooperman and Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman. Her investigation into Puerto Rico’s debt crisis won a Society for Advanced Business Editing and Writing (SABEW) award and was a finalist for a Gerald Loeb Award in 2018.

Previously, Picker was a reporter at The New York Times where she covered deals. Her beat encompassed mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, venture capital, private equity, restructuring and shareholder activism. Prior to The New York Times, Picker was a reporter at Bloomberg News where she reported on initial public offerings. There, she also contributed to Bloomberg Businessweek, Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg Radio. Prior to becoming a reporter, Picker was a segment producer for Bloomberg Television. She began her career as a booker at Fox Business Network.

Picker graduated magna cum laude from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science. She also earned a master’s in journalism from Columbia University, graduating with honors, and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business, with a concentration in finance.

AGENDA

ENGINE NO. 1: TRANSPARENCY IN ACTION

Engine No. 1 has been carving a unique and powerful niche in the asset management space, thanks to its laser-like focus on board strategy and critical engagement with the world’s largest corporations. These days, the firm sees seismic shifts in complex areas like energy transition, agriculture and U.S. manufacturing – all bets they believe offer once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunities.  A rare conversation with CEO Jennifer Grancio on how to hold constructive dialogue with CEOs and the importance of accurately valuing public companies.

Jennifer Grancio, Engine No. 1 CEO
Interviewer: Sara Eisen, CNBC “Closing Bell” Anchor

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A Blueprint to Build Houston Forward

Over the past few years, America’s fourth largest city has withstood devastating storms, relentless infrastructure erosion and sobering upheaval. The upside? H-town’s path to physical, social and fiscal recovery is well underway, with transformative ideas to modernize the city into a greener, safer and more equitable place to live and work. An important and uplifting conversation with two of Houston’s great leaders on resilience, recovery and prosperity.

Reginald DesRoches, Rice University President
Sylvester Turner, Mayor of Houston (D)
Moderator: Contessa Brewer, CNBC Correspondent

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How Amazon’s Climate Pledge Delivers

In 2020, Amazon created a $2 billion fund to back decarbonization startups. The initial investments focused on greener vehicles, shrinking packing boxes and reducing emissions across supply chains and cargo ships.  But given Amazon’s size, scale and capital, things are just getting started. An exclusive glimpse into the newest recipients of the Climate Pledge Fund and where they go from here.

Daniel Gross, Amazon Director of Climate Pledge Fund
Interviewer: Diana Olick, CNBC Senior Real Estate Correspondent

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Clarity AI: The Power of Big Data in ESG

With the ESG investment market now over one-third of total gross assets, many investors are turning to Clarity Ai as a one-stop-shop for all their sustainability data needs. The Spanish startup specializes in aggregating billions of pieces of ESG data and impact measurements, important tools to help build greener and more transparent portfolios.

Rebeca Minguela, Clarity AI Founder and CEO
Interviewer: Steve Kovach, CNBC Technology Correspondent

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BREAKOUT SESSIONS

ESG Spotlight: Is It Time For a A Worker Disclosure Reset?  

As partisan attacks on ESG continue, a healthy economy still depends on transparency, accountability, and human capital.  These are the engines that drive markets and businesses. Just Capital’s Cambria Allen-Ratzlaff looks at the evolving dynamic between labor and management, the success, and failures at certain companies to manage its workforce, and the role of ESG to drive quantifiable change. 

Cambria Allen-Ratzlaff, JUST Capital Managing Director, Head of Investor Strategies 
Interviewer: Frank Holland, CNBC General Assignment Reporter

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Shaping the Future of Sustainable Finance
SPONSORED AND PROGRAMMED BY MORGAN STANLEY  

Sustainability is now a business imperative and something investors can’t afford to ignore. Even so, the sustainable investing landscape is still constantly evolving to address new global challenges, shifting public sentiment, advancing technologies, and regulatory developments, all while integrating overdue efforts around equity and inclusion. A discussion about the future of sustainable finance, including new opportunities and challenges ahead. 

Courtney Thompson, Morgan Stanley Executive Director of Global Sustainable Finance
Interviewer: Rhonda Schaffler, Business Anchor 

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ABIGAIL DISNEY’S MESSAGE TO CEOs: DO BETTER

Meet Abigail Disney, a fearless and outspoken social activist who has made it her life mission to share stories about how inequality is being fought at companies around the world. Disney’s latest warning is aimed squarely at billionaires, plutocrats and overpaid CEOs: Change the way you practice capitalism, right now, or face the consequences. Julia Boorstin sits down with Disney to talk about the reckoning to come around income and wealth disparity, being labeled a “one-percent traitor” and her life-long goal to give away her massive family fortune.

Abigail Disney, Disney Shareholder, Filmmaker and Activist
Interviewer: Julia Boorstin, CNBC Senior Media & Tech Correspondent

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UNITED’S NEW FLIGHT PATH: GREEN STARTUPS

United Airlines’ in-house venture arm has earmarked over a billion dollars to directly invest in green-tech that advances the carrier’s decarbonization efforts. One of UAL’s most promising bets is in Swedish startup Heart Aerospace, which is building the first fleet of regional airplanes running on batteries and electric motors instead of traditional jet fuel. Commercial operations focused on shorter routes begin in 2026.

Mike Leskinen, United Airlines Ventures President
Anders Forslund, Heart Aerospace Founder and CEO
Moderator: Phil Lebeau, CNBC Auto and Airline Industry Reporter

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KKR: THE POWER TO CHANGE

With $491 billion in assets under management and portfolio companies generating $223 billion in annual revenues, investment firm KKR has the geopolitical leverage, policy might and resources to make good things happen – and fast – in the world of ESG. Specifically responsible consumption, inclusivity, regulation and accountability.

Ken Mehlman, KKR Global Impact Partner and Co-Head
Interviewer: Leslie Picker, CNBC Finance & Investing Reporter

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Mercedes-Benz All-Electric Roadmap

The German luxury car maker is ready to go all electric by the end of the decade. It’s all part of a greener, digital-forward and emissions-free future. An exclusive interview with Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius on the company’s electric transformation and why he believes climate change is the most important task of our generation.   

Ola Källenius, Mercedes-Benz CEO
Interviewer: Jim Cramer, CNBC “Mad Money” Host, “Squawk on the Street” Co-Anchor & CNBC Investing Club

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