Natural Resources Forum

Lee leads the work on nature and biodiversity for the customer investment portfolio at Scottish Widows, with a focus on biodiversity impact assessment, TNFD and the growth of carbon and nature markets. He authored the Scottish Widows’ report on nature and biodiversity in pensions and is an active contributor to several nature-focused industry initiatives. With a previous background in investment compliance, Lee is the SME on various pieces of sustainable finance policy and regulation.

Mirza leads all aspects of Aviva Investors' ESG activities across liquid markets and is a member of the liquid markets investment management team. His responsibilities include ESG research, investment integration, active ownership and oversight of the sustainable investment fund franchise, managing a team of 20+ ESG specialists. Mirza serves as the chair of the UK Investment Association's Stewardship Committee. 

Mirza joined Aviva Investors in 2016 with over 15 years’ experience in responsible investment having previously served as Vice President, Corporate Governance at State Street Global Advisors, and Director of Governance and Sustainable Investment at BMO Asset Management (formerly F&C Asset Management). Mirza also spent a number of years as a responsible investment consultant based in Asia, advising asset managers, private equity funds and rating agencies

Mark is a mining engineer by training having started his career in deep underground coal mining in 1976. In his following +46 years of experience, he has had line and support responsibilities across all forms of mining, processing, and product marketing, having worked across 6 continents, 20 countries and with more than 30 minerals and metals. He is recognized as a major industry leader and innovator with a track record for delivery of improvements across all facets of business performance. Mark retired from his role as the Chief Executive Officer (CE) of Anglo American (AA) in April 2022 after more than 9 years and delivering the significant restructuring and revitalisation across all facets of its global mining business. In his period of tenure, AA delivered industry leading capital and shareholder returns underpinned by a doubling of employee productivity, with associated material cost reductions and improvements in capital returns. At the same time AA moved from lagging industry performance in sustainability and innovation to being an acknowledged leader in value creation through new and progressive social, technical, and commercial transformations.

Prior to his AA position he was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for AngloGold Ashanti. Mark was responsible for the recovery and turnaround of the business after successfully dealing with the industry’s most significant “out of the money” gold hedge book. Mark has also held senior executive positions with the Inco and Vale, the Normandy Group, Sons of Gwalia, Western Mining Corporation, Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines and CRA (Rio Tinto). Mark was also a past President of the International Council for Mining and Metals (ICMM) and the South African Chamber of Mines (now Minerals Council).

Consistent with his business transformational reputation, Mark has been honoured by both the Australian and South African mining industries, receiving the AusIMM Industry Award and the SAIMM Brigadier Stokes Awards, the peak industry awards for service to the industry in both countries. He has been recognised by Mines and Metals as the leading Industry CEO in 2019 and in 2022 was awarded their Lifetime Achievement Award. In the areas of sustainability and responsible social developments he has been recognised by the Thomas Edison Global Innovation Awards for Collaborative Change through the Development Partner Institute, he was the “Technoserve 50th Anniversary Honouree” – in honour of “extraordinary leadership in creating sustainable business solutions to end poverty around the world” and more recently as Europe’s most sustainable mining leader.

Mark is currently a Non-Executive Director of TotalEnergies based in Paris and Laing O’Rourke out of the UK.

Jade’s is an Associate Director at Tavistock Communications where her core focus is annual reporting, sustainability reporting, and advising clients on sustainability strategies. When not at work, Jade spends her free time reading annual reports.  

Jade has extensive experience in the mining sector, having reported, researched and written on the sector for more than 15 years. More recently, her focus has shifted to annual and sustainability reporting, as well as compiling ESG-specific content for clients in the mining sector. With her experience in integrated annual reporting, Jade has a solid track record of compiling and conveying information relating to value creation, preservation and erosion.    

Jade has a Master of Arts (cum laude) in Historical Studies from the University of Cape Town.

Claire is responsible for leading the portfolio of sustainable finance related projects across London Stock Exchange Group’s Capital Markets business which includes equities, fixed income and ETFs. Claire has played an important role in the development of model ESG disclosure and reporting guidance for London Stock Exchange listed companies and initiatives such as an ESG Disclosure Tool, the publication of a guide to green finance and Green Economy Mark for AIM and Main Market companies.  Claire’s background is in the fund management industry and in equity capital markets, working with private and listed companies. Claire is a member of an industry Taskforce on the Scaling of Voluntary Carbon Markets.

Positioned at the heart of global financial markets, LSEG works across the investment and finance chain from issuers to asset owners, and across the financial, banking, trading and advisory ecosystem. As such LSEG is uniquely positioned to support clients in achieving the transition to a sustainable and net-zero economy and was the first exchange group to commit to net zero emissions.

Iain is the head of our Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Group in the UK. He acts for Investment Funds and Corporates and is a leading practitioner in relation to mining & metals and power transactions.

He advises on M&A, projects, joint ventures and finance matters (including prepays, streams and royalties). Clients note “he is very focused, experienced and practical and has a very collaborative approach” (Chambers 2020), “I have great faith in his advice and judgement” (Chambers 2019), he is “diligent and experienced and a lawyer who listens well and understands” (Chambers 2017) and “really driven, works night and day on deals and is great on the documents” (Chambers 2016).

Katya Gorbatiouk has over 20 years of experience in international capital markets. She works at the London Stock Exchange in Primary Capital Markets, having recently taken on a new role as Head of Investment Funds.  From February 2022 Katya serves on the Best Practice Committee of the Investor Relations Society. She served on the judging panel for the IR Society 2021 Best Practice Awards in ESG Communications. Her article on the evolution of corporate communications was published in the 2021/22 issue of the IR Society Journal Informed.

Katya previously chaired the Board Effectiveness & Stakeholder Governance working group at the Institute of Directors’ Centre for Corporate Governance. She has co-authored an IoD publication on best practices of enacting a stakeholder-centric approach by corporate boards.  Katya has been a long-standing board member of organisations with high social impact, such as the Global Leaders Program (Washington DC), London Music Fund, London Symphony Orchestra and others.

Simon spent 35 years in an executive career with Royal Dutch Shell plc.  He became Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Board of Royal Dutch Shell plc on May 1, 2009. In addition to responsibility for all financial activities of the company, he was responsible for Strategy, Planning and Information Technology, and acted as Regional Executive Director for Asia Pacific with specific oversight of new business development in China.  Since retiring as CFO and Executive Director in March 2017, he has developed a portfolio of non-executive and advisory roles, in both the public and private sector. He has a particular interest in strategy, financial performance, risk management and corporate governance.

Simon is a Non Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee at Rio Tinto. He is an Independent Director and member of the Investment and Development Committee of PetroChina. He joined the Board at Lloyds Banking Group in 2014 and chaired the Audit Committee for 3 years before resigning from the Board at the end of September 2020. In April 2021, Simon became Senior Independent Director of Harbour Energy plc, on completion of the reverse takeover and re-listing of Premier Oil plc.  He was a member of the UK Defence Board from 2018 to 2022.

In addition, Simon was a member of the Main Committee of the 100 Group of UK FTSE CFOs and Chair of the European Round Table CFO Taskforce, and remains a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for European Reform, a UK based think tank. He is a Fellow and member of the Advisory Panel of CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants), and a Trustee of the Cambridge China Development Trust.

Stacy has 15 years’ experience working as an International Development Specialist and Strategic Advisor on areas surrounding gender, natural resources, renewable energy, social impact investment, disaster risks and climate resilience, and large national and international infrastructure development projects across the commercial, public and multilateral sectors. She is currently consulting and advising various United Nations agencies, and sits on the advisory boards of the UTU Social Impact Investment Fund and Actions for the Development of Africa where she focusses on the interface between large-scale mining investments and gender transformative community development aligned to the UN SDGs and ESG standards. She is also an advisor on a geothermal energy project in Turkey and sits on the Editorial Board of the Earth Science, Systems and Society Journal. Stacy sits on the Advisory Board at the Fair Cobalt Alliance, where she is the former Chair.

Tracey spent almost 10 years working for Anglo American plc, most recently as Group Head of Sustainable Development (Sept 2020 to April 2021) having previously also been accountable for safety, operational risk management and sustainable development across the Anglo American group (Jan 2016 to August 2020). Prior to working in sustainability, Tracey worked as a geologist where, between July 2008 and August 2011, she oversaw Vale’s exploration activities in the Americas and subsequently joined Anglo American as Group Head of Exploration where she was responsible for exploration activities in 15 countries. Tracey served as a Non-Executive Director of Polymetal International plc from January 2018 to March 2022 where she also chaired the Safety and Sustainability Committee and was a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Alexander is passionate about energy and technology, and transitioned from fossil fuels to new energy. He joined the Board of the Mobility House in 2011 as an early investor. He is also a shareholder and Director of Lambert Energy Advisory (UK). For over a decade, he was Chairman of energy company SUEK (Russia) and fertilizer producer EuroChem Group (Switzerland), helping both to grow into top-5 international blue chips in their industries. Earlier, he was Board Member at Barloworld (South Africa), and co-founded C-level mentoring firm Bernotat & Cie (Germany). Before that, he was Global Gas Lead Partner at Accenture and Head of Oil & Gas Debt at Dresdner Kleinwort.

Karina was born in Montreal in 1962 and she has been a Director at Eni since May 2014. She is currently Chairman of the Governing Board of the Climate Governance Initiative, a member of the Board of Governors of the CFA Institute and a member of the Senior Advisory Panel of Critical Resource.

Adam is the Director of Ethics and Engagement for the Church of England Pensions Board, as well as Co-Chair of the Transition Pathway Initiative and a Board Member of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, (IIGCC). He is also the co-lead, on behalf of CA100+, for engagement with Royal Dutch Shell that led to the 2018 joint statement on climate targets agreed between Shell and institutional investors.

Following the Brumadinho Tailings Dam disaster, Adam is co – lead of the Mining and Tailings Safety Initiative with John Howchin, from the Swedish Ethics Council. He also represents the Principles for Responsible Investment as a co – convenor of the Global Tailings Review.

Adam founded and now Co-Chairs the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) an asset owner-led and asset manager-supported global initiative which assess companies’ preparedness for the transition to the low carbon economy (and publishes this through the London School of Economics).  Adam is also the lead for the Church of England on the Mining and Faith Reflections Initiative (MFRI) a forum that convenes dialogue between mining company CEO’s and Church leaders.

Adam also serves as a member of the Royal College of Physicians Investment Advisory Board and on the Pension and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) Stewardship Advisory Group.

Benet Northcote is the Founding Partner of Four Thirty Two, which advises boards and chief executives on sustainability strategy.  He was formerly Director of Sustainability for the John Lewis Partnership, including John Lewis and Waitrose. He is a Trustee of the Green Alliance and is Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Environment Network. He has been Deputy Private Secretary to HRH The Prince of Wales and Chief Policy Adviser to Greenpeace UK.

Carmen leads on setting and delivering the strategy of the TPI Centre, as well as overseeing its research and operations. The Centre conducts independent, authoritative research and offers open-access data to support investors and policy makers in the transition to a low-carbon economy. It is part of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Prior to joining the TPI Centre in 2023, Carmen was Head of Fixed Income, at the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). Since 2014, her primary focus has been on sustainable economics and finance, building on her long-standing experience in economic and market analysis research, starting in 1993 at Salomon Brothers, with subsequent roles at Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, and a stint in the not-for profit ShareAction.

Carmen holds a Laura cum laude in ‘Political Science’ (major Economics) from La Sapienza University in Rome and a Ph.D. in ‘Capital Markets and Business Finance’ from the University of Bergamo, including a year as a scholar at the N.Y.U Stern Business School.

Adrian is currently leading a programme to scale-up sustainable finance and ESG disclosure across London Stock Exchange Group’s Capital Markets business, which to date has established a Green Economy classification across its markets; an ESG Disclosure benchmarking tool for companies; and the publication of a guide to green finance, in addition to supporting the launch of a new Sustainable Bond Market.

Adrian established ABN AMRO’s Environmental Markets business in 2006 and later supported renewable energy and clean-tech clients as a Director in RBS’ corporate finance team. As CEO of international certification body the Gold Standard, Adrian oversaw the development of result-based finance tools that have enabled hundreds of clean technology and sustainable land-use projects to attract millions of dollars in investment, including via his involvement in creating Fairtrade International’s Fairtrade Climate Standard.

Adrian is a Non-Executive Director of Evora, a leading sustainable real-estate advisor and software business.

Laura Sandys specialises in the energy, food and resource sectors, focusing on energy markets, digitalisation, food security and resource management. Recently she Chaired the Energy System Data Taskforce on behalf of BEIS, Ofgem and Innovate UK while working at the Energy Systems Catapult. She is an advocate of the low carbon economy, promoter of increasing demand reduction policies and innovator in food systems policies.

She is an Independent Director at SGN Ltd, Chair of the Food Foundation, Non-Executive Director of the Energy Systems Catapult and Co-Chair of the IPPR Environment and Justice Commission. She runs The Reshaping Regulation Programme with Imperial College and the Energy Systems Catapult and was a member of Government's Cost of Energy Review chaired by Prof Dieter Helm. She founded the Food Foundation that advocates changes to the UK food system, and Co-Founder of POWERful Women that promotes women's roles in the energy sector. She has been appointed a member of the Government's CCUS Council and is a Member of Imperial College’s Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage Advisory Group.

James Stevens is the Global Sales and Marketing Director for Preformed Windings Ltd. and the Vice President and Non-Executive Director of the Association of Electrical and Mechanical Trades (AEMT). He has a Batchelor of Engineering Degree and an MBA and has 13 years of experience across both the mechanical and electrical engineering industry. James has been with Preformed Windings since 2015 and is responsible for the strategic growth of the business and driving the company's position as thought leaders in the renewables sector. Additionally, James drives the ESG initiatives within Preformed Windings and the promotion of the circular economy and sustainability within the AEMT.

As a global leader in the High-Voltage rotating equipment sector, James is uniquely positioned to offer insight into global trends for electrical generation across a range of industries and regions. At the forefront of cutting-edge technologies in HV motor and Generator coil design, Preformed Windings work with leading material suppliers and global OEM’s on large R&D projects which contribute to sustainable energy initiatives.

Djariatou (Djaria) Traore joined Endeavour in January 2019 as VP Supply Chain and was promoted to EVP ESG and Supply Chain in January 2023. She has over 22 years of experience in the mining industry with extensive expertise in procurement and logistics management. Prior to joining Endeavour, Djaria held several senior management positions including Procurement Director for Nordgold in Russia, and Supply Chain Director at its Lefa Mine in Guinea until 2018. She began her career at Connell Mining, a subsidiary of Connell Company, one of the largest privately held corporations in the US, where she held successively the positions of Sales Director and Global Sales Director for Africa from 2005 until 2014. In 2020, Djaria was recognised as one of the ‘100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining’.

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