Jude (Wu) Abel

Jude is an Independent Consultant focused on climate finance for nature-based solutions. She has held senior strategy and management roles in the international conservation and environmental services arenas in the U.S. and Hong Kong for Conservation International and in New Zealand for Nelmac Ltd. Before transitioning to the sustainability arena, she worked in strategy/IT management consulting, legal services and the dot-com startup sectors. Jude holds a B.A. In Politics from Princeton University and a Master in Environmental Management from the Yale School of the Environment

Rafael Benke

CEO & Founder of PROACTIVA – South-American Consultancy specialized in ESG risk management, Business & Human Rights, and Sustainable Finance. Rafael is an executive with more than two decades of international experience, having lived in 8 countries and worked in all continents. He worked at senior positions with Vale (top global mining company), where he had an international career, including as Vice President of Vale Inco (based in Toronto), Senior Sustainability Executive (Switzerland) and Director-Global Head of Corporate Affairs (Rio de Janeiro). He has held relevant positions including in Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Organization of American States,World Trade Organization. He was the Chairman of Brazil’s Council on Foreign Relations (CEBRI), member of Royal Dutch Shell’s Sustainability Committee, member of the Global Advisory Council on Business and Peace with Oslo Peace Research Institute and Stellenbosch University, member of the Foreign Trade Board of FIESP. Attorney, Master in International Law (PUC-SP), LLM in International Economic Law (Warwick/Chevening, UK), visiting scholar at Georgetown University (Washington), trained in business management (IMD, Switzerland) and FGV/ISAE , Sustainable Finance (Rotterdam), Finance (Chicago Booth), International Environmental Law (HEID/Graduate Institute, Switzerland), Board Member Specialization (IBGC).

Claudio Rizzi

Claudio Rizzi is a Ph.D. candidate in Finance at the University of Miami Herbert Business School. He holds an MS and a BS in Finance from Florida State University. His research focuses on the interdisciplinary connection between environmental sustainability, climate change, and finance. Specifically, he seeks to understand the role of nature for firms and local economies. He strives to contribute to the fight against global warming by advancing the research in finance and providing policymakers with insights related to the climate emergency.

Julia Spinasse

Corporate Sustainability Manager at Suzano, has worked for 15 years on the incorporation of sustainability best practices in several business activities, including: strategic planning, risk management, supply chain, products and services, majorly within the financial sector. Graduated in Environmental Management, with master’s in Environmental Technology and postgraduate in Sustainable Business from Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

Alex Merola

Executive Director of Commercial Strategies, ESG & Private Markets. Alex Merola serves as executive director of commercial strategies for Private Markets at IHS Markit. Mr. Merola is responsible for product development, system integrations and client engagement for the Private Markets. He joined IHS Markit through the acquisition of Ipreo in 2018, where he held the position of Global Head of Solutions Engineering for the Private Markets. As an accomplished leader with more than 10+ years in the software and financial technology space, Alex has a proven track record of optimizing client experiences through innovative products and technology solutions and brings a wealth of subject matter expertise to the Private Markets. He previously worked for AvePoint Inc. as a senior member of the Financial Services Division. Alex holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Villanova University. https://ihsmarkit.com/experts/merola-alex.html