Keynote Speakers

Helena Viñes Fiestas

Helena is commissioner of the Spanish Financial Markets Authority (CNMV) and Chair of the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance. She is also a member of the UN Secretary-General High-Level Expert Group on Net Zero Pledges and of the EIB´s Climate and Environment Advisory Council.

Helena was co-rapporteur of the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance (2020-2022) and had previously been a member of the Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance whose role was to assist the European Commission in the development of EU taxonomy and the implementation of the EC Action Plan (2018-2020).

Prior to the CNMV, Helena was Senior Policy Adviser on Sustainable Finance for BNP Paribas and Global Head of Stewardship and Policy for BNP Paribas Asset Management. She led on BNPP AM’S policy and stewardship activities (engagement with companies, proxy voting) on Sustainability.  She was a board member of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), a member of the AMF Comité de Climat et Finance Durable and represented BNPP AM in the EFAMA committee on Stewardship and ESG. She sat on a number of additional committees, including the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Green Finance Advisory Group, PRI Policy Reference Group and the Technical Advisory Group of the LSE-led Transition Pathway Initiative. 

As Deputy Global Head of Sustainability, Helena played a critical role in the design, development and implementation of BNPP AM’s Global Sustainability Strategy. Helena had previously led the Sustainability Research team. She has twenty years’ experience of working in responsible business and sustainable investment. 

Previously, Helena led Oxfam’s advocacy work on responsible investment and engagement with institutional investors in support of poverty reduction.  She is the author of numerous papers and articles, book chapters and a book. She earned a BA in Economics and a postgraduate in Latin American Economics from the University of Barcelona (Spain), followed by an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Zacharias Sautner

Zacharias Sautner is Professor of Finance at the University of Zurich. Zacharias Sautner works in the area of empirical corporate finance and focuses on ESG, climate finance, and corporate governance. His research was published in leading international journals such as the Journal of FinanceReview of Financial StudiesManagement Science or Review of Finance and he has presented at conferences such as the AFA, WFA, and EFA. He was ranked #2 in Germany in Business Administration (#1 in Finance) based on A+ publications (age of 40 or below) by Forschungsmonitoring.org (February 2019). Zacharias Sautner holds a PhD in Finance from the University of Mannheim and studied at University of York and University of Cooperative Education Stuttgart.

Amy Hillman

Amy Hillman is the Rusty Lyon Chair of Strategy and former Dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Her areas of interest include corporate political strategies, boards of directors, and corporate strategy. Her research includes over 30 peer-reviewed articles published in leading journals such as Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, and Administrative Science Quarterly. She was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Management in 2014, is a Founding Fellow of the International Corporate Governance Society and was elected a Fellow of the Strategic Management Society in 2020.

She is former Editor of Academy of Management Review and a former Associate Editor of Academy of Management Journal. She also serves or has served on the Editorial Review Boards of the Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, Academy of Management Learning & Education, Business Horizons, and Journal of International Business Studies. She has received six outstanding reviewer awards from these journals. In addition to her service to the profession through editorial roles, Amy is currently Vice President Elect and Program Chair of the Academy of Management.

See more info about Amy Hilman here.