Julian Kölbel is assistant professor of sustainable finance at the University of St. Gallen, School of Finance and Center for Financial Services Innovation. He is also a research affiliate at MIT Sloan, where he is a co-founder of the Aggregate Confusion Project, and faculty member of the Swiss Finance Institute. His research covers the real-world impact of sustainable investing, analysis of environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics, and investor preferences for sustainability. Julian has studied at ETH Zurich and the University of Oxford. Next to his academic work, he serves on the investment committee of the Swiss pension fund Abendrot.
Markus Schmid is a Professor of Finance at the University of St. Gallen, Academic Director of the Center for Financial Services Innovation, Managing Director of the Swiss Institute of Banking and Finance, and Vice Dean of the School of Finance. Prior positions held include Associate Professor of Finance and Corporate Governance at the University of Mannheim and Visiting Professor of Finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business. His research interests are mainly in the areas empirical corporate finance, corporate governance, and household finance. He is a faculty member of the Swiss Finance Institute (SFI), a Research Member of the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI), and a member of several advisory boards.
Florian is an Assistant Professor of Sustainable Finance at Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE and Goethe University Frankfurt. He is also a Research Affiliate at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He explores the real-world impact of sustainable investing and how investors integrate impact into their decision-making. His work has been published in the Review of Financial Studies. Florian also serves as a member of the board of directors of ESG-AM, a Zurich-based asset manager focused on impact and sustainability. Before starting his academic career, Florian served in the executive management of South Pole, a market leader in corporate sustainability services. From previous positions at myclimate, ProNatura, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, he brings a broad understanding of environmental systems and climate policy. He holds a PhD in Finance from the University of Zurich and an MSc in Environmental Science from ETH Zurich.
Nadia Nikolova is the Head of Direct Lending at Allianz Global Investors, managing teams across Europe and Asia with EUR 11bn assets under management.
Nadia started at AllianzGI in 2014 originally as a portfolio manager in the Infrastructure Debt team and from 2016 has been focused on expanding AllianzGI’s presence in sustainable investments including the infrastructure debt partnership with IFC (2017 & 2022), Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund investment (2018), the introduction of Allianz Asia Private Credit strategy (2019) and the MIGA COVID-19 Response Program (2020), Emerging Markets Credit Insured Strategies and Export Credit Agencies (2021), $1.1bn SDG Loan Fund (2023). In 2022, under Nadia’s leadership, the team launched a European focused Impact Private Credit fund, which raised over EUR 800m within 11 months.
Prior to joining AllianzGI, Nadia worked at the Structured Infrastructure Finance team at Citigroup based out of London where she advised clients on debt raising and restructuring in the context of acquisitions, and recapitalizations. Notable transactions involved restructuring of inflation linked swaps; unitranche financings; mezzanine and convertible debt. Nadia started her career in credit and remedial management in Citi where she was involved in performing and non-performing credits across corporates and shipping.
Nadia held a number of non-executive board positions, including IPFA, Long Term Institutional Investor Association (LTIIA), Swiss Platform for Impact Investing (SPII). Nadia holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Essex and has graduated from Harvard Business School Executive Program for Leadership and Development. In 2016, Financial News awarded Nadia one of 40 under 40 professionals in Asset Management.
Bjoern Struewer is the founder and Co-CEO at Roots of Impact, the pioneer, expert and enabler for Impact-Linked Finance. This innovative investment practice embeds rewards for positive impact into investments for enterprises that bring about meaningful change.
After leaving the banking industry in the role of Managing Director, Bjoern started working closely with catalytic funders and impact investors across the globe to finance high-performing enterprises with better terms for better impact. Bjoern and his team manage their own funds and empower other Impact-Linked Finance practitioners to master this rapidly growing practice.
In addition to his role at Roots of Impact, Bjoern leads the Initiative for Blended Finance at University of Zurich, is Co-Chair of the Impact-Linked Finance Fund and Co-Founder of the Financing Agency for Social Entrepreneurship (FASE). A strong advocate of unlocking the potential of business and finance for positive impact, Bjoern recognizes that every business and every investment has an impact.
Peter Wuffli is the Founder and Chairman of elea Foundation for Ethics in Globalization. elea is a philanthropic impact investor with the purpose to fight absolute poverty with entrepreneurial means. eleas investments – across Africa, Asia, and Latin America – are centered around agricultural value chains, last-mile retail and services, employable skills, and climate and livelihoods.
In addition, Peter is Honorary Chairman of IMD and a member of the Advisory Board of the elea Center for Social Innovation at IMD. He also serves on the Board of Sygnum, a digital asset bank in Zurich and Singapore. Furthermore, he is an Honorary Senator of the University St. Gallen and the Vice Chairman of the Zurich Opera House.
Previously, Peter was a Partner at McKinsey & Company, the CEO of UBS Group, and the Chairman of Partners Group and IMD respectively. Peter earned a Ph.D. in economics from University of St. Gallen, based on a dissertation on Swiss Direct Investment in Mexico.
He regularly publishes articles and books on themes of globalization, ethics, impact investing and leadership. His latest books are: Inclusive Leadership – A Framework for the Global Era, Springer 2016, and The elea Way – A Learning Journey Toward Sustainable Impact (together with Vanina Farber), Routledge, 2021.
Mac Zellem works at the intersection of public finance and impact investing, designing financial instruments that lower the cost of capital for essential public goods such as energy, transport, and health supply chains. He began his career as New Hampshire’s State Budget Director, managing multi-billion-dollar budgets and leading the state’s COVID-19 fiscal response. He later developed investment frameworks for energy regulators to assess whether utility capital structures serve the public interest. He is currently supporting a Gates Foundation initiative to design a working capital facility for health supply chains in sub-Saharan Africa.