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Manuela Fumarola is a London-based Consulting Director at ERM that focuses on working with private equity firms and their portfolio companies in leveraging ESG as a change and value driver.
Prior joining ERM, Manuela was the Head of ESG for abrdn Private Equity department where she implemented the team’s first climate change strategy, launched two sustainable funds under the Article 8 classification of SFDR and worked closely with the investment teams in assessing ESG materiality of targets as well as supporting portfolio companies in entering new markets via adopting ESG strategies.
Ahead of abrdn, Manuela worked as a Private Equity Investment Professional at M&G Investments where she invested in primary and co-investment deals across Europe and Asia. At M&G, Manuela was also responsible for the design and implementation of the ESG strategy and launched of the team first Impact Fund of Funds. The work Manuela led in Private Equity was rolled across the Alternative Assets and shaped the basis for M&G’s contribution to the ILPA ESG Assessment Framework, which Manuela supported.
Manuela holds a BSc (Hons) in Management at Bayes (previously known as Cass) Business School in London and is now completing a MSt in Sustainability Leadership at Cambridge University, where she researched the issues of “Investors’ potential to Improve Labour Rights across Value Chain” and the “Barriers to scale sustainable investments in the Food Systems in the European Private Equity market”. Manuela is also an Impact Champion for the Conduit Club in London where she fosters a community of purpose-led female leaders.
Catherine Gao is an Investment Associate, Sustainable Investing at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Focused on ESG due diligence for private asset strategies and the broader deployment of the Fund’s climate and sustainability priorities. Holding a BBA with a major in finance, and previous experience in global infrastructure deal advisory.
Jessica Pan is a Senior Portfolio Manager for APG US Asset Management Inc.’s Global Private Equity business. Jessica joined APG in 2014, a year after the firm’s launch of an in-house private equity program. As a senior member of the investment team, Jessica focuses on making primary investments in private equity funds, primarily in the US and Europe. Her role encompasses manager selection, due diligence, and the monitoring of investments. Prior to joining APG, Jessica worked as an investment banker at JPMorgan, providing debt financing to high yield and investment grade issuers. Jessica received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Chicago.
Tara Mei Smith is the ESG Integration Officer for the Bureau of Asset Management, Office of NYC Comptroller. The Office of NYC Comptroller serves as a trustee, dedicated investment advisor, and custodian for New York City’s five retirement funds, totaling about 250 billion AUM. In her role, Tara Mei works to integrate considerations of material environmental, social, and governance risks and opportunities across asset classes to drive sustainable long-term, risk-adjusted returns for the benefit of the pension funds’ 700,000+ beneficiaries. Tara Mei has over a decade of sustainability experience, spanning finance, supply chain management, and environmental stewardship. She holds a degree in Chemistry from Brown University, an MBA in Finance and Sustainable Business and Innovation from NYU Stern, where she was a Forte Fellow and Vice Dean Faculty Scholar, and the SASB FSA, GRI, and CFA Certificate in ESG Investing credentials
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