The Alternative Investment Forum – Virtual Conference 2021

Biography: Martin is a Partner at Pollination, a specialist climate change advisory and investment firm, accelerating the transition to a net zero, climate resilient future. His focus at Pollination is to build out investment ideas for environmental asset classes such as natural capital and carbon markets. He joined Pollination from the European Investment Bank (EIB) where he led investments into new sectors including natural capital and the blue economy, developing new business models and blended finance solutions for more developed low carbon sectors, such as energy efficiency and renewable energy. He also supervised the Natural Capital Financing Facility, a pioneering joint EIB and European Commission initiative, and raised over EUR 2 billion for carbon, capture and storage and innovative renewable energy demonstration projects as part of the NER300 initiative. He served on the Board of Directors for the Green for Growth Fund in Luxembourg and was Vice President at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London responsible for carbon financing. Martin also worked for the environmental investment firm RNK Capital in New York, the OECD Climate Change Unit in Paris and started his career at the UNFCCC in Bonn.

Session Details: Making natural capital and impact investment profitable 11-05-2021, 11:40 am View In Agenda

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Dr. Paola Agostini is a Lead Natural Resources Economist in  the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia Region-Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Global Practice.  Paola Agostini leads programs  and projects  in Central Asia that help  to reverse land degradation, increase resilience of people, ecosystems and infrastructures; and works in the Black Sea region on a program to reduce pollution and increase resilience to climate change.  Agostini is also coordinating the ECCA30 partnership for the World Bank with a special focus to restore 30 million hectares of degraded landscapes by 2030 in Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.

Previously Doctor Agostini was the Global Lead for Forests,  Landscapes  and Ecosystems for the World Bank, looking at projects and programs that try to improve connectivity of Protected Areas, forests, agroforestry, Rangeland and agriculture land for the increase of productivity.

Paola Agostini coordinated TerrAfrica, a regional partnership program in over 26 Sub-Saharan countries that promotes Sustainable Land and Water Management to help reduce poverty, improve livelihoods, and encourage resilient landscapes development.

Paola Agostini also coordinated the multisectorial REDD+ Program in Africa (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) supported by the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, the Forest Investment Program and the BioCarbon Fund.  REDD+ fosters conservation, sustainable management of forests, and community forestry by looking at the drivers of deforestation and working with public and private sector for a deforestation-free development. Paola Agostini was the coordinator for the GEF Program in Latin America and Africa, overseeing a portfolio of over 100 projects dealing with Climate Change, Biodiversity, Land Degradation, Chemicals and International Waters.

Paola Agostini holds a PhD in Economics from the University of California San Diego, and a Master of Art in Economic and Social Sciences from Universita Bocconi, Milan, Italy.

Session Details: Agroforestry, Covid, and Green Wager Programs: navigating natural resources 11-05-2021, 2:20 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Hans Loth is Global Head UN Environment Partnership at Rabobank. He is responsible for building and managing the bank’s new strategic partnership, which is a keystone in the bank’s global environmental work. Prior to taking up his current position, Hans fulfilled various general management and strategy roles within the Rabobank Group. Most recently, he was Director Strategy & Business Change for Rabobank Indonesia, where he was responsible for developing and implementing a new strategy for the bank in this key Asian market. Prior to that Hans worked with Rabobank Foundation, as well as Rabobank's corporate banking team, through which he developed a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities of global food value chains – “from Farm to Fork". Hans started his career an international mergers and acquisitions lawyer at a private law firm. With his eldest daughter off to university, Hans lives with his wife and two sons in Hilversum, the Netherlands.

Session Details: The Big Question: Which markets offer the real opportunities in agriculture? 11-05-2021, 1:20 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Martina has held several global leadership roles in ESG strategy, product development and innovation including Senior Vice President, ESG and Engagement Strategy at Moody’s, Global Head of ESG Index Products and Research at S&P DJI, Managing Director of Sustainable Investments Partners Ltd. and Vice President of ESG Solutions at MSCI. Prior to this, she worked in (ESG) product, research and engagement roles at Insight Investment, F&C AM and at Deutsche Bank AG. Martina has been a member of multiple sustainable finance associations and policy working groups at an EU and an international level. Currently, Martina is part of The Global ESG Leaders Forum – UK/EU/China, the European Law Institute's Sustainable Finance Advisory Committee, and the Enterprise Data Management Council’s Working Group on ESG Data, Innovation, Technology and Metrics. Martina is a visiting fellow in sustainable finance at University of Zurich and Henley Business School. She has an MBA certificate in finance and business from LSBF / UK, and a MA in Law and Human Sciences from University of Frankfurt in Germany. She is a fellow member of the Institute for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (ICRS) UK, a honorary doctoral fellow of the Institute for Certified Risk Management Professionals (ICRMP) UK, and an alumnus of the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes).  Martina is a public speaker in sustainable investing and has co-authored a range of ESG and Fintech books, including “The AI Book” (2020).

Session Details: Exceling in ESG strategy: understanding the market and overcoming the latest regulations 11-05-2021, 2:20 pm View In Agenda

Biography: MARK LEWIS is Chief Sustainability Strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management, having joined in January 2019. Previously, he was Managing Director and Head of Research at the Carbon Tracker Initiative (April-December 2018), Managing Director and Head of European Utilities Research at Barclays (2015-18), Chief Energy Economist at Kepler Cheuvreux (2014-15), and Managing Director and Global Head of Energy Research at Deutsche Bank (2005-13). He has also been a member of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures since May 2016. Mark is a UK and French Citizen and holds a BA (First-Class Hons) in Modern Languages and Economics from Sheffield University, an MPhil from Cambridge University, and an MA from London University.

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Session Details: Managing equity risk for renewable energy and key market drivers 11-05-2021, 4:30 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Douglas Geertz is the Founder & CEO of Vidya AG, a private office for investing and consulting. Prior to engaging in his entrepreneurial activities, Douglas was a highly successful global corporate executive – CEO Tetra Pak Switzerland; CEO Tetra Pak Chile; Managing Director Tetra Pak Asia & Americas / Deputy MD Tetra Pak Hong Kong / Chairman of the Board / Founding Member Swedish-Chilean Chamber of Commerce / Area Manager Atlas Copco International  Africa and Latin America markets / Marketing & Sales Saab Aerospace / Marketing Manager Swedish-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. Building on his extensive knowledge in different industries and cultures he now passionately builds, connects, and capitalizes great businesses around the world, including ventures in agroforestry and timber in Brazil and China.

Session Details: CASE STUDY From ESG to innovation: presenting the vast potential of emerging markets 11-05-2021, 1:20 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Alex is the Co-Chief Investment Officer & COO of Goleta Fund SCA SICAV-RAIF, a family of investment funds based in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Having joined the Firm in 2016, he has roles both in the Board of Directors and in the Investment Committee. As the lead portfolio manager of the Goleta Alternative Fund, our newly launched flagship fund, he was responsible for designing and implementing the strategy of the Goleta Alternative Fund. Goleta Alternative seeks to provide investors with access to several uncorrelated return streams, aiming to generate long-term alpha, limiting risk and volatility by minimising correlation to traditional financial markets. Not interested in speculative ventures or short-term gains, instead, we look at secular “supertrends" which will shape the future. Accordingly, our objective is to diversify our investments to range from private equity, venture capital, clean energy, healthcare, biotech, ESG projects, technology, real estate, forestry, farmland, and various lending strategies. An Attorney-at-Law by training, he previously worked began his career with the Mergers and Acquisitions Group at White & Case LLP, a prestigious international law firm based in New York. Having lived in various global cities in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Latin America, he brings to the table an international perspective.

Session Details: Leveraging Super Trends in the alternative investment market to create a resilient portfolio 11-05-2021, 3:30 pm View In Agenda

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Session Details: Keynote address Covid, Macro-trends & ESG: What’s driving the real asset investment landscape? 11-05-2021, 9:00 am View In Agenda

Biography: Ivo leads UNEP’s Climate Finance Unit (CFU), created in 2019 and with team members based in several UNEP offices across the world. CFU brings together various initiatives and finance facilities that aim to actively unlock public and especially private capital towards sustainable land use with positive impacts for the climate, nature and people. We aim to do so by demonstrating ‘proof-of-concept’ through on-the-ground investments, catalysing scale and ultimately making sustainable land use the ‘new norm’ through normative work. Examples of projects include: • AGRI3 Fund, set up by Rabobank, UNEP, Mirova, Fount, Cardano, FMO and IDH), currently with USD 90 million in committed capital. It’s part of an effort to finance a USD 1 billion in loans to farmers and businesses that delivers nature & climate-positive commodity production. Initial transactions were closed in Dec 2020. • Restoration Seed Capital Facility (RSCF) with committed funding of EUR 25 million, which cost-shares fund-, pipeline- and project development costs with private equity investors. In this way, the facility aims to unlock at least USD 170 million through the creation of more investment funds in the nascent restoration space and for more forest and landscape restoration projects to reach financial close • &Green Fund; a novel blended fund that aims to finance sustainable agriculture, with ambitious commitments around forest protection and restoration. It has closed several innovate deals in rubber, palm oil and soy/cattle. • Tropical Landscapes Finance Facility (set up by BNP Paribas, ADM Capital, UNEP, ICRAF) aims to provide long-term finance to sustainable landscape and rural renewable energy production in Indonesia. A novel, long-dated USD 95 million ‘landscape’ bond was issued for example.

Session Details: Discovering the role that corporate investors can play in the alternative investment space 11-05-2021, 2:50 pm View In Agenda

Biography: 11 years of experience in the European private sector developing partnerships with for-profit/non-profit organisations and government agencies in southern countries, especially in Latin-America, in impact investment, development and climate finance. I deal with project developers, communities on the ground, government agencies, international cooperation partners and corporates for the structuring and financing of viable sustainable land use projects in high priority conservation areas that mix avoided deforestation, restoration of degraded lands and the sustainable production of certified (organic, fairtrade, etc) and zero-deforestation soft commodities such as cocoa, coffee, and also the structuring of sustainable value chains for FSC timber, rubber, Brazilian chestnuts, fruits, among others. Professionally, I am a passionate of new market mechanisms and innovative business models for rural development and nature conservation. In the short term, my objective is to co-design and make bankable systemic sustainable land use and REDD+ projects in Latin America. In the Middle term, I would like to extend my experience to the African continent and Asia and start my own business. In the long-term, I would like to start a political carrier in my country, Peru.

Session Details: The Corporate Angle: investing in forestry, land, and nature-based solutions 11-05-2021, 3:30 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Jinesh co-founded Omnivore with Mark Kahn in 2010. Omnivore is a venture capital firm, based in India, which funds entrepreneurs building the future of agriculture and food systems. Omnivore pioneered agritech investing in India, backing over 20 startups since 2011, and currently manages INR 9.35 billion (approximately $130 million) across two funds. Every day, Omnivore portfolio companies drive agricultural prosperity and transform food systems across India, making farming more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Previously, he was Vice President and CFO at Nexus Venture Partners, one of India’s leading venture capital funds. Earlier in his career, Jinesh worked in corporate finance roles for Datamatics (leading Treasury/M&A), Patni Computers (initiating the IPO process), and HCL Technologies (founding the BPO business). He is a member of the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Agriculture & Food Processing Committee. He is the executive committee member of Impact Investors Council and is also involved in World Economic Forum’s working group focused on agriculture. Jinesh is a Chartered Accountant with a B.Com from R A Poddar College and an MMS (Finance) from JBIMS.

Session Details: The Big Question: Which markets offer the real opportunities in agriculture? 11-05-2021, 1:20 pm Technology spotlight: unlocking Innovation in food and agriculture in India 11-05-2021, 2:50 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Brazilian, economist, Senior Forestry Officer and Team Leader of the Forest Governance and Economics Team in the Forestry Division of FAO. Work on forest socioeconomic contributions to the SDGs, cross-sectoral governance, forest value chains, bioeconomy, and economic instruments and finance to support forestry. Thais is focal point for SDG Indicator 15.2.1 and the FAO leader of the initiative “Sustainable Wood for a Sustainable World”, which articulates governance, economics, finance and scientific evidence to promote sustainable wood value chains and increase forest contributions to the SDGs and climate change objectives. Thais career has a mix of experiences in finance, national policy-making and global environmental governance. Before joining FAO Forestry Department, Thais served as Senior Officer of the UN-REDD Programme Secretariat, directly in charge of the UN-REDD Global Programme, from 2011 to 2015. Her national policy-making experience comes from Brazil, where she served as Director of Climate Change of the Brazilian Ministry of Environment, and Director of the Brazilian Forest Service, having worked in the development and implementation of the Amazon Fund, the national Climate Change Fund, the Brazilian Climate Change Strategy and the Brazilian commitments to climate change mitigation. In the first phase of her career, Thais worked for 14 years at the Brazilian National Bank for Economic and Social Development, in several executive positions. Thais holds an MSc in Environmental governance and regulation from the London School of Economics and Political Science – LSE.

Session Details: Panel discussion: Debunking the myths around forestry and conservation to identify sustainable investments 11-05-2021, 12:40 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Peter Bryde, Executive Vice President and CEO of WGE, joined Westchester in September 2017, prior to which he had worked for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”) for a combined 18 years. Most of Peter’s time with EBRD was spend in their agribusiness department where Peter ultimately progressed to Deputy Director. During the last four (4) years at EBRD, Peter had oversight responsibility for EBRD’s direct equity portfolio with approximately 200 investments with a cost of approximately Euro 4.5bn. In between Peter’s two stints at EBRD, Peter worked for Standard Bank heading up their Agribusiness department, looking at agribusiness opportunities in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union and to a lesser extent in South America. Peter is a Danish national and has a master’s degree in finance from Copenhagen Business School.

Session Details: Understanding trade-offs between risk-return and carbon - optimizing portfolios for net-zero with real assets 11-05-2021, 4:30 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Gwen focuses on timberland and forest product market analysis and specialized econometric and stochastic modeling for Greenwood Resources, an investment specialist of Nuveen. Prior to joining GreenWood Resources, Gwen worked as an assistant professor of natural resource economics and quantitative methods at Virginia Tech and as a senior scientist at the University of Virginia. In these academic positions, her research program focused on stochastic modeling and risk analysis in forest and natural resource management. Her research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at national and international environmental and natural resource economics conferences. Gwen graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Middlebury College, an M.E.Sc. from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and a Ph.D. in Natural Resource Economics from Oregon State University.

Session Details: Understanding trade-offs between risk-return and carbon - optimizing portfolios for net-zero with real assets 11-05-2021, 4:30 pm View In Agenda

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• 15 years+ experience in Asset Management, Investment Banking, he recently joined a team of international investors to create the Climate Endowment, an investor across all asset classes following the portfolio approach of the American endowments with the additional requirement of a climate target.
• Patrick worked 9 years for the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, a leading global sovereign wealth fund. There he worked the last 5 years for the Global Special Situations focusing on FIG/Credit/Structured Credit investments and 4 years in Risk Management performing due diligence across all asset classes; Prior to that he worked 3 years at DresdnerKleinwort underwriting leveraged loans and started his career at GE Capital
• Patrick has a Master of Science from the ESCP Europe

Session Details: The Investor Perspective: Mitigating climate risk in your portfolio with timber 11-05-2021, 5:00 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Mads Asprem is Managing Partner at New Africa Impact, leading advisory efforts, project development and financing of renewable energy, forestry and FLR projects. Prior to this, Mads was a Fellow at Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative (Jan – Dec 2017), and from 2007-2016, Mads was CEO of Green Resources (GR), Africa’s leading forest-company outside RSA. He established GR in 1995 and put in place a unique management structure with strong domestic general managers, globally leading experts from the Baltics and South America and high-tech systems in a low-tech industry.

Session Details: Bioenergy – a source of revenues for agricultural and forestry investments 11-05-2021, 5:00 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Alec joined AgDevCo in late 2016 bringing over 15 years’ experience in ESG in international project development and investment. Prior to this Alec spent 5 years at global sustainability consultancy ERM as a Principal Consultant focussing on ESG and Responsible Investment. Alec previously spent ten years at the international engineering consultant Halcrow where we was Technical Leader for Environmental Water Quality and a Principal Scientist. For a number of years Alec also helped run a small Malawi based Water and Sanitation NGO in a voluntary capacity.

Session Details: Overcoming the challenge for investors to achieve net-zero goals with blended finance 11-05-2021, 12:40 pm The Big Question: Which markets offer the real opportunities in agriculture? 11-05-2021, 1:20 pm View In Agenda

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Session Details: Capitalising on food and agriculture value chains with impact investments 11-05-2021, 11:40 am The Big Question: Which markets offer the real opportunities in agriculture? 11-05-2021, 1:20 pm View In Agenda

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Session Details: Powering sustainable investments across the global aquaculture value chain 11-05-2021, 5:30 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Jacek Siry, PhD Professor of Forest Economics, Center for Forest Business & Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA Dr. Siry has significant international forestry experience, including forest finance and investment, business management, and policy; timber trade, availability, and costs; and natural and plantation forest management across the world’s major producing regions. His research is focused on the global competitiveness of forest industries, international forest investments, timber market modeling, and forest management efficiency.

Session Details: Panel discussion: Debunking the myths around forestry and conservation to identify sustainable investments 11-05-2021, 12:40 pm Identifying where the capital flow is in the forestry and timberland markets 11-05-2021, 6:00 pm View In Agenda

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Session Details: Panel discussion: Debunking the myths around forestry and conservation to identify sustainable investments 11-05-2021, 12:40 pm View In Agenda

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Session Details: Looking ahead at the future of climate change, sustainability and thematic investing 11-05-2021, 10:00 am View In Agenda

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Session Details: Navigating the various forestry initiatives and natural climate solutions available to investors 11-05-2021, 5:30 pm View In Agenda