Davinah coordinates several initiatives on climate change within the Climate Change and Green Growth Department of the bank, including the secretariat for the Africa Circular Economy Facility (ACEF). Other initiatives include: the Africa Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Hub, a platform hosted at AfDB to support African countries implement their Paris Agreement climate commitments; and the secretariat of the African Financial Alliance on Climate Change (AFAC), an initiative launched by AfDB to mobilise, catalyse and leverage domestic climate finance. Davinah also manages portfolio due diligence for the bank’s green bonds programme. She holds an MA in economics from University of Manchester, UK.
Virginia is a dedicated finance professional with a passion for fostering sustainable investment practices in the Nordics. Her expertise has supported the growth of over 100 emerging fund managers in the region and she has played a key role in guiding dozens of emerging funds towards environmentally conscious strategies.
Ambroise Fayolle was appointed to his current position in February 2015. He is responsible for climate action and environment, development policy and the European Guarantee Fund. He is also a board member of the European Investment Fund. He oversees EIB’s activities in France, Germany and many countries in Africa and the Pacific. A graduate of the Ecole Nationale d’Administration, he spent most of his career in various positions at the French Treasury Department and in the IMF and the World Bank, including as a board member of the two latter institutions for 8 years.
Michael Di Russo leads the Clean Energy Finance Corporation's debt and equity investments that accelerate Australia’s transition to lower emissions within the built environment. He has more than 15 years’ experience in the property sector across a range of roles covering town planning, acquisitions, funds management and corporate finance. Michael has previously held roles with CBA, Westpac Group, Ashe Morgan and Spectrum Property Partners.
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Nicola Pochettino
Director of Environment and Natural Resources Department
European Investment Bank (EIB)
Nicola Pochettino’s work at EIB in Luxembourg covers water, the bioeconomy and the circular economy. Prior to joining EIB, he worked at the International Energy Agency in Paris and in various positions in the financial sector and the energy industry, both in Italy and the UK. Nicola is a CFA charterholder; he holds a master of science in nuclear engineering from the Polytechnic of Turin and a master's in economics and management of energy and the environment.
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Al-Hamndou Dorsouma
Division Manager, Climate Change and Green Growth
The African Development Bank (AfDB)
Al-Hamndou Dorsouma leads AfDB’s efforts on climate change in Africa, including building climate resilience and low carbon opportunities into the bank’s investments, and supporting the bank’s engagement on the circular economy as a strategy for climate resilience and green growth. Dr Dorsouma’s academic background is in geography and environmental management. He also worked for other international organisations, namely the Observatory of Sahara and Sahel (OSS) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Anna Douglas is a professional with extensive experience in sustainable business; climate and environment; human rights; diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); energy; and the circular economy. Currently, she focuses on advising the bank and clients on sustainability, especially in the circular economy, climate and energy transition. Previously, Anna worked in zero-emissions transport, smart industry innovation for a Swedish region, sustainability in the steel industry, renewable energy development, and climate change consulting to the Scottish Government. Anna is passionate about how the circular economy can help us improve equity, justice, low carbon emissions and resource efficiency; as well as how finance can play a role in systems change towards a circular regenerative economy.
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Namita Datta
Program Manager, Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE)
The World Bank Group
Namita Datta works for the bank’s multistakeholder global programme S4YE, forging partnerships with several leading private companies, foundations and Civil Society Organisations (NGOs). She has led several flagship publications on frontier topics including the role of digital technology, changing nature of work, gender and opportunities in the creative and circular economies. She led the recent global report “Working across Borders: The Promise and Peril of Online Gig Work”. Before joining the bank, Namita worked with the Government of India, heading a large complex municipal corporation responsible for delivering key urban services to the city of Delhi. She also worked as secretary (head) of the departments of urban development, power and environment in Goa, India. She holds a PhD from Cornell University, an MIA from Colombia University, New York, and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Freyr has dedicated five years to working with KLAK, supporting over 80 startups annually through multiple business accelerators and workshops. Notably, one of their initiatives is Hringiða, a circular economy accelerator established in 2021 in collaboration with global partners such as IBMS and Inspiralia. Additionally, as partners in Venture Challenge, KLAK assists emerging fund managers with their challenges, driven by their passion for evolving the venture ecosystem in the Nordics. Freyr also serves on the board of Nordic Innovation, contributing to shaping the innovation landscape in the region. He has a bachelor's in software engineering from the University of Reykjavik and a master's in entrepreneurship and innovation management from KTH in Stockholm.
Solange was appointed as CSO for ABN AMRO Bank in January 2023. In this role she is responsible for driving their sustainability transition. During her 25-year career she has held diverse positions within the ABN AMRO Group, including multiple supervisory positions, and has lived and worked in six different countries. In her last position she was the bank’s country executive in Belgium and has held responsibility for sustainability in previous positions as well. She holds a master’s in business economics and is a Certified European Financial Analyst.