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Maretha Smit (Chief Executive at Diversity Works New Zealand)

Maretha Smit

Chief Executive at Diversity Works New Zealand

Maretha has held a number of senior leadership roles in her native South Africa and New Zealand, including that of Chief Executive of a large member organisation where she effected significant transformational change across an entire sector.

She has a strong background and appreciation of the challenges in diversity and inclusion, with experience in senior leadership roles in the disability sector, as well as delivering programmes to improve social cohesion through performing arts, education and training. She is passionate about her life purpose to create a more sustainable and equitable society through national conversations and creative initiatives.

Maretha has a degree in Psychology from the University of Stellenbosch, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is a Chartered Director of the Institute of Directors (South Africa). She is a Trustee and Chair of the Finance Committee of Belong Aotearoa, a specialist settlement agency that focuses on addressing the barriers to successful integration of newcomers in New Zealand.

Murray Lapworth (Chief Financial Officer at Rāta Foundation)

Murray Lapworth

Chief Financial Officer at Rāta Foundation

Murray Lapworth is Chief Financial Officer of Rātā Foundation, based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Rata has a globally diversified investment portfolio of over $600 million, including Impact Investments. The Foundation grants over $20 million per annum to circa 1,000 for-purpose community groups, making it the largest philanthropic funder in the South Island, and second largest in New Zealand. The purpose of investing grants in its communities is to connect, collaborate and transform to create intergenerational social change in Canterbury, Nelson, Marlborough and the Chatham Islands.
During his six year tenure, Murray has been instrumental in transforming Rātā Foundation from a passive UNPRI signatory (since 2008) to a pro-active supporter of ESG and RI initiatives. Along the way he has developed Responsible Investment Beliefs and Policies, integrated ESG practices, improved its Strategy and Governance rating from C to A, and become a member of RIAA. This work continues.
Murray is also an Advisory Committee Member of the Morrison & Co Public Infrastructure Partners Funds. These Funds have invested over $2 billion in a range of social infrastructure assets, such as schools, convention centres, student accommodation, prisons, healthcare facilities, and roads via a public-private partnership model.

Bridget Coates (Co-Chair at Sustainable Finance Forum implementation team)

Bridget Coates

Co-Chair at Sustainable Finance Forum implementation team

Bridget Coates is an experienced global leader who has built and led businesses in both the United States and New Zealand in recent years. She has held Chairperson, Director and CEO roles across a range of public and private sector entities.

She is currently Co-Chair of the Sustainable Finance Forum implementation team, Chair of Fonterra’s Sustainability Advisory Panel to the Board and Chair of Koi Tu (a think tank based at the University of Auckland). She is also Chairperson of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand and a Director of Tegel Group Holdings Ltd.

She has been a Governor of the NZ Superannuation Fund and, until recently, she was a Director of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

Bridget founded White Cloud Dairy Innovation Ltd., a company exporting dairy products to the United States. Bridget was also the inaugural Chair of THE ICEHOUSE business accelerator and the inaugural Chair of ArcAngels in New Zealand, an angel group focusing on women-led growth companies. She retains a portfolio of early and growth stage investments in the US and in New Zealand.

Bridget has also been a Director of public companies, Sky City Limited and Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Limited. She was formerly CEO of Carter Holt Harvey Plastic Products and Director of Research for CS First Boston NZ Ltd as well as being a Member of the University of Auckland Council.

Bridget has also held Board governance roles with Industry New Zealand / NZTE, a national economic development agency; Competitive Auckland Ltd, a regional economic development organisation; NZ Apple and Pear Marketing Board and Auckland Uniservices Ltd, a technology transfer company. She holds degrees in arts, economics and finance from the University of Auckland and also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst qualification: she is a Chartered Member of Institute of Directors. Bridget was a judge for the CFO of the Year Awards in 2020.

Lance Wiggs (Co-Founder of Lance Wiggs Capital Management Limited)

Lance Wiggs

Co-Founder of Lance Wiggs Capital Management Limited

Lance is a director of 9 of Punakaiki Fund’s Portfolio Companies. He was formerly a director of Linewize until his resignation following its acquisition by Family Zone in late 2017, of Devoli until early 2017, when he was replaced by Chris Humphreys and of NZ Artesian Water until he resigned in October 2019.
Lance combines a wide variety of global experience with helping high-growth companies in New Zealand. Lance has helped hundreds of high growth companies through his work with LWCM, via Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s (NZTE) programmes, through Return on Science investment Committees and independently prior to the formation of LWCM.
Lance was the investment-banking advisor for Trade Me on its sale to Fairfax Media, with McKinsey & Company in Washington DC, contracted to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London and consulted to BHP Billiton plants in South Africa, Australia and Mozambique. Lance was also an elected Councillor for InternetNZ, where he was a member of the Audit Committee.

Arti Prasad (RIAA Board member & Senior Investment Strategist at New Zealand Superannuation Fund)

Arti Prasad

RIAA Board member & Senior Investment Strategist at New Zealand Superannuation Fund

Arti Prasad is Senior Investment Strategist for the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation and works on the development and implementation of the Guardians’ responsible investment (RI) and corporate governance policies. Arti’s role includes integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investments, portfolio monitoring of ESG breaches. She also leads on aspects of the Guardian’s climate strategy in particular carbon footprinting and integration of climate change risks and opportunities within the Fund’s direct private market assets. Arti had been with the Guardians for six years, went overseas for 2 and half years and returned again in 2017.

In the time away from the Guardians, Arti did a stint at the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), Brisbane Australia as the Head of Responsible Investment. Prior to joining the Guardians, Arti was Senior Policy Analyst at the Ministry for Environment, working on policy decisions related to business sustainability, water and climate change.

Arti has a Bachelors of Commerce Degree (Grad dip) from the University of Auckland, and Postgraduate Diploma in Economics and Finance from Massey University, New Zealand.

Staci Hare (Deputy Chair at Rongowhakaata Iwi Trust)

Staci Hare

Deputy Chair at Rongowhakaata Iwi Trust

Staci was raised in Manutuke, a small rural settlement located South of Turanganui a Kiwa, Poverty Bay as it has come to be known in English. There she went to Manutuke Primary School, Gisborne Girls High School and later Victoria University in Wellington where she completed a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology. Staci has been a Board member on the Rongowhakaata Iwi Trust since 2014, and an active member of her iwi (tribe) since birth. Rongowhakaata is an iwi of artists and art forms a strong foundation of the tribe’s heritage and identity. Rongowhakaata ancestors established marae (traditional meeting places) where depicting ancestors, stories, philosophies and histories through whakairo (carving), tukutuku (lattice-work) and kowhaiwhai (ornate patterns) has become an ingenious way of preserving the tribe’s identity and ensuring the survival of core cultural values. The active maintenance of balance in obligations and connections is important for Staci in her role as a trustee for the iwi.



Over the past 5 years Staci has worked in both Local and Central Government roles that have focussed on economic development policy and strategy. Recently, her focus has been on regional economic development and investment in New Zealand through her role in the Provincial Development Unit. The Provincial Development Unit has been responsible for the administration of the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF), in consultation with other government agencies. A total of $3 billion was allocated to the PGF over a three year term to enhance economic development opportunities, create sustainable jobs, enable Māori to reach their full potential, boost social inclusion and participation, build resilient communities and help meet New Zealand’s climate change targets.

Tribal Affiliations: Rongowhakaata, Ngai Tamanuhiri, Te Aitanga a Mahaki

Victoria Harris (Portfolio Manager at Devon Funds Management)

Victoria Harris

Portfolio Manager at Devon Funds Management

Victoria has recently joined Devon as a Portfolio Manager. She has over 10 years’ experience in financial markets across a broad range of markets, including ESG. She has held previous roles as Portfolio Manager at Pie Funds Management covering global equities and as a senior analyst at Milford Asset Management covering Australasian equities. She will have responsibility for research, stock selection and portfolio construction for the Australian & Sustainability strategies.

Lucas Kengmana (Senior Investment Strategist at New Zealand Superannuation Fund)

Lucas Kengmana

Senior Investment Strategist at New Zealand Superannuation Fund

Lucas is a Senior Investment Strategist at the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation. Last year, he pulled together their first TCFD Report. In the past, he has worked at the Climate Change Commission, looking at land use emissions and at Fonterra, where he lead their climate change strategy. He is also a founding member of Greenpreneurs, an online accelerator for young entrepreneurs working on green enterprises in developing countries.
Lucas has an MBA from INSEAD and a Bachelor of Arts and Commerce (with Honours) from the University of Wellington.

Craig Weise (Chief Executive at New Zealand Green Investment Finance)

Craig Weise

Chief Executive at New Zealand Green Investment Finance

Craig has over 25 years of experience in private capital markets, both in the US and NZ, with a career incorporating roles in investment advisory, law, investment banking and investment management and governance.

Before joining NZGIF he held multi-faceted executive roles for the commercial directorate of Treasury, managing teams focused on the New Zealand government’s direct investment and managed portfolios representing over $100 billion in assets.

Immediately prior to his time at Treasury, Craig was a principal at Armillary Private Capital, ultimately active as its Managing Director, Investment Banking. Earlier roles included time with John Hancock Financial Services, Nixon Peabody, Sidley and HHC, a private equity-backed holding company.

Craig holds an Honours Degree in Economics from Randolph-Macon College, Virginia, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia, USA. He is also a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, a Certified Investment Fund Director and a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors.

Raewyn Jones (Chief Executive at WEL Energy Trust)

Raewyn Jones

Chief Executive at WEL Energy Trust

Chief executive of WEL Energy Trust, Raewyn is also the co- founder and co-Chair of the Waikato Wellbeing Project (WWP), which is a regional initiative to achieve a more environmentally sustainable, prosperous and inclusive Waikato region by 2030. The WWP supports a grassroots movement to activate collective action towards achieving agreed targets for the Waikato region based on the SDGs. One of the key goals of the WWP is to attract investment to the region to help achieve the goals.

Co-chaired by WEL Energy Trust and Waikato Regional Council during 2019/20, the key outcome of the Waikato Wellbeing Project was the development of a defined set of SMART wellbeing targets for the Waikato, based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A public launch of the targets was held on 14 February 2020. The WWP has now moved into the second phase to support a broad range of groups to achieve the targets and 'be the change'! This involves collaboration with regional iwi, business, industry groups, central and local government, tertiary education providers, economic development agencies, community organisations and citizens.

Ross Pennington (Co-Chair at Sustainable Finance Forum implementation team)

Ross Pennington

Co-Chair at Sustainable Finance Forum implementation team

Ross, through his firm Glycon Advisory, is a specialist adviser in sustainable finance, capital markets, infrastructure financing and delivery, fintech, and bank regulation. Since beginning as a commercial analyst at the Treasury, Ross has more than 20 years’ experience as a capital markets and banking lawyer in New Zealand, London and San Francisco, the past 15 of those as a partner in two leading New Zealand law firms. Ross is co-chair of the Sustainable Finance Forum, a distinguished fellow of the Institute of Finance Professionals NZ, and twice winner of the KangaNews Market Person of the Year.

Erica Miles (Director of West Nine Consulting Limited)

Erica Miles

Director of West Nine Consulting Limited

Erica is an experienced Responsible Investment and Sustainability Consultant, with over 25 years of experience. Erica specialises in integrating environmental and social factors into investment and business processes, thereby mitigating risks and enhancing opportunities. Erica believes in collaboratively developing practical solutions that create and protect long-term value and trust for all stakeholders.

Erica works across all elements of the investment value chain, from ESG policy and strategy, ESG due diligence (pre- and post-acquisition), stakeholder engagement and materiality, governance, ESG integration, environment, health and safety (EHS) management systems, compliance and assurance frameworks, and disclosure (reporting and assurance) (including more recently the requirements of the Taskforce for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Erica was co-secretariat and co-author of the Sustainable Finance Roadmap for New Zealand (January 2019 – November 2020) and is one of two New Zealand-based approved independent verifiers for RIAA's Investment Certification Programme.

Andrew Bascand (Managing Director of Harbour Asset Management)

Andrew Bascand

Managing Director of Harbour Asset Management

Andrew is Managing Director of Harbour and holds responsibility for Australasian Equity growth portfolios. Prior to joining Harbour Asset Management, Andrew spent 10 years with AllianceBernstein New Zealand as Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager responsible for portfolio construction of all Australasian mandates. In that role Andrew and his team were consistently recognised by the industry for excellence in funds management. Andrew has more than 37 years’ investment management experience including roles with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Bank of England, AMP and with Merrill Lynch Global Asset Management (UK) as Managing Director of Global Equity Products. With Merrill Lynch, Andrew managed global equity accounts for pension funds in Japan, Sweden, Spain, Chile, England, the US, Germany and South Africa.

John Berry (CEO of Pathfinder Asset Management)

John Berry

CEO of Pathfinder Asset Management

John is an advocate for responsible investment and for greater transparency around investment products. He is CEO (and co-founder) of Pathfinder Asset Management, a boutique fund manager specialising in ethical investment. Pathfinder manages a range of ethical funds including its KiwiSaver Scheme.

John is a trustee of the Men’s Health Trust NZ and a member of the Financial Advice Code Committee.

April Mackenzie (Chief Executive at The External Reporting Board)

April Mackenzie

Chief Executive at The External Reporting Board

April joined the XRB as Chief Executive in December 2019 and is responsible for leading the organisation to achieve its mission and strategic objectives. This includes oversight of the XRB's operations, people, policies, processes, and governance.
April has extensive experience in external reporting both in New Zealand and internationally. She was a Board member for four years with the International Valuation Standards Council where she also briefly acted as Council’s Interim Chief Executive. As Global Head of Governance and Public Policy for Grant Thornton International, April was responsible for formulating and representing the Network’s positions on key regulatory policy matters.
April is well regarded for her technical expertise and has served as a technical advisor and member of a number of international bodies including the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the International Financial Reporting Standards Advisory Council (IFRS), the Global Public Policy Committee, and the Joint Ethics Committee of the Consultative Committee of Accounting Bodies in the United Kingdom.
April’s considerable accounting and auditing background also spans a number of organisations and roles including the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants as Divisional Director of Policy, Touche Ross & Co (UK and NZ), the New Zealand Securities Commission and the New Zealand Audit Office.
April is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) and holds a Master of Commerce (Hons) from the University of Auckland. In her limited free time, April enjoys being with her family and working on their rural property in Otago.

Pip Best (Oceania Climate Change and Sustainability Services Director of EY)

Pip Best

Oceania Climate Change and Sustainability Services Director of EY

Pip is a core member of the Sustainable Finance Forum's Secretariat. Pip has worked with both the public and private sector in understanding the impacts of climate change and other sustainability issues such as emissions trading, green bonds, sustainable finance, impact, as well as outcomes measurement. She has assisted in the development of sustainable financial products across the Asia Pacific region, and has worked in New Zealand, Australia and the UK within capital markets and sustainability roles. Pip led work to develop a leading practice sustainability standard for the agricultural sector in New Zealand, for use by the financial sector, and which takes note of international developments, such as the EU Taxonomy.

Reuben Casey (CEO of the outdoor division at Kathmandu Group)

Reuben Casey

CEO of the outdoor division at Kathmandu Group

Reuben was appointed CEO of the Outdoor division of the Kathmandu Group (global responsibility for Kathmandu and Oboz brands) in October 2019 following the Groups acquisition of Rip Curl. Prior to this Reuben had been the Group COO and Group CFO after joining Kathmandu in 2010 as Group Financial Controller. Before joining Kathmandu, Reuben held a range of senior financial management roles including Taylormade Adidas Golf, Meridian Energy and KPMG. Reuben has a Bachelor of Commerce, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Canterbury and has completed the Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD.

Henry Ford (Director of Rutherford Rede Ltd)

Henry Ford

Director of Rutherford Rede Ltd

Henry Ford is a Director and adviser with Rutherford Rede Ltd. He has been an adviser for 10 years. He is a AFA, CFP and AIF. Prior to his career in advisory he was a bank executive in both Westpac and National Bank where he had responsibility for the retail. His career started in the agricultural sector where he was both a farmer and a specialist agricultural banker.

Fiona Whyte (Specialist Lead Integrated Financial System at Financial Markets Authority (FMA))

Fiona Whyte

Specialist Lead Integrated Financial System at Financial Markets Authority (FMA)

Ms Whyte has worked at the FMA for the past seven years as a Senior Adviser in the Conduct Assessment Team, where she focused on investigating and warning the public about scams that target vulnerable people. She has a 23-year banking career in New Zealand and has experience in governance roles, including serving as an independent board member of Micro Finance Deposit Taking Institution (MDI) in Cambodia, where she promoted corporate social responsibility. She has been a board member for World Vision NZ and Vision Fund Cambodia, which serve the rural poor by providing access to capital to assist with small business loans.

Simon O'Connor (CEO of Responsible Investment Association Australasia)

Simon O'Connor

CEO of Responsible Investment Association Australasia

Simon operates at the intersection of economics, finance and sustainability and has extensive international experience as an economic adviser, investment analyst and sustainability consultant across finance, corporate and not for profit sectors.

Simon works with RIAA’s 240 member organisations with the goal of delivering on RIAA’s mission of promoting, advocating for, and supporting approaches to responsible investment that align capital with achieving a healthy and sustainable society, environment and economy.

Simon is active across the region and internationally in responsible investment and sustainable finance initiatives. He sits as Co-Chair of the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative, working group member of the NZ Sustainable Finance Forum, a member of the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance, the UN backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Australia Network Advisory Committee, as well as a member of the National Advisory Board on Impact Investing in New Zealand.

Alex White (Sustainable Finance Team Leader at Ministry for the Environment, New Zealand)

Alex White

Sustainable Finance Team Leader at Ministry for the Environment, New Zealand

Alex is Sustainable Finance Team Leader at the Ministry for the Environment. She led the mandatory climate-related disclosures policy development in Aotearoa New Zealand alongside the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. She oversees the development of scenario analysis guidance for reporting organisations, and the Ministry’s wider sustainable finance work programme.

Alex has extensive experience working across government, business and civil society. Prior to moving to Aotearoa New Zealand, Alex worked on environmental policy in the UK, with a particular focus on innovation and green finance. This included briefing select committees, European Commissioners and sitting on HM Treasury's Green Finance Taskforce. In the lead up to the Paris Agreement she worked with corporates on setting climate commitments, such as science-based targets and 100% renewable energy targets, as part of the We Mean Business global campaign.

Matthew Mimms (Managing Director of The Investment Store)

Matthew Mimms

Managing Director of The Investment Store

Matthew Mimms is the Founder and Managing Director of The Investment Store. Matt has over 30 year's experience in financial services in both the UK and New Zealand. Immediately prior to establishing the Investment Store, Matt was head of Retail Sales and Service at BT Funds Management.

Matt has been integrally involved in the NZ investment and financial adviser industry for 20 years including a 2 year stint as Chair of the Auckland branch for the then named Financial Planners and Insurance Advisers Association. Matt is a strong advocate for responsible investing and is currently a board member of the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA).

He has a business degree from the University of Sheffield (UK) and a Diploma in Business Studies (personal financial planning) from Massey University.

Paul Gilberd (General Manager at Community Finance)

Paul Gilberd

General Manager at Community Finance

Paul is a business development specialist and brings a solid background in the for purpose (publicly funded health, education) and community housing sectors, most recently as GM Strategy and Development at the New Zealand Housing Foundation. A serving member of the Anglican Social Justice Commission, Paul has extensive work experience across the public and private sector with reference to strategy, governance and change management.
Paul thrives on building relationships and trust and strongly believes in the power of collective impact and collaboration. He is a passionate advocate for impact investment and community action. He describes Community Finance as a communal asset much like a village wine press “It is a shared asset designed to serve the needs of those who want to improve their communities, their wellbeing, their social and environmental resilience.

Philip Houghton-Brown (Head of Investment Solutions at BT Funds Management (NZ) Limited)

Philip Houghton-Brown

Head of Investment Solutions at BT Funds Management (NZ) Limited

Prior to joining BT in September 2020, Philip gained 31 years of investment experience, including working as the Chief Investment Officer for Mercer (NZ) and ING/OnePath (NZ). He also worked for AMP Asset Management in London managing international equity funds.

Philip holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Canterbury University, a Diploma from the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (UK) and is a holder of the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation

Peter Lee (Principal at Ethical Investing NZ Ltd)

Peter Lee

Principal at Ethical Investing NZ Ltd

Ethical Investing NZ works with passionate, values-focused people and organisations, helping them to make smart decisions about their money. We provide strategic and integrated solutions in responsible and ethical investment, financial planning, insurance and employee benefits.

Founder and principal Peter Lee has over 30 years experience in financial services including as CEO of the Institute of Financial Advisers. He has developed and launched two responsible investment funds, including an ethical KiwiSaver fund, was a founder director of the Sustainable Business Network, and has been a board member of several nonprofits.