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Barry Coates (Co-CEO of Mindful Money)

Barry Coates

Co-CEO of Mindful Money

Barry Coates is the founder and Co-CEO of Mindful Money www.mindfulmoney.nz, a charity based in New Zealand, that aims to channel investment towards high social and environmental standards and positive impact. The objective is to significant increase the demand for responsible investment through social marketing and a dedicated online platform. Barry has been involved in responsible investment since the early 1990s and played a leading role in building demand for fair trade in NZ. He has a Masters from Yale University in management, experience as a business strategy consultant and has been the CEO of charities, most recently Oxfam New Zealand 2003-2014. He was a Green MP 2016-17.

Dean Hegarty (Co-CEO of RIAA)

Dean Hegarty

Co-CEO of RIAA

Dean is committed to cultivating meaningful engagement opportunities for members and ensuring the delivery of high-quality membership values that significantly contributes to the sector. Passionate about championing ESG investment, Dean collaborates closely with global and local asset managers, super funds, Kiwisaver providers, financial advisors, and wealth platforms to align capital with sustainable outcomes.

His strategic leadership has played a pivotal role in elevating RIAA’s presence in both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, resulting in substantial growth and transformative organisational changes. With over a decade of experience leading teams in the not-for-profit sector, Dean has driven remarkable growth in membership and events while forging essential industry partnerships. Dean also serves as a member of the National Advisory Board on Impact Investing in New Zealand and sits on the GovCo of the New Zealand Stewardship Code.

Maria Loyez (Chief Customer Officer at Australian Ethical Investment Limited)

Maria Loyez

Chief Customer Officer at Australian Ethical Investment Limited

Maria is responsible for sales, marketing and customer experience to help drive business growth, which in turn increases positive impact on society. Maria has more than 20 years strategic marketing, Cx and leadership experience having previously held senior roles at neo-bank Volt, SocietyOne, OFX, AMP, Optus, and Virgin.

Nayanisha Samarakoon (Head of Policy & Advocacy at RIAA)

Nayanisha Samarakoon

Head of Policy & Advocacy at RIAA

Nayanisha is a senior lawyer with extensive federal public sector experience in governance, corporate compliance and regulation.

She arrives at RIAA after a long history at the corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). She was the project lead on ASIC’s thematic review into greenwashing by ‘green’ or ‘ethical’ managed funds and superannuation funds. This consisted of a review of the market, close engagement with international regulators and International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), and developing a deep understanding of both the existing Australian regulatory framework and government priorities as well as international development in this space. Through this review, she led a group across ASIC’s Corporations, Superannuation and Investment Managers teams to deliver industry and consumer guidance.

Outside of work, she volunteers as a board member and secretary at Juno Services Inc., a not-for-profit family violence and homelessness service provider based in Melbourne. She is also on the board of Fitted for Work, a charity focused on helping women experiencing disadvantage get work, keep work and navigate through working life.