Our guests on this episode are Rob Gardner and Eoin Murray, both previous guests on this podcast, join us again to discuss how they have come together at Rebalance Earth.  

Melanie Pickett is Executive VP and Head of Asset Owners, Americas at Northern Trust, based in the Chicago area.  She oversees the Alternative Asset Servicing Group and directs the firm’s strategy , growth and delivery of all firmwide products for asset owners and allocators in the America’s region. She was named 2021 Top 40 Women in Fintech and the 2021 Global Banking & Finance US Business Woman of the Year. She previously was Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of Emory Investment Management at Emory University and prior to that spent over 10 years at Morgan Stanley. 

Roy Kuo is team head of alternative strategies at the Church Commissioners for England, which has £8.5bn in assets under management, with £1.4bn in hedge fund strategies and £1.7bn in alternative private market strategies. He previously held a series of roles in consulting and asset management, and is an active participant on the conference circuit for alternative assets, as well as a thought leader for institutional investors.

A broad-ranging discussion of what it means to “think like an owner” in the stewardship of institutional assets.

Sally Bridgeland needs no introduction in London institutional investing circles. Following a long career as an actuary, investment consultant and investor, culminating in a role of CEO at BP Pension Trustees for the 19 BN GBP BP pension fund, she has pivoted to an extensive portfolio career. Since 2014 she has held roles at Nest, USS, Lloyds Banking Group, Avida International, RAF Central Fund, Nesta, the Nuclear Liabilities Fund, the Local Pensions Partnership, Impax Asset Management and Royal London.

Her portfolio is a very full one, but she still finds the time to commit to her passion for education in mathematics through the Royal Society and Loughborough University and is Honorary Group Captain in the Royal Air Force, No 601 Squadron.

Our conversation discusses Sally’s journey into investment, the role that learning maths had in her story, and her lifelong passion for ensuring that maths is taught effectively and in a way that conveys its beauty. We also discuss her investment beliefs and lessons learned through a career in consulting and then as an asset owner.

Victoria Barbary  is Director of Strategy & Communications for the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) in which her focus is to help sovereign wealth funds become better investors for the benefit of their citizens.  She formerly worked in research roles relating to Sovereign Wealth Funds and prior to that was a PhD student in the field of Victorian History.

This summary is less a trailer than a highlight reel. The year started with a new administration in the US and an explosion of the culture wars and backlash against DEI and ESG labelling. Even engagement has become more cumbersome and some may feel the hard won policies of years ago are going into reverse.  Because we had lined up a list of industry experts with a focus on sustainable investing for this series, we had an excellent opportunity to ask them about the headwinds and the view of them.

Chelsea Smith is Senior National Director, Family Office Services at Bernstein Private Wealth Management, based in Chicago. She started her career as an equity trader, and in recent years has been heavily involved in diversity initiatives designed to attract a more diverse pipeline into the finance industry. 

Denise Le Gal is Independent Chair at Brightwell as well as a Chair and Trustee Director of JP Morgan Chase Retirement Plan among other portfolio roles  She was Chair of the Brunel Pension Partnership Limited for close to 8 years

Abdiel Santiago is Secretary (CIO) of the Fondo de Ahorro de Panama, a role he has held for over 11 years. He holds a number of board roles in addition – including Advisory Committee Member of the Export-Import Bank of the US, a Board Advisory Committee Member of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds and a Committee Member of the Milken Institute. He is also a Board Leadership Fellow at the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Stephen Oxley is founder of Oxley Capital Connections – OXC a firm he founded in the UAE in 2024 dedicated to helping global investment managers raise capital in the Middle East. He was formerly held a serious of business development functions in the Middle East and Europe and worked as an investment consultant.