Deirdre Cooper is Co-Head of Thematic Equity at Ninety One, with a particular focus on sustainable investing.  She is an Advisory Board Member at the Imperial College Centre for Climate Finance and an Advisory Board Member of Girls Who Invest.  She previously founded the Clean Tech group in Morgan Stanley where she worked in M&A in London and Menlo Park

In Series 2 of the 2022 podcast we discussing taking a stand – a stand against climate change, against bias, against  recruitment processes that aren’t generating the results and against stereotypical thinking. We hear from another 10 inspiring guests from around the world.  From the academic who realized he could make a better impact with his sustainable finance agenda in the world through publishing papers and writing books, to the fund manager with a passion for improving after school education to a head of asset management who is changing the recruitment process from the ground up.

Welcome back to The Fiftyfaces Podcast in 2022. In this first series we meet with ten more inspiring guests and draw out in particular themes relating to impact and the importance of education.  For some of our guests their commitment to educating the next generation – whether through personal sponsorship, Board Roles, teaching decision making or the founding of The Skills Workshop – there is universal belief in its importance.

Impact takes many forms, and includes investment in education, but for some of our guests it also includes solutions to alleviate homelessness, house vulnerable women and adults with learning differences, or address the problem of climate change. 

Esther Peiner is Co-Head of the Infrastructure Group Europe in Partners Group, based In Zug. She previously spent close to 11 years at Macquarie Group, where she was a managing director focused initially on the TMT sector and then infrastructure and real assets.

A deeply personal discussion of the challenges and opportunity of blending work and family in the world of finance, the fascinating world of infrastructure investment and the benefits of a diverse workplace.

Dr. Ylva Baeckstrom is a lecturer and researcher in finance at King’s College Business School in London, where she has a particular interest in behavioural finance, investment decision making and investment advice, with a special interest in gender and the interplay between advisors and their clients.

A specialist in gender equality and finance shares insights from her Ted talk and how things like press coverage confirm biases and impeded visibility for women and underrepresented groups.

Erin Archer is Treasurer at Syracuse University, which she recently joined after a period as Treasurer and Director of Investments of DePaul University in Chicago, where she oversaw the endowment. She started her career in sell-side research and has had a global career including four years in London and two years in South Africa, where she focused on the consumer sector.

A varied career journey that has spanned three continents is shared along with the importance of the golden rule in life and in one’s career.

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.