Ahmed Tahlaoui, CFA

Ahmed Talhaoui, CFA, Managing Director, is the Head of the Blackrock Systematic Group (BSYS) for EMEA and APAC. He is a member of the Global and European Operating Committees and the EMEA Investment Committee and was previously head of Middle East and Africa and head of Product Strategy for Fixed Income, EMEA.  Prior to rejoining Blackrock in 2014, Mr. Talhaoui was Head of Investments at the Pension Fund of the United Arab Emirates, in Abu Dhabi. In this role, he had responsibility for the investment of the Fund’s assets, including the assessment and selection of external managers of traditional and hedge fund assets, and day-to-day responsibility for managing the Fund’s proprietary fixed income and liquidity portfolios.     

He was previously Head of Portfolio Solutions with Barclays Global Investors (BGI), which merged with Blackrock in 2009.In that role, Mr. Talhaoui was responsible for the management and oversight of all EMEA Index, iShares and model based active fixed income funds. Prior to joining BGI, Mr Talhaoui started as a front office developer at JP Morgan in 1997 and was Head of Fixed Income Quantitative Portfolio Management at Credit Suisse Asset Management. Mr. Talhaoui earned a Masters in Engineering in Applied Mathematics from Ecole Nationale d'informatique et mathematiques (ENSIMAG), France in 1997. 

Anna-Helena Mihov

Anna-Helena Mihov is a senior quantitative researcher at DWS in London. She has been conducting quantitative research for the enhancement of systemic strategies for over six years. Her work extends to the application of AI across the investment division. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics and Economics from the Humboldt University of Berlin and her Masters in Financial Analysis from the London Business School. In addition, she is currently a part-time PhD candidate at University College London in the Department of Computer Science with a specialisation in Augmented Financial Intelligence. Her research focuses on the application of AI models and natural language processing techniques for the analysis of financial markets. 

Catherine Macauley, CFA

Catherine Macaulay is the Co-Head of Impact Management at Schroders. She is responsible for developing and implementing Schroders’ impact management and measurement framework, encompassing product development, portfolio impact management, impact strategy, and reporting. Catherine co-chairs Schroders’ Impact Assessment Group (IAG) and serves as a member of the Big Exchange’s Impact Committee. She was recognized as the ‘Young Professional of the Year/Rising Star’ in Environmental Finance’s 2023 Impact Awards. In September 2024, Catherine was elected to and appointed to the Advisory Board for the Operating Principles of Impact Management. She joined Schroders in March 2020 and is based in London. 

Before joining Schroders, Catherine was a Senior Analyst at Greenmantle, a geopolitical and macroeconomic advisory firm. She holds an MA in Politics (PPS) from the University of Cambridge and an MSc in International Development from the London School of Economics, where she received the Prize for Best Overall Performance. Between her undergraduate and graduate studies, she worked in impact monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for a non-profit organization in Guatemala. Catherine is a CFA Charterholder and also holds the CFA UK Certificate in Impact Investing. 

Cornelia Andersson

Cornelia is Chief Product Officer at With Intelligence, a leading provider of data and intelligence on alternative assets and private markets. Cornelia is an experienced business leader in data and analytics, focused on creating data-based solutions in global financial markets solving customer challenges. Previously, Cornelia was at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), where she was a member of the leadership team for the Data & Analytics division, a market data and analytics provider with £4.5bn annual revenue. At LSEG, Cornelia led the Investment Banking and Sustainable Finance businesses, managing product portfolios including data platforms, workflow solutions, analytics and reporting solutions. 

Cornelia spent 13 years with Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, leading the firm’s market data, research and intelligence functions. As such, Cornelia has a wealth of industry experience and first hand understanding of customer needs and workflows in private markets.  

Additionally, Cornelia is currently a board member of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals and Position Green, a Nordic sustainability reporting and consulting business. She holds a MBA from Imperial College, a Master’s degree from Lund University and is a chartered information professional (MCLIP) as well as financial information associate (FIA). Cornelia is a regular public speaker and contributes to the industry globally, e.g. as a judge for the Singapore Fintech Festival, Asia’s leading fintech industry event. 

Dr. David Neaum

Dr. David Neaum is the Sustainable Finance Education Manager at Aviva Investors where he works within the Sustainable Finance Centre for Excellence on Aviva Investor’s macro stewardship programme of engagement and advocacy. David has worked in sustainable finance, impact investing, consultancy, and academia, most recently with the aim of supporting changes to the financial system to promote a just transition to a net-zero and nature positive economy, mitigate systemic financial risks, and create long-term value.  

Emily Prince

As part of the Data and Analytics Leadership team at LSEG, Emily leads the Analytics business and is the CEO of Yield Book. In this role Emily spearheads the transformation of trusted data into actionable and AI-powered insights across LSEG. With a background of over 15 years in quantitative financial analytics at leading institutions such as Lehman Brothers, Barclays and BlackRock, Emily has extensive experience developing analytics solutions for customers. Emily also holds board positions with Turquoise and Finbourne.

Emma Penny

Emma is a Client Director at Acre which is a sustainability specialist executive search firm. She leads on senior-level searches across EMEA Financial Services, bringing over 17 years of executive search expertise. Before joining Acre, she spent 13 years at Heidrick & Struggles, working in both Hong Kong and London. There, she most recently led the EMEA Asset Management and Sustainable Finance practices, managing cross-border client relationships and overseeing senior-level executive search and assessment projects.

Emma is deeply committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, serving as Vice Chair of the CFA UK Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Network. Her extensive experience in financial services has made her a trusted advisor for top-level executive searches. 

Giulio Renzi-Ricci

Giulio Renzi-Ricci is Head of Asset Allocation for Europe in the Investment Strategy Group at Vanguard.  

Giulio specializes in quantitative multi-asset portfolio construction, single fund solutions, and econometric forecasting; and oversees the asset allocation of Vanguard’s multi-asset products and model portfolios across Europe.  

His research has covered topics on active-passive blending, dynamic portfolio optimization, and machine learning applications to asset allocation. His research has been published in The Journal of Investment Management, The Journal of Portfolio Management and The Journal of Investment Strategies, among others.  

Prior to joining Vanguard, Giulio worked at National Economic Research Associates (NERA), providing expert analysis on financial derivatives and investment strategies. He also held a quantitative analyst position in the fixed income structuring desk at Banca IMI in Milan. Giulio has a B.Sc. in economics from Bocconi University and a M.Sc. in finance and economics from the University of Warwick. 

Hania Schmidt

Hania is a managing director in Quantitative Investment Strategies (QIS) within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, serving as global co-head of Client Portfolio Management. In her role, she the team driving client and product strategy. QIS offers a broad spectrum of quantitatively managed strategies, focusing on alpha generation within and across asset classes, efficient delivery of factor exposures, providing investors access to alternative investments with attractive liquidity profiles and creating structured payoffs.

Prior to her current role, Hania led the Client Portfolio Management teams in EMEA and India. She also previously spent two years in Hong Kong as a QIS client portfolio manager for clients based in Asia Pacific. Hania joined Goldman Sachs in 2010 as an analyst in QIS and was named managing director in 2023. Hania earned a BA in Economics and Finance from the University of Exeter in 2010. She is a CFA charterholder.

Jignesh Ramji

Jignesh has over twenty years of experience as a Human Capital Leader specialising in Organisation Transformation and Change, Talent Management and Leadership Development. He has wide scale international experience having lived and worked in the UK, the Netherlands, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong whilst leading Global and Regional teams. Jig has been Chief People Officer and Chief Talent Officer at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), Bloomberg and Aviva. He is also serving as a non-executive Director and trustee with Roffey Park and the Financial Services Skills Commission.

He has also served as a board member at the International Coaching Federation in the UK and the LSEG foundation. Within his career, Jig has worked with some of the largest global multinationals including Fujitsu, Macquarie, Deloitte and Bloomberg on significant transformation and change programs. Jig is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, an accredited Executive Coach, a certified Hogan practitioner and a certified EIP3 emotional intelligence practitioner. 

Kenneth Lamont

Kenneth Lamont is a Principal in Morningstar’s Manager Research Department. With an extensive background in passive funds and thematic investments, he has transitioned into a broader leadership role within the European Manager Research Team. 

Kenneth has authored several globally recognized research papers, including The Thematic Fund Handbook and The Global Thematic Fund Landscape. He has spearheaded high-impact research initiatives such as the Morningstar Thematic Fund Classification System and the Morningstar Thematic Consensus Purity Score for stocks and funds. 

Before joining Morningstar in 2013, Kenneth was a research analyst at Mergermarket, covering the infrastructure finance sector, and previously an associate at Markit within the portfolio valuations team. 

Kenneth is widely regarded as a leading industry expert on both passive and thematic funds and appears frequently as a speaker at conferences and as a commentator in the financial media. 

Kenneth holds a Master of Science in Investment, Banking, and Finance from the University of Glasgow and an Executive MBA from the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School. He is also a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst®. 

Dr. Nic Pillow

Nic has over two decades of experience in creating value for start-up, fast-growth and multinational B2B technology companies. He is a director of Blackfinch Spring VCT plc, a Venture Capital Trust which he helped launch after joining Blackfinch Investments in 2019. He has supported over 100 investments into high-tech Seed and Series A stage companies, and he has been an observer on the boards of numerous portfolio companies.

Previously, Nic co-founded his own startup, Rhizome Live, a Software-as-a-Service business in the Education Tech sector. He has also led a global team at Nokia, exercising portfolio control over 15 software products that grew in annual revenue from £50 to £250 million. Nic holds a first-class degree in Engineering & Computing and a Ph.D. in Computer Vision, both from the University of Oxford. 

Paul Drummond

Paul is Climate and Environment Research Lead for Redwheel, with responsibility for leading the climate and environment research agenda for Greenwheel – the firm’s internal sustainability research unit. Previously he spent ten years at University College London, researching and teaching climate and energy economics and policy, and the dynamics of technology innovation and transitions. He continues to hold an Honorary Senior Research Fellowship at UCL. 

Sonja Laud

Sonja Laud, CFA is Global Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of the Asset Management division of Legal & General and a member of the Executive Team. She leads the firm’s entire Investment, Responsible Investment and Trading teams for public markets.

Sonja joined Legal & General in 2019 from Fidelity International where she was Head of Equity. Prior to that she worked at Barings where she launched and managed global multi-asset portfolios. Prior to that, she worked for Schroders where she managed, for eight years, several successful global, European and UK equity funds, with a focus on high-dividend stocks. Sonja started her career at DWS in Frankfurt, where she was an award-winning global equities portfolio manager. 

Sonja has completed a Global Executive MBA program at TRIUM (LSE, NYUStern, HEC) and has MSc, EMIM from ESCP Europe. She is a CFA Charterholder. She is a regular media commentator, appearing across broadcast including the BBC, Sky News, Bloomberg and CNBC. 

Steve Rush

Steve Rush is an award-winning Chief Learning Officer. He’s currently Executive Director and Global Head of Learning and Skills at MSCI, where he spearheads global learning, development, skills and leadership transformation. Renowned for shaping future-ready organisations, Steve has led strategic learning initiatives that align workforce capabilities with evolving business needs across global markets. His expertise spans enterprise-wide learning strategy, digital transformation, intergenerational leadership, and neuroinclusive talent development. 

With a rich background in financial services and organizational change, Steve has successfully designed and delivered large-scale learning and cultural transformation programs, embedding agile practices and future skills development at scale. He is a certified Master Coach and executive mentor, he partners with senior leaders to embed learning as a strategic enabler of growth and innovation. 

Steve is also the host of internationally acclaimed The Leadership Hacker Podcast, a global platform for leadership insights, and the author of his best selling book Leadership Cake.