Prof Alexander Bassen is a full professor of capital markets and management at the University of Hamburg, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Science (Germany). He teaches courses in finance and investment, ESG and capital markets and reporting. Alex is a member of the German Council for Sustainable Development – advisory body of the German Federal Government, the Sustainable Finance Advisory Council of the German Federal Government, and the German Advisory Council on Global Change of the German Federal Government. He is an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Oxford (Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment) and a Visiting Professor at the Hong Kong Baptist University. In addition, he serves as a member on several advisory committees for sustainable finance. His work has been published in e.g. Energy Economics, Organisation and Environment, Energy Policy, Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Journal of Business Economics, and Applied Economics.
Marco Bodellini is a Senior Research Scientist in Sustainable Finance at University of Luxembourg – ADA Chair in Inclusive Finance. His research mostly focuses on sustainability-related disclosure and sustainability in banking and finance. He has published a number of books and articles in US, UK and European peer-reviewed journals, in the areas of banking regulation, corporate governance of financial institutions, central banking, investment fund regulation and sustainable finance.He is a member of the editorial board of law journals and books series, including Business Law Review (Wolters Kluwer International) and Financial Regulation International (Informa Law). He is regularly invited to deliver talks at international conferences in Belgium, UK, US, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is a Member of the Expert Group advising the European Parliament in bank resolution matters and a Member of the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI) Advisory Panel.
Roberta Consiglio is Research Associate at ADA Chair in Financial Law (Inclusive Finance) at the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance of University of Luxembourg. She gained her experience as investment banking analyst in Berlin and Shanghai, focusing on cross-border mergers and acquisitions of SMEs and internet companies and previously as research analyst at the Private Equity and Growth Financing Research Center at SDA Bocconi (Italy). Before joining University of Luxembourg, Roberta worked as credit and fintech analyst. She is currently working on research projects related to sustainable and inclusive finance, financial law, regulation and policy development. She holds a bachelor degree in Economics and Finance and a Master of Science in Corporate Finance from Bocconi University (Italy).
Thomas Gibon is a researcher in environmental impact assessment at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST). He graduated in 2008 with an engineering degree from École Centrale Paris, and a PhD in Industrial Ecology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU, 2017). His research focus and interests include electricity production, as well as energy in general, mobility, and finance. He has contributed to two UNEP reports on the environmental comparison of energy technologies, as well as the fifth assessment report (AR5, chapter Energy Systems) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Thomas also contributes to assessing environmentally-sound technologies via initiatives such as the Solar Impulse Foundation or Time for the Planet. He is co-author of more than 20 peer-reviewed publications, and regularly gives presentations and lectures on climate, energy, or environmental topics.
Prof Michael Halling is a Professor of Finance at the University of Luxembourg. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the Vienna University of Technology and a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Vienna. Before joining Luxembourg, he held positions at the University of Utah and the Stockholm School of Economics. Michael’s work has been published in leading journals including the Journal of Finance, the Review of Financial Studies, the Journal of Financial Economics and the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. His research interests are broad and include topics in empirical asset pricing, capital structure dynamics, sustainable finance and digitalization of finance. Michael has taught a broad portfolio of courses in Finance at various institutions and various levels including Executive Education. Many of Michael’s courses focus on quantitative methods and economic models in risk and asset management.
Prof. Dr. Kerstin Lopatta is Chair Professor of Financial Accounting, Auditing and Sustainability at the School of Business, Economics and Social Science of the University of Hamburg and Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance of the University of Luxembourg. She has worked as an auditor at a Big 4 audit company and has completed several international research stays including City University Hong Kong and New York University’s Stern School of Business. Her work in sustainable finance and sustainable accounting is published in international high ranked journals. In her research, she investigates empirically the effects of environmental, social, and governance factors on business and society. She also analyzes the impact of financial accounting regulations on business decisions. Finally, she covers corporate governance topics such as board structure and diversity. Kerstin Lopatta serves on the management committee of the Sustainable Finance Research Platform and is a director of the Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment (GRASFI).
Prof. Dr. Hakan Lucius is Head of Corporate Responsibility at the EIB, the European Union’s bank, covering the sustainability, non-financial reporting and stakeholder engagement dimensions of the institution. Dr Lucius possesses more than 20 years of sustainability experience. In his career he has structured multiple billions of euros of investments, through both, loans and equity, was quoted by the Financial Times and by Reuters, has led multinational teams and negotiated with governments, corporate and civil society organizations, alike. Academically, he received a Ph.D. with distinctions in industrial economics, an MBA from INSEAD, France, and an MSc in Engineering from Vienna Technical University, where he graduated as the youngest student of his faculty. Mr Lucius is Professor of Finance in parallel to his professional career at the EIB, and specializes in sustainable corporate finance and strategy. He has developed masters classes, which he teaches at SciencesPo in France, the Frankfurt School of Finance in Germany and the Welch College of Business as well as the University of Luxembourg. He has lectured in Europe and the US and is an internationally acclaimed speaker, with TV appearances in multiple European countries, and speeches in over 16 nations globally. He is passionate about sustainability and is quoted to state that “Sustainability is at the heart of long-term outperformance”. Prof Hakan Lucius was awarded Best Lecturer, Master of Development Finance, by Frankfurt School and by the by Welch MBA, Luxembourg and has published articles in multiple languages. Prof. Dr. Lucius is also a Board member of Luxflag, the Luxembourg Fund labelling agency, member of the European Commission’s Ecolabel expert group for sustainable finance, member of the European Financial Regulatory Advisory Group (EFRAG) on non-financial reporting to the EC, former President of the European Investment Bank’s Pension Board, co-chair of the Digital Funding FinTech working group of the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, and a member of the EIB Institute’s Knowledge Committee.
Dr Peter Mathis is a Research Scientist for Sustainable Finance at the Department of Finance. Interested in investment management, asset pricing, corporate finance and especially the interaction of these fields with ESG. CEO and owner of M Capital Advisors S.A. Luxemburg, an independent research and consulting company specialising in asset management, with a focus on liquid assets including Hedge Funds and on the valuation of illiquid assets, the analysis of cost of capital and risk management for these assets. International experience in the industry as Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director, working for Hedge Funds, Institutional Investment Management, Private Banking and Family Offices. Dr. Mathis spent his academic life doing research and teaching at the Universität des Saarlandes/Germany and as Horstmann Fellow at Indiana University (USA). He authored and co-authored publications on capital market theory and worked as an honorary lecturer at the Campus of Finance of Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Umwelt in Nürtingen/Germany.
Jane Wilkinson is an experienced independent director sitting on the Boards of alternative investment fund groups and UCITS funds and is also a recognised ESG/sustainable finance expert. Her professional experience spans 30+ years, mostly in Luxembourg, where she has “grown up” with the investment management and financial sectors. Prior to going independent in summer 2019, Jane was Head of Sustainable Finance at Luxembourg Stock Exchange, which also included leading the award-winning Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX), as well as contributing to the positioning of Luxembourg as a leading sustainable financial centre. She was also an appointed member of the European Commission’s Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. Until early 2017 Jane was a KPMG partner, leading audits and reporting to Boards and Audit Committees of a number of International asset management groups and private equity houses with Luxembourg investment vehicles. Jane spearheaded the development of KPMG’s alternative investments practice and was KPMG’s “face of PE” for a number of years, until she left to join LuxSE. She also built KPMG Luxembourg’s Sustainability services team, being responsible for sustainability client engagements and also leading KPMG’s internal CSR programme and community engagement programme, including managing the KPMG Foundation. Throughout her career, Jane has been an active member of various working groups of Luxembourg based industry associations (ALFI, LPEA, ABBL etc) as well as international groups including International Capital Markets Association (ICMA), UN Environment Programme Financial Inquiry (UNEP FI), European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), and has chaired a number of committees and projects.
Prof. Dr. Dirk Zetzsche, LL.M., is Professor of Financial Law at the University of Luxembourg where he holds the ADA Chair in Financial Law (inclusive finance) since March 2016 and leads the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance’s House of Sustainable Governane & Markets. Professor Zetzsche also functions as one of the Directors of the Center for Business & Corporate Law at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. His current research focuses on financial and corporate law, in particular on FinTech/RegTech/CorpTech and alternative investment funds, institutional investments as well as inclusive and sustainable finance. Prior to his call to Luxembourg Prof. Zetzsche held the Propter Homines Chair for Banking and Securities Law at the University of Liechtenstein (2011-2016), headed as assistant professor Düsseldorf Law School, the Graduate Unit of Heinrich Heine University’s Faculty of Law, and lead as executive manager the Center for Business & Corporate Law (CBC) at Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf. Prof. Zetzsche obtained a postdoctoral degree (Dr. iur. habil) for his critically acclaimed thesis on collective investment schemes from Heinrich Heine University as well as an LL.M. from the University of Toronto for a thesis on comparative corporate governance and securities law, and earned his doctoral degree (summa cum laude) from Heinrich Heine University in 2004 for his thesis on shareholder information in public corporations. Prof. Zetzsche is a member of ESMA’s standing Consultative Working Group on financial innovations, contributes to a Luxembourg legal & tech working group on the use of blockchain in the clearing and settlement system, co-chairs a working group on policy and research with regard to cyber security and financial inclusion in Africa, co-chairs the European Banking Institute’s FinTech working group, functions as member of the steering committee of the Sustainable Market Actors’ research group at the University of Oslo and as Director of the Society of Investment Law (Chicago, Illinois). He has also been asked by the Luxembourg government to contribute to the Unidroit group on the law and regulation of cryptoassets.