Church Pension Group | Understanding the ABCs of ESG


Replay the October 20, 2022 event (viewing time 58:53)

Understanding the ABCs of ESG

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues can have a material impact on investment risk and return. These issues, historically limited to socially responsible investors, are garnering increased attention and moving to the mainstream as more investors recognize their impact on investment performance.

Join us for an in-depth conversation with leading industry experts who will review broad trends across the ESG landscape and provide specific case studies of how incorporating ESG issues informs investment decisions.

Opening Prayer

The Rev. Dr. Patrick S. Cheng, J.D., Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Business Compliance
Church Pension Group

Welcoming Remarks 

Mary Kate Wold (moderator)
CEO and President
Church Pension Group

Panel Conversation

Jonathan Bailey, CFA®
Managing Director, Head of Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing  Neuberger Berman

Emily Lawrence
North American Director of Sustainable Investing Client Engagement
Northern Trust Asset Management

Jacqui Murray
Partner
Resource Capital Funds

Christopher Rowe, CFA®
Managing Director, Investments
Church Pension Group

Learn more about CPG’s ESG strategies here.

Opening Prayer

The Rev. Dr. Patrick S. Cheng
Senior Vice President, Business Compliance
Church Pension Group

Patrick leads CPG’s Business Compliance team, which is responsible for ensuring that CPG’s three lines of business (benefits, publishing, and insurance) are operated in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. He is an Episcopal priest as well as an attorney.

Prior to joining CPG in 2000, he practiced tax and employee benefits law at two Wall Street law firms. Before that, he served as a law clerk to a federal appellate judge. He holds a BA from Yale College; a JD from Harvard Law School, where he served as an executive editor of the Harvard Law Review; and a PhD in systematic theology from Union Theological Seminary.

In addition to his work at CPG, Patrick serves as the Theologian in Residence at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

Welcoming Remarks and Moderator

Mary Kate Wold
Chief Executive Officer and President
Church Pension Group

Mary Kate Wold serves as Chief Executive Officer and President of the Church Pension Group (CPG), a $17 billion financial services enterprise that provides retirement, health, life insurance, property and casualty insurance, and other products and services to The Episcopal Church. She also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of The Church Pension Fund, CPG’s governing body.

She has served in a variety of leadership positions in the corporate, legal, and government sectors. Prior to joining CPG, she was a senior finance executive and principal corporate officer of Wyeth, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Before embarking on her corporate career, she was a partner and chaired the tax practice group of Shearman & Sterling, a leading global law firm. Earlier in her career, she served in the Office of Tax Policy of the United States Department of the Treasury.

Her board participation has included both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. She sits on the board of the Church Benefits Association, a national association of faith-based benefits organizations, and on the steering committee of the Church Alliance, a benefits policy and advocacy group. From 2016 until 2023 she served on the vestry of Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City and on its investment committee, which oversees the institution’s multi-billion-dollar real estate and securities portfolio. She also sits on the boards of Nucleus RadioPharma, The Jackson Laboratory, and Burke Neurological Institute. Her professional affiliations include membership in the Women’s Forum of New York and Women Corporate Directors.

Mary Kate spent her childhood in Bottineau, North Dakota, a small rural community on the Canadian border. She graduated from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, summa cum laude with a BA in English and Theater and was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She later graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. She holds an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University.

Panelists

Jonathan Bailey, CFA®
Managing Director
Head of Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing Neuberger Berman

Jonathan Bailey serves as Managing Director and Head of ESG Investing at Neuberger Berman, a private, independent employee-owned investment manager founded in 1939.

Jonathan joined the firm in 2017 and works with portfolio managers and analysts across equities, fixed income and private investment portfolios both to enhance existing strategies and to launch new ESG and impact investing strategies. Previously, Jonathan was the founding Director of Research at Focusing Capital on the Long Term (FCLT Global) a think tank established by BlackRock, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and McKinsey & Co. which worked on practical solutions to excessive short-termism along the investment value chain. 

He spent the bulk of his prior career at McKinsey & Co where he was an Associate Partner. He has also worked for Generation Investment Management, the sustainable investment firm co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore, and on governance projects for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Jonathan holds an MBA (with high distinction) from Harvard Business School, an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and an MA(Oxon) from the University of Oxford.

He has been awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He is Chair of the Board of Instiglio, a developing market social impact bond advisory non-profit.

 

 

Emily Lawrence, CFA®
North American Director of Sustainable Investing Client Engagement
Northern Trust Asset Management

Emily Lawrence serves as North American Director of Sustainable Investing Client Engagement at Northern Trust Asset Management where she is responsible for client engagement and partnership regarding Northern Trusts’ sustainable investing capabilities.

She has 14 years’ experience collaborating with clients to support the development of actionable approaches to sustainable investing. In addition to representing the investment platform, Emily collaborates directly with clients to conduct trainings and facilitate discussions on concepts, themes and trends through individual meetings, webinars and thought leadership.

Prior to joining Northern Trust, she managed research production for MSCI ESG Research’s Screening Research and Bespoke Research teams. Joining MSCI ESG Research via KLD in 2007, Emily was responsible for overseeing key data collection, analysis and quality initiatives including acting as a member of the Business Involvement Research Methodology Committee. Emily has also served on the steering committees for the 2013 Access to Nutrition Index and the 2012 Access to Medicine Index.

Emily received her M.Res. in International Conflict Resolution from the Institut Catholique de Paris and holds an MSc. in European Politics and Governance from the London School of Economics. Additionally, she holds a B.A. in French Language and Literature from the University of New Hampshire.

She is an active member of the Northern Trust Sustainable Investing Council, Proxy Voting Committee and Executive CSR Council. An advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the investment management industry, Emily has served as a mentor for young professionals through the Women in ETFs mentorship program starting in 2017 and has co-chaired the Events Committee for the Diversity Project North America since 2019. She sits on the ESG sub-committees for a variety of industry bodies including DCIIA, ICI, and ABA. Previously, Emily was appointed to the Principles for Responsible Investment working group focused on Active Ownership and the Sustainable Development Goals and the Climate Action and Resiliency Plan Working Group for the government of Evanston, IL. She is fluent in French.

Jacqui Murray
Partner, Investment Team Leader
Resource Capital Funds

Jacqui is a Partner and Investment Team Leader at Resource Capital Funds (RCF). She joined RCF in 2012 after working in Business Analysis and Improvement roles with BHP Billiton. Prior to this, she worked in various Geotechnical Engineering roles in underground and open pit operations within BHP Billiton and WMC Resources. Jacqui manages an RCF investment team.

She received a BEng in Geological Engineering from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Melbourne.

Christopher Rowe, CFA
Managing Director, Investments
Church Pension Group


Christopher Rowe is a Managing Director of CPG. He is responsible for leading CPG’s socially responsible investment engagement strategy and outreach initiatives. He works to build relationships with companies in which CPG invests, peer organizations, The Episcopal Church, and other stakeholders with similar values. Additionally, he works on behalf of the Chief Investment Officer to oversee various aspects of administration for the Investments Department, including communications and compliance.

Prior to CPG, Christopher was Chief of Staff to the CEO of PGIM, Prudential Financial’s asset management business, where he was responsible for wide-ranging activities including business administration, external relations, and sustainability. Earlier in his career, he worked directly with institutions and faith-based investors on strategies for integrating values with investments.

He received a BA in Economics from Haverford College and an MBA in Finance from New York University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.