A4S Online Summit 2025

Katie Murray joined NatWest Group in 2015 and was appointed Group Chief Financial Officer in January 2019. Previously the Group Finance Director for Old Mutual Emerging Markets in Johannesburg, Katie is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
At NatWest Group, Katie is responsible for net zero governance and oversaw the publication of our Climate Transition Plan in February 2023, one of the first UK financial services companies to do so. Drawing from the GFANZ Transition Planning framework and the Transition Planning Taskforce guidance, our CTP sets out the steps we aim to take to at least halve the climate impact of our financing activity by 2030 and achieve our net zero climate ambition by 2050.

Rishi Kalra joined the Olam Group in 2000 after brief stints with Indian Corporates and has held several senior finance roles across its businesses and geographies before taking over as ofi’s Group CFO and joining its Board, post the Group’s reorganization in January 2020.
Rishi has led many group-wide initiatives, including the acquisition of ADM’s global Cocoa business, embedding Sustainability within Finance, lead Project Manna, which was focused on unlocking value for the Olam Group and finally led to the Group’s reorganization.
As a Bachelor of Commerce, a qualified Chartered Accountant, and an Alumni of the Wharton Business School, Rishi has around 30 years’ experience in leadership roles. He is also the founding co-chair for Accounting for Sustainability (A4S), APAC CFO Leadership Network. A4S was established by HM King Charles III, with the aim to transform finance to make sustainable business, business as usual.

Professor Emily Shuckburgh OBE is a world-leading climate scientist and science communicator, who is the director of Cambridge Zero, the University of Cambridge’s ambitious climate change initiative.
Shuckburgh is a mathematician and Professor of Environmental Data Science at Cambridge’s Department of Computer Science and Technology (CST).
She leads the UK national research funding body’s (UKRI) Centre for Doctoral Training on the Application of AI to the study of Environmental Risks (AI4ER) and is a director of the Centre for Landscape Regeneration (CFLR).
Professor Shuckburgh worked for more than a decade at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) where her work included leading a UK national research programme on the Southern Ocean and its role in climate.
A Fellow of the British Antarctic Survey, the Royal Meteorological Society (RMS) and Darwin College, Emily Shuckburgh has also undertaken research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and École Normale Supérieure (ENS).
She is an advisor on climate to the UK Government and a Friend of COP26.
Emily is co-author with HM King Charles III and Tony Juniper of the Ladybird Book: Climate Change and was awarded an OBE for services to science and the public communication of science in 2016.

Professor Tim Lenton is a founding Director of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter and Chair in Climate Change and Earth System Science. He has more than 25 years research experience, focused on modelling of the biosphere, biogeochemical cycling and climate, and associated tipping points. Tim is renowned for his work identifying climate tipping points, which informed the setting of the 1.5C climate target, associated net zero targets and nationally determined contributions.
Tim works with policymakers and businesses helping them assess the risks of climate change and nature loss and highlighting the opportunities for ‘positive tipping points’ that can accelerate desired changes. In 2023, Professor Lenton led a team of more than 200 people from over 90 organisations in 26 countries to produce an authoritative assessment of the risks and opportunities of both negative and positive tipping points in the Earth system and society. The ‘Global Tipping Points Report’ produced in partnership with Bezos Earth Fund was published at COP28 and further work on positive tipping points will be released in 2024.

Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change on people and the planet. She is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy where she leads and coordinates the organization's scientific efforts.
Katharine's areas of expertise include science communication, greenhouse gas emissions, and developing and applying high-resolution climate projections for assessing regional to local-scale impacts of climate change on human systems and the natural environment. She holds a B.Sc. in Physics from the University of Toronto and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from the University of Illinois and has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work, including four honorary doctorates and being named a United Nations Champion of the Earth.

Sarah Youngwood serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Nasdaq. With more than 25 years of leadership experience in corporate finance, financial reporting, and investor relations, Sarah leads a global team responsible for Corporate Finance, Treasury, Financial Planning & Analysis, Investor Relations, ESG Reporting, Procurement, Real Estate, Facilities, and Security.
Sarah joined Nasdaq from UBS Group, where she served as Chief Financial Officer and Group Executive Board member. In her role, Sarah led a global team of 3,500 people across Finance, Treasury and M&A, and played a key role in modernizing the bank’s infrastructure as well as the acquisition of Credit Suisse. Prior to UBS, Sarah spent more than two decades at JPMorgan Chase in a number of executive roles, including Chief Financial Officer for the Consumer and Community Banking and Global Technology businesses, Head of Investor Relations, and Managing Director in the Financial Institutions Group.
Sarah holds a combined undergraduate and Master’s Degree in Finance and Business from ESCP Business School. Since 2018, she has also served as an Advisory Board Member of Wall Street Women’s Alliance.

Robin L. Washington is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Alphabet, Honeywell International, and Salesforce.  She currently serves as chair of the leadership development, inclusion, and compensation committee for Alphabet and Lead Independent Director for Salesforce. She is also a Catalyst Advisor with venture firm, General Catalyst, focused on their Health Assurance thesis to create meaningful outcomes for GC’s healthcare portfolio companies and communities they serve.  She is also a member of the President’s Council & Ross Business School Advisory Board, University of Michigan; a trustee of the Financial Accounting Foundation, and a member of the Board of Directors of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland and the Mastercard Foundation.
Ms. Washington served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Gilead Sciences, Inc., from May 2008 – November 2019 where she oversaw Global Finance, Facilities and Operations, Investor Relations and the Information Technology organizations.  Prior to Gilead, Ms. Washington was the Chief Financial Officer of Hyperion Solutions, that was acquired by Oracle Corporation. She also served as Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller of PeopleSoft, along with several other senior financial roles in the US and Europe from 1996 – 2005. Prior to PeopleSoft, Ms. Washington was Director of Finance for Tandem Computers, an Accounting Analyst for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and a Senior Auditor for Deloitte & Touche.
Ms. Washington is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations and Executive Leadership Council. She is co-founder of Black Women on Boards and is passionately involved in several initiatives focused on the ascension of women and underrepresented minorities to the C-suite and boardroom. Ms. Washington is a certified public accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Prior to his time at Salesforce, Hawkins served as CFO and Executive Vice President at Autodesk, leading the company’s global finance, information technology, and procurement organizations. From 2006 to 2009, he was CFO and Senior Vice President of Finance & IT at Logitech International SA. From 2000 to 2006, Hawkins served as Vice President of Finance at Dell in a variety of executive roles. Prior to Dell, Hawkins spent over 18 years at Hewlett-Packard where he held a variety of finance and business executive roles, including a two-year posting in Europe. He also served on HP's board of directors in Japan and China.
Hawkins is currently a member of the Board of Directors at Workday (NASDAQ: WDAY), Cloudflare (NYSE: NET), Toast (NYSE: TOST) and Secureworks (Nasdaq: SCWX). He serves as an Operating Partner for BDT & MSD Partners, a Venture Partner for NEA, and a Senior Advisor and Board member to private companies. Hawkins is a founding member of the USA Chapter of His Majesty, King Charles’ sponsored Accounting for Sustainability CFO Leadership Network and Chairs the A4S Global Advisory Council.
Hawkins also served as a member of the NYSE Listed Company Advisory Board from 2019 to 2022.
Hawkins holds an MBA in finance from the University of Colorado and a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He received the 2021 San Francisco Bay Area CFO Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the CFO Hall of Fame.

Alan was appointed as Chief Executive in April 2024 at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
Prior to this, Alan was Chief Executive of the Chartered Insurance Institute. Based in the City of London, he was responsible for running the leading chartered professional body for insurance and financial planning professionals, with 125,000 members in 150 countries. Alan is an experienced leader of professional bodies and was previously Chief Executive of the Royal Institute of British Architects from 2016 – 2022 and Group Chief Operating Officer at the Law Society from 2012 – 2015.
Alan qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Whinney (now EY) in their London office. He is a Fellow of three Institutes - the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and the Australian Institute of Company Directors – and an Honorary Fellow of the Korean Institute of Architects.
Alan obtained a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of York in the UK.
Alan is married and lives in Hertfordshire. When time permits, he enjoys playing guitar and has recently stepped out of his comfort zone by learning to dance the Argentine tango.

Russell was appointed Chair of the Trustee Board of the HSBC Bank (UK) Pension Fund in 2017. He was also appointed Deputy Chair and Chair of the Investment Committee of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the UK’s largest private sector pensions scheme, in February 2021.
Russell retired as Group Chief Accounting Officer at HSBC in 2016, having joined HSBC in 1993, reporting directly to the Group CFO. He was appointed a Group General Manager in 2003.
Russell was a Co-chair of the FSB’s Enhanced Disclosure Task Force and was a Special Advisor to the Financial Stability Board’s Climate-related Financial Disclosures Task Force, chaired by Michael Bloomberg.
He is a Senior Associate at the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership and an Honorary Professor in Durham University Business School. He is also a trustee of Accounting for Sustainability and is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.