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 BwB Team

Chris Smith
Chris is sector lead for Sovereign Sustainable Finance and is a member of the Operations & Strategy Group of the firm. Chris worked in the City of London for 15 years for HSBC and Standard Charted Bank in a range of corporate , global markets and institutional banking roles. More latterly he was Head of Group Sustainability at Standard Chartered. In 2007 Chris was seconded by Standard Chartered to work at Clarence House for HRH The Prince of Wales where he held the position of Chief Operating Officer of The Prince's Rainforest Project and Sustainable Development Advisor to The Offices and Household of HRH The Prince of Wales. Chris then spent two years at Management Consultant, Arthur D. Little where he led ADLs Sustainable Finance and ESG Risk Management team. Following this he left "employment" to pursue an entrepreneurial career within sustainable finance. He has worked extensively across the global south and has served on a range of advisory boards during his career and is an advisor to both UNEP-FI and UNDP. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Leicester.

Chris Smith

Managing Director

Jennifer Faust
Jennifer has nearly twenty years of institutional investment, development finance and international private equity experience. Jennifer currently also serves as an International Advisor to the United Nations/International Trade Centre's flagship program, the Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI). Previously, Jennifer was a Manager, Private Equity in the Investment Funds Department at the US's International Development Corporation (US DFC, formerly known as the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)) and was a Senior Vice President at 57 Stars (fka PCGI), an investment manager focused on partnership and co-investment in select private equity markets outside the United States. Jennifer started her career as a leading European equities analyst with SG Securities (SG Cowen) in London, England. Jennifer is also a regular speaker on private equity fund formation and marketing in addition to sustainability, ESG and impact investing. Jennifer holds a MSC in European Studies & EU Policy Making from the London School of Economics.

Jennifer Faust

Senior Advisor

Tenke Zoltani
Tenke Zoltani, Founder of Better Finance, is an expert in the field of impact investing, focusing on structuring, direct investments and portfolio integration of ESG principles. Tenke has over a decade of experience in the field of sustainable finance with a passion for the environment and sustainable living. Tenke founded Better Finance, a boutique advisory company to work with families and institutional investors to identify, design, implement and manage solutions to investing with impact from origination to execution. Tenke was also Director, Impact Investing at UBS where she built out the bank's impact advisory practice for UHNW individuals. Before joining UBS, Tenke was an Investment Manager at Islan Asset Management in Switzerland, advising global agribusiness Bunge, on direct investments, and implementing projects in frontier markets' food-water-energy sectors. Tenke built her expertise in London, consulting to governments and utilities on carbon finance and working alongside Lord Stern in climate research. Tenke holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Columbia University and a M.Sc. in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and is a CAIA Charterholder for alternative finance. Tenke was selected as a 2013 Global Economic Symposium Fellow. Tenke is a former Committee Member for 100 Women in Hedge Funds and an Executive Committee member of Sustainable Finance Geneva.

Tenke Zoltani

Senior Advisor

George Ioulianos
George is the City Finance Specialist for Greek and Cypriot cities within the European Commission’s NetZeroCities Initiative. He has over 20 years of experience in the provision of financial advisory and management consulting services, with expertise in business analysis and planning, project and company valuation, financial management, and raising financing through private equity and funding programmes. He started his career at Deloitte & Touche and since 2019 he held his own consulting practice. George is the founder of the first citizen’s company in Limassol (COCO Collective Ownership Company Limassol Ltd) that aims to make citizens the owners and leaders of the transition to a sustainable future. George holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, a master’s degree in finance and economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and an MBA from the Cyprus International Institute of Management. He is also a certified professional with the Cyprus Securities & Exchange Commission.

George Ioulianos

Vice President

Yoana Charliyska
Yoana brings nearly 15 years of experience working in various areas of marketing, corporate communications and performance optimisation gained in England, Scotland, and Austria. Yoana has worked at large-scale international organisations like Red Bull Media House (Salzburg), Aberdeenshire Council (Aberdeen), the European Parliament, Weber Shandwick PR and the BBC. Most recently Yoana has moved to supporting the digital presence of green brands and companies in the digital space. Yoanna’s experience also includes work as a freelance translator supporting public sector organisations in the UK. Yoana’s achievements include public speaking and writing awards, academic honours, scholarships, and accolades. Yoana holds a Bachelor’s degree with honours and a scholarship-funded Master's degree in Marketing from Canterbury Christ Church University, UK.

Yoana Charliyska

Vice President - Marketing

Nuno Meira
Nuno is a multilingual agriculture and food systems expert with over 25 years of experience across three continents in both the private and public sectors. His specialist knowledge includes developing solutions around sustainable finance, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and agricultural risk management (insurance, reinsurance, and microinsurance). His career has included work for major international and national organisations such as the International Finance Corporation/World Bank, the International Labour Organization, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), CGIAR, and InsuResilience Solutions Fund. He has also been appointed by the Portuguese government as an expert for Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) assessments on biodiversity. Nuno holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering from Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro and various professional certifications from institutions such as the London School of Economics, the University of Cambridge, and the Porto Business School.

Nuno Meira

Senior Advisor

Salome Warigah
Salome has close to two decades of experience in investment banking, corporate banking, and corporate finance, working in the dynamic and diverse financial markets of Africa. Her specialist expertise includes origination and structuring of equity and debt transactions in lending, private debt, private equity, capital markets, structured products, and project finance. She has held senior roles at various financial institutions, including most recently Head of Regional Corporates & Syndication for the East Africa Community at Ecobank Kenya Limited. Salome holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Finance) from United States International University – Africa, a Certificate in Financing Agribusiness Value Chain Programmes from Strathmore Business School, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Salome Warigah

Executive Director

Djellil Bouzidi
A passionate supporter of sustainable finance with more than 20 years of experience in capital markets and economics, Djellil is at the forefront of innovative sustainable finance. As a thought leader, he co-wrote a book about green financial innovation setting the ground for Sustainability-Linked instruments. Djellil founded Emena Advisory in 2012 to pursue his passion and worked for several investment banks prior to that. He is also a member of several leading think tanks and contributed to the first report on positive economy for the French president and to several reports for the G20 and French policy makers. He graduated from Catholic University of Leuven and holds a M.Sc. in financial markets from Paris Dauphine University and a Ph.D. in industrial economics from Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle University.

Djellil Bouzidi

Senior Advisor

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