Sustainability Talks

We’re heading to the movies for our latest episode of the ‘Sustainability Talks’ podcast. Our host and managing partner Rob Genieser sat down with Hollywood screenwriter and director Jeffrey Nachmanoff who wrote the screenplay for the 2004 blockbuster film 'The Day After Tomorrow'. The film depicts the catastrophic effects of climate change and the dawning of a new ice age.

Life often imitates art, but how much of the film’s predictions have come to pass? The answer is in places as chilling as the film's closing scenes. In this episode we explore Jeffrey’s journey into filmmaking, the science behind ‘The Day After Tomorrow’, and how telling fictional stories can have real-world resonance. 

Whether you’re a film enthusiast or a sustainability expert, this episode offers a unique perspective that combines the world of entertainment with pressing global issues. 

More About Jeffrey Nachmanoff

Jeffrey Nachmanoff was born and raised in Virginia and moved to London with his family as a teen. He majored in Visual Arts and English at Harvard, where he somehow convinced his instructors to give him credit for travelling with a family circus as a senior thesis. The photo-documentary book he made about the experience, a mix of black and white images and oral histories, convinced him that what he really wanted to do was tell stories with pictures. He subsequently went to USC film school and, after a brief stint as an editor, embarked on a career as a director and screenwriter. 

His big break came when he wrote the ecological disaster movie “The Day After Tomorrow.” He spent several years as a screenwriter before transitioning to writer/director on the feature film “Traitor,” an international espionage thriller starring Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce. 

Nachmanoff’s extensive television credits include directing the pilots for the dramas “Detroit 187” (ABC), “Chicago Fire” (NBC), and Hostages (CBS), which he also wrote and served as co-showrunner on for the series. In addition, he co-wrote the pilot for “Legends” (TNT). His episodic directing work includes “Homeland” (Showtime), “The Brave” (NBC), “The Passage” (FOX), “Lovecraft Country” (HBO), “Echo 3” (APPLE) and “Daredevil: Born Again” (MARVEL). He served as a consulting producer on Chicago PD (NBC) and directed the independent sci-fi feature “Replicas” (starring Keanu Reeves). He currently lives in Los Angeles with his family.

The team at ETF Partners presents 'Sustainability Talks', a new series featuring in-depth conversations with influential leaders from across the global sustainability, investment, and startup ecosystems. The podcast examines the biggest challenges and opportunities in delivering sustainable prosperity.

In this episode of Sustainability Talks, our Managing Partner Rob Genieser checks back in with Professor Tim Benton, Chair of Chatham House’s Climate Change Science programme, that works to develop evidence-based solutions for tackling climate change.  

Our regular listeners will remember that Professor Benton was a guest on the podcast back in March 2023. Tim is back to discuss the key points from COP28 and the prospects for climate investment and action in 2024. Tim shares his expert insights on how environmental risks impact societies and the strategies needed to mitigate, adapt to, and build resilience against these risks. Tim and Rob also discuss the ongoing challenges around food security, a pressing concern in the context of climate change.

About Professor Tim Benton

Professor Tim G. Benton leads the Environment and Society Centre at Chatham House. He joined Chatham House in 2016 as a distinguished visiting fellow, at which time he was also dean of strategic research initiatives at the University of Leeds. From 2011–16 he was the ‘champion’ of the UK’s Global Food Security programme which was a multi-agency partnership of the UK’s public bodies (government departments, devolved governments and research councils) with an interest in the challenges around food.

As a leading expert on food security and food systems, he has worked with UK governments, the EU, G20 and a range of other governments around the world, as well as leading businesses and civil society organizations, and has conducted many foresight exercises on the future of food systems, how to increase their resilience to climate change, reduce their environmental footprints and increase public health through nutrition. He has been a global agenda steward of the World Economic Forum and was an author of the IPCC’s Special Report on Food, Land and Climate (2019), and the UK’s Climate Change Risk Assessment (2017, 2022).

He has published more than 200 academic papers, many tackling how systems respond to environmental change. He has an h-index of 83, and >35,000 citations on GoogleScholar. His work on sustainability leadership has been recognized with an honorary fellowship of the UK’s Society for the Environment, and a doctorate honoris causa from the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. He also remains a (part-time) Research Professor at the University of Leeds.

In this episode, we had the privilege of hosting the insightful Maryam Golnaraghi, Director of Climate Change & Environment at The Geneva Association. With a 25-year career spanning executive leadership, entrepreneurship, and advisory roles in private and public sectors, Maryam is a seasoned expert.

In this episode, Maryam joins our managing partner Patrick Sheehan for a lively and in-depth conversation about her fascinating journey into the realms of sustainability and the transformative projects she has spearheaded.

About Maryam Golnaraghi

It's time for our latest episode of Sustainability Talks and we're thrilled to have our Partner & Head of Sustainability & Investor Relations Zoë VanderWolk hosting this episode. Zoe is joined by strategist, investor and serial entrepreneur Azeem Azhar. Zoe and Azeem discuss the intricate dynamics shaping the future of sustainability startups and VCs. They explore thought provoking topics such as how ESG factors are influencing investment decisions and the potential of technology as a catalyst for sustainable innovation. They also discuss the challenges and opportunities startups face while embedding sustainability into their business models.

In this episode of 'Sustainability Talks' our managing partner Patrick Sheehan sits down with Dame Elizabeth Corley, Chair of the Impact Investing Institute and is a Non-Executive Director of BAE Systems plc. 

Among the topics Patrick and Elizabeth discuss in this episode are how Elizabeth became involved in sustainability, why she believes impact investing is the future of capital markets, how to create coherence around different ESG and sustainability initiatives and the role that tech and data has to play.

Elizabeth also talks about being a published author of crime thrillers in her spare time and the relationship between creativity and business.

About Dame Elizabeth Corley 

Elizabeth is Chair of the Impact Investing Institute and is a Non-Executive Director of BAE Systems plc. She was appointed Chair of Schroders plc in April 2022 having joined the Board in September 2021.

Elizabeth has extensive experience in the financial services industry having been CEO of Allianz Global Investors, initially for Europe then globally, from 2005 to 2016. She continued to act as an advisor to the company until the end of 2019. Elizabeth was previously at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (formerly Mercury Asset Management), Coopers & Lybrand and Sun Alliance. Elizabeth is active in representing the investment industry and developing standards within it.

She is a director of the Green Finance Institute; serves on the investment committee of the Leverhulme Trust; is a member of the CFA Future of Finance Advisory Council, AQR Asset Management Institute, the Committee of 200 and the 300 Club.

As well as being a trustee of the British Museum, Elizabeth is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and is also a published author of crime thrillers. She was awarded a CBE in January 2015 and a DBE in June 2019 for services to the economy and financial services.

In this episode of the Sustainability Talks podcast our Managing Partner Patrick Sheehan sits down with Michael Liebreich, Co Managing Partner EcoPragma Capital and Chairman and CEO of Liebreich Associates.

Michael and Patrick discuss the technological revolution required to make the transition to net zero possible. Michael also shares his thoughts on the challenges that we still face with energy demand, why traditional renewables are only part of the picture and why continued innovation and new technology is vital in ensuring energy resilience.

Michael also shares his thoughts and predictions for what the future holds in terms of global emissions, global temperature levels and how close we are to achieving net zero. 

About  Michael Liebreich

Michael Liebreich is Co Managing Partner EcoPragma Capital and Chairman and CEO of Liebreich Associates. He is also a senior contributor to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the world’s leading provider of research on clean energy and transport, which he founded in 2004. He led it up to its sale to Bloomberg in 2009 and beyond, acting as Chairman of the Advisory Board until 2017.

He serves on the UK Department of International Trade's Advisory Board on Overseas Investment in Infrastructure. He is Chairman of the Advisory Board of Ecovillages, a Swiss charity he founded to focus on sustainability of mountain communities and is Visiting Professor at Imperial College Energy Futures Lab. He also chairs smart mobility startup Zeelo and is a technology investor.

Between 2012 and 2018 Michael served as a Board Member of Transport for London. He was a member of the high-level Advisory Group for the UN Secretary General’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative and Founder of Finance for Resilience (FiRe). He was the Chairman for ten years of St. Mark’s Hospital Foundation, a charity supporting research in colorectal medicine.

Michael is a three-time finalist in the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, and winner of Lifetime Achievement Award from the Renewable Energy Association and GreenBusiness.

Earlier in his career, Michael acted as Deputy Managing Director of Associated Press Television and Founding Director of Sports News Television and was UK Managing Director of Groupe Arnault’s technology investment arm. Before that, he was an associate and manager at McKinsey & Co.

Michael graduated in Engineering from the University of Cambridge with 1st class honours, winning the Ricardo Prize for Thermodynamics and Christ’s College Wyatt Prize. He has an MBA from Harvard, where he was a Harkness Fellow and Baker Scholar. He was a member of the British Olympic Ski Team in 1992.

Welcome to the latest episode of Sustainability Talks. In this episode our host Rob Genieser, Managing Partner of ETF Partners, is joined by Antonis Schwarz, an impact investor, philanthropist and impact investing consultant of Greek-German descent. 

In this episode of Sustainability Talks, our Managing Partner Rob Genieser sits down with Dr. Konstantinos Kyriakopoulos to talk about one of the big issues of our time; AI and its potential role in making one of the world’s most critical industries more sustainable. Recognised in 2020 by Forbes as one of its ‘30 under 30’, Konstantinos is a globally respected figure in cutting-edge AI solutions as well as being a visionary CEO. Whether you’re interested in sustainability or AI generally or specifically in the intersection of AI and sustainability, this one is for you.

About Dr. Konstantinos Kyriakopoulos

Konstantinos Kyriakopoulos is a Greek entrepreneur and the co-founder of DeepSea AI, a cutting-edge startup that develops artificial intelligence solutions for the maritime industry. Kyriakopoulos obtained his Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) in 2011. Following this, he pursued his Master's degree in Robotics, Systems and Control from ETH Zurich, where he gained a deep understanding of robotics and artificial intelligence.

After completing his studies, Kyriakopoulos worked as a researcher and software engineer at various companies, including SAP and CERN, where he gained valuable experience in software development and big data analysis.In 2017, Kyriakopoulos co-founded DeepSea AI with a vision to revolutionise the maritime industry with advanced AI technology.

As the CEO of DeepSea AI, he oversees the development of the company's AI-driven solutions for optimizing vessel performance, reducing fuel consumption, and enhancing safety at sea.Kyriakopoulos has received numerous awards and recognition for his work at DeepSea AI, including being named on Forbes 30 Under 30 in Europe in the Technology category in 2020. His passion for AI and commitment to solving real-world problems has made him a respected figure in the tech industry.

In this episode of Sustainability Talks, ETF Managing Partner Rob Genieser sits down with Professor Tim G. Benton who leads the Environment and Society Programme at Chatham House.  

Chatham House needs little introduction. It is one of the world’s most storied and highest-ranked think tanks. As well known for producing world-class research and hosting world-leaders as for the eponymous Chatham House rule, a rule which has helped facilitate countless debates and free-flowing discussions on the issues that shape our world. The Environment and Society Programme, which Tim leads, focuses on how environmental risks affect societies, and strategies to mitigate, adapt and build resilience to these risks.

Rob and Tim discuss where climate sits relative to the other geopolitical issues the world is facing, how rising inflation and interest rates are affecting environmental investment, the future of food security and how changing political administrations will (or won’t) affect different nation's environmental foreign policies. 

About Professor Tim Benton

Tim joined Chatham House in 2016 as a distinguished visiting fellow, at which time he was also dean of strategic research initiatives at the University of Leeds. From 2011-2016 he was the ‘champion’ of the UK’s Global Food Security programme which was a multi-agency partnership of the UK’s public bodies (government departments, devolved governments and research councils) with an interest in the challenges around food.

He has worked with UK governments, the EU and G20. He has been a global agenda steward of the World Economic Forum, and is an author of the IPCC’s Special Report on Food, Land and Climate (2019), and the UK’s Climate Change Risk Assessment (2017, 2022). He has published more than 150 academic papers, many tackling how systems respond to environmental change. His work on sustainability leadership has been recognized with an honorary fellowship of the UK’s Society for the Environment, and a doctorate honoris causa from the Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium.

In this episode of Sustainability Talks our founder and managing partner Patrick Sheehan sits down with Philipp Rose, Managing Director of Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH (RBVC), the corporate venture company of Robert Bosch GmbH, one of the largest private companies worldwide with more than 70 billion Euros of sales. Founded in 1886, Bosch is a leading global supplier of automotive, industrial technology, consumer goods and building technology.

Philipp is responsible for all commercial aspects of RBVC besides being one of the investment partners of RBVC. Focus areas for him are Portfolio Management, Funds investments, financial / legal / tax issues and coordination with the Bosch Group. 

Prior to joining RBVC in 2014 Philipp held various General Manager or CFO positions in different Bosch subsidiaries. He joined Bosch in 2003 after gaining many years of extensive experience in M&A execution at Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan, both in Frankfurt and London. Philipp holds a diploma degree in business administration from the University of Regensburg, Germany.

Patrick snd Philipp discuss how RBVC is supporting start-ups around the world whose technologies have the potential to improve quality of life and conserve natural resources. We also discuss Robert Bosch itself and its ambitions and achievements in becoming carbon neutral. 

In this episode of Sustainability Talks, our founder and managing partner Patrick Sheehan sits down with Simon Mundy, the author of 'Race for Tomorrow', a book about the global fight to respond to climate change.

Simon spent two years travelling through six continents to tell the stories of the diverse cast of characters locked in this historic struggle to combat climate change – from communities hit by extreme physical shifts, to business leaders grappling with the implications for the world economy.

Born in the UK, Simon has reported for the Financial Times since 2010, and was recently appointed Moral Money Editor – covering the push for a cleaner and more sustainable world economy for the award-winning Moral Money platform and across the wider FT. Simon started his career in Johannesburg, where he joined the FT to cover Southern Africa. After a stint as a corporate reporter in London he spent seven years in Asia, heading the FT bureaux in Seoul and then Mumbai.

In this conversation Patrick and Simon discuss Simon's experience as a leading voice at the crossroads of sustainability, finance and innovation and dig into to some of the examples of entrepreneurs across Europe delivering sustainability through innovation. They also discuss Simon's broader experience writing about environmental issues and his first hand experiences that inspired his book 'Race for Tomorrow'. 

'Race for Tomorrow' is now on sale in 40 countries. Find out more here: https://www.simonmundy.com/book 

In this episode of Sustainability Talks, recorded in December 2021, we talk to Shell’s then Executive Vice President of Strategy and Portfolio and now their Strategy, Sustainability and Corporate Relations Director, Ed Daniels.

The global context has obviously changed significantly in the relatively short time since recording this episode but the conversation still contains many important insights.  Ed is uniquely placed to talk with us about change in the energy industry. We discuss the rapidly accelerating pace of change and aim to answer some key questions including…

• Can the global energy incumbents be leaders in the transition to clean energy?
• Do they really want to be?
• Will their ownership of historic assets actually become a disadvantage?
• How can they possibly get to net zero?
• Is energy simply going electric?

This was a fascinating discussion with Ed and we hope you enjoy listening.

Leading this conversation with Ed are our managing partners Patrick Sheehan and Rob Genieser.

About Ed Daniels

Ed joined Shell in 1988 and has held roles in Shell’s Upstream, Integrated Gas, Downstream and Projects & Technology businesses. He previously served as Shell’s UK Country Chair, and in his most recent role as Executive Vice President Strategy, Portfolio & Sustainability, he led the development of the company’s ‘Powering Progress’ strategy to drive the decarbonisation of the energy system and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

A British national, Ed grew up in Wales and is married with three daughters. Outside of Shell, he has served as the Technical Vice President for the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), is a Fellow at both the IChemE and the UK Royal Academy of Engineering, and has an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Imperial College London. In 2022, Ed Daniels was appointed Strategy, Sustainability and Corporate Relations Director.

In this episode of Sustainability Talks, we’re talking to Mark Zanoli, the Global Chairman of Technology Banking at Barclays Corporate & Investment Bank. Mark has over 25 years of experience within tech banking in Silicon Valley.

We talk to Mark about the banner year 2021 was for tech companies, how digital technologies are enabling and driving change across a wide range of industries at increasing speed, and the need for sustainability that has also been driving this rapid change.

Leading this conversation with Mark are our managing partner Rob Genieser and our partner Remy de Tonnac.

About Mark Zanoli

Mark Zanoli has over 25 years of technology investment banking experience. He started his investment banking career in 1993 at Hambrecht & Quist (H&Q), one of the original boutique banks focused on technology public offerings and M&A. After H&Q was acquired by JP Morgan (Chase) in 2000, Mark went on to lead the company's technology banking practice. In 2010 Mark left JP Morgan to restart UBS’s technology banking effort.

Mark has led a number of notable M&A transactions, including; HP’s $14 billion acquisition of EDS, Photonics sale to Ouster, RideOS sale to goPuff, Netscreen’s $4 billion acquisition by Juniper and Silicon Spice’s $1.2 billion sale to Broadcom.

He has been a Financial Advisor in Public Debut (De-Spac) of Ouster, to Gores Guggenheim in the acquisition of Polestar, in the Public Debut (De-Spac) of Lilium and has led a number of important IPOs and Debt offerings for companies such as Airbnb, Apple, Cisco, Citrix, Pinterest, F5 Networks, Rivian, zScaler, Google and Service Now. 

Mark joined Barclays Investment Bank in 2018 as Vice Chairman of Technology Banking and in 2021 was appointed as Global Chairman.

In this episode of ‘Sustainability Talks’ host Patrick Sheehan (Founder & Managing Partner, ETF Partners) is joined by special guests Uli Grabenwarter (Deputy Director, Equity Investments, EIF) & Christian Motzfeldt (former CEO of Vaekstfonden) to explore how we can achieve "A new, greener Europe?" This discussion was originally recorded on 18th November 2020 as part of ETF Partners' 2nd Annual Investor Meeting.

In this episode of ‘Sustainability Talks’ hosts Patrick Sheehan (Founder & Managing Partner, ETF Partners), Rob Genieser (Managing Partner, ETF Partners) and Remy de Tonnac (Partner, ETF Partners) are joined by special guest Vikram S. Gandhi to discuss "Investing: Risk, Reward, and Impact." This discussion was originally recorded on 18th November 2020 as part of ETF Partners' 2nd Annual Investor Meeting.

In this episode of ‘Sustainability Talks’ hosts Patrick Sheehan and Rob Genieser, Managing Partners at ETF Partners are joined by special guest Lord John Browne, ex CEO of BP to discuss the future of energy in a world going digital. This discussion was originally recorded on 19th November 2020 as part of ETF Partners' 2nd Annual Investor Meeting.

­Lord Browne is a Senior Advisor at General Atlantic on climate and Net Zero, providing strategic support and advice to the firm’s investment teams and portfolio companies. He served as Group Chief Executive of international energy company BP from 1995 to 2007, after having joined the company in 1966 as a university apprentice. He led the company through a period of significant growth and transformation, including BP’s merger with Amoco in 1998.