Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Emilie Esposito
The Wharton Club of the U.K., the Wharton Club of Greece and The Wharton Club of Geneva are organising an online event where we will have a deep dive on how key environmental and social issues are being tackled in innovative ways, mixing public and private money.
Who is responsible to tackle these pressing issues? How are the traditional institutional and philanthropist landscapes adapting as private investors are increasingly interested in generating impact?
We will discuss with philanthropist and impact investor Bernd Wendeln, CDC (world’s first impact investor, backed by the U.K. Government) Deputy CIO Yasemin Lamy and Credit Suisse Chief Sustainability Officer Marisa Drew what are the most effective ways to generate impact. The event will be moderated by U.K. club’s Board Member Emilie Esposito, and introduced by Greek club President Ion Tsakonas.
The event will be virtual on February 23rd (CHANGE OF DATE) at 7pm U.K. time.
Bernd Wendeln
Impact Investor
Bernd co-founded and is Chairman of WEGA, the single family office of the Wendeln family. According to the endowment model, WEGA invests its funds across all different asset classes with a high emphasis on alternative assets like Private Equity and Hedge Funds. Social impact investing is one of his passions. Bernd is chairman of BonVenture, a social venture capital fund for Germany, he co-founded in 2004. In 2011 he also co-founded the Social Entrepreneurship Academy (SEA), a joint venture of the four large universities in Munich to foster social Entrepreneurship. In addition, Bernd invests in young technology and impact companies with his own venture vehicle WENVEST Capital.
Bernd holds a BA from Munich Business School and an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, for which he currently serves as chairman of the EMEA Alumni board.
Marisa Drew
CSO of Credit Suisse
Marisa Drew is responsible for setting the sustainable strategy and ambition for the bank and for creating and facilitating sustainable investments on behalf of Credit Suisse's wealth management, institutional and corporate clients.
Marisa has been with Credit Suisse for 18 years and in the investment banking industry for over 30 years. Prior to this, she was the Co-Head of the Investment Banking and Capital Markets Division, EMEA.
Marisa serves on the advisory boards of numerous leadership, sustainability and civil society organizations, including the Aspen Institute UK, Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy, the FCA’s Markets Practitioner’s Panel and several High Level Working Groups (HLGs) sponsored by WEF and the UN, including serving as co-chair of the HLG for Humanitarian Aid and the Oceans Panel.
Her external activities also include serving on the Board of Sunrise Communications AG and the EMEA Advisory Boards of The Wharton School and charity Room-to-Read.
Yasemin Lamy
Deputy CIO of CDC
Yasemin is Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Head of Asset Allocation and Capital Solutions at CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution. She began her investment career at JPMorgan in London, covering first derivatives and then as a founding member of JPMorgan’s impact investment business. Subsequently, she joined Omidyar Network to build a new portfolio focused on digital identity, and a future-sensing capability. She has been a leader in impact investing for over a decade and almost 20 years in financial services, specialising in catalytic capital, innovation and transformation. Her work spans public and private markets, across debt, equity and fund products and across sectors, focused on Africa and Asia. She also serves as a trustee and chair of the impact investment committee for Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Foundation in London.
Yasemin has published and lectured widely on impact investment, and provided expert advice to the OECD, World Economic Forum and others. She holds a Masters in Financial Mathematics from King’s College, London and a Bachelor in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania. She is endlessly curious, equally enjoys novels and studying AI in her spare time and loves bringing a sense of humour to work.
