Fellows

Professor Themba Maseko is a steadfast leader who has dedicated his life to serve the country and build a more equitable world. He leverages his diverse experience to lead the Wits School of Governance to produce the next generation of leaders in society and the public sector.

His distinguished career includes being the founding Superintendent-General of the Gauteng Department of Education, former Director General in the departments of Public Work, Public Service and Administration, CEO of Government Communications and Information System and Cabinet Spokesperson.

An academic career at Cambridge University and Imperial College London and eight years in industry at Rolls-Royce plc led to 10 years as Vice-Chancellor of Aston University in Birmingham, before joining the House of Lords as a Crossbench Peer in 2016, where she has served on the Europe Select Committee, chaired the Science and Technology Select Committee and now sits on the Intelligence and Security Committee.

Jessica Smith is Head of Nature at the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), leading efforts to integrate nature across global finance. She played a key role in establishing the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and advancing financial sector engagement in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. She co-authored the “Finance for Nature Positive” working model and has developed extensive technical guidance on nature risks and opportunities.

Stef is a qualified lawyer, practicing in South Africa in the 1980s in human rights law. In 1994 he transitioned to alternative dispute resolution and participated in numerous change processes as South Africa entered its transition. In 1999 he attended COP5 and afterwards established a climate NGO, SouthSouthNorth, which brought 6 global South countries into collaboration on various climate projects.

Khanyi Mlambo is passionate about driving sustainability and shared value principles for businesses to purposefully pursue sustainable growth while positively impacting customers, society, and the environment. She is the MD of KM ESH consulting, an Independent Sustainability Consultant, a Facilitator, a Transformational Executive Coach and a Speaker.  Her career spans over 30 years across multinational businesses, including Old Mutual as Head of Responsible Business, Standard Bank Group, and Corobrik, as an Executive Director and Board member. 
 

Visiting Professor Cranfield University UK. Formerly Head of Innovation Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2010-2018) and Senior Lecturer at University of Exeter (2019 and 2020) My focus is circular economy and systems thinking with an especial interest in policy and in building and construction.

Christoph Baumann is Deputy Head Strategy Division & Envoy for Sustainable Finance at the Swiss State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF). In this role, he leads the Swiss government's sustainable finance activities, ranging from negotiations in multilateral bodies to domestic initiatives. Christoph is co-chair of the International Platform on Sustainable Finance’s Working Group on Transition Finance, Switzerland’s G20 Finance DD, and head of the Swiss delegation for the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group.

Giorgio is Assistant Director and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Business Research, Cambridge Judge Business School, and Fellow of St Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge. He is also a Fellow and Supervisor at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Giorgio’s research examines the role of financial and non-financial firms in sustainable economic development, monetary policy transmission, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Clare has been at the nexus of sustainable development, organizational change and culture for over three decades. She was previously Director and CEO of The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Prior to that Clare was Vice President at Salzburg Global Seminar where she worked with senior leaders, intergenerational teams and Fellows from nearly 180 countries and led multi-year programs, partnerships and networks.

As Senior Climate Specialist within the Climate Scenarios & Sustainability team, Bronwyn is responsible for continuous research and innovation in climate scenario analysis technology with a focus on overseeing communication about the policy, macroeconomic, and financial i