What makes something sustainable? It’s fulfilling the needs of today without compromising the potential of tomorrow. That can be businesses reducing carbon footprints; rethinking talent pipelines and governance strategies to build a workforce and leadership more reflective of the communities being served; it can be eschewing short term gains and the cheap wins in the market in place of long term returns for shareholders and stakeholders. CNBC Sustainable Returns looks at how business leaders and investors can make sustainability a fundamental part of their strategy, not just for the greater good, but for greater profit.
Lone Fønss Schrøder is Volvo Cars vice chair. With extensive executive experience ranging from large cap companies in a broad range of industries and banks, Fonss Schroder is also Director at IKEA and Ikano Bank, Geely Sweden Holdings AB, Companies in the AKER Group and Global Advisor for Service Now. She recently served as the CEO of Concordium, where she launched the Concordium permissionless decentralized blockchain. After stepping down as CEO this past February, Lone now serves as a board member of the Concordium foundation.
Steven Williams is the Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo Foods North America. He is a 24-year veteran of PepsiCo with strong leadership experience across the food industry. PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $86 billion in net revenue in 2022, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
As the CEO of PepsiCo Foods North America, Steven Williams oversees all aspects of PepsiCo’s nearly $21 billion snack and convenient foods business in North America, including Frito-Lay North America (FLNA) and Quaker Foods North America (QFNA), with a diversified portfolio of iconic brands, including: Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Tostitos, Ruffles, Fritos, Stacy’s Pita Chips, SunChips and Quaker Oats. In this role, Steven is accountable for more than 65,000 associates and over 500 locations across the United States and Canada.
Steven, a 24-year PepsiCo veteran, has served as CEO since March 2019. Prior to this role, Steven served as senior vice president and chief commercial officer for Frito-Lay’s U.S. organization, setting strategy and overseeing all commercial activities for the U.S. field sales and customer organization, in addition to leading a large multi-functional sales organization, spanning all Frito-Lay retail customers, sales channels and go-to-market systems.
Steven also previously served as senior vice president and general manager for Frito-Lay’s East division where he was responsible for the overall business and performance management for the six geographic regions in the Eastern U.S.
Earlier in his tenure at PepsiCo, Steven led the company’s global Walmart business, managing the PepsiCo portfolio of products across all aspects of the Walmart Business worldwide, including: Walmart U.S., Sam’s Club, and Walmart International Divisions. In this role, he built strong strategic partnership and delivered significant retail sales and share growth in Walmart.
Steven joined PepsiCo in 2001 as part of PepsiCo’s acquisition of the Quaker Oats Company, which he joined in 1997, and has held leadership positions of increased responsibility across PepsiCo in sales, general management, customer management, sales planning and shopper marketing, gaining deep experience and building a proven track record of strong results.
Steven is a member of the board of directors of State Farm Mutual Automobile Company and is very active in the community, serving on the executive advisory board for the Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business, the president’s advisory board for University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, in addition to being a current Board Chair of United Way in Dallas; and 2024-2025 Campaign Chair during United Way of Metropolitan Dallas’ Centennial year.
Mr. Grabel manages the multibillion-dollar defined benefit pension fund on behalf of LACERA's active and retired members. He also oversees the investments for the LACERA-administered healthcare benefits program.
Prior to LACERA, Mr. Grabel was the CIO for New Mexico PERA, where he oversaw the investments for the agency’s $15 billion defined benefit fund and the associated PERA SmartSave deferred compensation plan. Previously, he was a general partner at a private equity firm focused on growth-stage investments in technology, networking industries, and digital communications. Earlier in his career, Mr. Grabel was an investment banker and licensed CPA (inactive). He received his Bachelor of Science in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Dr. Sadek Wahba is Chairman and Managing Partner of I Squared Capital, an independent global infrastructure investment manager based in Miami, Florida. He was previously at Morgan Stanley where he was the CEO of Morgan Stanley Infrastructure, a global platform for infrastructure investments.A former economist at The World Bank, Sadek is an advocate for transformative approaches to infrastructure investment and a frequent commentator about the need for more investment in infrastructure to promote sustainable economic growth. He was part of the expert committee on the World Economic Forum's first report on global infrastructure investments and was named Global Infrastructure Personality of the Year twice, as well as Global Infrastructure Personality of the Decade, by Private Equity International (PEI). He appears regularly on national networks including Bloomberg and CNBC. In September 2022, President Biden appointed Sadek to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, which advises the White House on reducing the physical and cyber risks and improving the security and resilience of critical infrastructure in the U.S.He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University, an M.Sc. in economics from the London School ofEconomics (LSE) and a B.A. in economics from the American University in Cairo. He is a published author on economic research and one of his publications was selected by MIT as one of their 50 most influential papers in the last 50 years. Sadek is a Senior Fellow at the Development Research Institute ofNew York University, a Foundation Fellow of St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford and a trustee of the American University in Cairo. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, he is also a member of the national cabinet of the Wilson Center, and chair of the steering committee of the Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition at the Wilson Center. He resides inMiami, Florida where he is a member of the board of directors of the Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute and a trustee of the Everglades Foundation.
Jim Greffet has led ESG efforts at Lilly since September 2020. In this capacity, he oversees implementation of Lilly ESG strategy, has responsibility for coordinating ESG-related communications, and organizing and leading ESG stakeholder interactions. In a significant advancement of Lilly’s approach, Jim led the development of Lilly’s ESG portal, a comprehensive source for ESG strategy, goals and results. Jim also chairs the ESG Governance Committee at Lilly, which is a central body for development and execution of ESG priorities and communication to the Executive Committee and Board of Directors.
Prior to his current role, Jim spent two years as a loaned executive to Elanco Animal Health, which was spun out of Lilly in an IPO in 2018. Jim served as the Vice President of Investor Relations at Elanco. He was responsible for leading all interactions with Sell-Side Analysts and Buy-Side Investors, including preparation of Earnings materials, participation in Investor Conferences, Non Deal Roadshows and investor visits to Elanco Headquarters. He conducted investor outreach and targeting to build understanding of the Elanco investment thesis. He worked closely with External Communications to provide consistent external dialogue and to prepare Elanco Senior Executives on key topics and messaging on relevant issues. In 2020, Jim was ranked the number one IR leader for mid-cap pharmaceuticals by Institutional Investor.
Prior to the role at Elanco, Jim spent 18 years at Lilly, holding numerous positions of increasing responsibility, including an assignment in Corporate Business Development, managing Lilly’s Venture Capital portfolio. Jim has also served as the Chief Financial Officer of Lilly Canada, Senior Director of Finance for Lilly Research Laboratories, Manager of Investor Relations, Manager of Treasury Planning and Strategy, Senior Human Resources Representative and Senior Financial Analyst.
Prior to joining Lilly, Mr. Greffet was a Consulting Manager for KPMG Consulting in Indianapolis, Indiana and St. Louis, Missouri.
In 2003, Jim earned a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Chicago and in 1991 received a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Indiana University. He passed the CPA exam in 1991.
Logan Duran is a sustainability management professional who helps organizations measure, reduce, and communicate their ESG impacts across the value chain. His experience covers several subject areas including circularity, product and supply chain responsibility, traceability, carbon mitigation, renewable energy, and reporting.
Originally from Chicago, IL, he holds a master’s degree in sustainability management from Columbia University in New York City and a joint BA in Environmental Studies and Geology from Middlebury College in Vermont.
Dr. Gayle Schueller is 3M’s Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer. Gayle started in 3M’s corporate laboratory as a product development engineer and has over 29 years of technical and business leadership experience. Her career spans a broad range of businesses from electronics to healthcare to consumer industries. She has led technical and business teams from around the world including Europe, Asia, Latin America and North America.
Gayle’s previous assignments include Vice President of New Platforms for Growth and Commercialization, Directora General for 3M Mexico, Vice President for Global Sustainability, and Vice President of Research & Development and Design for 3M’s Consumer and Office Business.
She is passionate about making a positive impact in the world through science and technology.
Brian Stafford is Chief Executive Officer of Diligent Corporation. Brian assumed the role of CEO in March 2015 and is responsible for all day-to-day operations, with a focus on accelerating global growth and incorporating scale into the business in order to seamlessly manage the growth.
Brian previously served as a Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he founded and led their Growth Stage Tech Practice. While there, he concentrated on helping Growth Stage Technology companies scale faster and did extensive work with Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies, focusing on growth strategy, sales operations and strategy, pricing, international growth strategy and team building. Prior to his tenure at McKinsey, Brian was the Founder, President and CEO of CarOrder, a division of Trilogy Software based in Austin, Texas.
Brian holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from the University of Chicago and a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He currently lives in Manhattan.
Bonita Stewart is a Board Partner at Gradient Ventures.
In her role, Bonita will advise companies across our portfolio, help hone their go-to-market, and help with Gradient’s board practice.
Bonita comes to Gradient from Google’s Global Partnerships team, where she spent the last seven years overseeing partnerships for the largest US publishers across search, news, media/entertainment, commerce, and mobile apps. Prior to Google, Bonita had an extensive automotive career where she led Chrysler brand advertising, Chrysler Group Interactive Communications, and had a 10-year management career with IBM. Over the past several years she has been recognized for her leadership and most recently, co-authored a book called A Blessing: Women of Color Teaming Up to Lead, Empower and Thrive and released the 2020 Women of Color in Business Cross-Generational Survey.
Bonita serves on two public boards: Deckers and PagerDuty. She co-founded two companies, NiaOnline and One Moment in Time, and is an investor in Operator Collective and Female Founders Fund. Bonita graduated magna cum laude from Howard University and received her MBA from Harvard Business School.
William McDonough is a globally recognized leader in sustainable design and development. He co-authored Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things (2002), widely recognized as a seminal text of both the sustainability and the Circular Economy design movements, followed by The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability–Designing for Abundance (2013).
Through McDonough Innovation, McDonough advises commercial and government leaders worldwide on ESG, sustainability, Circular Economy, and design of products and facilities. He has worked with CEOs from companies such as Ford Motor Company, Gap, Google, Herman Miller, Hero MotoCorp, Proctor & Gamble, Starbucks, Unilever and Walmart.
He is also an architect with William McDonough + Partners, a firm known for having designed notable landmark buildings in the sustainability movement. Through his third firm, MBDC, he co-created the Cradle to Cradle Certified® Products Program and co-founded the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, which administers the program today. The product standard is recognized by the world’s leading retailers, including Amazon, Home Depot, Walgreens and Walmart.
He has been active with the World Economic Forum for 25 years and served as the inaugural chair of WEF Meta-Council on the Circular Economy. In 2016, McDonough articulated a "New Language for Carbon" for human use as living, durable and fugitive carbon in the journal Nature as "Carbon is Not The Enemy." He articulated the Circular Carbon Economy as a design framework at G20, 2020 and is developing a granular approach to applying Circular Carbon Economy principles to products.
McDonough received the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development (1996), the first U.S. EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award (2003), and the National Design Award. In 1999, Time magazine recognized him as a “Hero for the Planet,” noting: “His utopianism is grounded in a unified philosophy that—in demonstrable and practical ways—is changing the design of the world.” In 2019 Fortune magazine named him one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.
Priscilla Sims Brown is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Amalgamated Bank. Ms. Brown is a multi-national board director and C-suite executive with 30 years of financial services experience. Prior to joining Amalgamated Bank she was the Group Executive for Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, where she focused on rebuilding trust and pride in the bank with direct responsibility for end-to-end marketing, branding, stakeholder insights, government and public affairs, and environment and social policy.
Prior to Commonwealth Bank, Ms. Brown held senior positions at AXA Financial, Inc., Sun Life Financial, and Lincoln Financial Group. She has advised several digital startups and served as the Chief Executive Officer of Emerge.me, a digital health insurance broker.
She was a member of the AXA Financial US Executive Committee, serving as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), where she directed all aspects of US marketing and led global digital marketing initiatives. Prior to AXA Financial, Ms. Brown served as CMO at AmeriHealth/Caritas, where she developed a new go-to-market strategy for the largest Blue Cross/Blue Shield Medicaid company in response to the Affordable Care Act. At Sun Life, Ms. Brown served as CMO and Chief Strategist, where she negotiated and managed Sun Life Stadium naming rights, Pro Bowl, Super Bowl and other major events with the Miami Dolphins NFL football team.
During her 18-year tenure at Lincoln Financial Group, Ms. Brown held numerous leadership positions where she integrated acquired companies, established new businesses and led the consumer brand. She established the firm’s first investment management profit center, targeting midsized insurance companies. She also started and chaired Lincoln’s first family of standalone mutual funds and served as president of the broker-dealer. Ms. Brown also led the investor relations function, before expanding her responsibilities to include corporate and strategic marketing.
For the past three years, she served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (‘TIAA’), a US Fortune 100 financial services firm with over $1.2 trillion in assets under management. She served on the TIAA Investment, Nominating and Governance, and Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility committees, as well as Trustee and CEO selection subcommittees.
Ms. Brown’s personal and professional experiences have enabled her to reach across cultural boundaries to ensure collaboration among diverse teams and drive successful outcomes for organizations.
As Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer for WM, Tara Hemmer is responsible for growing sustainable service offerings, including recycling, renewable energy and organics. In addition, she oversees all environmental, social impact and governance initiatives. She was previously Senior Vice President, Field Operations for the southern part of North America, including oversight of collection, disposal, recycling and landfills. She is a member of the Company’s senior leadership team, led by Jim Fish, President and Chief Executive Officer. Hemmer joined the company in 1999 and progressed through various leadership roles across North America including Vice President of Disposal Operations, Area Vice President for the Greater Mid-Atlantic Area, and most recently Senior Vice President of Operations, Safety and Environmental Compliance. She also serves on the board of the Environmental Research and Education Foundation. Hemmer graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Prior to being named vice president of Investor Relations & ESG for Williams, Danilo Juvane served as a Midstream Equity Research Analyst for BMO Capital Markets in Houston, where he led the equity research platform covering U.S. midstream C-corps and MLPs, including Williams. He brings more than 20 years of experience in the financial markets, with extensive knowledge of the energy sector and global equity markets. He was ranked #2 Stock Picker within the Oil, Gas and Consumable Fuels Category in Starmine’s 2019 U.S. Analyst Awards and was recognized as a “Rising Star” by Institutional Investor in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Juvane earned his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Grinnell College.
Louis Lazzara is a senior research analyst for EIP’s Funds. Prior to joining EIP in 2018, he worked as a research analyst for both Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors and Citigroup Global Markets where he provided research of the North American midstream energy sector. From 2003 to 2009, he worked for Fitch Ratings as a Director of their Structured Credit and Fund and Asset Manager Rating groups. Prior thereto, he was a CPA and senior associate in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ financial services group focusing on audits of mutual and hedge funds. Lou earned a BS degree in accountancy from Villanova University in 2000 and an MBA from both Columbia Business School and London Business School in 2008.
Hanchen Wang is a Securities Analyst, responsible for the Energy Infrastructure sector, on the Global Infrastructure Securities team of the Liquid Real Assets business within DWS; he also leads the team’s research and overall coverage efforts across Environmental, Social, and Governance topics. The team manages approximately US$15bn in assets across listed global infrastructure equities. Hanchen joined the Company in 2017 with 3 years of industry experience. Prior to joining the Company, Hanchen worked as an analyst for the Hedge Fund Strategies team in the Alternative Investments and Manager Selection Group at Goldman Sachs. He graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Mathematical Methods in Social Sciences and B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University in 2014; he is a CFA Charterholder.
Jen Rogers is an award-winning financial reporter and anchor. Most recently, she was the host of The Final Round, Yahoo! Finance’s live daily close-of-market show and Time for Change, its program focused on issues of diversity and social justice in the business world.
Before joining Yahoo! Finance, Jen spent more than a decade in television -- at CNN, MSNBC, and Reuters. She has had a front row seat for the biggest tech and finance stories of our time and has interviewed a who’s who of business leaders, including Warren Buffett and Elon Musk.
Jen is a runner, a reader, and a cancer survivor. She co-founded Comedy vs Cancer, an annual event which raises money for cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she also serves on the Patient and Family Advisory Council.
NYC-based video presenter and producer with extensive experience in all areas of television and digital video development and production, including anchoring, reporting, writing, producing, interviewing, editing, social media, hiring and team development. Organized, detail-oriented and collaborative leader with comprehensive experience in business news, media training and startups.
Contessa Brewer is a correspondent and substitute anchor for CNBC appearing throughout Business Day as well as the network’s 7pm ET newscast “The News with Shepard Smith.” She covers major news stories for CNBC including presidential elections, hurricanes, the coronavirus pandemic and trade wars. Her specialty coverage areas are casinos, the gaming industry and the insurance industry. Brewer joined the network in 2017 and is based at CNBC Global Headquarters.
A National Emmy-Award winning journalist, Brewer is known for her marathon on-air coverage of breaking news and big political stories. While an anchor for MSNBC, she hosted daily news programs and the long-running, primetime series “Caught on Camera.” As a correspondent, Brewer has contributed reports to CBS News, CBSN, WNBC, NBC News and MSNBC, where she covered a wide range of stories including presidential elections, debt ceilings, government shutdowns, natural disasters, terror attacks and celebrity news. She began her career in Reno, NV followed by Palm Springs, CA and Milwaukee, WI.
Brewer is a Remembrance Scholar and magna cum laude graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication and Honors Program. She’s narrated several audiobooks and resides in New York with her husband, twin sons and a dappled dachshund.
Bertha Coombs is a reporter for CNBC, covering financial markets, business news stories and health care throughout the business day. She is based at the Nasdaq Marketsite in Times Square.
Her health care coverage at CNBC has ranged from covering the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the failed launch of the Obamacare health insurance exchanges, to how cancer researchers are using IBM's Watson to improve cancer care, and how doctors are using mobile technology to treat patients in their own homes. She also covered the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, the impact of the financial crisis of 2008, and reported on the oil markets from the floor of the New York Mercantile exchange.
Before joining CNBC, Coombs was a reporter and anchor for the pioneering online business network, Yahoo Finance Vision, and served as a freelance reporter for the former CNNfn financial network. Prior, she served as a reporter for ABC News One, and a substitute anchor for "World News Now" and "World News This Morning."
She began her career in general news, with previous reporting and anchoring positions at WABC-TV in New York, WPLG-TV in Miami and WFSB-TV in Hartford, Connecticut.
Coombs is a graduate of Yale University and was awarded the Leo Beranek Reporter Training Fellowship at WCVB-TV in Boston. Born in Havana, Cuba, she speaks fluent Spanish.
Frank Holland is anchor of CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange” (M-F, 5AM-6AM ET), which broadcasts from CNBC Global Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
He is also a Transports & Tech Correspondent for the network. Holland focuses on reporting and executive interviews for cloud computing, enterprise software and cybersecurity companies in the technology sector as well as trucking, e-commerce and shipping companies in the supply chain sector. Previously, he was a general assignment reporter for CNBC starting in September 2018.
During his time at the network, Holland has covered a wide range of national stories including: the first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine, the death of George Floyd, Hurricane Ida and the first Kentucky Derby after the pandemic.
Holland also covers Diversity, Equity and Inclusion under CNBC’s Equity and Opportunity brand including the 100th Anniversary of Black Wall Street, diversity in tech and various network specials.
Before joining CNBC, Holland was an anchor and reporter at NBC Boston and WCVB in Boston covering national stories and major local news including the famous “28-3” Patriots Super Bowl victory, The “Texting-Suicide” trial and the Boston Marathon. Holland also enterprise original series and hosted live events, including “Black in Boston”, a weekly business segment and the NBC Education Town Hall in Boston.
Prior to Boston, Holland spent three years as an anchor/reporter at WGN-TV in Chicago, where he covered the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, the Republican and Democratic national conventions, as well as the National College Football Championship. He also held positions at NBC Affiliate WDIV in Detroit, News 12 in New York, and spent several years in television news in both the Virgin Islands and Alaska.
Holland holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Bentley University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., the Urban League and the National Association of Black Journalists.
Tyler Mathisen co-anchors CNBC's "Power Lunch" (M-F, 1PM-3PM ET), one of the network's longest running program franchises. He is also Vice President, Events Strategy for CNBC, working closely with the network's events team to grow the rapidly expanding business.
Previously, Mathisen was co-anchor of "Nightly Business Report," an award-winning evening business news program produced by CNBC for U.S. public television. In 2014, NBR was named best radio/TV show by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW). Since joining CNBC in 1997, Mathisen has held a number of positions including managing editor of CNBC Business News, responsible for directing the network's daily content and coverage. He was also co-anchor of CNBC's "Closing Bell."
Mathisen has reported one-hour documentaries for the network including "Best Buy: The Big Box Fights Back," "Supermarkets Inc: Inside a $500 Billion Money Machine" and "Death: It's a Living." Mathisen was also host of the CNBC series "How I Made My Millions."
Prior to CNBC, Mathisen spent 15 years as a writer, senior editor and top editor for Money magazine. Among other duties, he supervised the magazine's mutual funds coverage, its annual investment forecast issue and its expansion into electronic journalism, for which it won the first-ever National Magazine Award for New Media in 1997.
In 1993, Mathisen won the American University-Investment Company Institute Award for Personal Finance Journalism for a televised series on "Caring for Aging Parents," which aired on ABC's "Good Morning America." Mathisen served as money editor of "GMA" from 1991 to 1997. He also won an Emmy Award for a report on the 1987 stock market crash that aired on New York's WCBS-TV.
A native of Arlington,Va., Mathisen graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia.
Diana Olick is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, currently serving as CNBC’s senior climate and real estate correspondent. She also contributes her climate and real estate expertise to NBC News NOW, MSNBC, NBC’s “Today” and “NBC Nightly News.” She is a regular guest speaker and does guest segments on NPR and C-SPAN. Her work on CNBC.com won the Gracie Award for “Outstanding Blog” in 2015.
Soon after joining CNBC in 2002, Olick recognized the quick run-up in the housing market, fueled by investor flipping, and consequently launched the network’s real estate beat. She covers both commercial and residential real estate as well as the mortgage market. Olick was at the forefront of reporting on the housing boom, the subprime mortgage collapse, the resulting housing crash and the ongoing recovery. She also launched the real estate page on CNBC.com and is its primary author.
In 2018, Olick envisioned a new series for the network called “Rising Risks,” which examines all aspects of the growing risk to real estate from climate change. The series grew beyond real estate and in 2021, Olick began covering climate full-time across all sectors. That same year, she covered the COP26 United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, reporting on government, corporate and private sector investments in the fight against climate change.
In early 2022, Olick launched an additional climate series, Clean Start, which follows venture capital money into climate startups. The series airs weekly and has its own page on CNBC.com/clean-start.
Prior to joining CNBC, Olick spent seven years as a correspondent for CBS News. Olick began her career as a local news reporter at WABI-TV in Bangor, Maine; WZZM-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan; and KIRO-TV in Seattle. She joined CBS in 1994 as a New York-based correspondent for the “CBS Evening News with Dan Rather” and “The Early Show.” She also contributed pieces to “48 Hours” and “Sunday Morning.”
At CBS, Olick worked in the New York, Dallas and Washington, D.C. bureaus, covering such stories as the World Trade Center conspiracy trial, the crash of TWA Flight 800, the JonBenet Ramsey murder mystery and was the exclusive correspondent for the trial of Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols. She also took a temporary assignment in CBS’ Moscow bureau, where she chronicled the brief presidential campaign of Mikhail Gorbachev.
Olick has a B.A. in comparative literature with a minor in soviet studies from Columbia College in New York and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.
Follow Diana Olick on Twitter @DianaOlick on Instagram @DianaOlick and on Linkedin.
Kristina Partsinevelos joined CNBC in May 2021 and serves as the Nasdaq reporter for the network, based at the Nasdaq and CNBC Global Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. She covers the Nasdaq, semiconductors, ESG and precious metals, and her reporting appears on television and CNBC’s digital platforms.
Prior to CNBC, Partsinevelos was a business correspondent and economist for three years at the Fox Business Network, covering everything from technology, to the White House, to the Federal Reserve and reporting in the field around New York City during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. She also reported from South Carolina in the eye of Hurricane Florence, a category 4 storm, in September 2018.
Prior to that, Partsinevelos worked for Global News in London, BNN Bloomberg (Canada’s Business News Network), CTV News Channel and CBC Edmonton covering the latest financial news, including the retail, tech, and automotive sectors.
She is fluent in French and received her MBA from the University of Oxford’s Saȉd Business School. She also has a master’s in journalism from Carleton University.
Follow Kristina Partsinevelos on Twitter @KristinaParts.
Pippa is a markets reporter for CNBC, focused on all things energy. She was previously a producer on CNBC’s daily 12pm show “Halftime Report.” Pippa graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Classics.
AGENDA
PEPSICO FOODS: FROM SEED TO SHELF TO SUSTAINABILITY
Since taking over PepsiCo Foods, N.A. four years ago, Steven Williams has driven blistering growth at the $21 billion snack empire, which includes six brands each generating more than $1 billion in annual revenue – Cheetos, Doritos, Quaker, Tostitos, Lay’s and Ruffles. Overseeing nearly 70,000 employees, Williams calls himself a ‘seed to shelf’ CEO, with a core focus on the agricultural end of the value chain, working with farmers to sustainably move and sell its vast portfolio. A rare interview with a dynamic CEO successfully driving measurable results and profits on all fronts.
Steven Williams, PepsiCo Foods North America CEO Interviewer:Kristina Partsinevelos, CNBC General Assignment Reporter
Watch the full interview
CREATING THE TALENT PIPELINE OF TOMORROW
Representation of minorities and women at tech startups and on boards remains sparse. To combat this issue, investor, entrepreneur and corporate veteran Bonita Stewart is doing her part to recruit and hire more underrepresented talent to senior management roles. With her extensive background as a public board member and current position as board leader at Google’s Gradient Ventures, Stewart offers a unique perspective on how to improve visibility in the tech talent pipeline.
THE BOARD’S ROLE IN SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP: NOT JUST WINDOW DRESSING
How do sustainability policies impact fiduciary responsibility? Board governance sets the tone for effective corporate stewardship but it’s not always easy to integrate and implement into a company’s existing strategy. Two trailblazing C-suite and board veterans with operational savvy, deep financial experience, and great, actionable advice on how to create fairer and more realistic socio-economic models when making business decisions.
Lone Fønss Schrøder, Concordium Foundation Director & Volvo Cars Board Vice Chair Brian Stafford, Diligent CEO Moderator:Bertha Combs, CNBC Reporter
ESG has changed the way investors evaluate and make investment strategies. Now, due to the energy crisis in Europe, the invasion of Ukraine, and a shift in the political winds in Washington toward climate, there’s more for investors to consider. This session will examine sustainable investing opportunities and share perspectives on ESG within the energy utility, midstream, and industrial spaces.
Danilo Juvane, Williams VP, Investor Relations Louis Lazzara, Energy Income Partners, LLC Principal & Senior Research Analyst Hanchen Wang, DWSGroup Equity Analyst Moderator:Jen Rogers, Financial Journalist Watch the full session
Investing in Infrastructure for a Sustainable Future
Sponsored & Programmed by WM
Innovation, action, and investing in infrastructure are keys to long-lasting positive sustainability impacts. WM, North America’s leading provider of comprehensive waste management environmental solutions , is on the forefront of that effort, helping customers develop a sustainability journey and achieve their sustainability goals. This session will look at how, by reinventing what’s possible, companies can secure a sustainable future.
Tara Hemmer, WM Chief Sustainability Officer Interviewer: Caroline Woods, Financial Journalist Watch the full session
THE POWER OF PRINCIPLES, PERFORMANCE AND THE PROXY
LACERA is the nation’s largest retirement system, with over $70 billion in pension assets. CIO Jonathan Grabel explains why transparency and sound governance in financial markets is key to a stronger, more sustainable performance and investment strategy.
Jonathan Grabel, Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association CIO Interviewer:Frank Holland, CNBC “Worldwide Exchange” Anchor, Transports & Tech Correspondent
Although many companies are pursuing similar sustainability objectives, the approach differs based on industry. What does product circularity or community engagement look like for retail, healthcare and manufacturing? A panel of sustainability executives from these industries will compare their strategies towards similar goals.
The Inflation Reduction Act has accelerated new funding opportunities across America’s clean energy sector. Where are the most actionable opportunities and solutions — environmentally, economically, and even politically? An in-depth analysis froCNBCm Sadek Wahba, a member of President Biden’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) and founder of I Squared Capital, a $45+ billion global infrastructure investment firm.
Sadek Wahba, I Squared Capital Chairman & Managing Partner Interviewer: Diana Olick, CNBCSenior Climate & Real Estate Correspondent
DOWN-TO-EARTH DESIGN: RETHINKING CARBON IN A CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Eco-architect William McDonough, known as the father of the Circular Economy and co-creator of the Cradle to Cradle Certified Products Program, is one of the world’s pioneering figures in green architecture and product and packaging design. He has designed industry-leading buildings for Nike Europe, YouTube, factories for Ford Motor, Herman Miller, and NASA’s Sustainability Base. McDonough lays out his vision for what he calls a regenerative biosphere and circular technosphere and why he remains a great defender of carbon.
William McDonough, McDonough Innovation & “Cradle to Cradle” Co-Author Interviewer:Contessa Brewer, CNBC Correspondent
For over 100 years, Amalgamated Bank has offered banking solutions catered to the needs of marginalized groups. President and CEO, Priscilla Sims Brown explains how leaders can take a stand on social impact and ideological issues, like economic justice, gun violence, and renewable energy, while also meeting the needs of employees, clients, and stakeholders. And hear what she has to say about the backlash too.
Priscilla Sims Brown, Amalgamated Bank CEO & President Interviewer: Bertha Combs, CNBC Reporter
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Williams handles 30% of the natural gas in the United States that is used every day to heat our homes, cook our food and generate our electricity. Williams works closely with customers to provide the necessary infrastructure to serve growing markets and safely deliver natural gas products to reliably fuel the clean energy economy. With interstate natural gas pipelines and gathering & processing operations throughout the country, we reliably deliver value to our employees, investors, customers and communities by running our business with authenticity and a safety-driven culture, leading our industry into the future.
Previously known as Waste Management and based in Houston, Texas, WM is driven by commitments to put people first and achieve success with integrity. The company, through its subsidiaries, provides collection, recycling and disposal services to millions of residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. With innovative infrastructure and capabilities in recycling, organics and renewable energy, WM provides environmental solutions to and collaborates with its customers in helping them achieve their sustainability goals. WM has the largest disposal network and collection fleet in North America, is the largest recycler of post-consumer materials and is the leader in beneficial reuse of landfill gas, with a growing network of renewable natural gas plants and the most gas-to-electricity plants in North America. WM’s fleet includes nearly 11,000 natural gas trucks – the largest heavy-duty natural gas truck fleet of its kind in North America – where more than half are fueled by renewable natural gas. To learn more about WM and the company’s sustainability progress and solutions, visit Sustainability.WM.com.
