A Special Webinar from the Series on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds: How ESG is Practiced in Public Funds

Thursday, April 14, 2022 | 7:00–8:30 PM (EDT)

Friday, April 15, 2022 | 8:00–9:30 AM (Japan Time)

Please note, this webinar will be held under the Chatham House Rule. The recording of the event will not be made public. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided.

Keynote:

Masataka Miyazono

President, Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF)

Panelists:

Caroline Flammer

Professor of International and Public Affairs, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University

Pedro Antonio Guazo Alonso

Representative of the Secretary-General for the Investment of the Assets, United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund

Keiko Honda

Adjunct Professor and Adjunct Senior Research Scholar, SIPA

Moderator:

Takatoshi Ito

Professor, SIPA; Director, Program on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds, Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB), Columbia Business School

Opening Remarks:

David E. Weinstein

Director, CJEB; Carl S. Shoup Professor of the Japanese Economy, Columbia University

What you’ll learn:

• Recent developments in public pension funds’ portfolios and ESG investing
• Recent trends in ESG financial products and ESG score and index ratings
• Evidence on returns from ESG investing: Are they higher or lower?

About the Speakers:

(Keynote)

Masataka Miyazono is President of Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) since April 2020.

Prior to his role at GPIF, he was President of Pension Fund Association.

Previously, Mr. Miyazono served as Vice-President and Supervisory Committee member at The Norinchukin Bank. Since 1976, he held various leadership positions in the areas of management and others at The Norinchukin Bank, including, Senior Managing Director, Managing Director, General Manager of Corporate Planning Division, General Manager of Human Resources Division, Executive Secretary, Deputy General Manager of Coordination Division, Deputy General Manager of Corporate Planning Division, Director of Coordination Division, and Director of Treasury Division. He also served as General Manager at Kumamoto Branch of the Bank.

He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Law from the University of Tokyo in 1976.

(Panelists)

Caroline Flammer is a Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. She is an expert in sustainable investing and the recipient of numerous prestigious awards. Her research examines how, and under which conditions, firms can enhance their competitiveness and long-term profitability while strengthening—instead of undermining—the very system in which they operate and hereby play a critical role in addressing climate change, inequality, global health, and other grand challenges related to society and the natural environment. The Web of Science ranked her among the top-100 Highly Cited Researchers in the economics and business profession in terms of impact over the past 10 years. Among other roles, she serves as the Chair of the Academic Advisory Committee of the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the largest network of responsible investors to date. Moreover, she serves as Associate Editor for both Management Science and the Strategic Management Journal.

Pedro Antonio Guazo Alonso was appointed RSG for the investment of the assets of the UNJSPF on 29 July 2020.

Mr. Guazo was the Finance Director at the United Nations in New York for almost eight years. He managed a portfolio of more than USD$10 billion and an annual revenue of US$13 billion. He led the Organization’s finance operations in practically every country in the world.

Prior to joining the United Nations in 2012, he served in a similar capacity for more than two years as the Director of Finance and Treasury at the United Nations World Food Programme, managing a Portfolio of USD$4 billion and supervising finance officials in more than 75 Country Offices.

During a 15-year banking career, he contributed to the modernization of the Mexican Financial System, while serving as its regulator and supervisor. As CFO and Treasurer at the Federal Mortgage Bank (SHF), he negotiated and managed loans from the World Bank and the Inter- American Development Bank. Similarly, he championed financial inclusion among people with low and middle incomes as CFO and Treasurer of the National Savings and Financial Services Bank (BANSEFI). His government service included posts at the Ministry of Finance and at the National Banking and Securities Commission, as a member of its Financial Sector Supervisory Body. While a student, he started his professional career at PWC.

A former professor of Finance at ITAM, Mr. Guazo received an International Executive MBA from the IE Business School in Madrid. He earned a Master’s degree in Business Economics from ITESM and graduated from ITAM in 1996 with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting.

Keiko Honda is Adjunct Professor and Adjunct Senior Research Scholar of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she teaches ESG Investing to graduate students. Keiko also serves as a board member of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, a board member and chair of the compensation committee of AGC (ex Asahi Glass), a member of the United Nation’s Investment Management Committee, a member of Singapore’s Asia Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory Panel and a member of the Japanese Financial Services Agency’s Policy Assessment Committee.

Until 2019, Keiko was the CEO of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the political risk insurance and credit enhancement arm of the World Bank Group. MIGA supports cross-border equity investors and lenders by providing coverage against political risk and non-honoring of financial obligations.

Before joining MIGA, Keiko was the first woman Senior Partner in Asia at McKinsey & Company, where she advised clients on corporate finance and strategy and business development for 24 years.

She received the Joseph Wharton Social Award from the Wharton New York Club in 2020.

Keiko holds a bachelor’s degree from Ochanomizu University and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where she was selected as a Fulbright Scholar.

Admission and Contact:

This is a free event. You must register for the webinar to receive the login details. Participants will receive a link to access the live webinar upon registration. This webinar will be held under the Chatham House Rule. The recording of the event will not be made public. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in English and Japanese. Click here to learn how to listen to Zoom’s language interpretation.

REGISTER

If you have questions about the event, please contact us at cjeb@gsb.columbia.edu. For more information about other CJEB events, visit our website or contact cjeb@gsb.columbia.edu.