Rahul Ghosh is Managing Director – Global Head of Sustainable Finance for Moody's Ratings.

Rahul leads global oversight for the credit rating agency’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and outreach strategy. In this capacity, he is responsible for co-ordinating high quality and impactful research exploring the credit implications of ESG, as well as digital and in-person outreach to meet the growing market needs of investors, issuers and other important stakeholders.

Rahul is a regular participant at high-profile industry working groups, market briefings, external conferences and media engagements. He is a member of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, a market-led initiative to develop a risk management and disclosure framework for nature-related risks. He has also represented Moody’s on the UN Principles for Responsible Investment's advisory committee on credit ratings and the Green and Social Bond Principles working groups. He has presented on the impact of climate change on emerging market sovereigns at the G20 Green Finance Study Group and on sustainable finance trends at the International Finance Corporation’s Global Debt Mobilization Conference.

Before his current role, Rahul oversaw Moody’s ESG Solutions Group outreach and engagement activities globally with the sustainability stakeholder community. He also previously worked in Moody’s Credit Strategy & Research team where he was responsible for thematic research and outreach on global emerging market (EM) credit trends. Prior to joining Moody’s in 2013, Rahul was the Head of Asia at BMI Research (Fitch Solutions) in Singapore, leading a team of macroeconomists and industry specialists in analysing sovereign risk, sector performance and the capital markets.

Rahul is a passionate impact leader for Moody’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in London, chairing the pillar on “activating an environmentally sustainable future”. He holds a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Edinburgh and a Certificate in ESG Investing from the CFA Society of the UK.

Matt Kuchtyakis Senior Vice President –Sustainable Finance for Moody’s Ratings. In this capacity, Matt heads the Sustainable Finance Assessments team in the Americas, leading a team of analysts primarily responsible for the publication of Second Party Opinions (SPOs) –which provide an opinion on the overall sustainability quality of financial instruments or financing frameworks –and Net Zero Assessments (NZAs) –which provide an independent and comparable view on the strength of an entity’s carbon emissions reduction plans compared to a global net zero pathway.

In his role, Matt is also responsible for the origination and publication of thematic research related to the global sustainable finance markets. He also leads outreach and engagement on sustainable finance issues, cultivating relationships with investors, intermediaries, issuers and other market participants. He frequently participates in high-profile outreach including investor briefings, webinars, third-party conferences and media engagements. Matt also represents
Moody’s Ratings on a variety of industry initiatives, such as the International Capital Market Association’s sustainable finance working groups.

Before his current role, Matt was an analyst on the ESG team at Moody’s Ratings, where he advanced the rating agency’s efforts to incorporate ESG considerations systematically and transparently into its credit ratings. He was a key contributor to the development of the cross-sector ESG methodology, launch of the ESG Issuer Profile Scores and Credit Impact Scores and the development of the Carbon Transition Assessments. He was also the lead analyst for the Moody’s Ratings Green Bond Assessments. Previously, Matt was a credit analyst in the US Public Finance Group, where he served as a lead analyst for a diverse portfolio of hospitals, public and private universities and other not-for-profits.

Matt holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science summa cum laude from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa

Vivian joined the Sustainable Finance team in January 2022 and is currently a Sustainable Finance Analyst on the Second Party Opinions team. Prior to joining the team, she spent the last five years at Moody’s US Public Finance Group as both a lead and a support credit analyst. In her current role, she has completed Second Party Opinions for issuers across the sub-sovereign, financial institutions, energy, transportation, and US Public Finance sectors. Prior to joining the sustainable finance team, Vivian covered a diverse portfolio of municipal bond issuances across the Western United States. She conducted credit analysis on new transactions, led rating committee discussions, and contributed to US local government research pieces. She also performed ESG risk assessments and analyzed the impact of ESG risks on the credit quality of rated municipal issuers. Vivian holds a MSc in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BA in Finance from the University of Hertfordshire.

Diya Sawhny is Managing Director and Head of Strategy & Marketing for Moody’s RMS. Most recently she was MD for Acquisition Programs at Moody’s Analytics. Diya has had a variety of strategy, business growth, and corporate development roles at Moody’s, including identifying, executing, and integrating acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances. She has also previously been responsible for public policy engagement for Climate and ESG, and for leading Moody’s Investors Services’ Innovation activities.

Diya joined Moody’s in late 2013 with experience in a variety of roles within financial services. Diya started her career in investment banking at Citigroup and Bank of America Securities. She largely focused on capital-raising transactions (debt and equity) and mergers and acquisitions for companies in the consumer products sector, completing transactions worth over $30 billion.

A graduate of St. Stephen’s College in New Delhi, India with a B.A., Diya also holds an M.B.A. in Finance from the Stern School of Business of New York University.

Nigel Topping, CMG was appointed by the UK Prime Minister as UN Climate Change High Level Champion for COP26. In this role Nigel mobilised global private sector and local government to take bold action on climate change, launching the Race To Zero and Race To Resilience campaigns and, with Mark Carney, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. Nigel is now a global advisor to governments, financial institutions and private companies on climate and industrial strategy.  He is a non-executive director of the UK Infrastructure Bank, an Honorary Professor of Economics at Exeter University and was awarded the honor of CMG in Queen Elizabeth’s final honors list in 2022. 

Nigel read Mathematics at St Johns and won two rugby blues, before entering a career in the manufacturing industry.

Swami Venkataraman, CFA, is an Associate Managing Director in the Sustainable Finance group at Moody's Ratings. He manages a global team of analysts responsible for producing assessments and thematic research on the credentials of sustainability debt instruments and financing frameworks (Second Party Opinions) and the strength of entities carbon transition plans (Net Zero Assessments). He also leads related outreach efforts for Moody's with regulators, standard setters, investors, corporates and other market participants.

Swami regularly participates in high-profile working groups, conferences and media engagements. He is a member of the International Energy Agency's Finance Industry Advisory Board, the Institute for International Finance's (IIF) Sustainable Finance Working Group, the Executive Committee of the ESG Integrated Disclosure Project (IDP) for private capital markets and manages key external relationships for Moody's such as the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) and Ceres. He has presented on climate finance topics at the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) and at various initiatives of the World Bank.

Prior to this role, Swami led the team responsible for the systematic integration of ESG considerations - including climate - into all Moody's credit ratings and the launch of the Moody's Issuer Profile Scores (IPS) and Credit Impact Scores (CIS). Earlier, he was a Senior Vice President in the North American utilities and infrastructure team, with rating committee chair responsibilities. Before Joining Moody's in 2013, Swami was a Director of Project and Export finance with Standard Chartered bank in Asia. He has broad credit and banking expertise in power, clean energy, infrastructure and sustainable finance for over 25 years. He has worked in New York, San Francisco, London, Mumbai and Mexico City.

Swami is a CFA charter holder, with a B.Tech in Electronics Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),  Madras and an M.B.A. in Finance and Information systems from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM),Calcutta.

Sean Kidney, FRSA, is CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative, an international NGO working to mobilize global capital for climate action. He oversees green bond development programs on six continents; green taxonomy development by governments ranging from the European Commission to Thailand & Colombia; and policy development for capital mobilization. Sean is also a Professor in Practice at SOAS University of London and an expert advisor to governments around the world. In 2024 Sean joined the GF60 International Expert Advisory Group for Shanghai Green Finance Hub Policy Research

Karen Nickerson is an Associate Managing Director within Moody’s US Corporate Finance Group where she leads the Basic Industries team and oversees ratings research of approximately 170 investment grade and high yield issuers with $500 billion in debt outstanding. She brings more than 20 years of financial market experience and extensive industry coverage including Business Services, Building Materials, Building Products, Chemicals, Commercial Real Estate, Construction, Distribution, Manufacturing, Metals & Mining, Non-Bank Finance, Paper & Forest Products, and Software.

Karen is a leader in strategy, process enhancement and talent development. She chairs Global Chemical and Global Paper and Forest Products forums, where she ensures clear communication and consistency around industry fundamentals, global credit conditions and ESG-related themes, and coordinates Moody’s industry opinions through global research and investor outreach. Since 2017, Karen has been a leader in various ESG strategic working groups, leading regional and global project teams that facilitated the integration of ESG risks into credit analysis and research. Karen is active as a coach and mentor for analysts, junior associates and other colleagues, and has developed and led strategy on complex recruiting initiatives. Karen is also an active member of the WBRG’s Lean-In subcommittee and a peer mentor for Moody’s mid-level women’s development program. 

Prior to joining Moody’s, Karen worked at ING Realty Partners as Principal, Portfolio Manager and Director of Investor Relations. Before that, she worked at The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York as an asset manager for distressed loans and foreclosed assets. Karen has served as Chairwoman of the Board and President for the New York Commercial Real Estate Women Network. She has also served as a Board Member and Treasurer of the Riverside Symphony. Karen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Indiana University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Dan launched Ceres’ Clean Steel Initiative in 2019 to help investors reduce the

carbon risk of portfolio steel companies. Since then, 80% of America’s

domestic steel industry has adopted targets to curb greenhouse gas (GHG)

emissions. Dan also serves on the board of ResponsibleSteel, a private,

voluntary sustainability standard with 66 company members in the steel value

chain.

Since joining Ceres in 2016, Dan has supported investors in persuading dozens

of leading companies to adopt science-based GHG reduction targets and other

climate risk management solutions. His work has crossed every major industry

to benefit such companies as Advance Auto, Albemarle, American Tower,

Booking Holdings, Century Aluminum, Dollar General, General Electric, Lowes,

McKesson, Newmont, Realty Income, Sherwin Williams, and others.

Before joining Ceres, Dan led clean energy and environmental protection

initiatives for the Maryland Energy Administration, the United Nations

Foundation/Energy Future Coalition, the Apollo Alliance, the Sierra Club., and

the World Resources Institute,

Dan speaks frequently before industry groups on clean energy solutions, has

testified before Congress, and authored reports on clean energy solutions. His

work has been covered by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the

Financial Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and other news outlets.

He holds degrees from the University of Chicago and the Johns Hopkins

University School of Advanced International Studies.

Natalie Ambrosio Preudhomme is an Associate Director at Moody’s on the Commercial Real Estate team, where she does research and market engagement focused on climate change. Natalie joined Moody’s through the acquisition of Four Twenty Seven, a leading provider of data on physical climate risk. At Four Twenty Seven she led editorial strategy and communications. Previously, Natalie helped develop an assessment of U.S. cities’ vulnerabilities to climate change and their readiness to adapt, at the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN). She currently serves on the Urban Land Institute’s Pacific Northwest ESG Council, the International WELL Building Institute Investing for Health Advisory Council and the University of Notre Dame's Accountancy Department Advisory Board. Natalie holds a B.S. in Environmental Science and a Certificate in Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy from the University of Notre Dame and a Certificate in Climate and Investing from the CFA UK.

Becky Leeper is the Senior Director, Americas Insurance at Moody's RMS, where she leads the Model and Product Specialist team serving insurance clients across property and catastrophe modeling solutions, as well as physical risk and climate risk solutions. With over a decade of experience at Moody's RMS, Becky has deep expertise in physical risk and catastrophe modeling, working extensively with both insurance and non-insurance clients to help them quantify and manage risk from natural catastrophe events and other physical hazards.

In her current role, Becky oversees a technical team responsible for the sales and adoption of catastrophe models and modeling applications across the Americas, ensuring clients can better understand and respond to risks such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and earthquakes. She also collaborates with organizations across banking, investment management, corporate sectors, and governments on applying catastrophe analytics to manage physical risk and meet regulatory and sustainability goals.

Before joining Moody’s RMS, Becky spent over a decade working with financial firms on integrating models for valuation and risk management in fixed income markets. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Duke University.

Becky Leeper is the Senior Director, Americas Insurance at Moody's RMS, where she leads the Model and Product Specialist team serving property and casualty insurance clients with catastrophe modeling, physical risk, and climate risk solutions. With over a decade of experience at Moody's RMS, Becky has developed deep expertise in physical risk and catastrophe modeling, working extensively with insurers to help them quantify and manage risks from hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and other natural catastrophe events. Her team focuses on driving the adoption of RMS models, analytics, and data to enable insurers to better understand and respond to risks affecting their portfolios.

In addition to her work with insurers, Becky collaborates with organizations in banking, investment management, corporates, and governments to support broader applications of catastrophe analytics. These efforts help institutions manage physical risks, improve regulatory compliance, and enhance sustainability strategies. Prior to joining Moody’s RMS, Becky spent more than a decade partnering with financial firms to integrate models for valuation and risk management in fixed income markets. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Duke University.

James is a senior vice president and senior client manager in Lockton Northeast’s New York City office. He leads all aspects of the Client Engagement process, responsible for placing and managing complex property programs. He specializes in accounts that purchase large limits, utilizing global capacity within real estate and hospitality. He also focuses on market strategy and placement of portfolios that have significant exposures in natural catastrophe zones, in particular California earthquake and Tier 1 windstorm/hurricane exposures. He negotiates insurance capacity in the U.S., Bermuda, London and European insurance markets, enabling the most appropriate capacity for Lockton clients and ensuring that all clients have access to the global insurance market.

James has more than 17 years’ experience working in the U.S. and London/European markets.

Michael is responsible for supporting environmental, social, and governance integration across the Credit business as well as further incorporating sustainability considerations into Apollo’s lending platforms and other non-majority equity stake investment processes.  Michael also serves as the co-chair of Apollo’s Transition Task Force. Michael currently represents Apollo across several industry initiatives, including as the inaugural Steering Committee Chair of the Integrated Disclosure Project and a member of the Sustainability Reference Group at the IFRS Sustainability Alliance.

Michael formally served as the Global Head of ESG Portfolio Management within the Fixed Income division at Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM). Within that role, Michael was responsible for coordinating the sustainability integration efforts across all fixed income teams as well as serving as the lead portfolio manager for sustainability focused mandates. Michael was previously on the GSAM municipal team as a senior research analyst covering healthcare, education and distressed municipalities.

Prior to his time at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Michael worked as a credit analyst at American Capital Access and Standard & Poor’s, focusing predominantly within the healthcare and education sectors.