Dr. Julio Friedmann, PhD Chief Scientist Carbon Direct

Dr. Julio Friedmann is Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct. He works directly with clients, the Science team, and the leadership of Carbon Direct to solve major technical challenges around carbon management and CO2 removal.

Dr. Friedmann recently served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy where he was responsible for DOE’s R&D program in advanced fossil energy systems, carbon capture, and storage (CCS), CO2 utilization, and clean coal deployment. More recently, he was a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia. He has held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, including Chief Energy Technologist.

Dr. Friedmann is one of the most widely known and authoritative experts in the U.S. on carbon removal (CO2 drawdown from the air and oceans), CO2 conversion and use (carbon-to-value), hydrogen, industrial decarbonization, and carbon capture and sequestration.

Anne Van Praagh Managing Director – Global Head of Public, Project and Infrastructure Finance Moody’s Ratings

Anne Van Praagh is Global Head of the Public, Project & Infrastructure Finance Group for Moody’s Ratings, overseeing credit ratings and research on public sector entities worldwide.

Prior to this role, Anne led the Sovereign Risk Group in 2021 and 2022. Anne was head of Ratings Research from 2019 to early 2022, driving the content and engagement strategy for 20,000 research publications published annually. In 2016, Anne launched the Credit Strategy & Research group, setting Moody’s macroeconomic and “house views” on emerging risk trends and coordinating Moody’s credit response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Previously she held roles as MD for Sovereign Risk in the Americas, Middle East and APAC, Chief Credit Officer for Public Sector Ratings, and lead analyst for US infrastructure, states and local governments. She also spent three years as vice president in Morgan Stanley’s public finance investment banking team advising on $25 billion in financings. 

Anne began her career as a speechwriter at the US Department of Defense in the Clinton Administration. She has a Master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a Bachelor’s degree from George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. She is married with two daughters.

Jennifer Chang Vice President – Senior Credit Officer, Environmental, Social and Governance Group Moody’s Ratings

Jennifer Chang is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer in Moody’s Environmental, Social and Governance Group, with a primary focus in physical climate risks and materiality as it pertains to credit risks across various industries.

Prior to the ESG Group, Jennifer was the Public Power Sector Lead in the Global Project and Infrastructure Finance Group, and covered a range of infrastructure sectors including transportation, social infrastructure and power projects in the Americas. She also led new power project finance and public-private partnership rating assignments.

Jennifer launched the Infrastructure in Emerging Markets’ series, and is the author of several reports on PPPs, power and drillship transactions including special comments on airport concessions, express tolled lanes, credit enhancements and power project carbon transition. She recently published climate-related reports on physical climate risk assessments and credit impact of urban floods.

She is the receiver of three Moody’s Research Awards, including the report on Hydrogen – Electric Utilities and Power Projects. She is a frequent speaker and presenter at various industry conferences, including the US Department of Energy – Hydrogen Shot Summit in 2021. Prior to joining Moody’s, Jennifer worked at the World Bank as an energy finance specialist in the Latin American and Caribbean and Africa regions where she helped co-author the Brazil Low Carbon Case Study report, and worked on large scale electricity distribution rehabilitation projects in Brazil, Honduras and Malawi. Prior to the World Bank, Jennifer worked at BNP Paribas covering North American utilities, and at the Royal Bank of Scotland and at Credit Agricole covering media and telecom. She has a Bachelor of Science and Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from Drexel University and a Masters from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (SIPA) with a concentration in International Energy Management and Policy. She is currently pursuing a Certification in Sustainable Water Management from Columbia University.

Rebecca Karnovitz Vice President - Senior Credit Officer, ESG Moody’s Ratings

Rebecca is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer in Moody’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) group. Rebecca is responsible for publishing thematic and issuer-specific research on ESG risks relevant to credit analysis. She also serves as a visible subject matter expert to internal and external stakeholders and supports outreach and engagement with market participants.

Prior to joining the ESG team, Rebecca was a member of the Strategy and Research team at MIS, where she led cross-sector research and analytics on the credit implications of key macroeconomic and policy developments in North America. Rebecca first joined Moody’s in 2011 as an associate analyst in the Sovereign Risk Group.

She holds a dual Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University (SIPA), in New York, and Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po), in Paris, as well as a BA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania.

Matt Kuchtyak Vice President – Sustainable Finance, Regional Manager Second Party Opinions Americas Moody's Ratings

Matt Kuchtyak is Vice President – Sustainable Finance for Moody’s Ratings. In this capacity, Matt is responsible for the origination and publication of thematic research related to the global sustainable finance markets. He has authored Moody’s market-leading quarterly sustainable finance market update since its inception in 2015 and has developed into a leading market voice on sustainable finance developments.

Matt leads outreach and engagement on sustainable finance issues, cultivating relationships with asset managers, asset owners, financial institutions, corporations, standard setters and other market participants. He frequently participates in high-profile outreach including investor briefings, webinars, third-party conferences and media engagements. Matt also represents MESG on a variety of industry initiatives, such as the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles (GBP) working groups.

Before his current role, Matt was an analyst on the ESG team at Moody’s Investors Service (MIS), where he advanced the rating agency’s efforts to systematically and transparently incorporate ESG considerations into its credit ratings. He was a key contributor to the development of MIS’s cross-sector ESG methodology, launch of ESG Issuer Profile Scores and Credit Impact Scores and the development of Carbon Transition Assessments. He was also the lead analyst for the MIS Green Bond Assessments. Previously, Matt was an analyst in the MIS 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 is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) impact leader, working directly with Moody’s CSR team to shape, communicate and implement the firm's global CSR strategy and initiatives. He 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.

John Rogers Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance Group Moody's Ratings

John Rogers currently serves as Senior Vice President in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group. Since joining Moody’s in 1998, John has been responsible for assigning ratings to and monitoring domestic and international companies in the chemical, fertilizer and industrial gas industries. John has over 15 years experience in the chemical industry working for both petrochemical and specialty chemical companies. John also has taken the lead on providing investors with detailed research on private equity backed transactions and documenting their behavior overtime. 

Before coming to Moody’s, John worked at Cytec Industries Inc., a Fortune 500 specialty chemical company, in the areas of business development, initially focused on divesting non-core businesses and then transitioning to acquisitions to accelerate the growth of existing businesses or broaden their technology portfolios. Prior to this, John worked for American Cyanamid Company, a large US conglomerate, focusing on the restructuring of its chemicals portfolio and the divestiture of numerous businesses. John began his career as a chemical engineer working for ExxonMobil supervising plant start-ups and implementing process improvements around the world. John holds an M.B.A. in finance from New York University Stern School of Business and a B.E. in chemical engineering from Manhattan College.

John Thieroff Vice President - Senior Credit Officer, Corporate Finance Moody’s Ratings

John Thieroff is a Senior Analyst in Moody’s Oil and Gas Team, currently assigned to Moody’s ESG initiative. His ESG efforts are focused on carbon transition risk for sectors within the Corporate Finance Group that are considered to have significant exposure.

Prior to joining Moody’s, John worked for more than 20 years in energy credit in a variety of capacities including commercial lending at Chemical Bank and Christiania Bank, as a Director in Standard & Poor’s Oil and Gas group and as a Ratings Advisor at GE Capital. He also advised on transfer pricing for multi-national oil companies as an independent consultant.

John graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Central Michigan University and has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Toledo.

Jennifer Chang Vice President – Senior Credit Officer, Environmental, Social and Governance Group Moody’s Ratings

Jennifer Chang is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer in Moody’s Environmental, Social and Governance Group, with a primary focus in physical climate risks and materiality as it pertains to credit risks across various industries.

Prior to the ESG Group, Jennifer was the Public Power Sector Lead in the Global Project and Infrastructure Finance Group, and covered a range of infrastructure sectors including transportation, social infrastructure and power projects in the Americas. She also led new power project finance and public-private partnership rating assignments.

Jennifer launched the Infrastructure in Emerging Markets’ series, and is the author of several reports on PPPs, power and drillship transactions including special comments on airport concessions, express tolled lanes, credit enhancements and power project carbon transition. She recently published climate-related reports on physical climate risk assessments and credit impact of urban floods.

She is the receiver of three Moody’s Research Awards, including the report on Hydrogen – Electric Utilities and Power Projects. She is a frequent speaker and presenter at various industry conferences, including the US Department of Energy – Hydrogen Shot Summit in 2021. Prior to joining Moody’s, Jennifer worked at the World Bank as an energy finance specialist in the Latin American and Caribbean and Africa regions where she helped co-author the Brazil Low Carbon Case Study report, and worked on large scale electricity distribution rehabilitation projects in Brazil, Honduras and Malawi. Prior to the World Bank, Jennifer worked at BNP Paribas covering North American utilities, and at the Royal Bank of Scotland and at Credit Agricole covering media and telecom. She has a Bachelor of Science and Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from Drexel University and a Masters from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (SIPA) with a concentration in International Energy Management and Policy. She is currently pursuing a Certification in Sustainable Water Management from Columbia University.

Dr. Julio Friedmann, PhD Chief Scientist Carbon Direct

Dr. Julio Friedmann is Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct. He works directly with clients, the Science team, and the leadership of Carbon Direct to solve major technical challenges around carbon management and CO2 removal.

Dr. Friedmann recently served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy where he was responsible for DOE’s R&D program in advanced fossil energy systems, carbon capture, and storage (CCS), CO2 utilization, and clean coal deployment. More recently, he was a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia. He has held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, including Chief Energy Technologist.

Dr. Friedmann is one of the most widely known and authoritative experts in the U.S. on carbon removal (CO2 drawdown from the air and oceans), CO2 conversion and use (carbon-to-value), hydrogen, industrial decarbonization, and carbon capture and sequestration.

Rebecca Karnovitz Vice President - Senior Credit Officer, ESG Moody’s Ratings

Rebecca is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer in Moody’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) group. Rebecca is responsible for publishing thematic and issuer-specific research on ESG risks relevant to credit analysis. She also serves as a visible subject matter expert to internal and external stakeholders and supports outreach and engagement with market participants.

Prior to joining the ESG team, Rebecca was a member of the Strategy and Research team at MIS, where she led cross-sector research and analytics on the credit implications of key macroeconomic and policy developments in North America. Rebecca first joined Moody’s in 2011 as an associate analyst in the Sovereign Risk Group.

She holds a dual Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University (SIPA), in New York, and Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po), in Paris, as well as a BA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania.

Matt Kuchtyak Vice President – Sustainable Finance, Regional Manager Second Party Opinions Americas Moody's Ratings

Matt Kuchtyak is Vice President – Sustainable Finance for Moody’s Ratings. In this capacity, Matt is responsible for the origination and publication of thematic research related to the global sustainable finance markets. He has authored Moody’s market-leading quarterly sustainable finance market update since its inception in 2015 and has developed into a leading market voice on sustainable finance developments.

Matt leads outreach and engagement on sustainable finance issues, cultivating relationships with asset managers, asset owners, financial institutions, corporations, standard setters and other market participants. He frequently participates in high-profile outreach including investor briefings, webinars, third-party conferences and media engagements. Matt also represents MESG on a variety of industry initiatives, such as the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles (GBP) working groups.

Before his current role, Matt was an analyst on the ESG team at Moody’s Investors Service (MIS), where he advanced the rating agency’s efforts to systematically and transparently incorporate ESG considerations into its credit ratings. He was a key contributor to the development of MIS’s cross-sector ESG methodology, launch of ESG Issuer Profile Scores and Credit Impact Scores and the development of Carbon Transition Assessments. He was also the lead analyst for the MIS Green Bond Assessments. Previously, Matt was an analyst in the MIS 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 is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) impact leader, working directly with Moody’s CSR team to shape, communicate and implement the firm's global CSR strategy and initiatives. He 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.

Anne Van Praagh Managing Director – Global Head of Public, Project and Infrastructure Finance Moody’s Ratings

Anne Van Praagh is Global Head of the Public, Project & Infrastructure Finance Group for Moody’s Ratings, overseeing credit ratings and research on public sector entities worldwide.

Prior to this role, Anne led the Sovereign Risk Group in 2021 and 2022. Anne was head of Ratings Research from 2019 to early 2022, driving the content and engagement strategy for 20,000 research publications published annually. In 2016, Anne launched the Credit Strategy & Research group, setting Moody’s macroeconomic and “house views” on emerging risk trends and coordinating Moody’s credit response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Previously she held roles as MD for Sovereign Risk in the Americas, Middle East and APAC, Chief Credit Officer for Public Sector Ratings, and lead analyst for US infrastructure, states and local governments. She also spent three years as vice president in Morgan Stanley’s public finance investment banking team advising on $25 billion in financings. 

Anne began her career as a speechwriter at the US Department of Defense in the Clinton Administration. She has a Master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a Bachelor’s degree from George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. She is married with two daughters.

John Rogers Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance Group Moody's Ratings

John Rogers currently serves as Senior Vice President in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group. Since joining Moody’s in 1998, John has been responsible for assigning ratings to and monitoring domestic and international companies in the chemical, fertilizer and industrial gas industries. John has over 15 years experience in the chemical industry working for both petrochemical and specialty chemical companies. John also has taken the lead on providing investors with detailed research on private equity backed transactions and documenting their behavior overtime. 

Before coming to Moody’s, John worked at Cytec Industries Inc., a Fortune 500 specialty chemical company, in the areas of business development, initially focused on divesting non-core businesses and then transitioning to acquisitions to accelerate the growth of existing businesses or broaden their technology portfolios. Prior to this, John worked for American Cyanamid Company, a large US conglomerate, focusing on the restructuring of its chemicals portfolio and the divestiture of numerous businesses. John began his career as a chemical engineer working for ExxonMobil supervising plant start-ups and implementing process improvements around the world. John holds an M.B.A. in finance from New York University Stern School of Business and a B.E. in chemical engineering from Manhattan College.

John Thieroff Vice President - Senior Credit Officer, Corporate Finance Moody’s Ratings

John Thieroff is a Senior Analyst in Moody’s Oil and Gas Team, currently assigned to Moody’s ESG initiative. His ESG efforts are focused on carbon transition risk for sectors within the Corporate Finance Group that are considered to have significant exposure.

Prior to joining Moody’s, John worked for more than 20 years in energy credit in a variety of capacities including commercial lending at Chemical Bank and Christiania Bank, as a Director in Standard & Poor’s Oil and Gas group and as a Ratings Advisor at GE Capital. He also advised on transfer pricing for multi-national oil companies as an independent consultant.

John graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Central Michigan University and has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Toledo.