Our team

As Executive Director, Helen has a responsibility across all aspects of A4S activities, focusing much of her time on our CFO Programme and our Knowledge and Technical Programmes.

Having trained as a Chartered Accountant, Helen moved into sustainable business in 2006, initially with PwC, working with a diverse portfolio of cross sector organizations and supporting them to deal with a wide variety of strategic, operational, regulatory and reporting challenges. Helen is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), a Practitioner Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment and an Accredited Social Return on Investment Practitioner. She sits on the ICAEW Sustainability Committee and the Capitals Coalition Advisory Panel. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and an Executive MBA.

Susan is managing our global CFO programme including managing our current networks and expanding the programme.

Susan has over twenty years’ experience as a project and programme manager. Prior to A4S she worked in the financial sector managing IT implementation, restructure and regulatory projects. She moved to the not for profit sector and worked in CAFOD, an international overseas development agency, as a programme change manager managing the delivery of a divisional restructure. Susan has a B.Comm and H.Dip in System Analysis from NUI Galway.

Brad Sparks is the Executive Director of the US Chapter of the A4S CFO Leadership Network.   

Previously, Brad served as Executive Director, Clients & Markets at KPMG, working with clients to integrate sustainability, respond to sustainability-related risks, and assess corporate sustainability performance.  His prior experiences also include leading KPMG’s global environmental sustainability strategy and advancing the other Corporate Citizenship initiatives for the KPMG global network.  Other prior experiences include Internal Audit at Gateway computers and KPMG Audit.  

Brad is a Certified Public Accountant.  He has an MBA in Sustainable Enterprise from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as a Master of Science and BSBA in Accounting from Appalachian State University.  He lives in Los Angeles.    

Kerry leads our Capital Markets programme to accelerate awareness and action towards a global sustainable financial system. This includes running – and growing – our Asset Owners Network for pension fund chairs and supporting their commitments to embed sustainability into their strategy, decision making processes and engagement across the investment chain. Kerry has a strong background in implementing initiatives and projects and maximizing impact. Having worked on numerous sustainability initiatives of HRH The Prince of Wales, she joined A4S in 2017 where she initially drove support for and adoption across a global CFO community of the recommendations of the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). She has developed strong relationships within capital markets and works with A4S’s Executive Chair to lead A4S’s capital markets programme.

Elizabeth is responsible for the development and delivery of A4S’s research and technical work programmes, working in particular with the CFO Leadership Network, Accounting Bodies Network and other members of the A4S team. She supports the global implementation of the A4S Strategy and a diverse range of A4S projects, from engagement, communications and outreach events, through to project activities.

Elizabeth is a Chartered Accountant who trained with KPMG London and has 12 years of experience as a sustainability professional in Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific region. She has worked in a number of large companies across various industries, including banking and financial services, airport operations and property investment, focusing on corporate sustainability governance, strategy, reporting and management. Elizabeth is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and she holds a BSc in Accounting and Finance from London School of Economics and Political Science and a Master in Corporate Environmental and Sustainability Management from Monash University in Australia.

Hannah co-ordinates A4S’s programme of activity across the Americas, including Canada, the USA and Brazil. This includes supporting the delivery of regional strategy, working with directors and senior members in building cross regional relationships and enabling knowledge sharing.

Previously, Hannah assisted in the management of the international expansion of the CFO Leadership Network and the delivery of key A4S events. Hannah has a BA (Hons) in English from the University of Exeter

Jamie coordinates A4S’s communications.

Jamie is active in developing the team’s communications strategy, digital presence and our Communications Group. Jamie has previously worked for UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and the Enterprise Europe Network. He has a BA in History and Politics from The University of Sheffield.

Lucy is responsible for developing and delivering the events and engagement strategy at A4S, including the annual A4S Summit.

Prior to joining A4S, Lucy worked for a commercial conference and marketing solutions organization as the Head of Content, overseeing product development across multiple sectors. Lucy has a BA (Hons) in English from Queen Mary, University of London.

Martina manages the CFO Leadership Network for Europe and coordinates several Knowledge and Technical projects that require collaboration from different A4S teams and external resources and partners. This includes delivery of A4S strategy, project management, building strong relationships and, knowledge development and sharing.

Martina has more than 11 years consulting experience in Finance and Financial Services, having worked for Ernst & Young (EY) where she was a Senior Manager in the CFO Advisory team. She has  extensive experience  in leading technical projects in the reporting, regulatory and risk space, working with C-suite executives and senior finance professionals by managing cross border compliance and change programmes. 

She is a chartered accountant (ACCA) and qualified project manager (Prince2).  She holds a  Master’s  degree in Banking and Finance  and a Bachelor  in Business and Economics  from the University of Padua, Italy. 

Zoë project manages all activities within the capital markets work programme, contributing to the delivery of key tasks and monitoring and evaluating progress.

Prior to joining A4S, Zoë worked for a commercial conference and marketing solutions organization as the Head of Insurance. She held responsibility for overall strategic direction, content creation and project management of all events and insurance-related activities. Zoë has a MA in International Development, Politics & Governance and a BSocSci (Hons) in Politics & International Relations from The University of Manchester.

Nadine manages the delivery and growth of the A4S Academy.
 
Nadine previously worked in Grant Thornton as Client Relationship & Engagement Manager and has a strong background in Project management and Business Development. Nadine holds a Master of Science in Environmental Technology: Business and Sustainability, from Imperial College London and a Bachelor in International Public Policy and Management, from The Hague University.

Belinda is the personal assistant to the Executive Chairman and Executive Director.

Prior to joining A4S, Belinda worked for a diplomatic organization working across various administrative and support roles. Belinda holds a BA (hons) in Human Geography from Queen Mary University of London.
 

Tilia supports the delivery of the A4S global strategy with a focus on research and content management. She provides insight to the Networks globally on current developments in sustainability and finance.

Prior to joining A4S, Tilia was the Environmental Science Intern for BP. Tilia has a BA (Hons) in Geography from Durham University.

Emiko provides expert advice to A4S’s capital markets programme, including its Asset Owners Network for pension fund chairs. Emiko has 18 years of private and public sector financial services experience, predominantly in the areas of pensions and wealth management. She has held senior roles with top tier organizations such as PwC, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays Bank, latterly as Chief Operating Officer for Barclays in the Channel Islands. Previously, Emiko was a pensions research consultant to the UK National Association of Pension Funds (now the Pensions & Lifetime Savings Association) and, during the global financial crisis, was Strategic Statistician to the UK Pensions Regulator (TPR), where she helped to build the evidence base for regulatory policy and strategy.

Her longstanding interest in sustainability stems from her BA (Hons) degree in Environmental Management, when she researched the corporate social responsibility (CSR) drivers of the FTSE100. Subsequently, at the University of Oxford, she researched the investment decision making (including socially responsible investment decision making) of UK pension fund trustees, gaining a D.Phil (PhD) in Behavioural Economics.

Deborah is responsible for our communication strategy and developing and implementing communications plans that support the project’s work.

Deborah has twenty years’ experience in communications and public relations, most recently with a special focus on communicating initiatives that inspire sustainable practices. Deborah was previously Media Relations Manager at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) where she managed and led the media work on sustainability, CSR, corporate governance and financial services. Deborah has advised the Natural Capital Coalition on communications strategy and currently sits on the NCC Communications Working Group. She has a BA in American History from University of East Anglia and is an Accredited Practitioner of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

Charlotte advises A4S management on communications planning, implementation and outreach.

Charlotte has over twenty years’ experience developing high-level multi-lingual communication strategies on sustainability issues within the UN, governments, private sector and civil society. Prior to joining A4S, Charlotte served as Communications Officer for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, where she also served as lead focal point for the organisation in key global task groups and led a number of UN initiatives. She is also a member of the UNESCO International Network of UNESCO Chairs in Communications where she previously served as Board member. Charlotte holds a BA in International Studies and Journalism from American University in Washington, DC USA and has an MA in Mass Communications from Leicester University.

Rachel is the technical advisor to A4S, supporting the effective implementation of A4S projects.

Previously, she was Head of Sustainability at ACCA for 16 years, where she developed ACCA’s sustainability strategy, directed the organization’s sustainability work and vision to help influence the accounting profession and its members more widely, formulated policy in key areas and established the Global Forum on Sustainability. She has extensive experience of developing global reporting frameworks, multi-stakeholder projects and sustainable accounting matters. Rachel is a member of the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise - Sustainable Development judging panel.

She has a Masters Degree (Distinction) in Environmental Technology from Imperial College, specialising in Business.

Davinder is the Director of the Canadian Chapter of the CFO Leadership Network

She gained her extensive business operations leadership experience working with a variety of organizations, including Ontario Power Generation and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. Davinder has held a variety of senior business consulting roles, most recently as director of global infrastructure advisory with KPMG LLP. With a deep understanding of energy, infrastructure and financing, she has been responsible for all facets of decision-making to achieve organizations’ goals and objectives. Davinder has expertise in strategic planning, business structures, project financing, internal audit, stakeholder relations and sustainability/climate change effects.

At CPA Canada Davinder is the Executive Director of Strategy, Risk and Performance. She leads a team that conducts technical research to develop guidance and thought leadership on emerging and current issues related to strategy, risk, technology, finance, management, climate change and sustainability, supporting CPA members in business, government and not-for-profit to be more resilient, adaptive and innovative.

Andrew is the Chapter Project Manager of the Canadian Chapter of The A4S CFO Leadership Network. In this role, he leads the Chapter projects which focus on creating practical tools and guidance for finance professionals by finance professionals.

Andrew is a CPA, CMA with over seven years of business experience in logistics/supply chain with global organizations, including, Walmart Canada and CHEP Pallets.  Previously, as Transportation Manager with Walmart Canada, he led a number a strategic planning initiatives to develop Walmart Canada’s transportation sustainability strategy.

Andrew holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Brock University.