ESG Insider: A podcast from S&P Global S&P Global

 
Throughout Women's History Month, we're bringing you a special series of the ESG Insider podcast focused on women in leadership. We're speaking to women CEOs and executives from across industries and around the globe.  

In this episode, we interview Laura Lane, Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Officer at UPS, a multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company. 

Laura explains how her "life-changing" experience as a Foreign Affairs officer during the civil war in Rwanda impacted her outlook on life and leadership.  

"That taught me the importance of people, the importance of principles, and gave me that internal courage to challenge the status quo, advocate for new paths — and in many ways, set me on the path to eventually joining the private sector and being a part of the change that we wanted to see in how companies show up in the world," Laura says. 

Laura explains how her leadership style has evolved over the course of her career. "One of the constants has always been something that was career advice that I was given early on in my Foreign Service days, which was: Don't wait for someone to give you a title to act. Lead from where you are," she says. 

Diversity in leadership has received increasing attention in recent years from stakeholders in the sustainability world. Investors have pushed for diversity on company boards and management teams, and in some parts of the world, that push has extended to laws and regulations. But the number of women in top roles remains low. Read recent research from S&P Global on women in leadership here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/women-ceos-leadership-for-a-diverse-future    

And here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/the-path-to-gender-parity  

You can listen to previous episodes in our Women in Leadership series here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/women-in-leadership  

You can listen to Laura's TED Talk on her time in Rwanda here: https://www.ted.com/talks/laura_lane_when_you_shouldn_t_follow_the_rules 

Photo source: UPS 

Copyright ©2023 by S&P Global  

DISCLAIMER  

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.  

By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.  

S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO US

This week the ESG Insider podcast is on the ground in Houston, Texas for a special episode covering key themes from one of the world’s largest energy conferences — the annual CERAWeek event hosted by S&P Global. The event brings together big names from across the oil and gas, finance, government and technology sectors, and provides an opportunity to take the pulse of the global energy industry on the low-carbon transition. 

In this episode we cover key themes that emerged throughout the week, from balancing sustainability goals with energy security needs, to emerging energy technologies, to the just transition. 

Guests on today’s episode include:  

Jigar Shah, Director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office 


Lance Uggla, CEO of BeyondNetZero, a venture targeting growth equity investments related to climate change, and the founder and former CEO of IHS Markit before it merged with S&P Global 
Alok Sinha, Global Head of Oil & Gas and Chemicals at international bank Standard Chartered 
Ben Wilson, Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer at National Grid and Interim President of National Grid Ventures 
Dr. Mike Howard, Chair of the World Energy Council 
Allyson Anderson Book, Chief Sustainability Officer at Baker Hughes, an energy and industrial technology company 


Amanda Eversole, Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer at the trade association American Petroleum Institute 
Jessica Monserrate, Head of Sustainability North America at BASF, the world's largest chemical company 
David Victor, professor of innovation and public policy at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego in California 
Shannon O'Neil, Vice President, Deputy Director of Studies, and Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank 

You can find more coverage of CERAWeek from S&P Global here: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/topics/ceraweek  


And you can listen here: https://www.spglobal.com/en/research-insights/podcasts/essential-podcast/the-essential-podcast-episode-81-ceraweek-day-5  

Listen to our previous episode on the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/what-landmark-new-us-climate-law-means-for-emissions 

You can listen to our Women in Leadership podcast series here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/women-in-leadership   

Photo source: Getty Images 

Copyright ©2023 by S&P Global  

DISCLAIMER  

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.  

By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the s

To mark Women's History Month, we're bringing you a special series of the ESG Insider podcast focused on women in leadership. We're speaking to women CEOs and executives from across industries and around the globe. 

In this episode, we interview Shameela Soobramoney, Chief Sustainability Officer at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. She explains how the JSE approaches gender equality internally and in its role as an exchange listing the stocks and bonds of hundreds of companies. 

"At the JSE, there's a strong advocacy for women empowerment and female representation. And we do believe that it starts with leading by example," she says. "We're the largest stock exchange in the continent, a key player in the South African economy. And [the JSE] has an acute understanding of the role that exchanges must play in driving diversity in all its forms and inclusion beyond just our organization." 

She also talks about the challenges she faced starting her career as a woman of color just as South Africa was coming out of apartheid.  

"The challenges that women anywhere will face, it feels like were exacerbated for someone like me in a country like South Africa with its past," she says.  

"Women need to be each other's supporters," she adds. "That is what we should be doing —and opening the door for others and helping younger women along who are facing some of the challenges that you might have had earlier in your career." 

Diversity in leadership has received increasing attention in recent years from stakeholders in the sustainability world. Investors have pushed for diversity on company boards and management teams, and in some parts of the world, that push has extended to laws and regulations. But the number of women in top roles remains low. Read recent research from S&P Global on women in leadership here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/women-ceos-leadership-for-a-diverse-future  

And here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/the-path-to-gender-parity  

You can listen to previous episodes in our Women in Leadership series here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/women-in-leadership  

Photo source: JSE 

Copyright ©2023 by S&P Global 

DISCLAIMER 

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global. 

By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties. 

S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S US

To mark Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, we’re bringing you a special series of the ESG Insider podcast focused on women in leadership, featuring interviews with women CEOs and executives from across industries and around the globe. 

In this episode, we’re speaking to Jackie van Niekerk, CEO of South African real estate investment trust Attacq, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Attacq has a majority of women employees from executive leadership right through the business and tries to create an environment for women to succeed, Jackie tells us.  

“It's not a perfect science, but we really try to encourage that you can be a mom, you can be a wife, you can be a partner, and you can still have a beautiful career,” she says. 

Jackie took on the CEO role during COVID-19, and she talks about the lessons she learned from leading through the pandemic. 
"I really started listening to my people, to my clients, understanding what are you actually going through, learning how to pause and then implement," she says. "And that's the greatest thing I got out of COVID, and it's really, really helped me become a leader that's for the people and not just for the numbers."

Diversity in leadership has received increasing attention in recent years from stakeholders in the sustainability world. Investors have pushed for diversity on company boards and management teams, and in some parts of the world, that push has extended to laws and regulations. But the number of women in top roles remains low. Read recent research from S&P Global on women in leadership here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/women-ceos-leadership-for-a-diverse-future  

And here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/the-path-to-gender-parityy 

You can listen to previous episodes in our Women in Leadership series here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/women-in-leadership  

Photo source: Attacq 

Copyright ©2023 by S&P Global 

DISCLAIMER 

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global. 

By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties. 

S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST. 

 

In the latest episode of our special Women in Leadership series of the ESG Insider podcast, we’re speaking with Priscilla Sims Brown, CEO of New York-based Amalgamated Bank — a company she describes as “a little bit unusual” in the financial services world in that it is a socially responsible bank focused on ESG and sustainability.   

Priscilla's path to the CEO role has spanned continents and industries — from growing up in an Ethiopian family in Germany to working in business journalism in California to holding an executive role at Australia’s largest bank. She also tells us how her experiences working through crisis — from natural disasters to COVID-19 — have shaped her leadership style and her approach to diversity, equity and inclusion. 

“I'm not uncomfortable with discomfort,” she says.  

Priscilla explains how attitudes about leadership have evolved. “Often, you found women emulating men, you found women doing what was comfortable to men in the workplace in order to be accepted,” she said of her early career. “What's really nice today is that a lot of the women I see in the workplace are very comfortable dressing, acting, talking, thinking differently.” 

Diversity in leadership has received increasing attention in recent years from stakeholders in the sustainability world. Investors have pushed for diversity on company boards and management teams, and in some parts of the world, that push has extended to laws and regulations. But the number of women in top roles remains low.
Read recent research from S&P Global on women in leadership here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/women-ceos-leadership-for-a-diverse-future  

And here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/the-path-to-gender-parity  

You can listen to previous episodes in our Women in Leadership series here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/women-in-leadership-no-horace-mann-ceo-is-not-working-the-coat-check   

Here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/women-in-leadership-seventh-generation-ceo-on-importance-of-being-radically-human-   

And here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/women-in-leadership-how-norwegian-industrial-ceo-puts-diversity-on-the-agenda   

We'd love to hear from you. To give us feedback on this episode or share ideas for future episodes, please contact hosts Lindsey Hall (lindsey.hall@spglobal.com) and Esther Whieldon (esther.whieldon@spglobal.com).   

Photo source: Amalgamated Bank 

Copyright ©2023 by S&P Global    

DISCLAIMER    

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.   

By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warrant

Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day, and to mark the occasion we’re bringing you the latest in our special series of the ESG Insider podcast focused on women in leadership. We’re talking to Marita Zuraitis, CEO of Horace Mann, a financial services and insurance company that serves U.S. public educators. 

Marita tells us how she handles the unconscious bias she has encountered on her path to the C-suite.  

“I can't tell you how many times somebody handed me their coat,” she says. “Now we call it unconscious bias, and we talk about making people aware of their unconscious biases. I didn't have a label for it until a lot of the corporate social responsibility and ESG push that we see today.” 

Marita also discusses how her company works to promote diversity, equity and inclusion for its workforce and for its customer base, which is 75% women.   

"We work really hard to support our very heavily concentrated female customer base,” she says. "Females in our customer base are often the head of household, often working on and controlling the finances in the household, and many of those people are women of color. So concentrating our efforts on financial wellness and financial planning for our sector was something that we thought we could do to get right to the issue of helping females protect what they have today and secure their long-term financial future.” 

Diversity in leadership has received increasing attention in recent years from stakeholders in the sustainability world. Investors have pushed for diversity on company boards and management teams, and in some parts of the world, that push has extended to laws and regulations. But the number of women in top roles remains low. Read recent research from S&P Global on women in leadership here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/women-ceos-leadership-for-a-diverse-future 
And here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/the-path-to-gender-parity 

You can listen to previous episodes in our Women in Leadership series here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/women-in-leadership-seventh-generation-ceo-on-importance-of-being-radically-human-  

And here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/women-in-leadership-how-norwegian-industrial-ceo-puts-diversity-on-the-agenda  

We'd love to hear from you. To give us feedback on this episode or share ideas for future episodes, please contact hosts Lindsey Hall (lindsey.hall@spglobal.com) and Esther Whieldon (esther.whieldon@spglobal.com).  

Photo source: Horace Mann

Copyright ©2023 by S&P Global   

DISCLAIMER   

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.  

By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no w