Stakeholder
Council

As Senior Policy Advisor in the Policy and Government Relations Division, Linda is responsible for developing global biodiversity policy, particularly related to mainstreaming biodiversity conservation into production sectors (energy, infrastructure, mining) by working with multilateral organizations, international aid agencies, financial institutions and corporations. She also develops and manages strategic partnerships with the World Bank, IFC, G20 and other institutions related to conservation planning, impact assessment, land restoration and sustainable development. Linda has previously worked at the Wildlife Conservation Society, as an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs, and has served as foreign policy legislative staff in both the US Senate and House of Representatives. She holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from Stanford University.

Areas of Expertise

Biodiversity Policies; Mainstreaming biodiversity conservation into production sectors (energy, infrastructure, mining)

Evi initiates and implements projects to support ASI’s strategic initiatives and oversees the GSTC accreditation program. Evi worked with the Textile Exchange team to review its assurance system and works with new schemes such as the GIB and the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) on the development and implementation of its assurance systems. She is also an RJC assessor. Previously, Evi worked as a Product Integrity Manager at the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council), where she contributed to the development and implementation of new policies as well as the coordination of the review of the MSC Chain of Custody Standard. She coordinated audits and certifications in Latin America at a certification body called FLO-Cert. 

Areas of Expertise

Assurance

Mr Pass joined Guggenheim Partners in 2009 and is responsible for the research, development and implementation of investment strategies for the Firm’s efforts in the infrastructure arena, including both equity and debt opportunities. In this role, he also serves on several Limited Partner Advisory Committees, on behalf of our clients, in connection with infrastructure funds, focused on global opportunities, in particular the Arctic and Europe, respectively. Since 1986, he has been involved in financing, advising and operating infrastructure assets, ranging from airports to power plants, from health care facilities to student housing complexes. Due to this breath of industry knowledge, Mr. Pass has been featured in multiple publications and has spoken to various associations in the industry, including the World Economic Forum, the White House Business Council, the Milken Institute Global Conference and Bloomberg Press, among others. Prior to joining Guggenheim, Mr. Pass was a Managing Director at RBC Capital Markets where he headed the Midwest Region. He earned his B.A. in Diplomatic History and Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Darius Nassiry is an expert on sustainable finance and climate-related investments.  He has served as a consultant to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Climate Bonds Initiative, the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), and the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund). He has also served as a principal with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI).

Mumtaz Khan is a recognized leader in private equity in the Middle East and Asia.

He is currently an Advisor to the Oil & Gas Holding Company (Nogaholding) of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and working on the establishment of an Energy Platform for Private Equity investment in Energy Projects in the Middle East and Asia, including renewable energy.

He was the key person to establish the US$ 730 million Islamic Development Bank Infrastructure Fund (IDB Fund) and served as Chairman and CEO of EMP Bahrain, Manager of the IDB Fund, for eight years. He was also for two years the CEO of Asma Capital Partners B.S.C.(c), the manager of the US$ 750 million IDB Infrastructure Fund II and Chairman of the Investment Committee.

He served on the Board of the following project companies; Saudi International Petrochemical Company, Advanced Polypropylene Company, petrochemical companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, TAV, a leading airport management company and Akfen Holding a leading infrastructure company in Turkey, AES Oasis, a power development company based in Dubai, and Air Asia, the first low cost carrier in Asia.

He founded Middle East & Asia Capital Partners (“MEACP”), a private equity platform, connecting the Middle East and Asia. He initiated the US$ 250 million MEACP Clean Energy Fund for Asia supported by International Finance Corporation.

He served as a Managing Director at EMP Global in Washington D.C. and for three years was based in Hong Kong as a Managing Director for the US$ 1.1 billion AIG Asian Infrastructure Fund.

Prior to that, he was with IFC for 14 years and served as Resident Representative based in Jakarta. He served as a Manager in IFC’s Asia Department and pioneered IFC’s program in China through extensive engagement with state owned entities in China and the Ministry of Finance. He played a key role in establishing the first Islamic bank in Singapore, a joint venture between Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) and prominent Middle East investors. Mr. Khan is a founder shareholder of the Islamic Bank of Asia. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the UK based Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) and economic Advisor of the World Islamic Economic Forum. He is also a member of the Bretton Woods Committee and served as a member of the Interim Council of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). He is a member of the Board of Energy Advisors and member of the Investment Committee of the Bahrain Energy Fund.

Areas of Expertise:

Private Equity

Carlo Fabian, Prof. is a senior researcher, project leader and lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), Institute for Social Planning, Organisational Change and Urban Development. He has a Master’s degree in Health and Social Psychology, is a Specialist Psychologist in Health Psychology (FSP) and has a Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in Coaching Studies. After several years as a researcher and lecturer at the University of Zurich (1997-2001), the Swiss Institute for Health and Addiction Research (1999-2000) and the FHNW (2001-2008), he worked at RADIX (foundation for health promotion and prevention; 2008-2012). Since 2011, he has led projects at the FHNW addressing the subject of urban development, participatory planning and well-being. From 2014 to 2018 he was a member of the Management Committee of the Cost-Action ‘IS1402 – Ageism – a multi-national, interdisciplinary perspective’. Since 2016 he is a member of the ‘Swiss federal expert committee for problems of drug addiction’ EKSF.

Areas of Expertise

Urban development and health
Health promotion and prevention
Social space
Participation
Addiction
Violence
Research (quantitative and qualitative)
Evaluation

Mr. Nazari is an independent consultant with over 25 years of experience in over 40 countries conducting ESG reviews, aligning projects with the IFC Performance Standards and Equator Principles, and completing sustainability reporting and assurance engagements. He also serves as Lenders’ E&S Advisor and expert panelists for independent accountability mechanisms at the Inter-American Development Bank and the Green Climate Fund. Previously, Mr. Nazari headed Corporate Responsibility/ESG Research at Fitch’s CoreRatings, London (now DNV), served as Principal Environmental Specialist at the European Bank (EBRD) in London, and was a Project Manager with Dames & Moore in Frankfurt (now AECOM). Mr. Nazari studied in Germany, the USA (Fulbright) and the UK, and earned a Master’s degree in Hydrogeology (University of Birmingham) and an MBA (Henley Business School). He is also a Fellow of Rockefeller Foundation’s LEAD program. Mr. Nazari is based in the USA.

James Seward is a Program Manager in the Financial Advisory and Banking group of the World Bank Treasury. He is part of a team of financial specialists that design and implement financial solutions to help clients: (1) access financing for development by mobilizing World Bank Group financial resources and private sector financing; (2) mitigate the impact of financial, natural disaster and commodity risks by facilitating access to market-based risk management tools; and (3) strengthen the capacity of client counterparts in optimizing financing structures. Mr. Seward is leading this work for Africa and engaged across the world on a range of financial solutions.

Prior this position, Mr. Seward was the Practice Manager for the Finance and Markets (F&M) team in the Africa Region of the World Bank. He oversaw a team of 26 staff, a lending portfolio of $1.4 billion across 12 projects, and 40 grants of $32.4 million covering the spectrum of financial sector development technical assistance and advisory programs in 20 countries in Africa. From 2014-2016, he was the Practice Manager of the F&M team in the East Asia and Pacific Region, where he managed a team of 42 staff across 10 country offices, with a budget of over $15 million and series of financing operations of over $700 million. These projects included the financing of infrastructure, such as in roads, sustainable energy, and housing, and often involved the enhancement and/or creation of new financial entities.

During the past 17 years at World Bank, he worked on a range of financial sector policy issues, including financial stability, banking reform, strengthening regulation and supervision, building financial markets and competitiveness, and expanding access to finance. Mr. Seward led numerous technical assistance, analytical, and financing operations during his tenure at the World Bank, including three major Financial Sector Assessment Programs (FSAPs) across the East Asia region.   

Mr. Seward’s prior professional experience was with the United States Department of the Treasury as a regulator for economic and financial sanctions compliance and enforcement. He also served in the U.S. Department of State working on U.S. foreign policy towards Egypt and countries in North Africa.  He was a consultant to different organizations, including one of the world’s largest microfinance banks and a leading research institute in international development. Mr. Seward has a graduate public policy degree with a concentration in international finance from the Kennedy School of Harvard University and an undergraduate degree in business administration and political science from James Madison University.