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Biographies of the Guest Speakers
Andy White – Executive Management Director – Inflection Point Capital Management
Andy White is Executive Managing Director at IPCM, and leads the global research team. Prior to joining IPCM he served as
global Managing Director of Research with Innovest Strategic Value Advisors. In that capacity, he was instrumental in
building and leading the research team which was consistently as rated #1 in the world. During his six years at Innovest, he
also led in the creation of a number of new investment products and tools, working with such leading asset managers as
HSBC, RCM Allianz Dresdner, and Hermes. In addition, he led several ground-breaking advisory assignments, including the
one which created the Access to Medicines Index of global pharmaceutical companies. He also was instrumental in creating
an industry-leading analytical tool for assessing companies’ performance in implementing the UN Global Compact. Prior to
joining Innovest, he served as Managing Director at Core Ratings (a sister company to Fitch) and at PIRC, where he
specialized in corporate governance. Earlier in his career, he had worked in industry for two major, publicly-traded
companies: Cape PLC in the UK, and BASF AG in Germany. Mr White holds a Master’s degree in environmental
management, with a first degree in business.
Dr Daniel Beunza – London School of Economics, UK
Dr Beunza is Assistant Professor of Management at the London School of Economics. His research in
sociology explores the ways in which social relations and technology shape financial value. His awardwinning study of a derivatives trading room on a Wall Street bank traces the roots of extraordinary
returns to the use of space and internal organization. His study of financial analysts examined the ways
in which social dynamics shaped the valuation of dot-com stocks. Dr. Beunza has also conducted a fiveyear ethnography on the automation of the New York Stock Exchange.
Following the financial crisis that started in 2008, Beunza’s research turned to explore the ongoing
efforts to reform the financial industry. His study of shareholder engagement received the 2014
Sustainalytics award. He has also examined the standardization of financial data on environmental and
social performance, as well as the role of non-profit and non-governmental organizations in responsible
investment. Beunza is currently authoring a book on the role of bank culture in the reform of Wall Street
and the City of London. Dr Beunza obtained his PhD from New York University and taught at Columbia
Business School in New York City before joining LSE.
Catalina Secreteanu – Sustainalytics
As a senior responsible investment adviser, Catalina is focused on business development within the
U.K. market, and works with Sustainalytics’ U.K. clients to support their responsible investment
strategies. In 2013 and 2014, Catalina was voted best client relations/sale person for responsible
investment in the Independent Research in Responsible Investment (IRRI) Survey. Prior to joining
Sustainalytics, Catalina was program manager at the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance
Association (UKSIF). She was responsible for the organization’s programs geared towards
institutional investors. Catalina is currently a member of the International Working Group of the US
SIF and the Analyst Committee Group of UKSIF, where she contributes to the analyst program
strategy and designs events on emerging environmental, social and governance issues.
Catalina has a master’s degree in Corporate Social Responsibility from the Nottingham University
Business School and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Bucharest.
Dr Afshin Mehrpouya – HEC Paris, France
Afshin Mehrpouya assistant professor of accounting and management control at HEC Paris,
studies transnational governance and accountability regimes. His recent research activities
focus on the role of discourse and practices of transparency in transnational governance, the
calculative practices of analysts underlying governance technologies such as environmental
and social rankings and ratings, transnational accountability regimes for the sovereign wealth
funds, and the organizing processes underlying the global rise of responsible investors.
An ESSEC Business School Ph.D. graduate, he holds a medical degree from Tehran University of
Medical Sciences and an MBA from York University (Schulich). He has several years of
professional experience in responsible investments with special focus on environmental and
social analysis of the pharmaceutical sector, and access to medicines. He advises a number of
environmental and social ratings, rankings and indices.