Corporate Climate Lobbying and the Board: Navigating Investor Expectations

Amelia Miazad

Founding Director & Senior Research Fellow, Business in Society Institute at Berkeley Law

Amelia Miazad is an expert in sustainable capitalism and founded and leads the Business in Society Institute at Berkeley Law. The Institute’s mission is to define and advance a legal and policy agenda that encourages companies to account for stakeholders and the environment.

Amelia teaches several courses at the intersection of stakeholder capitalism and corporate governance including: Introduction to Sustainable Capitalism & ESG, Business in Society Seminar, Corporations in Crisis, Social Enterprise Law, and Business and Human Rights. In addition to her in-residence teaching at Berkeley Law, Amelia has designed and teaches several executive education courses for C-Suite executives and board members around the world.

Amelia’s recent publications explore stakeholder governance and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) as a process for overseeing risk and a powerful tool for transforming corporate culture.

Amelia’s curriculum and scholarship rely heavily on input from experts who are implementing environmental and social considerations into their business and investment practices. She regularly presents to audiences of corporate executives in the US, South America, and Europe.

Anne Kelly

Vice President of Government Relations, Ceres

Anne L. Kelly is the vice president of government relations and leads Ceres Policy Network, Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP). BICEP is a coalition of 52 leading consumer-facing companies advocating for meaningful climate and energy policy at the federal and state levels. Anne is a registered lobbyist and is actively engaged on Capitol Hill on behalf of Ceres and BICEP member companies.

Anne is an environmental lawyer with twenty-five years of combined experience in the private and public sectors. In the 1990s, she directed the Massachusetts-based

Environmental Crimes Strike Force consisting of a multi-disciplinary team of legal and engineering professionals charged with bringing high-profile civil and criminal actions against environmental violators through the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General.

Anne later worked as special assistant to EPA Region 1 Administrator John DeVillars. In this role, she worked on corporate leadership programs and developed an International Pollution Prevention Program which was piloted in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Anne is a member of the adjunct faculty of Boston College Law School where she has taught courses in environmental law and climate change. Anne has also taught environmental law at Tufts University, Suffolk University, and New England School of Law. She serves on the boards of the Environmental League of Massachusetts and Massachusetts Interfaith Power & Light (MIP&L), and is fellow in the American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL). In addition to her law degree, Anne holds a Master's in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Margaret Fleming

Governance Associate, Ceres

Adam Kanzer

Head of Stewardship, Americas, at BNP Paribas Asset Management

Adam is Head of Stewardship, Americas, at BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM).

He leads our firm’s stewardship activities in the region, including direct corporate engagement and proxy voting, working with policymakers on key issues relating to sustainable finance and investment, and representing BNPP AM in key investor ESG networks. Adam joined us in 2018 and is based in New York.

Prior to joining us, Adam was Managing Director of Corporate Engagement at Domini Impact Investments. During his 20 years at Domini he built a corporate engagement programme focused on improving the ESG performance of major US corporations, as well as developing Domini’s public policy advocacy programme and proxy voting policies.

He has a wealth of experience in a broad range of ESG issues, including climate change, deforestation, labour standards, human rights and supply chain management. He has been an active member of a wide variety of ESG networks and organisations, and has been instrumental in helping companies to evolve their corporate practices in key areas.

Adam served on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee, and is a founder of the Global Network Initiative, a multi-stakeholder organization addressing threats to freedom of expression and privacy rights in the ICT sector. He currently serves on the Human Rights Advisory Committee of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, and the steering committee of the Investor Alliance for Human Rights. He was a member of the Eminent Persons Group that oversaw development of the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework. In 2008, he was named to the Directorship 100, Directorship magazine’s listing of the most influential people on corporate governance and in the boardroom. He is a frequent speaker and commentator on sustainable investing and corporate accountability.

Adam began his career as a Litigation Associate at New York law firm Cahill, Gordon & Reindel and has over 20 years of experience. He holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Celso White

Board Director, CF Industries Holdings and Armada Acquisition Corp I

White is a C – Level Global Supply Chain Executive, Board member, and PE/VC advisor. White retired as Global Chief Supply Chain Officer from Molson Coors Brewing Company, a brewing company with more than 50 breweries worldwide and $11 billion in net sales. He has more than 35 years of global experience in the food and beverage industry.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Bradley University, he joined Silgan White Cap in Chicago as Worldwide Senior Project Engineer. After six years, he moved to M&M/Mars as Senior Process Engineer, overseeing the company’s largest North American manufacturing facilities. White’s extensive experience with consumer packaged goods companies continued with operations and R&D roles at Campbell Soup Company, leading the development and commercialization of new product introductions throughout Europe and North America. During this time, he also earned an MBA in operations management from DePaul University.

In 1998, White joined PepsiCo., Inc., leading R&D, process and manufacturing technology teams. In 2004, he became Vice President and GM of Americas Concentrate Operations, overseeing $4.5 billion in net concentrate revenue, $600 million operating budget, and $70 million capital budget.

White became Chief Supply Chain Officer for Molson Coors’ international division in 2010. In 2013, he became the company’s Global Chief Supply Chain Officer, leading all aspects of global operations, including manufacturing, R&D, engineering, quality, environmental health and safety, procurement, logistics and distribution. He oversaw a $6 billion operating budget and a $700 million capital budget. During his tenure, the global supply chain team delivered an average of $170 million per year in annual cost savings and developed innovations that helped drive $450 million annually in incremental NSR.

In January 2020, White co-founded Igniting Business Growth LLC, a consultancy and investment advisory firm focused on food, beverage, restaurant, consumer, and retail businesses.

He currently serves on the Board of CF Industries Holdings Inc., Board of Armada Acquisition Corp I., Bradley University Board of Trustees, and the Board’s executive committee of Colorado UpLift.

David Shaw

Publishing Director

David Shaw is the publishing director of Directors & Boards and its sister publication, Family Business. With more than 30 years of experience in business-to-business and consumer media markets, he has served as an editor, publisher, publishing director, group publisher and group vice president of a variety of publications, trade shows, conferences and websites.

Prior to founding GRID Media, David served as senior vice president for Phillips Business Information Inc., where he oversaw nearly 100 discrete media properties, and helped build the business from $35 million to more than $100 million in annual revenues. He is a frequent author and speaker on issues related to business-to-business media, multi-generational family businesses and private and public company governance. He is married, with two grown children, one serving in the Navy and the other in law school.