How will Covid-19 Change the Outlook for ESG?

Faroze Nadar
Executive Director, Global Compact Malaysia Network

Faroze Nadar is an experienced corporate sustainability practitioner who has led projects that have been featured at the national level and in Fortune 500 companies’ sustainability documents. In his consulting capacity, Faroze has also led projects to develop national-level SDG programmes that catalyse public-private-people partnerships to enable SDG related impact and formulated sustainability strategic frameworks for various private organisations.

He is currently the Executive Director for Global Compact Malaysia Network, the local network of the United Nations Global Compact, where he develops various strategic programmes and digital tools to accelerate private sectors’ SDG performance. He is also a business sector representative to Malaysia’s National SDG Steering Committee and has presented at various national and global sustainability forums.

Faroze holds a Master’s degree in Management.

Dr. Keith Lee
Senior Vice President, WWF Asia Sustainable Finance

Keith leads the WWF Asia Sustainable Finance team team’s workstream on responsible investment. This involves developing and guiding the execution of the team’s strategy to accelerate the uptake of responsible investment best practice across Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. He also spearheads engagement with commercial banks and banking regulators in South Korea. He is co-author or contributor to four WWF sustainable finance reports on responsible investment, sustainable banking and palm oil sector sustainability. He has published in academic peer-reviewed journals on environment and sustainability-related topics and started his career in investment banking.

Keith completed his PhD in city and regional planning at the University of California, Berkeley, where he focused on urban sustainability and food waste. Keith also holds a master’s degree in environmental management from Yale University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago

Promod Dass
Deputy Group CEO of RAM and CEO of RAM Sustainability

Promod Dass is the Deputy Group CEO of RAM and CEO of RAM Sustainability (a wholly owned subsidiary of RAM).

He leads RAM Group’s Sustainability Services and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) analytics. Formerly the Deputy CEO of RAM Rating Services Berhad (RAM Ratings), Promod has 24 years experience in the financial services industry including 18 years at RAM Ratings. He began his career with Malaysian International Merchant Bankers Berhad.

Since May 2016, he has been spearheading RAM Group’s involvement in the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment’s (PRI) Statement on ESG in Credit Ratings. Promod is also a member of PRI’s Advisory Committee on Credit Ratings.

As an international sustainable finance champion, his speaking repertoire includes:
• HSBC Sustainable Finance Forum 2019, Kuala Lumpur [25.7.2019]
• UNEP FI Regional Roundtable for Sustainable Finance in Asia Pacific, Shanghai [5.6.2019]
• UN Convention on Biological Diversity, COP 14, Egypt [17.11.2018]
• PRI’s ESG in Credit Risk and Ratings Roundtable, Singapore [5.7.2018]
• Climate Bonds Initiative’s 2018 Annual Conference, London [20.3.2018]
• Sustainable Insurance Forum, Malaysia [27.10.2017]
• ADB-WWF Sustainable Infrastructure, Hanoi [8.5.2017]
• PRI in Person 2016 – Roadmap for ESG and credit ratings, Singapore [14.9.2016]
• Global Infrastructure Basel’s High-level Session, Italy [13.6.2016]

Promod has an established track record as a bank credit rating analyst since 2000, when he joined RAM Ratings as well as a thought leader for the Malaysian & ASEAN bond markets and Islamic finance. In 2003, he was sent by RAM to Sri Lanka to set-up a domestic credit rating operation.

Promod holds a BSc (Honours) in Accounting and Financial Analysis from University of Warwick, UK.

RAM Sustainability is the first ASEAN-based provider of sustainability ratings and green bond or sukuk second opinions. The company also has the distinction of being the first Registered Observer of the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles and Sustainability Bond Guidelines in ASEAN.