Jakob Thomä, Project Director, Inevitable Policy Response
Jakob co-founded Theia Finance Labs where he has co-led the incubation of a range of commercial and non-commercial sustainability solutions. He is also research director of the Inevitable Policy Response. In 2022, Jakob was appointed Professor in Practice at SOAS, University of London. He is the author of two books on sustainability and existential risks and writes a monthly column for Responsible Investor.
Jonathan Ashworth, Chief Economist, ACCA
Jonathan joined ACCA following roles as a China economist at Fathom Consulting, and global and UK economist at Morgan Stanley, and has held economist/global macro strategy positions at Barclays Wealth. He has also worked as an economist in the Productivity & Structural Reform team at Her Majesty’s Treasury, where he did work on the famous ‘Five Tests’ of whether Britain should join the euro. He has a MA degree in Economics from Duke University and a First Class Honours degree in Economics from Hull University.
Sammie Leung, Partner, ESG services, PwC Asia Pacific
Sammie Leung is a partner in the regional ESG services at PwC Asia Pacific. She is the firm’s regional subject matter expert of ESG and climate services covering markets including Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore and Taiwan.
Dr Diogenis Baboukardos, Associate Professor of Accounting, Athens University of Economics and Business
Diogenis Baboukardos is an associate professor of Accounting at Athens University of Economics and Business. His research interests lie in the broad field of corporate reporting with a particular focus on issues related to sustainability and climate change reporting. Diogenis is actively involved in various practitioner-oriented projects on sustainability, climate change, sustainable development and financial reporting. He is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, secretary of the Financial Accounting & Reporting Special Interest Group (FARSIG) of the British Accounting & Finance Association (BAFA) and research affiliate at the Adam Smith Observatory of Corporate Reporting Practices, University of Glasgow.
Aaron Saw FCCA, CA (M), Head of Corporate Reporting Insights – Financial, ACCA
Aaron drives corporate reporting-related research activities and policies, in the Policy and Insights team at ACCA, to deliver high quality, professional and innovative inputs on key issues in the global corporate reporting agenda. He focuses on improving the quality of financial and sustainability reporting.
Alina Popa, CFO, OMV Petrom
Alina Popa has been chief financial officer and member of the OMV Petrom executive board since April 2019. She joined OMV Petrom in 2006 and has held various leadership positions in finance functions, coordinating key strategic projects. Between 2015 and 2019, she was the general manager and president of the board of directors of OMV Petrom Global Solutions, the Shared Service Center of OMV Group. Alina believes in leadership, learning and technology being fundamental for a successful future of any organisation.
Prashani Illangasekera, General Manager, Group ESG, The Hayleys Group
Prashani is general manager, group ESG, at The Hayleys Group in Sri Lanka. She is a finance professional with extensive experience in corporate and sustainability reporting and environmental, social, governance (ESG) consultancy. She is also has experienced in implementing the International Integrated Reporting (IR) Framework, GRI Standards, SASB Standards and TCFD reporting recommendations.
Bethan May Freire, Head of Sustainability Reporting, SSE plc
Sharon Machado FCCA, Head of Sustainable Business, ACCA
Sharon and her team generate thought leadership research and influence policy relating to sustainable finance, ethics, corporate reporting, tax, business law, audit and assurance. This aim of work is to drive better business through the role of professional accountants, for whom ongoing skills development is a vital component and often a focus of Sharon’s work. Sharon’s passion for skills development was gained from prior roles in education and since 2008 shaping the ACCA Qualification.
Hsiao Mei Chow, Head of Corporate Reporting Insights – Sustainability, ACCA
Mei contributes to the development of corporate reporting insights from a global perspective, focusing on sustainability reporting and how policies, standards and regulations interact and evolve alongside business and societal needs. Her current focus is on developing insights to help businesses and professional accountants ready themselves for sustainability reporting. Mei has years of experience in influencing international standard-setting and regulatory bodies as well as working with a capital market regulator and national standard-setters (in Malaysia).
Antonis Diolas, Head of Audit and Assurance, ACCA
A member of ACCA’s Policy and Insights team, Antonis engages at local and international level with key organisations - including, BEIS, IAASB and Accountancy Europe - ensuring ACCA’s voice is heard. He is also researches and publishes ACCA’s insights on audit and assurance topics. Previously, Antonis had extensive audit experience across different countries and industries, including at EY in London and the Channel Islands, and KPMG Cyprus.
Fabiola Schneider, Assistant Professor in Accounting, University College Dublin
Fabiola is assignat professor in accountancy at the University College Dublin Quinn School of Business. Her research is dedicated to creating a sustainable global society. Her current research addresses the climate emergency and sustainable transitions. Her PhD thesis at the University College Dublin (UCD) Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School revolved around climate transition accounting and finance. Fabiola also co-leads Green Watch, which applies AI to detect greenwashing in the market.
Alistair Brisbourne, Head of Technology Research, ACCA
As the head of technology research in the policy and insights team, Alistair Brisbourne leads on research that supports the ACCA’s global technology and skills agenda. He is currently interested in exploring opportunities for and the implications of wider artificial intelligence adoption and what this means for the future of finance. Alistair joined the ACCA from BDO LLP where he worked as a manager in Research and Commercial Insights, helping position the company as an industry leader through data-driven reports, business intelligence and insightful analyses of the audit and advisory market.
