2021
Managing Director, Head of EMEA ESG Indices
ASIAN
LEADERS Worth Watching
TM
INTERNATIONAL
Education: BSc, geography & geology, University of Manchester; MSc, environmental technology (business & environment), Imperial College London Company Name: S&P Dow Jones Indices Industry: Financial Services Company CEO: Doug Peterson Company Headquarters Location: New York, New York Number of Employees: 22,500 Your Location (if different from above): London, England, UK Words you live by: Treat everyone with respect. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Who is your personal hero? My mum What book are you reading? Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo What was your first job: Cashier at a supermarket Favorite charity: Action Aid Interests: Socializing with family & friends, travelling around & seeing new places (I’ve even enjoyed getting to know all my local streets during lockdown!), theater, restaurants, reading, and TV/movies Family: Parents, grandma, siblings, aunt, cousins, and nephew
I’m Lucky to I Have a Career I Love Since my school days, I have been fascinated by the interaction of humankind and the natural environment. Equally, I appreciate the influence of investment and I am delighted to be able to combine both in my current role, supporting the deployment of capital for good. In particular I am thrilled that the connection between finance and sustainability is finally being recognized. I am able to bring together knowledge gained during my studies and my experience to date to help build S&P sustainability indices. I love being able to use my sustainability expertise to discuss with the financial community concepts such as Paris-aligned or high-conviction investing. Let’s not forget that sustainability is more than just the environment. It
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2021 Second Quarter
is a broad spectrum of topics that also includes diversity. For investors, the issues we are grappling with include the following: How can we measure a corporation’s diversity record? Which companies are reporting diversity metrics? Why is lack of diversity a material risk for investors? What are the opportunities? How can we create a benchmark that tracks diversity? These are wide ranging, important, and interesting topics. The world of finance can be opaque and difficult to understand. I get a lot of pleasure from talking to my family and friends about the work I do. Studies suggest that racial minorities suffer more from financial inequality, and it is widely accepted that the most vulnerable will be most impacted by devastating events. The pandemic and climate change are two such threats. I hope to use my
knowledge to put fire in people’s bellies to take action to address these threats that exacerbate injustice. During my academic studies and for the first years of my career, I noticed that working in sustainability was not a career choice made by other obviously BAME individuals. I see more diversity now and I am proud to work for S&P Global, a company that has been proactive in recognizing and tackling diversity challenges. Needless to say, I wouldn’t be in my privileged position today without the pioneering steps taken by other minorities before me, and for that I am truly grateful. As a consequence, I am cognizant of my responsibility to pave the way for others. I look forward to promoting more positive change in the future, as we work towards becoming a more inclusive and just society.
www.diversityjournal.com
AWARD
Jaspreet Duhra
