Georg Kell is the founder and former executive director of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the world’s largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative with over 8,000 corporate signatories in more than 160 countries.
As its founding executive director, Kell helped to establish the UNGC as the foremost platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible and sustainable corporate policies and practices.
In a career of more than 25 years at the United Nations, Kell also oversaw the conception and launch of the Global Compact’s sister initiatives on investment, the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and on education, the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), together with the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative. Mr. Kell is currently chairman of Arabesque, an asset management firm that integrates environmental, social, and governance data with quantitative investment strategies.
He started his career as a research fellow in engineering at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and Innovation in Berlin. He then worked as a financial analyst in various countries in Africa and Asia before joining the United Nations in 1987. A native of Germany, Kell holds advanced degrees in economics and engineering from the Technical University of Berlin.
Mr. Kell has received numerous recognitions and has been named among the "100 Most Influential in Business Ethics" every year since 2011.
“I am proud to support Eco-Business, which I have long considered a leading voice on the issues that shape our future. As markets need to accelerate transformations away from industrial era practices towards a cleaner, healthier and smarter future, the role of Eco-Business is of growing importance.”
Jessica Robinson is the Founder of Moxie Future - the world’s first platform empowering women as responsible investors. As well as running Moxie Future, Jessica works as a strategic advisor to institutional investors, think tanks and governments on green finance, sustainability and responsible investment.
She was formerly chief executive and board director of the Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA); led the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change; played an active leadership role in the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA) and the Global Investor Coalition on Climate Change (GIC), and was a member of Hong Kong’s Financial Services Development Council’s Green Finance Working Group.
Jessica has an extensive background in professional services and business consulting, focusing on financial services, environmental finance and sustainability industries. Through varied roles, she has had experience of working and living in Asia, Europe, North America and now the Middle East - across a range of different sectors, markets and regulatory environments.
“I am truly excited to be joining the advisory board of Eco-Business. Sustainability is a critical issue and the work of Eco-Business is important to ensure that professionals, businesses and consumers not just understand the complexity of the issues, but also what we can all do to address the massive challenges we are facing. It provides a unique platform and I am very proud to be part of the next chapter in its journey.”
Assaad W. Razzouk, host of The Angry Clean Energy Guy podcast, is a Lebanese-British clean energy entrepreneur, author, podcaster and commentator based in Singapore. He co-founded and runs a clean energy company headquartered in Singapore, financing, building and operating renewable energy projects in Asia; as well as a not-for-profit Singapore start-up, digitising and democratising renewable energy.
He is also a a Board member of ClientEarth, the environmental charity using the power of the law to protect people and planet; a Board member of EB Impact, the Singaporean non-profit organisation focused on delivering training and programmes to Asia Pacific’s underserved communities to generate positive sustainable development; a member of the International Council of the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine; and an occasional contributor to the Eco-Business, Forbes, the Independent, the Ecologist and others.
With his hands-on experience in clean energy combined with his other roles, Assaad is a high-profile thought leader on climate change, clean energy and the UN climate talks with more than 140,000 followers on Twitter, 100,000 on Facebook, 140,000 on LinkedIn and widely read occasional newspaper columns.
“It has never been more important to put facts first, especially when it comes to climate change and clean energy, sectors and issues which will impact what happens to humankind. Eco-Business is a beacon of light in relation to these issues in the Asia-Pacific region. I am delighted to make a contribution to that end.”
Steve is an award-winning entrepreneur with 28 years’ building businesses, including 3 start-ups. He is passionate about entrepreneurship, climate change and social equality.
In 2007, Steve co-founded PropertyGuru in answer to his own personal frustrations in finding a new home. He led the business as CEO for first 10 years, growing it from 2 people into a leading proptech firm with 25 million monthly users in 5 countries. Today, Steve serves on the board.
Steve has supported the development of South East Asia’s start-up ecosystem over the last 15 years and is an active angel investor and mentor. In 2019, he founded Planet Rise to help companies tackling climate change and social inequality. The portfolio comprises start-ups in clean energy, clean water and oceans, clean air, clean food, migrant worker rights and women-led social enterprises. He’s a member of Asian Venture and Philanthropy Network (AVPN) and Top Tier Impact (TTI) and judge/investor for Temasek Foundation’s The Liveability Challenge, recognising the best sustainability tech companies globally.
Steve has been an LP and part time venture partner at Wavemaker Partners, one of South East Asia’s leading VC’s, since 2018. Prior to PropertyGuru, Steve invested in and then led ComiAsia as CEO, a Singapore mobile content start-up. Previously, he founded Business2Profit in UK to help large enterprises to innovate, and supporting start-ups with funding/growth. Prior to this, Steve held leadership roles in the telco sector for 10 years, his last position was director of a $500 million turnover business at Cable & Wireless.
In 2007, Steve was awarded the “Spirit of Enterprise Award” in recognition of contributions to entrepreneurship in Singapore. He is a keynote speaker and regularly interviewed on start-up and sustainability topics.
“I’m incredibly impressed by what the Eco-Business team have achieved over the last 12 years - building the leading sustainability media and intelligence platform in Asia. I’m excited to be playing a small part in the Company’s future, bringing my experience of scaling tech businesses with my passion for climate and social impact.”
