PwC seminar: ESG kui mängumuutja

Merili Vares leads ESG services in PwC Estonia. With more than 15 years of experience in consulting both private and public sector, Merili has set her focus on helping our clients to create sustainable business models that are more humble and resilient to the rapidly changing natural and social environment. Prior rejoining PwC, Merili was leading the international NGO called Let’s Do It Foundation working on environmental education on waste management and circular economy and also Responsible Business Index development in the Responsible Business Forum of Estonia.  Merili is also mentoring various companies on their sustainability journey.

Before joining LHV, Ragne was active in the digital marketing and business development scene in the booming Estonian tech sector. In 2019, her curiosity and generalist qualities led her to discover new territories of finance and organizational development in LHV, which is today the biggest domestic financial group in Estonia. Since 2019, Ragne is leading the ESG activities organization-wide. Her main purpose is to act as a catalyst for change within the organization and make sure LHV delivers on its sustainability ambition and promise. She also helps steer the Estonian banking sector towards more sustainable operations as the head of the sustainable banking working group at the Estonian Banking Association.

Daniel Theobald is an ESG expert in the Consulting practice at PwC in Luxembourg with a passion for Strategy, Corporate banking, and Sustainable finance. Before joining PwC, he worked mainly for banks in Germany starting in 2000. Since joining PwC Luxembourg, Daniel has been focusing on sustainability in the financial sector, one of the core trends driving the  transformation of finance for a more sustainable economy. He advises locally and globally active companies on their sustainability alignment. To date, he has led various projects in Europe. Among other things, he has developed and implemented sustainability strategies and sustainable financial products across industries. Of course, he also supports the implementation of regulatory requirements in this area.

Jani Mäenpää is ESG Portfolio Manager in LHV Asset Management. He has led the development and implementation of the principles of responsible investment in LHV Asset Management, which define how environmental, social and corporate governance issues are integrated into investment management activities. As a representative of LHV, Mäenpää has also co-lead the UNEP FI Impact Analysis working group for investment portfolios. The aim of the working group is to create a best practice in the financial sector to identify the impacts of investment activities in order to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Mäenpää was also selected for the EBS’ 30 under 30 in Sustainability.

Martin Kõdar is the managing partner at BaltCap, the largest private equity fund manager in the Baltics. Martin has established and led BaltCap ESG approach since 2005 and has abundant experience in integrating ESG in business operations and building sustainable companies. Currently, Martin is also a member of the Mid-Market Council and Professional Standards Committee in Invest Europe and he served as a board member of Responsible Business Forum in Estonia (promoting corporate social responsibility among businesses and raising public awareness) for many years.

Hugh Owen supports the PwC M&A teams in the wider Central and South-Eastern European region. He has extensive experience in M&A transactions, particularly in the fields of telecommunications, media and technology, banking, insurance, energy and healthcare, but also in other areas such as real estate. In addition, he helps conduct training and consultations for PwC’s clients.