We have a committed team with depth and breadth of knowledge and experience.
People
Peter Webster has led the EIRIS Foundation since it was founded in 1983. He is also currently a Senior Adviser to Vigeo Eiris. He has focussed on the challenges of providing ESG ratings and research to a wide range of owners and managers, helping investors to make good use of that research and advancing the concept of responsible investment. Peter is a regular speaker on topics ranging from fiduciary duty to individual ESG areas and their global evolution as well as how responsible investment can contribute to a more sustainable and robust financial system. He was treasurer of the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association for 20 years until the end of 2011 and from October 2013 to October 2019 was a member of the PRI Advisory Council.
Peter Webster
CEO
Elissandra joined the EIRIS Foundation from the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD). She has wide-ranging experience on monitoring and evaluation of development projects, advocacy and stakeholder management. She has worked with a number of European investors with interests in the renewable energy sector as well as a political risk and financial analyst in both the UK and Brazil covering corruption, clean tech and human rights in emerging markets. She has worked on policy analysis and project management for a number of international organisations, including the UN. Elissandra holds an MA in International Studies and Diplomacy, and a degree in Business Administration. She is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English.
Elissandra da Costa
Senior CHRB Manager & Campaigns Organiser
Yael recently joined EIRIS Foundation after a 10 year career as a campaigner at WWF UK and Amnesty International Secretariat. Yael has worked on research projects on a wide range of issues from climate change, EU fisheries policies, violence against women and oil drilling in Africa. She gained extensive experience working within coalitions, and working with a diverse range of stakeholders. She has vast experience on stakeholder engagement and on organising large scale public events. She holds a Master’s in Human Rights in Theory and Practice from the University of Essex.
Yael Rosenfeld
Campaigns Organiser
Lisa's career to date has been focussed specifically on sustainable investment and finance. Lisa is currently the Head of Communications and Charity Impact at the EIRIS Foundation. Lisa was previously a Programme Director at the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF), supporting the growth of UK market demand for responsible investment and other financial services that advance sustainability through activities such as Good Money Week, the Ethical Investment Association and support for Pension Funds and Charity Investors. Lisa initially developed an interest in sustainable finance while studying Finance and Environmental Economics in South Africa. Lisa is a proud Trustee of The Orchard Project, a charity dedicated to the creation, restoration and celebration of community orchards.
Lisa Stonestreet
Head of Communications & Charity Impact
John O’Reilly
Trustee
John O’Reilly formerly worked for BP in areas where human rights were a significant corporate responsibility issue, and since retiring from that role has worked with the Amnesty Business Group in promoting a discussion of the best ways in which businesses can address their human rights responsibilities.
Clare Hierons
Trustee
Clare is currently at A4S with responsibility for ensuring A4S has the people, processes and systems needed to deliver on its mission.
Clare spent six years delivering carbon reduction programmes for the Carbon Trust before becoming CEO of Carbon Leapfrog, a charity that worked with the legal sector to build capacity in the community energy sector. After leading Leapfrog through a successful merger, Clare went on to create a charitable foundation for the Energy Saving before being appointed COO of ShareAction, a charity dedicated to driving positive social and environmental change through responsible investment. Clare holds a degree in Engineering and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management as well as qualifications in coaching and project management.
Mauricio Lazala Leibovich
Trustee
Mauricio Lazala Leibovich is Deputy Director at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. He is an international human rights advocate and lawyer. Since joining the Resource Centre in 2006 he has coordinated research in areas such as Business, Conflict & Peace and Freedom of Association; and has helped producing briefings on business & human rights in Latin America, Eastern Europe & Central Asia, and the Middle East & North Africa. He has also represented the Resource Centre in numerous events internationally, and has undertaken several research missions. Mauricio previously worked at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and at various human rights organisations in Mexico and Israel. Mauricio has a law degree (honours) from Cambridge University and a BA in Political Science and History from Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Mauricio has published articles on business & human rights, and is fluent in Spanish, English & Hebrew.
David Bent
Trustee and Chair of the Board
David Bent is passionate about playing his part in a generation that puts the world on a sustainable footing. David has worked at Forum for the Future, an independent non-profit working globally to solve complex sustainability challenges, for the last 13 years, most recently as Director of Sustainable Business. He advised dozens of companies in the UK, USA and India on strategy and innovation so they can be more successful by creating a sustainable future.
His perspective is that we need to shift so our global natural and social systems are coping (rather than overwhelmed, as they are now), and also people have access to what they need to choose their own lives. David supports institutions that are acting as a global ‘innovation function’, whether as an advisor, an executive, or a social entrepreneur. He recently finished advising the Cabinet Office on inclusive economy. His current priorities include: researching a pro-sustainability industrial strategy as an Associate Fellow of the Centre for Science and Policy, University of Cambridge; and, starting a ‘Gigatonne Lab’ to accelerate a rapid transition to a zero carbon world.
David has a Masters in Physics from Oxford, a Masters in Responsibility and Business Practice from Bath and is a qualified accountant, having spent 4 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). He has been a tutor on the Post-Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
Roger Cowe
Trustee
Roger Cowe is a former journalist and consultant specialising in corporate sustainability. He has worked on sustainability communications with major multinationals and organisations including the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Roger has been involved in the development of corporate sustainability since the early 1990s, initially as a business journalist on The Guardian newspaper. After an early career as a management accountant he gained an MBA from Manchester Business School.
Frances Way
Trustee
Frances Way is Co-Chief Operating Officer at CDP. She joined CDP in 2007 to manage and expand the supply chain program and now oversees the delivery and strategy of all CDP’s programs. This involves working with both investor and company stakeholders on the issues of climate change, water and deforestation. Previously, Frances spent eight years in the finance sector, primarily in Dresdner Kleinwort’s Global Equities Division where she was responsible for communications between the European research and sales teams. Frances has an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College, London.
Camilla Parke
Trustee
Camilla’s current focus at Big Society Capital is supporting greater participation by individuals and communities in social investment. She also works on engaging corporates in social investment. Before joining Big Society Capital, Camilla participated in the social enterprise leadership programme On Purpose. Prior to this, she worked in the Innovation Lab at Nesta, and spent a number of years as a consultant advising clients on strategy, innovation, scenario planning and foresight.