Our Ambassadors

David Pitt-Watson,

Executive Fellow,

The London Business School

UK.

David is Co-Author of ‘The Purpose of Finance’, ‘What they do with your Money’ and several other books. He Co-Chaired the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative, and led the Royal Society of Arts Tomorrow's Investor Project. David is the Treasurer of Oxfam, a Board-member at NESTA and is recognised globally as a leading thinker and practitioner in the field of responsible investment and business practice. David is a winner of the Transparency Trophy and his ground-breaking work on 'Purpose' was the initial inspiration behind the creation of Team PISCES. David is a frequent speaker at TTF events.

Catherine Howarth,

Chief Executive Officer,

ShareAction,

UK.

Catherine is CEO at ShareAction, the leading civil society organisation in Europe promoting Responsible Investment, transparency and good governance by institutional investors. Catherine holds a First Class BA in Modern History from Oxford University and an MSc in Industrial Relations from the London School of Economics. In June 2011 she was named a 'Rising Star of Corporate Governance' by Yale University's, Millstein Center. Catherine was recognised by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2014 and is a Transparency Trophy winner. Catherine is a frequent speaker at TTF events.

Daniel Godfrey

Founder,

The People's Trust,

UK.

For most of the last twenty years Daniel has held CEO roles at two trade associations. Firstly, as Director General of the Association of Investment Companies for eleven years and then, for three years, he was CEO of the Investment Association - the trade body for the UK’s £5.5 trillion investment management sector. At the Investment Association, Daniel drove forward the development of a client-centric set of Investment Principles. In addition to his role at The People's Trust, he is currently a Non-Executive Director of Big Issue Invest Fund Management, the Investor Forum and the Ethical Capitalism Group. Daniel is a member of the Transparency Task Force’s Costs & Charges Team and a Transparency Trophy winner. Daniel is a frequent speaker at TTF events.

Jackie Beard,

Director of Manager Research Services for EMEA, 

Morningstar,

UK.

Jackie leads Morningstar’s engagement with the due diligence teams of institutional investors. She is a leading industry voice on investment trusts and has pioneered greater transparency from closed-end funds on their holdings, authoring the paper “Investment Trusts: Why Transparency Matters”. Jackie is a member of the Transparency Task Force’s Stewardship & Decision-Making Team and a Transparency Trophy winner. 

Con Keating,

Head of Research,

Brighton Rock Group,

UK

Con has been a member of the steering committee of the financial econometrics research centre at the University of Warwick. He has held senior positions at several international institutions including the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies, Societe Universitaire Europeene de Recherche en Finance and the OECD’s private pensions committee. Con has published widely on the regulation of financial institutions and pension systems and has developed new statistical tools for financial data analysis. Con is involved with many of the Transparency Task Force’s Teams and is a winner of the Transparency Trophy. He speaks frequently at TTF events. 

Dr. Anna Tilba,

Lecturer in Strategy & Corporate Governance and Director of Corporate Engagement,

Newcastle University Business School,

UK.

Dr. Tilba's research interests include pension fund investment, financial intermediation and networks, accountability, corporate governance and investor engagement. Anna has been a member of the advisory committee on fiduciary duties of investment intermediaries for the Law Commission and was Co-Author of research for the Financial Conduct Authority’s Asset Management Market Study. Anna is a member of the Transparency Task Force’s Costs & Charges Team and the International Best Practice Team; and she frquently participates at TTF events. 

Ralph Frank,

CEO DC (UK),

Cardano,

UK.

Ralph was part of the team that set up Cardano's UK business in 2007. Prior to Cardano, Ralph was European Director of Consulting at Mercer Investment Consulting. Ralph is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. He graduated as a Bachelor of Economic Science from the University of Witwatersrand. Ralph is a leader of the TTF's Costs & Charges Team and a Transparency Trophy winner. 

Markus Krebsz - FRSA, GCRP and Chartered MSCI

Markus is a seasoned Risk specialist and Government advisor with 25 years’ experience in global financial markets, thereof almost 20 years in managing risk.

Executive director and Board member of a new UK challenger bank. Previously, as Interim CRO, instrumental in launching/ establishing a high-profile capital markets/ lending institution start-up for the UK government and playing a pivotal role in achieving its strong investment-grade ratings. Current member of a United Nations working party on risk & regulation; previously advising the World Bank, the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).

Co-Founder and acting Chairman of the Culture & Conduct Group, Chairman (ex-officio) of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) FinTech Forum. Ambassador of the Transparency Task Force, member of its Banking team and contributor to the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fair Business Banking. Mentor/ member at Google Campus.

Well regarded thought-leader and lecturer with some of the world’s best academic institutions and frequent appearances at Industry’s top speaking circles. Published author/ editor of several books, incl. on the Global financial crisis as well as other technical publications. Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).

JB Beckett,

UK Director,

Association of Professional Fund Investors,

UK.

JB is a veteran fund selector and strategist. He is a Fund Gatekeeper for Scottish Widows, a large UK insurer and pension provider. He is a recognised thought leader in the fields of fund analysis, research and governance and author of the controversial book ‘#NEWFUNDORDER’. JB is a columnist, lecturer and global presenter on a variety of fund management and digitalisation topics. The Association of Professional Fund Investors (APFI) is dedicated to the pursuit of professionalism in fund investing. In addition to his role at the APFI, JB's senior portfolio includes: consulting CIO, Chartered Member, Author and Senior Reviewer for the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments, and member of the Z/Yen Long Finance think-tank. JB is a member of several Transparency Task Force Teams, most recently Team PISCES.

Robin Powell,

Founder,

The Evidence Based Investor,

UK.

Robin was a TV reporter, producer and presenter for more than 20 years, working for Sky News, ITV and for The Sunday Politics on BBC 1. For Sensible Investing TV, Robin produced and presented the online documentary ‘How to Win the Loser’s Game’. He is the founder of Regis Media, which provides niche content and social media management for growing fiduciary businesses and he also runs The Evidence Based Investor. Robin is a member of the Transparency Task Force’s Costs & Charges Team and a Transparency Trophy winner.

Steve Conley,

Founder & CEO,

Values Based Adviser,

UK.

Values Based Adviser is an international operation helping individuals connect with values-based advisers, organisations and investments, and helping social entrepreneurs in developing countries set-up values-based investments.

In addition to his role at Values Based Adviser, Steve is:

 - Non-Executive Director, Workplace Pensions Direct

 - Director of The Blair Project, using motorsport as a tool for engagement to enthuse and inspire young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and digital industries

 - Former Head of Investments of HSBC

 - Former Head of Savings & Investment Strategy RBS Group

 - Former Head of Wrap & Innovation at Santander

 - Former Chair of British Bankers’ Association Bancassurance Steering Group

He has worked at a senior level in the pensions and investments sector since 1982 and is known for bringing the first wrap platforms and the first retail multi-asset funds to the UK. He has been a chartered insurance professional since 1989, twice Jubilee Prize winner at IIM and twice Broker Prize winner at BIIBA.

Steve is an active participant in several of the TTF's Teams and leads the Market Integrity Team. Steve is a frequent participant at TTF meetings.  

Paul M. Secunda,

Professor of Law and Director, Labor and Employment Law, Marquette University Law School, 

USA. 

Paul M. Secunda is the author in whole or in part of six books, nearly six dozen law review articles, and other short writings on pensions, employee benefits, labor law, employment law, employment discrimination law, and special education law. 

Paul chaired the U.S. Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council to the Employee Benefit Security Administration, and was a Senior Fulbright Scholar in Australia studying that country’s superannuation system. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute, the founder and faculty advisor to the Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review, and is recognized internationally as an academic thought leader in the field of international and comparative pension law.

Furthermore, as a passionate believer in the need to improve transparency in pension funds, Paul has been co-leading the charge to develop TTF's International Best Practice Team to address this issue around the world through the creation of a Global Pension Transparency Index.

Ian Fryer,

Head of Research,

Chant West, 

Sydney, 

Australia.  

Ian is an actuary and has been heavily involved in Australia’s superannuation and pension industry for over 20 years in a range of actuarial, administration, consulting and research roles.  

For the last 12 years he has been Head of Research at Chant West, a leading superannuation consultancy and research firm established in 1997. Chant West's research on superannuation and pension funds is highly regarded for its accuracy, insightfulness and integrity, and it is widely used by financial advisers and by the funds themselves. 

The research feeds into a suite of user-friendly tools that make it easy for funds, advisers and individual consumers to analyse and compare products on a fair, 'apples with apples' basis.

Ian is is responsible for managing a team that provides product research used by a large number of superannuation funds, financial advisers and consumers to compare superannuation and pension products.  

A key area of concern for Chant West is to ensure that products are compared on a like-for-like basis, which is a challenge given inconsistent disclosure by funds in Australian.  Ian and Chant West have long advocated for improved disclosure of fees, insurance and investment performance in the Australian environment.