HLB ESG Forum 2025


Tuesday 25 February;
08:30-13:00

Chartered Accountants' Hall; London
Register here
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Join us for our first ever ESG Forum

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HLB invites you to a half-day in person collaborative and educational session focused on how to create long-term value in the ESG space.

The day promises to be full of lively debate featuring experts from diverse sectors, with key participants including University of Oxford, CIMA/AICPA, Seismic Change ESG consultancy, Morningstar, and HLB global leaders.

The discussion will bring together professionals from banking, data analytics, and education, focusing on critical themes such as sustainability in finance and accounting, data-driven decision-making, ESG reporting, and innovative approaches to sustainable business growth.

Participants can expect comprehensive insights into emerging trends across professional services, highlighting the intersection of academic research, financial strategy, and sustainable transformation.

Our ESG specialists in advisory, assurance and tax will also explain HLB’s unique 360 degree value proposition and we will explore practical go to market strategies based on experience from HLB member firms in the UK, Ireland and Germany.

Click below to register to attend or download the full event agenda, and join us for what promises to be an insightful event packed with valuable insights and actionable strategies. We look forward to having you with us!

Register for the HLB ESG Forum 2025
Click to download the event agenda

Event speakers

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Marco Donzelli

Marco is HLB Global CEO, driving the network’s mission to ensure HLB cements its position as a global player in the professional services sector. His international experience and curious, entrepreneurial personality make him a forward-thinking leader for the network. He also is a champion for diversity and inclusion in the workforce as well as being an advocate for workplace flexibility. Besides his role at HLB, Marco is a mentor for technology start-ups at Cambridge Judge Business School.

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Lindsey Stewart

Lindsey is the Director of Stewardship Research and Policy at Morningstar Sustainalytics. He has over 20 years' experience advising listed companies and other international organisations on investor engagement and corporate reporting. Lindsey works closely with Morningstar Sustainalytics’ engagement services and ESG proxy voting specialists worldwide to deliver insights on how institutional investors, companies, and regulators are approaching key sustainability and governance themes in global finance.

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Bettina Cassegrain

Bettina is HLB International’s Global Director of Professional Standards and Sustainability Assurance, driving quality, ESG assurance, and sustainability practices. A committed advocate for diversity, she leads global training initiatives and mentors female talent. As Non-Executive Director at EM Normandie, she supports equitable student opportunities while representing HLB in key professional forums worldwide with a focus on excellence.

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Dr. Jeremy Osborn FCMA, CGMA, FCPA (Aust.)

Jeremy is an accounting iconoclast with deep experience of how sustainability catalyses systems change. As AICPA & CIMA’s Global Head of Sustainability, Jeremy supports the accountancy profession through the Association’s members, candidates and registrants in 188 countries and territories to embed sustainability into their organisations and then measure & communicate the value this is creating for their investors and other stakeholders.

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Dina Quraishi

Dina brings international perspectives and applied knowledge of governance & risk management topics gained at world leading companies in financial services and engineering. Currently chairing the Board Risk Committee of
a Maltese OSII bank, supervised by the European Central Bank, she also serves as a member of the National Climate Action Council of Malta and champions the increased representation of women on boards through her work with the European Women on Boards.

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Shannon Smith

Shannon is HLB's Global Tax Leader, and heads up the Eide Bailly (HLB USA) firm’s International Tax team. She has more than 20 years of public accounting experience and a diverse professional background. Shannon specialises in areas such as tax efficient structuring or restructuring, acquisition and disposition structuring, foreign exchange gain/loss and transfer pricing, and is a thought leader on international tax matters.

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Richard Singleton

Richard is the Finance & Sustainability Director at Menzies (HLB UK). He has worked closely with business owners helping design bespoke ESG strategies to enhance their competitive advantage, increase top and bottom line growth, improve stakeholder engagement, and create supply chain robustness. Besides launching Menzies ESG advisory offering, Richard's proudest professional moment is having received the 35 under 35 award from Accountancy Age.

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Dr. Julia Schneider

Julia is Managing Partner at DDP GRUPPE (HLB Germany) and a certified auditor & tax advisor with more than 24 years experience in the industry, serving large multinational clients. DDP Gruppe established its own ESG consulting practice in 2023; since its inception the practice has focused heavily on developing tools for CSRD readiness and EU taxonomy, with the goal being to accompany clients on the journey towards their first CSRD report.  

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Paul Lewis

Paul is a sustainability and business strategy expert with over 20 years of experience helping businesses make a positive impact for people and planet, with clients of note including Tesco, Vodafone, BT, Patagonia, The Crown Estate and Innocent Drinks. Paul has led several businesses and co-founded the sustainability agency Seismic. Dedicated to aligning sustainability performance with commercial success, he enjoys collaborating with leadership teams to achieve ambitious goals.

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María Luisa Ramírez

Maria is a Partner at Bové Montero (HLB Spain) with 17+ years of experience, conducting accounting audits, internal control audits, and financial due diligence for both public and private sector businesses. Maria is a member of the Sustainability Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Spain, possessing extensive knowledge within this field.

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Mark Butler

Mark is Managing Partner at HLB Ireland, leading their consulting practice and heading up the implementation of the firm's overarching growth objectives. Mark is an expert in strategic business planning with over twenty years experience advising domestic and international businesses. He has expertise within a broad variety of sectors including veterinary, food & beverage, hotel & leisure and property investment.

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Cyrus Suntook

Cyrus is a sustainability and organisation strategy leader at Accenture, with a focus on developing business strategies and operating models that embed sustainability into an organisation’s long-term future, and is an Associate Fellow at the University of Oxford Saïd Business School. He recently completed a Fellowship at the World Economic Forum, leading a range of research projects and initiatives to develop responsible leaders and sustainable organisations.

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Ishita Palit

Ishita is a seasoned technology professional passionate about ESG initiatives. As a Programme Test and QA Manager at Vodafone, she ensures quality assurance for complex tech solutions for enterprise clients, including financial institutions, data centres and critical networks. An alumni of Oxford University's Saïd Business School Executive Leadership and Management Programme, Ishita is keen to explore how ESG can drive transformative organisational changes and sustainable growth.

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Leanne Georgiades

Leanne Georgiades is a commercial Lawyer and Non-Executive Director with over 15 years of experience in driving strategic Legal solutions with global leading companies such as Vodafone and Getty Images. She has expertise in negotiating high-value contracts, supplier chain management and navigating cross-border compliance such as data protection, financial regulation and bringing innovative & sustainable products to market. Leanne advises clients in the Media, Fashion and Technology industries in the UK, EU and beyond.

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Will Holt

Will Holt rejoined ICAEW as Managing Director, Education & Training in July 2023. Prior to this, he spent 10 years in higher education leadership at Pearson College London (part of Pearson Plc) as the founding Dean of Business School, before leaving to set up a tech company that removes bias from employers’ recruitment processes. Will qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PwC in 2006, working in the assurance and insolvency divisions. He has also held a trustee position for a London-based charity.

Event MC

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Jim Bourke

Jim is HLB’s Global Technology Advisory Services Leader and has over 30 years of experience in the sector. He is a frequent speaker around the globe for HLB and many other international accounting & trade associations, specifically regarding technology, practice management and advisory services topics. Jim has been continually named by Accounting Today as one of the Top 100 Most Influential people in the Accounting profession, and has also been named by the CPA Technology Advisor as a Top Thought Leader in Public Accounting Technology.

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Want to learn more about ESG Advisory before attending the summit?

Visit our specialised service page and discover why a growing number of companies now consider ESG factors to be a vital component of their overall business strategy.

HLB ESG Advisory services
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