Ten outstanding leaders from CEF member companies have been chosen from a highly competitive field of applicants from around the world to form the 2024 cohort of the CEFNext Sustainability Leadership Development Program.
Anchored on the theme “The Power of Interconnections to Drive Scale and Impact,” the CEFNExt 2024 program is a one-of-a-kind, peer-to-peer immersive experience that leverages deep, real-world perspectives to provoke self-reflection, forge long-lasting relationships, and equip “rising star” executives with the leadership mindsets, skills, and network needed to drive the next practice in corporate sustainability.
The recipients are recognized as corporate sustainability leaders who bring enormous passion, natural leadership abilities, and authenticity to the table. They are at an inflection point in their careers—strong team players accomplished in setting ambitious goals and getting results —and on track to lead sustainability in their organizations.
Congratulations to the winners!
Erin Barnes, Sustainability Director, Bloomberg
Erin Barnes is a Sustainability Director at Bloomberg, focused on strategy, business integration, reporting and communications. In this capacity, she has worked across multiple departments and teams starting on the Sustainable Business & Finance team within the Chairman’s Office, Workplace Operations, Corporate Communications, and now as part of the Global Sustainability Office. Along with her colleagues, Erin is responsible for developing Bloomberg’s sustainability strategy and collaborating with internal groups across the firm to embed sustainable considerations to create value and impact. Erin manages corporate sustainability communications both internally and externally and leads all sustainability-related reporting efforts which includes utilizing best-in-class reporting frameworks such as SASB, GRI and TCFD for the annual publication of Bloomberg’s Impact Report. Erin also heads sustainability-related employee engagement programs, strategic partnerships with non-profit partners and other special projects. Before her career in Sustainability, Erin spent many years as a subject matter expert and leader on health-related benefits, wellness and creating positive workplace cultures. She served in many roles driving forward wellness and work/life programs and strategies at Columbia University, Goldman Sachs and Washington Mutual Bank before joining Bloomberg in 2011 as the Global Head of Wellness. Erin holds a BA in Psychology, a MS in Exercise Physiology, and a MA in Strategic Communications from Columbia University.
Lauren Casey, Program Manager, Apple
Lauren is the 2030 Program Manager on the Environment, Policy & Social Initiatives team at Apple. She leads a cross functional team that develops and adaptively manages Apple’s roadmap to be carbon neutral across its value chain by 2030. She also supports Apple’s efforts to advocate for ambitious climate policy. Prior to coming to Apple, Lauren worked in state and local government in the U.S., predominantly on climate and energy policy and strategy. In her free time Lauren loves to be outside with her family, running, skiing, hunting & fishing, birding, and just generally being in the dirt.
Brian Finch, VP of ESG Governance and Reporting, Mastercard
Brian is responsible for accelerating the company’s performance on ESG matters. Brian is a results-driven change agent with a deep background in connecting operational management with environmental and social impact initiatives in the government, private and nonprofit sectors. Previously, Brian was Director of Business Transformation and Acting Chief Operations Officer at AmeriCorps, where he led a significant modernization initiative at the 25-year-old U.S. federal agency to prepare it for another generation of impact in communities across the country. Brian founded and served as Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at the Greater Washington Partnership, an action-oriented civic alliance of CEOs from leading employers and entrepreneurs in the Baltimore-to-Richmond super-region, focused on addressing issues for the public good. Prior to his time in the public and non-profit sectors, Brian served as Executive Director for Corporate Social Responsibility, Global Philanthropy, and Government Relations at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Brian received his BA from Georgetown University and his MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. He resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife and three daughters.
Boris Gamazaychikov, Senior Manager of Emissions Reduction, Salesforce
Boris implements carbon reduction strategies across the company’s value chain, with an ultimate goal of helping the world achieve a sustainable future. He works at the intersection of sustainability and innovation, having developed and executed Salesforce’s sustainable AI strategy. With an understanding that collaboration is the key to global decarbonization, he works closely with suppliers, customers, and partners on their journeys, publishing tools and resources to help accelerate climate action. Prior to Salesforce, Boris consulted diverse global clients, including the world’s largest technology companies, on their decarbonization strategies. Before this, Boris spearheaded the Pentagon’s sustainable construction program. He received his degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Maryland.
Greg Gausewitz, Senior Manager of Product Sustainability, REI Co-op
Greg has dedicated his career to making it easier for consumers to live more sustainable lives. He currently leads Product Sustainability at REI, after starting his career in tech and transitioning to work on supply chain sustainability at Target and product sustainability in the outdoor industry. Greg is an avid outdoor enthusiast who loves spending time in the mountains and the ocean (or any form of water…fresh, salty, or frozen). In his free time, he loves listening to and playing music, and he’s on a lifelong quest to find the world’s best breakfast burrito. Greg lives in Seattle with his partner and their two dogs.
Elena Kocherovsky, Senior Climate Program Manager, Applied Materials
Elena’s role focuses on implementing strategies and driving stakeholder engagement to achieve Applied’s climate-related goals, including reaching Net Zero emissions by 2040, 100% renewable electricity globally by 2030, and meeting interim 2030 Science-Based Targets (SBTs). She also oversees the tracking and reporting of the company’s environmental metrics and performance, and the assessment of climate-related risks and opportunities. She brings over 13 years of experience in sustainability, working with a wide range of companies across sectors to identify and manage the environmental impacts of their operations and supply chains. Prior to Applied, Elena was an Associate Director at Anthesis, a global sustainability consultancy where she focused on supply chain engagement and Scope 3 emissions projects. Before that she worked at the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, helping develop and deploy the Higg Index, a standardized environmental assessment, across the apparel supply chain. Elena holds BAs is Economics and International Relations from the University of California, Davis and is based in Santa Cruz, California.
Meaghan Krohn, Lead Climate Strategist, Dell Technologies
Meaghan owns responsibility for the company’s Net Zero goal and related efforts to drive down emissions across the value chain. Her responsibilities include executing on the company’s Climate Action strategy, with a particular focus on Dell’s work to decarbonize its customer base. Prior to joining Dell in September 2022, Meaghan led McKesson’s climate change strategy and reporting work, where she developed the company’s first-ever greenhouse gas targets. Meaghan earned her Bachelor of Arts from McGill University, and her Master of Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Meaghan resides outside of Portland, Maine.
Meredith Pickett, Head of Corporate Sustainability, Morgan Stanely
Meredith joined Morgan Stanley in 2017 and held previous roles as an Equity Strategist on the Global Sustainability Research team, a Public Policy Strategist in Fixed Income Research and Head of the Alpha Team in US Equity Sales. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, she held positions in philanthropy, state and federal government, and political campaigns. Meredith graduated from Tufts University with a BA in History and Political Science and earned an MPA from the New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
Emma Rogers, Senior Director of Climate Strategy, Royal Bank of Canada
Emma works collaboratively with leaders across RBC to advance the enterprise climate strategy – this includes delivering initiatives and measuring progress. She also oversees climate disclosure. Since joining RBC in 2017, Emma led the development of RBC’s first climate strategy and standalone climate report. She also drove initiatives to procure renewable energy, provide transparency on sustainable finance and employee enablement. Emma has over a decade of experience in sustainability strategy and policy development. She brings a unique combination of corporate and public sector perspectives to new challenges. Prior to joining RBC, Emma worked for Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment, Tim Hortons and Sears Canada. Emma received her M.Sc. in Environmental Management and Policy from the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics at Lund University, Sweden. Emma was nominated as a Top 30 under 30 Sustainability Leader by Corporate Knights in 2015. Emma loves to spend time in nature with her two daughters and husband and is a visual artist.
Fred Tan, Head of Social Impact, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HPE Foundation
Fred is responsible for developing HPE’s social sustainability strategy and transforming the company’s approach to better leverage its technology, talent, resources, and brand for good. Fred also leads a team driving the successful implementation of HPE’s social sustainability, supplier diversity, and corporate social responsibility programs. Before joining HPE, Fred was most recently at Village Capital, the largest organization in the world supporting impact-driven, seed-stage startups, where he helped drive the organization’s global impact partnerships and strategic growth. In a career that also spans time in government and consulting, Fred has rolled up his sleeves to scale social impact and build community partnerships, strengthen the non-profit ecosystem, and transform organizations by developing new integrated solutions that help leading brands manage corporate responsibility, sustainable development issues, and drive triple bottom line Growth. Fred received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Brigham Young University and a Master in International Security – Global Economic Policy from Sciences Po – Paris School of International Affairs.