Katherine Leong
Impact Strategist, Spark Beyond
Katherine is an action-oriented impact strategist known for her collaborative approach across social and economic, public and private sectors to drive systemic level change. She works for SparkBeyond, a technology company, whose ambition to harness humanity's collective intelligence to solve the world's most important challenges is equally audacious. Her current focus is to use AI and data to drive better outcomes in the areas of health, financial resilience and future of work with the most innovative companies in Australia and New Zealand. Prior to moving into technology, Katherine worked for National Australia Bank, where she helped to develop the bank's sustainable finance strategy, particularly in the area of affordable housing and environmental finance. She is most proud of establishing the Impact Investment Ready Growth Grant and Discovery Grant, with Impact Investing Australia and Philanthropy Australia respectively, to develop the impact investment ecosystem; contributing to Responsible Investment Association Australasia's Impact Investment Forum; and participating in UNEP's Finance Initiative working group to contribute to more consistent impact measurement and reporting. Her passion for making a positive impact extends into her personal life where she supports multiple social entrepreneurs and co-founded the Environmental Film Festival Australia (EFFA), using film as a medium for storytelling to inform, engage and inspire Australians about a variety of environmental issues.
Catherine D. Wood
Founder and CEO, ARK Investment Management LLC
Cathie registered ARK Investment Management LLC (“ARK”) as an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2014. With over 40 years of experience identifying and investing in innovation, Cathie founded ARK to focus solely on disruptive innovation while adding new dimensions to research. Through an open approach that cuts across sectors, market capitalizations, and geographies, Cathie believes that ARK can identify large-scale investment opportunities in the public markets resulting from technological innovations centered around DNA sequencing, robotics, artificial intelligence, energy storage, and blockchain technology. As Chief Investment Officer (“CIO”) and Portfolio Manager, Cathie led the development of ARK’s philosophy and investment approach and has ultimate responsibility for investment decisions. Prior to ARK, Cathie spent twelve years at AllianceBernstein as CIO of Global Thematic Strategies where she managed over $5 billion. Cathie joined Alliance Capital from Tupelo Capital Management, a hedge fund she co-founded, which in 2000, managed approximately $800 million in global thematic strategies. Prior to her tenure at Tupelo Capital, she worked for 18 years with Jennison Associates LLC as Chief Economist, Equity Research Analyst, Portfolio Manager and Director. She started her career in Los Angeles, California at The Capital Group as an Assistant Economist. Cathie received her Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, in Finance and Economics from the University of Southern California in 1981. Cathie has been recognized as an influential fund manager across various outlets. In 2018, editors at Bloomberg acknowledged Cathie by selecting her to its second annual Bloomberg 50 list of people across business, entertainment, finance, politics, technology, and science who have defined global business. Additionally, Fortune named Cathie to its exclusive roundtable of experts in the annual Fortune Investors Guide: The Best Investing Advice for 2019 From Fortune’s Experts. In 2016, Cathie received the “Women in Finance – Outstanding Contribution Award” from Market Media. Cathie also has been a featured speaker at the World Economic Forum (China) in 2016 & 2017, the World Strategic Forum (Miami) in 2017, The Sohn Hearts and Minds Investment Leaders Conference (Australia) in 2018 and 2019, and Singularity University’s Exponential Finance in 2017 and Global Summit in 2019. In 2018, Cathie launched the Duddy Innovation Institute at her alma mater, Notre Dame Academy in Los Angeles. The institute offers a challenging educational experience for young women eager to stretch their learning beyond the boundaries of traditional acquisition of knowledge, while influencing a new way of thinking and learning throughout campus.
Simone Bouch
Head of Australia and New Zealand Client Coverage, MSCI Inc
Simone Bouch is Head of Australia and New Zealand for MSCI. Based in Sydney, Simone is responsible for leading MSCI’s business and building the company’s presence across all business lines including Index, Analytics, ESG, and Real Estate. In this role Simone works with a range of clients including asset owners, asset managers and wealth businesses. Before joining MSCI Simone was Head of Distribution for Aberdeen Standard Investments and prior to that established and led Standard Life Investments business in Australia when she relocated back from the UK in 2010. Whilst in the UK Simone worked for Standard Life Investments in Edinburgh and Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Henderson Global Investors in London. She started her career with AMP in Sydney Simone is a Committee member of 100 Women In Finance in Sydney and is passionate about the power of networking and building trusted relationships.