Expert Network

A collaborative ecosystem of leading professionals combining deep expertise in climate risk, sustainable finance, and specialized domains to deliver comprehensive solutions for asset owners and financial institutions.

At FFI Solutions, we recognize that tackling climate change and making informed decisions requires both broad understanding and deep, specialized knowledge.

Our Expert Network helps clients address the complex challenges of decarbonization and climate risk integration. This collaborative platform enables us to directly connect our clients to leading subject matter experts across diverse disciplines, providing critical support for custom research or consulting projects.

By combining our internal team’s expertise with specialized insights from our network, we offer comprehensive perspectives on the challenges you face and the solutions you need.

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Barry Schachter

Investment Risk Management

Barry Schachter

Investment Risk Management

Barry Schachter is one of the most recognized and experienced risk managers in the alternative investment industry. Barry has over 25 years of buy-side asset management experience building and directing the risk function at prominent firms such as Caxton, Balyasny, SAC Capital, among others. After receiving his Ph.D. in Economics from Cornell, he began his career in academia, after which he transitioned to financial markets regulation at the CFTC and OCC, before entering the private sector. He actively contributes to industry discourse, publishing technical articles and presenting at practitioner conferences. He has been an advisor to FFI since its founding, focused on portfolio analytics and performance measurement.  Throughout his career he has promoted innovation and embraced change for success in the context of evolving financial market dynamics and trends in investment strategies.

Radley Horton

Physical Climate Risk

Radley Horton

Physical Climate Risk

Radley Horton is a Lamont Associate Research Professor at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. His research focuses on climate extremes, tail risks, climate impacts, and adaptation. Radley was a Convening Lead Author for the Third National Climate Assessment. He currently Co-Chairs Columbia’s Adaptation Initiative, and is Principal Investigator for the Columbia University-WWF ADVANCE partnership, and the NOAA-Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments-funded Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast. He is also the Columbia University lead for the Department of Interior-funded Northeast Climate Science Center, and is a PI on an NSF-funded Climate Change Education Partnership Project.

Radley has been a Co-leader in the development of a global research agenda in support of the United Nations Environmental Program’s Programme on Vulnerability, Impacts, and Adaptation (PROVIA) initiative. He serves on numerous national and international task forces and committees, including the Climate Scenarios Task Force in support of the 2018 National Climate Assessment, and frequently appears on national and international television, radio, and in print. Radley teaches in Columbia University’s Sustainable Development department.

Jenni Brandon

Climate Tech Intelligence

Jenni Brandon

Climate Tech Intelligence

Dr. Jennifer Brandon is a marine biologist and ecologist by training and was an early pioneer in the field of plastic pollution. She developed multiple new techniques to identify and quantify microplastics and has been interviewed by dozens of outlets, including NPR, The New Yorker, and the BBC for her expertise. She is also an expert in science communication, having given hundreds of lectures and invited talks. Jenni provides consulting services through her firm, Wild Beacon Consulting.

In her career, she has managed projects around conservation and climate change for everyone from NGOs and government entities to foundations and impact investors. She has worked on multiple aspects of climate change, from the ecological impacts of melting ice in the Arctic, to the future of water in California, to the impacts of climate change on African agriculture. Jenni holds a BS in Biology and a BA in English from Duke University, and an MS in Marine Biology and PhD in Biological Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego.

Velina Karadzhova

Utilities

Velina Karadzhova

Utilities

Velina Karadzhova is a seasoned ESG and Responsible Investment specialist with over a decade of experience in the international finance sector, focusing extensively on the utilities industry. She has held pivotal roles at First Sentier/MUFG, MSCI, Moody’s Investors Service, and PwC, where she provided in-depth analysis and insights into energy and utility markets across Europe and globally.

At her most recent role as Head of First Sentier MUFG Sustainable Investment Institute, she oversaw the development and delivery of the Institute's sustainability research agenda.

At MSCI ESG Research, Velina served as the Vice President and Global Utilities Lead. In this role, she spearheaded the development and enhancement of analytical tools and methodologies for the utilities sector, including ESG ratings, carbon analytics, and regulatory reporting solutions like SFDR. She engaged closely with asset management and asset owner clients to apply these tools effectively and oversaw comprehensive sector and company research, ensuring high-quality ESG assessments within the utilities sector.

Prior to MSCI, Velina was a Lead Credit Ratings Analyst at Moody’s Investors Service, covering regulated and unregulated utilities in EMEA. She possesses detailed knowledge of various regulatory regimes and wholesale power markets across Europe. , including the UK, Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

At PwC, as a Senior Associate in the Energy, Utilities, and Mining Group, she worked with major oil companies and leading UK utilities, honing her expertise in financial reporting standards and governance issues.

Elysabeth Alfano

Food Systems Transformation

Elysabeth Alfano

Food Systems Transformation

Elysabeth Alfano is currently the CEO of VegTech™ Invest, the Advisor to the Plant-based Innovation & Climate ETF, EATV, listed on the New York Stock Exchange. She is a renowned expert in investing in food systems transformation and speaks internationally on the intersection of investing, sustainability, and our global food supply system.  Elysabeth has spoken at the U.N. Global Leaders Compact Summit, the United Nations Climate Change Summit, COP27 and COP28, and is frequently interviewed by national media. She hosts the Plantbased Business Hour, a podcast which features the CEOs and business leaders in the industry. 

Elysabeth began her career with the Kellogg Company before investing for a small family office. She consults and advises C-Suite Executives on the sustainable food industry landscape, direction and whitespaces through her company Plant Powered Consulting. In addition, Elysabeth consults for financial organizations looking to position themselves as leaders in sustainability with brand, communications, and product strategy. Elysabeth holds a BA from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Henry Shilling

Fixed Income & Green Bonds

Henry Shilling

Fixed Income & Green Bonds

Henry is the Founder and Director of Research of Sustainable Research and Analysis LLC, a NYC-based sustainable investing research firm (https://sustainableinvest.com), providing research, sustainable finance consulting, and educational/training services. Previously with Moody’s Investors Service, Henry initiated and coordinated Moody’s efforts to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in the ratings and research process. He also led the firm’s effort to launch and implement a methodology for assessing green bonds world-wide.

Henry’s expertise includes:

• Structuring and qualifying green, social and sustainable bonds as well as other instruments to meet local and international standards.

• Review, evaluate and formulate sustainable investing principles for investment portfolios as well as reporting and disclosure practices.

• Sustainable finance training and development.

• Construction of sustainable securities market indices.

Henry is the author of The International Guide to Securities Market Indices which was published in 1996 by International Publishing Corp., Chicago, Illinois. He is a contributor to Money Market Funds in the EU and the US, published in 2014 by Oxford University Press. He earned a B.A. in economics from Lehman College, City University of New York in 1971.

Richard Fontes

Sustainable Investing

Richard Fontes

Sustainable Investing

Richard A. Fontes is a freelance consultant advising financial services firms, FinTech's, RegTech's, and climate/ESG data and service providers on product management and innovation. In this role, Rich helps conceptualize and implement climate/ESG data and framework integrations into the various technology platforms and services offered to financial services firms. Rich also assists with the formulation and launch of new business lines and products made possible by the onset of the transition finance ecosystem such as carbon markets solutions, impact investing solutions, and transition finance-oriented financial instruments. Rich’s practice also focuses on helping corporations grapple with the integration of sustainability considerations and regulations into their overarching corporate strategy and governance structures. His product portfolio includes several Nicsa award-winning products, he has scaled several new, multi-million ARR sustainability business lines, and his product designs powered over $2T in assets in ESG funds.

Rich believes that financial services firms and financial markets play a pivotal role in addressing the climate crisis as well as the pressing environmental and social justice concerns of the modern era, and he seeks to develop innovative products and services that empower investors to mitigate ESG risks and identify and capture ESG opportunities.

Rich has held various analytical, consulting product, and project management-oriented roles in his 15+ year career in the financial services industry, which includes time at State Street, State Street Global Advisors, Wellington Management, and Fidelity Investments. Rich is also an avid supporter of the ESG academic community, having served as a researcher on various ESG initiatives at Boston University. Rich is also a frequent guest lecturer on ESG topics at various academic institutions and he mentors several young ESG professionals.

Rich is a CFA Charterholder and Chair of CFA Boston’s Sustainable Investment Taskforce and he holds a MBA from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University and a BSBA from Merrimack College.

Phil Kim

Sustainability, AI Strategy & Products

Phil Kim

Sustainability, AI Strategy & Products

Phil Kim has over 20 years of experience in technology and fintech sectors, specializing in strategy, product management, product development, go-to-market, and client success. He has a proven track record of driving revenue growth and delivering innovative solutions from conception to market launch.

As the former Global Head of Product at State Street, Phil led the development and execution of industry-leading ESG solutions, servicing top asset managers and owners globally. Prior to this, he co-founded Truvalue Labs, an ESG data provider, successfully overseeing its acquisition by FactSet.

With an MBA from UC Berkeley and a BS in Computer Science from MIT, Phil combines business acumen with technical expertise. He is known for his proactive leadership style, analytical skills, and ability to mobilize teams to achieve objectives.

Kent Costello

Emerging Technologies

Kent Costello

Emerging Technologies

Kent Costello is the Founder & CEO of Vested Futures, a technology-enabled platform designed to accelerate the funding and commercialization of emerging technology solutions. He has spent the last decade of his career working with early-stage companies in the areas of ESG analytics and carbon removal solutions. His experience includes working with asset managers to integrate ESG and climate risk factors in the investment process, counter-balancing financed emissions, and sourcing climate technology solutions. Prior to entering the sustainability world, Kent built a fintech platform to streamline the due diligence process for asset owners and fund allocators.

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