Chris is the Asia Pacific Head of Stewardship for Goldman Sachs Asset Management, based in Tokyo, where he manages issuer engagement, proxy voting and stewardship industry activities for the region. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs Asset Management, he was with Goldman Sachs as the lead GS SUSTAIN analyst in Japan, co-head of Asia Tactical Research, and a member of the Asia Investment Review Committee. Chris joined Goldman Sachs in 2007 and was named managing director in 2017.

Chris currently serves as a board member for the 30% Club Japan Investor Group, and
on the steering committee of the Japan Stewardship Initiative.

Chris earned a BA in Japanese from Brigham Young University. Additionally, he earned an MBA, with honors, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a master’s degree in International Studies, with a focus on East Asia and Japan, from the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management & International Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Chris is also a CFA charterholder.

Chris Vilburn

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Chris Vilburn

Will Farrell

Federated Hermes
Assistant Manager, EOS
London

Will co-leads the climate change theme at EOS, the stewardship arm of Federated Hermes Limited, where his coverage includes companies in Europe and Australia, primarily financial services, energy, chemicals, and materials. Prior to joining EOS, Will worked in the energy and infrastructure investment banking team at Macquarie Capital, where he specialised in renewable energy. Before that, Will held a number of roles across the UK climate policy space, including as a parliamentary researcher for Rt. Hon. Chris Skidmore MP on climate and energy issues, and as a climate and economic policy analyst at a diplomatic institute. He was appointed as a voluntary adviser to Rt. Hon. Alok Sharma MP, President of COP26, on preparations for COP26 after co-founding a Westminster climate policy group in 2019, which engaged MPs and Members of the House of Lords to advocate for more ambition on climate action in public policy. Will has a Bachelor’s degree (1st Class Honours) in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.