Manuel Isaza

Manuel Isaza, Director, is the Head of BlackRock’s Investment Stewardship (BIS) team in EMEA. The BIS team actively works with BlackRock’s portfolio companies to promote effective governance and create value for clients and to address economic risks that arise from social, environmental and governance issues, and coordinates the integration of corporate governance and responsible investment considerations into the investment process.

Manuel is responsible for overseeing the team’s work across the region, including voting and engagement with portfolio companies throughout EMEA on behalf of BlackRock’s clients globally. Manuel also actively engages with senior clients representing the firm on topics including proxy voting, shareholder engagement, stewardship reporting, governance & sustainability policy, and thought leadership. Manuel is a board member of Eumedion, the leading Dutch association representing institutional investors’ interests in the field of corporate governance and sustainability.

Prior to joining BlackRock, Manuel worked at BMO Global Asset Management (formerly F&C Investments) in Corporate Governance and ESG Integration. Before joining BMO, Manuel worked at Hermes Investment Management in the Equity Ownership Services team as an ESG Analyst. He also worked for five years in the US in insurance and human resources consulting.

Manuel holds a BS from the University of South Carolina in Business Administration and a Masters in European Business with emphasis in finance from the ESCP Europe Business School. Manuel is bilingual in English and Spanish. He is a former member of the Corporate Governance Advisory Council of the US Council of Institutional Investors.

Manuel Isaza

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Manuel Isaza

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.