Kate has 20 years of experience in financial services and is passionate about the role for well-designed solutions to improve wellbeing for customers and society.  As Head of Investor Relations for Legal & General Group plc, the UK’s largest life insurer and fund manager, she led the engagement programme with investors in the UK, Europe, and US.  She showcased the role of L&G in addressing major issues through its product outcomes and through investment from its large capital pool towards green technology and community housing.   Conversations with global investors shaped her belief in the power of finance and active investor engagement as a powerful force for change.  On returning to NZ, she discovered Mindful Money and its focus on making a money a force for good in Aotearoa, and is privileged to support this mission as a volunteer and trustee.   Kate holds other governance roles with Lifetime Group, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Foundation and Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa alongside consultancy through Shift Advisory

Katherine Dewar (FCIM) is the founder and MD at GoodSense ethical marketing, a Certified B Corporation and leaders in marketing sustainability in Aotearoa since 2010. A marketer with over 30 years’ experience and a business-owner since 2001, Kath works with her team and clients to use marketing to drive the systems changes we need for society and nature, as well as shareholders. She consistently champions transparency, ethics, the rights of communities and of nature, and the importance of avoiding greenwash in media interviews and speaking engagements. Kath has worked with financial services clients and held roles in the sector throughout her career and serves on the Board of the Sustainable Business Network and on the Advisory Board of the University of Auckland Circular Economy Beacon.

Katie has been in the Responsible Investment industry for almost 20 years, with the first part of her career spent overseas, predominantly in the UK. On returning to New Zealand in 2015, she joined New Zealand Super Fund as a Senior Investment Strategist for Responsible Investment. In November 2021, Katie joined Forsyth Barr as the Head of ESG where she is responsible for incorporating ESG (environment, social and governance) principles into Forsyth Barr’s firm-wide operations and investment process, including assisting advisers with specific client needs. Katie currently serves on the External Reporting Board’s Stakeholder Advisory Panel (XRAP), is Deputy Chair of the NZ National Advisory Board for Impact Investing and is also on the Investment Committee for NZ impact investor, Purpose Capital.

Matthew Mimms is the Founder and Managing Director of The Investment Store. Matt has over 30 years’ experience in financial services in both the UK and New Zealand. Immediately prior to establishing the Investment Store, Matt was head of Retail Sales and Service at BT Funds Management. Matt has been integrally involved in the NZ investment and financial adviser industry for 20 years including a 2-year stint as Chair of the Auckland branch for the then named Financial Planners and Insurance Advisers Association. Matt is a strong advocate for responsible investing and is currently a board member of the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA). He contributed as a member of the Technical Working Group of the NZ Sustainable Finance Forum, an initiative of the Aotearoa Circle and more recently was a member of the development committee for the Stewardship Code Aotearoa New Zealand. He has a business degree from the University of Sheffield (UK) and a Diploma in Business Studies (personal financial planning) from Massey University.

Noah founded Makao Investments to help lift investment advice in New Zealand and the Pacific to a better standard, and to make advice more affordable for smaller institutional clients. Before founding Makao in 2019, Noah was the head of the institutional team at Russell Investments in New Zealand, advising a broad range of large institutional clients on investment strategy, asset allocation and manager selection. In his two decades in financial services Noah also gained experience in infrastructure valuation, capital management and structuring of insurance risk transfer solutions.

Paul has had a 32-year career in the New Zealand and Australian investment industry, as a Chief Investment Officer, Fund Manager and Equities Analyst and research team head, with UBS, BT Funds Management /Westpac and Mint Asset Management, and is currently a financial consultant and director of Carina Investment Advice Ltd. Before this he worked 8 years as a geologist in Asia and NZ. He has a Bachelor of Science in Geology from Auckland University, holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, is a member of the NZ Institute of Directors , the Institute of Financial Professionals of NZ (INFINZ), and the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA) and he is an alumni of Cambridge University Institute of Sustainable Development Leadership. Paul has been a professional Director for 9 years is an independent appointee to the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) Board Investment Committee, is a Director of AgInvest Holdings (MyFarm), BNZ Investment Services Ltd and Mindful Money, and previously was Executive Director of Mint Asset Management, Director of the Chartered Financial Analyst Society of NZ, and chaired the NZ Corporate Governance Forum.

Rebecca Mills is the Founder of The Lever Room, an organisation which provides practical tools to help clients meet their sustainability and climate impact goals. A former biosphere scientist and with training from both Harvard and Oxford Business Schools, she enjoys combining research and a spirit of enterprise to help solve real world problems. Rebecca was shoulder tapped to co-design the strategy with Sir Richard Branson and Jochen Zeitz for what is now known as The B Team -a global group of business leaders to catalyse a better way of doing business, putting people and planet alongside profit. Over the past two decades, she has designed and launched several systems change initiatives both in NZ and around the world, making her a leading sustainability and net-zero strategist. Most recently, Rebecca and her team have shared a new carbon certification approach which leverages science and technology to simplify and advance current methods of carbon measurement.

Rebekah Swan is a highly experienced senior financial markets and funds management leader with a passion for making a real impact. With over 25 years experience in investment markets and over 10 years experience in the Responsible investment sector both domestically and in Australia, Rebekah has become a leader in the industry. Her expertise in investment markets, combined with strong leadership skills and a customer focus, have helped develop teams and lead businesses through change to deliver results. As a skilled governance professional, Rebekah has been instrumental in promoting ethical investment practices, policies and has contributed to industry engagements. Rebekah is proud to serve as a judge for the Mindful Money awards and looks forward to helping recognise the best and most ethical providers in New Zealand.

Following 14 years in private practice, and five years at the Financial Markets Authority, Rob has spent nearly four years as Chief Risk Officer and General Counsel for Trustees Executors, New Zealand’s oldest trust company.

Rob has had a keen interest in this arena for many years having formed the Financial Markets Authority’s first working group on ESG matters. He is the Co-Chair of the Financial Services Council ‘Climate and ESG Committee’, part of the leadership group of the Financial Services Council ‘Climate Related Scenario Analysis Working Group’ which has just released the ‘FSC Climate Scenario Narratives for the Financial Services Sector report’, and a member of the Centre for Sustainable Finance’s Investment Implementation Group playing a key role in the drafting of New Zealand’s first Stewardship Code.

This is Rob’s third year of judging the Mindful Money Awards.

Rod Oram has more than 40 years’ experience as an international business journalist. He has worked for various publications in Europe and North America, including the Financial Times of London. He contributes weekly to Newsroom.co.nz, Radio New Zealand’s Nine to Noon, and to Newstalk ZB. He is a frequent public speaker on deep sustainability, business, economics, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, in both NZ and global contexts.

Dr Sebastian Gehricke is a Senior lecturer and Director of the Climate and Energy Finance Group (CEFGroup) at the University of Otago, running several events and pursuing research and teaching in sustainable finance and investments. Recently (in 2022), he was awarded the Otago University early-career researcher award for his accomplishments. Sebastian also has financial consulting experience, particularly in project feasibility modelling and investment management and serves on the board of a local not-for-profit. In 2021 Sebastian developed the first sustainable investments course in New Zealand and in 2023 launched the minor in Sustainable Finance. He is a strong advocate for a transition toward a sustainable finance system and actively communicates with the private and public sector to support this journey. He eagerly shares his knowledge through the media, executive training and speaking at industry and community events.

Victoria has worked in the finance industry for over 13 years. She is currently co-founder of The Curve, a financial education platform for women. Her passion is educating women on the importance of growing their wealth and having control over their finances. Prior to The Curve, Victoria was a portfolio manager at some of NZ's top fund management and KiwiSaver providers. She has invested with a sustainability focus for almost her entire career. Most recently, she was Portfolio Manager of the Sustainability Fund at Devon Funds.