Top 10: Women in ESG

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Top 10: Women in ESG
The top 10 women leading ESG at the world’s biggest companies include Elena Valderrábano at Telefónica, Nia Mathis at Verizon and Faith Taylor at Kyndryl

Research shows that gender-diverse leadership teams make better decisions, outperforming others in financial performance and ESG progress.

The women celebrated in this list have been recognised in Sustainability Magazine's Top 100 Women in Sustainability supplement as leaders in not just sustainability, but specifically ESG – environmental, social and governance. 

These leaders work to embed and prioritise social initiatives into sustainability strategies at some of the largest companies in the world, sowing seeds of long-lasting global impact in ESG.

10. Celine Herweijer

  • Title: Group Chief Sustainability Officer
  • Sector: Banking
  • Company: HSBC
  • Company HQ: London, UK
Celine Herweijer, Group Chief Sustainability Officer at HSBC

As Group Chief Sustainability Officer, Celine leads all aspects of HSBC’s Group-wide sustainability strategy and execution and is co-chair of the HSBC Group ESG Committee.

Celine says at the heart of HSBC’s Net Zero Transition Plan is “a focus on supporting our customers with the finance they need to invest in the technologies, infrastructure and new business models critical to a net zero future”.

Celine is also Co-Chair of the We Mean Business Coalition and previously worked at PwC.

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9. Meagan Fitzsimmons

  • Title: Chief Compliance and ESG Officer
  • Sector: Logistics
  • Company: GXO
  • Company HQ: Connecticut, US
Meagan Fitzsimmons, Chief Compliance and ESG Officer at GXO Logistics

Meagan is responsible for the ESG and compliance infrastructure for GXO’s operations worldwide. The company says ESG is ingrained in its organisational ethos, and it has 160 ESG Impact Ambassadors.

GXO Logistics has more than 120,000 employees across 970 warehouse locations. The company aims to be 100% carbon neutral across Scopes 1 and 2 by 2040 and aims to use 50% renewable energy globally by 2030.

Meagan has previously worked at Colgate Palmolive and Revlon.

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8. Nela Richardson

  • Title: Chief Economist and ESG Officer
  • Sector: HR Software and Services
  • Company: Automatic Data Processing
  • Company HQ: New Jersey, US
Nela Richardson, Chief Economist and ESG Officer at ADP

Nela is in charge of ESG at Automatic Data Processing (ADP), an American provider of human resources management software and services.

The company is committed to reaching net zero across all emissions scopes by 2050. It is focussed on inclusion, diversity, equity and belonging across all of its operations and has an inclusive language initiative.

Nela has a background in economics and took on the role of ESG Officer in 2023.

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7. Suzanne DiBianca

  • Title: EVP ESG and Chief Impact Officer
  • Sector: Cloud-Based Software
  • Company: Salesforce
  • Company HQ: California, US
Suzanne DiBianca, EVP ESG and Chief Impact Officer at Salesforce

Susanne leads Salesforce’s stakeholder capitalism strategy, including its sustainability and ESG strategy. She also oversees the company’s corporate philanthropy initiatives, including supporting nonprofits.

Susanne says: “I've been at the company since the beginning, and I still remember the early days. We had a really bold vision to create a new kind of company, a new technology model, a new business model and a new philanthropy model, which was centred on prioritising the community.”

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6. Cassandra Garber

  • Title: Chief Sustainability Officer
  • Sector: Technology
  • Company: Dell Technologies
  • Company HQ: Texas, US
Cassandra Garber, Chief Sustainability Officer at Dell Technologies

As leader of Dell’s ESG strategy, Cassandra works to set strategy and engage with key stakeholders.

Cassandra says: “We ensure impact is woven directly into how we run our business by innovating and partnering through the lens of ESG.

“Dell has always had a commitment to using technology to improve communities and individual lives, and this commitment has grown into a key component of how we work every day.”

Cassandra has previously worked at 3M, GE Energy and The Coca-Cola Company.

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5. Samantha Harris

  • Title: Global Sustainability Lead
  • Sector: Motor Vehicle Manufacturing
  • Company: Tesla
  • Company HQ: Texas, US
Samantha Harris, Global Sustainability Lead at Tesla

Samantha’s career is rooted in sustainability, with specialities in diversity, climate change, climate justice, ESG, policy, consulting and law.

Tesla has helped avoid more than 20 million tonnes of CO2e through products designed to replace some of the planet’s biggest polluters. The company also uses educational outreach to inspire young people through STEM-based programmes.

Samantha was previously UN and Climate Policy Officer at Climate Action Network International and Global Lead for Climate Justice at Business for Social Responsibility.

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4. Jean Garris Hand

  • Title: Vice President, Global ESG
  • Sector: Hospitality
  • Company: Hilton
  • Company HQ: Virginia, US
Jean Garris Hand, Vice President, Global ESG at Hilton

As Vice President for Global ESG, Jean advances Travel with Purpose, Hilton’s global ESG strategy. The company aims to contribute 10 million volunteer hours by 2030.

“At Hilton, we’re dedicated to finding scalable, sustainable solutions that are wins not only for the environment, but for our guests and for our business,” Jean says.

“From a single kitchen compost bin, to installing an EV charger, to replacing a lightbulb – these small actions, when implemented at scale, can create big impact.”

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3. Faith Taylor

  • Title: SVP Global Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability
  • Sector: IT Infrastructure
  • Company: Kyndryl
  • Company HQ: New York, US
Faith Taylor, SVP Global Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability at Kyndryl

Kyndryl is the world’s largest IT infrastructure company, operating in 63 countries and serving three quarters of Fortune 100 companies. As Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability, Faith is leading the company to its SBTi-approved goals.

Faith says: “At Kyndryl we continue to work on our commitment to be net zero by 2040 and share research to outline global solutions to mitigate climate change in 60 countries.

“This is The Heart of Progress.”

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2. Nia Mathis

  • Title: Vice President for Responsible Business
  • Sector: Telecommunications
  • Company: Verizon
  • Company HQ: New York, US
Nia Mathis, Vice President for Responsible Business at Verizon

Nia is leading Verizon to achieve its responsible business goals to educate 10 million student learners, upskill 500,000 individuals and help one million small businesses thrive in a digital economy by 2030.

Nia explains: “Our team at Verizon knows first-hand the positive impact that connecting young people to technology can have on solving the world’s most pressing challenges.

“As our world becomes increasingly digital, digital inclusion has never been more important and we are taking responsibility for our role in our shared future.”

Verizon has already achieved 100% pay equity in salary for women and men globally, and with respect to race and ethnicity in the US.

Since 2019 the company has provided more than two million volunteer hours in communities and prepared more than 45 thousand individuals for jobs of the future.

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1. Elena Valderrábano

  • Title: Global Chief Sustainability (ESG) Officer
  • Sector: Telecommunications
  • Company: Telefónica
  • Company HQ: Madrid, Spain
Elena Valderrábano, Global Chief Sustainability (ESG) Officer at Telefónica

As the Global Chief Sustainability Officer at Telefónica, Elena is working to reduce the company’s emissions to net zero by 2040, with targets validated by the SBTi.

Elena explains: “Our dedication to ESG principles has been evident long before the acronym existed.

“In our early days, we were pioneers in promoting diversity by being one of the few companies to hire women. We've always placed our customers at the heart of our operations, as demonstrated in 1959 when we ensured customer inquiries were answered within 30 seconds.”

Telefónica aims to lead by example, embedding ESG across its business and supply chain with the highest ethical standards.

Elena was previously Director General of the Telefónica Foundation and holds a Masters Degree in Maritime Business from IME. She was Director General of DIRSE from 2019 to 2021.

“The best is always yet to come and it depends on us,” Elena says.

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To read the full story in the magazine click HERE

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