Board Perspectives

In this episode of Board Perspectives, Sam Stark of Green Project and Michael Vigario of ACT Commodities join Protiviti’s Alyse Mauro Mason to discuss emissions reporting and demystify some of the common fears and misinterpretations in the market. They also talk about areas of opportunity for organizations.
Michael joined ACT in its North American infancy. Prior to ACT, he worked at several startups in New York, helping to scale and build the financial functions. Mike started his career at Deloitte and Barclays and is a New York state licensed CPA.
Sam founded Green Project three years ago after working in sustainability at Goldman Sachs. During that time, Sam saw financial institutions struggling to achieve accurate scope three emission calculations from their portfolio companies and suppliers, who tended to be less sophisticated in the greenhouse gas inventory space. Sam founded Green Project to be a more accessible software to help with scope three engagement.
Alyse is an Associate Director with Protiviti and helps lead the firm’s ESG and Sustainability practice.
For more information about Michael, visit his LinkedIn page: www.linkedin.com/in/michael-vigario/.  
For more information about Sam, visit his LinkedIn page: www.linkedin.com/in/sam-stark-818616104/.
For more information on this and other ESG topics, visit Protiviti.com/ESG. We also invite you to read our paper, Sustainability: Frequently Asked Questions: www.protiviti.com/us-en/research-guide/esg-sustainability-reporting.

In September 2023, California legislators passed the first mandatory climate disclosure bills in the United States. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the two climate-impact reporting measures into law on October 7, 2023. The measures are expected to have far-reaching effects not only for the U.S.-based businesses that are required to comply but also for their trading partners around the world.  
In this episode of Board Perspectives, Protiviti Associate Director Alyse Mauro Mason talks with Michael Littenberg and Marc Rotter from Ropes and Gray, along with Ricardo Buitron from Protiviti, about how these laws in California will affect organizations in and out of the state, as well as other regulatory considerations.  
Michael is a senior partner at Ropes and Gray. He is the global head of the firm's ESG, CSR and business and human rights practice and a member of the securities and public companies practice. He has more than 30 years of experience advising in these areas.  
Marc is a counsel at Ropes and Gray and also is a member of the securities and public companies practice. He has extensive experience advising leading companies and sponsors on their mandatory and voluntary ESG disclosures.  
Ricardo is an associate director with Protiviti and the financial services leader in our sustainability practice to support clients in their sustainability journey. His experience ranges from first-, second- and third-line program stand up and enhancement to sustainability report delivery.  
For more information on this and other ESG topics, visit Protiviti.com/ESG. We also invite you to read our paper, Sustainability: Frequently Asked Questions: www.protiviti.com/us-en/research-guide/esg-sustainability-reporting.

Artificial intelligence, including but not limited to generative AI, has taken the world by storm over the past year, with organizations worldwide scrambling to identify where and how it can be used to strengthen their businesses and grow competitive advantage. Without question, as companies move quickly to employ these technologies, ESG issues come into play at a number of levels, from sustainability reporting to social and governance risks that must be managed.  
In this episode of Board Perspectives, Protiviti Associate Director Alyse Mauro Mason talks with Protiviti Managing Directors Christine Livingston and Mark Carson about AI and how it can be used in sustainability, some examples of use cases, and where you can leverage AI to identify opportunities and risk.  
Christine is responsible for artificial intelligence/machine learning and innovation solutions at Protiviti. With over a decade of experience in AI/ML deployment, she has delivered hundreds of successful AI solutions, including many first-in-class AI-enabled applications. She has helped several Fortune 500 companies develop practical strategies for enterprise adoption of new and emerging technology, including the creation of AI-enabled technology roadmaps. She focuses on identifying emerging technology opportunities, developing innovation strategies and incorporating AI/ML capabilities into enterprise solutions.  
Mark leads Protiviti’s Data and Analytics Strategy practice and is the Americas lead for ESG data and tooling, leveraging a culmination of experiences from over 20 years of delivering business value through the design, build, deployment, change management and operations of innovative data and analytics solutions.  
Learn more about Christine at www.protiviti.com/us-en/christine-livingston.  
Learn more about Mark at www.protiviti.com/us-en/mark-carson.
For more information on this and other ESG topics, visit Protiviti.com/ESG. We also invite you to read our paper, Sustainability: Frequently Asked Questions: www.protiviti.com/us-en/research-guide/esg-sustainability-reporting.

In this episode, hosted by Protiviti Associate Director Alyse Mauro Mason, we focus on financial inclusion, defining financial inclusion and its impact, what it means for your business, and how to manage the risk of more inclusive credit and lending practices.
Alyse’s guests are Tracie Anderson of TransUnion and Shelley Metz-Galloway of Protiviti.
Tracie is Principal, Economic Inclusion Strategy, U.S. Markets at TransUnion. She leads the development and execution of strategies to fulfill TransUnion’s ongoing commitment to advance financial inclusion. In her role as principal in U.S. markets, Tracie collaborates with stakeholders internally and externally to cultivate commercial and community relationships focused on driving sustainable financial returns and social good by expanding opportunities with underserved consumers. These opportunities create inclusive and equitable pathways where more consumers can successfully use financial services and products to enhance their quality of life.
Shelley is a managing director and U.S. regulatory compliance lead with Protiviti. She has more than 30 years in the financial services industry and offers expertise in consumer regulatory compliance, enforcement, action response and remediation compliance, and fair lending and UDAAP risk assessments, as well as compliance management systems, program development, business performance and risk analytics, strategic planning, and process reengineering. As a leader of Protiviti’s Multicultural, ESG and Racial Equity Advisory Council, Shelley also conducts audits for clients interested in assessing their diversity, equity and inclusion program effectiveness and remediating DEI gaps.
Tracie and Shelley join this podcast in their personal capacity to share their experience, expertise and insights with us.
Contact Alyse at [email protected].
Contact Tracie at www.linkedin.com/in/tracie-anderson-b77b204/.
Contact Shelley at [email protected]
For more information on this and other ESG topics, visit Protiviti.com/ESG.

A core component of the ESG program in any organization is diversity, equity and inclusion. Different organizations take different approaches to DEI, or DEIB. There is no one way to be a leader. But what does matter is consistency and commitment, particularly the concepts around diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and how they continue to evolve. Such a commitment is especially vital given the ongoing war for talent and the need to attract and retain people to your organization.

In this episode, we talk with Andaye Hill-Espinoza and Alfredo Mendez, two leaders in our enterprise who offer some highly informative insights on DEIB and how board members and executives need to understand its long-term value.

Andaye is an associate director with Protiviti and a leader in the firm's ESG Center of Excellence and DEI programs. Alf is vice president, DEI and community for Robert Half, parent company of Protiviti.

For more information on Protiviti’s ESG and Sustainability programs, visit Protiviti.com/ESG.

Contact Andaye at [email protected].

Contact Alf at [email protected].

For more board-focused thought leadership from Protiviti, visit www.protiviti.com/gl-en/board-leadership-collection.

Data management is a critical component of an organization’s reporting and required disclosures, whether they are for regulatory authorities or stakeholders. The needs are no different when it comes to environmental, social and governance (ESG) – an area of growing global importance for organizations worldwide.

In this podcast, Protiviti Associate Director Alyse Mauro Mason interviews Protiviti Managing Directors Mark Carson and Zachary Unger on a topic that is growing rapidly in importance in the ESG space, namely effective data governance and management.

Mark is a leader in Protiviti’s enterprise data and analytics practice and is the America’s lead for ESG data and tooling. Zach leads Protiviti’s global team focused on ESG reporting. Alyse is a leader with the firm’s ESG practice.

Contact Alyse at [email protected].

Contact Mark at [email protected].

Contact Zach at [email protected].

For more information on this and other ESG topics, visit Protiviti.com/ESG.

In this episode, we focus on ESG from a legal perspective. Alyse Mauro Mason, an Associate Director with the Business Performance Improvement solution and ESG practice at Protiviti, interviews Dennis Kerrigan, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the Hanover Insurance Group, and Rich Cohen, a Managing Director with the Legal Consulting practice at Protiviti.

Dennis and Rich join this podcast in their personal capacity to share their expertise and insights. They are not providing legal advice.

Find Dennis Kerrigan’s LinkedIn profile here: www.linkedin.com/in/dennisfkerrigan/.

Find Rich Cohen’s LinkedIn profile here: www.linkedin.com/in/rich-cohen-15389b1/.

Find Alyse Mauro Mason’s LinkedIn profile here: www.linkedin.com/in/alysemauro/.

A fast-growing ESG topic in boardrooms and C-suites is ESG traceability – achieving transparency into the complete supply chain of goods and services. Organizations – and more importantly, their customers and clients – are seeking more transparent, secure and responsible supply chains. This is about far more than one supplier or manufacturer meeting the organization’s ESG standards. It’s about understanding the origin and path of all goods and materials across increasingly complex and global supply chains.

This episode of Board Perspectives features our conversation with Doug Johnson-Poensgen and Debjani Mallick about ESG traceability. They share their guidance for directors and C-suite leaders on how to navigate this often-complex challenge.

Doug is founder and CEO of Circulor, which provides a leading solution to industrial, complex supply chain traceability based on AI and Blockchain technology. Doug has 25 years of international experience as an Executive and Non Executive Director, operating in the Financial Services, IT and Management Consultancy sectors.

Debjani is a Senior Manager within the ESG and Supply Chain practice areas of Protiviti's Business Performance Improvement practice. Her primary focus is to develop the firm’s Sustainable Operations business solution. Debjani has 10 years of engineering and business experience helping organizations to meet their operational and sustainability goals.

Contact Doug at www.linkedin.com/in/dougjohnsonpoensgen/.

Contact Debjani at [email protected].

For more information on this and other ESG topics, visit Protiviti.com/ESG.

To learn more about the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), visit https://www.fsb-tcfd.org. The TCFD has developed a framework to help public companies and other organizations disclose climate-related risks and opportunities.

We also invite you to listen and subscribe to other podcast series from Protiviti:

Powerful Insights – Features leaders and subject-matter experts from around the world offering insights on key issues facing organizations in our dynamic, challenging and competitive global business climate.

The Post-Quantum World – Quantum computing capabilities are exploding, causing disruption and opportunities, but many technology and business leaders still don’t understand the impact quantum will have on their business. Protiviti is helping organizations get post-quantum ready. In our bi-weekly podcast series, The Post-Quantum World, Protiviti Associate Director and host Konstantinos Karagiannis is joined by quantum computing experts to discuss hot topics in quantum computing, including the business impact, benefits and threats of this exciting new capability.

VISION by Protiviti – We put megatrends under the microscope and look into the future to examine the strategic implications of those transformational shifts that will impact the C-suite and executive board rooms worldwide. In this ongoing series, we invite some of today’s most innovative and insightful thinkers—from both inside and outside Protiviti—to share their vision of the future and explore how today’s big ideas will impact business over the next decade and beyond.

With the dominance of ESG as a key agenda item in the boardroom and C-suite, it’s no surprise that one especially noteworthy topic is sustainable finance – ensuring that investments in products and services are aligned with ESG and sustainability standards. This certainly is a key area of focus in financial services.

In this podcast, Protiviti’s Paul Middleton interviews Ana Carolina Oliveira, Head of Sustainable Finance in the Americas for ING. In their conversation, Ana Carolina and Paul discuss the world of sustainable finance, from current market interest to pervasive challenges and key learnings and takeaways for board members.

Ana Carolina started her career with ING in 2008 as client and policy advisor on Environmental and Social Risk and Sustainability. After working in credit risk and with ING’s healthcare clients, she was appointed to lead the America’s Sustainable Finance group in April 2020, where she is responsible for pitching and structuring sustainable finance products to support clients as they transition to more sustainable businesses. She is also responsible for steering the Americas portfolio in line with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, through helping clients set climate targets and supporting their transition to low-carbon operations.

Paul is a Managing Director with Protiviti. He leads the firm’s capital markets business in London.

To learn more, visit Protiviti.com/ESG.

To contact Ana Carolina Oliveira, visit https://gfcmediagroup.com/contributors/ana-carolina-oliveira.

Contact Paul at [email protected].

We also invite you to listen and subscribe to other podcast series from Protiviti:

Powerful Insights – Features leaders and subject-matter experts from around the world offering insights on key issues facing organizations in our dynamic, challenging and competitive global business climate.

The Post-Quantum World – Quantum computing capabilities are exploding, causing disruption and opportunities, but many technology and business leaders still don’t understand the impact quantum will have on their business. Protiviti is helping organizations get post-quantum ready. In our bi-weekly podcast series, The Post-Quantum World, Protiviti Associate Director and host Konstantinos Karagiannis is joined by quantum computing experts to discuss hot topics in quantum computing, including the business impact, benefits and threats of this exciting new capability.

VISION by Protiviti – We put megatrends under the microscope and look into the future to examine the strategic implications of those transformational shifts that will impact the C-suite and executive board rooms worldwide. In this ongoing series, we invite some of today’s most innovative and insightful thinkers—from both inside and outside Protiviti—to share their vision of the future and explore how today’s big ideas will impact business over the next decade and beyond.

ESG is a driving theme and priority for most organizations around the world today. And like any other key initiative within these organizations, whether it be global expansion or launching new product lines, there must be a plan and strategy for ESG programs and activities. They cannot be approached as a side project.

In this episode of Board Perspectives, we speak with Protiviti’s Ellen Holder and Britta Sadoun about the importance of building an ESG plan and strategy and the board’s role in this process. Ellen is a Director and Britta is an Associate Director with the Risk & Consulting practice at Protiviti. Both also are members of Protiviti’s ESG practice and leadership team.

Contact Ellen at [email protected].

Contact Britta at [email protected].

To learn more, visit Protiviti.com/ESG.

Find more of Protiviti’s thought leadership for board members at www.protiviti.com/board.

For a full transcript of this podcast, contact Kevin Donahue: [email protected].

We also invite you to listen and subscribe to other podcast series from Protiviti:

Powerful Insights – Features leaders and subject-matter experts from around the world offering insights on key issues facing organizations in our dynamic, challenging and competitive global business climate.

The Post-Quantum World – Quantum computing capabilities are exploding, causing disruption and opportunities, but many technology and business leaders still don’t understand the impact quantum will have on their business. Protiviti is helping organizations get post-quantum ready. In our bi-weekly podcast series, The Post-Quantum World, Protiviti Associate Director and host Konstantinos Karagiannis is joined by quantum computing experts to discuss hot topics in quantum computing, including the business impact, benefits and threats of this exciting new capability.

VISION by Protiviti – We put megatrends under the microscope and look into the future to examine the strategic implications of those transformational shifts that will impact the C-suite and executive board rooms worldwide. In this ongoing series, we invite some of today’s most innovative and insightful thinkers—from both inside and outside Protiviti—to share their vision of the future and explore how today’s big ideas will impact business over the next decade and beyond.