JANA Sustainability Advisory Council

Rachel Halpern

Rachel is Head of Sustainability and co-leads the responsibility for ensuring sustainability continues to be core to everything we do at JANA. Rachel has an established advisory career covering risk and commercial litigation. Rachel has spent over 10 years in the finance industry developing investment strategies which minimise regulatory and fiduciary risk through the effective integration of ESG into investment and lending decisions.

Most recently at Westpac Rachel was the lead risk advisor on the creation of its sustainable finance framework designed to guide future credit decisions to in line with client transition to a net-zero carbon economy. Prior to that Rachel was regulatory counsel for State Street Bank in Asia Pacific and Europe where she assisted institutional investors in setting up responsible investment frameworks.

Rachel holds a Master’s of Behavioural Science from The London School of Economics and Political Science and a combined Bachelor of Arts (politics) and Bachelor of Laws from Macquarie University.

Nicki Hutley

Nicki Hutley is a highly experienced economist, with broad-based expertise in both macroeconomics and microeconomic policy, gained over more than three decades in financial and investment markets and in economic consulting.

After many years in the corporate world, including most recently as a partner with Deloitte Access Economics, Nicki is now an independent economist, advising governments, business and not-for-profits. She is also a Councillor on the Climate Council.

Nicki holds an Honours degree in Economics. In 2021, she was elected President of the NSW Branch of the Economics Society of Australia.

Nicki is a frequent commentator in the media and is a regular guest on The Drum and The Project.

Peter Yu

Peter Yu is a Yawuru man from Broome in the Kimberley region in North West Australia with over 40 years’ experience in Indigenous development and advocacy in the Kimberley and at the state, national and international level. Peter was a key negotiator on behalf of the Yawuru Native Title Holders with the Western Australian State Government over the 2010 Yawuru Native Title Agreement.

He was recently Chief Executive Officer of the Yawuru Corporate Group and is the current and inaugural Vice – President First Nations at the Australian National University.

He has been an advocate for the social, cultural and economic advancement and well-being of Kimberley and other Aboriginal communities as well as working at the Local, State, National and International level as a representative for the rights and interest of the Aboriginal community his entire career. He has been instrumental in the development of many community-based organisations and initiatives which have had an enduring influence on the Kimberley region. He was Executive Director of the Kimberley Land Council during the 1990s and a member of the national leadership team negotiating the Federal Government’s response to the 1992 Mabo High Court judgement on Native Title.

He is currently Director of Water Trust Australia, Trustee on the Princes Trust Australia, Chair of the Australian Advisory Group to Rio Tinto, Deputy Chair of the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd (NAILSMA), he was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (AM) in 2021 for his services to the Indigenous community.

Zarmeen Pavri

Zarmeen is a values-based leader with over 28 years’ experience, having a multi-dimensional background covering ethical and impact investing, venture capital, funds management, product development and international development, including her previous role as the Impact Fund Manager, responsible for managing the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT’s) social impact innovation portfolios across Asiapacific.

Zarmeen is a Co-Founder, Partner and Chief Impact Officer of SDGx – an Impact VC investment management and advisory firm, where she manages a global climate tech impact fund and also currently holds the position as the Oceania Regional Head for the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN). She serves on a variety of fiduciary and non-fiduciary boards, including being a Non-Executive Board Director of U Ethical Investors Ltd; Chair of the Ethical and Impact Committee for the $100m Apostle Funds Management’s Diversified People and Planet Fund and previously was a Non-Executive Board Director of Magnis Energy Technologies (ASX: MNS).

Prior to her career transition into the impact investing arena, she held several senior executive leadership positions, including Executive Director Strategy, Head of Offshore Institutional Business Development, COO and Head of Product Development at Pengana Capital and MIR Investment Management.

Zarmeen is a qualified Australian Chartered Accountant, holds a Bachelor of Commerce (sub major Law) degree from University of Western Sydney and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Renee Grogan

Renee Grogan is a sustainability expert with over 16 years' industry experience in permitting and approvals, regulatory compliance, international and domestic stakeholder engagement, strategy and project management, risk, feasibility and due diligence. Her experience includes working in Australia and the Pacific, the United States, Africa, Europe and Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.

Renee comes from a strong industry background where she has fulfilled senior sustainability positions with companies including Nautilus Minerals, Newcrest Mining Limited, Gold Fields Limited and Thiess Mining. Renee is now the Chief Sustainability Officer and co-founder of Impossible Mining, a company with the mission to enable responsible seabed mining and refining of battery metals, enabling the world’s transition to sustainable energy.

Renee is a former Director of the World Ocean Council, where she served for over 6 years, and has also held Board positions for scientific and NGO organisations. Renee holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business Administration.