Month: July 2023

Originally published on bloomberg.com

Lizzette Lara and Bloomberg’s Sustainable Finance Product Management Team work to help financial markets prepare for and optimistically prevent the next big climate crisis. From weathering major financial crises to relocating from Mexico City to New York to take on one of the most enriching challenges of her career, Lizzette’s journey has been a fascinating one, and driven by her passions.

Read on to learn how structuring derivatives and risk management became Lizzette’s focus, her top priorities as a Bloomberg Product Manager for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), and how she sees the future of sustainable finance.

Q: Tell us about your background and career journey.

A: l’ve always been very passionate about finance: understanding what drives banking and currency crises, how the financial market reacts to them, and the impact it has on the economy. Because of that, I wanted to do something that was connected to derivatives and risk management.

When I was in school, I was told that the French banks were the best at structuring derivatives. It had become a dream of mine to work for a French bank, and I had an amazing 10-year experience working for two during the Lehman crisis. Those experiences provided me with so much insight and knowledge — it was like receiving a PhD on risk management and derivatives structuring.

In 2014, I was working on the structuring team of a French bank in New York. I was expecting my second child and had to make a decision between my job and my baby, ultimately choosing to take a sabbatical the year after the birth. One month after resigning, Bloomberg reached out asking for an interview. I wasn’t expecting much from it, considering I was six months pregnant! Little did I know about Bloomberg’s management, culture, and support for women’s careers in finance.

After seven years here as a market risk specialist covering Latin America, I joined the ESG Product Management team as a climate product manager, relocating from Mexico City to New York. I remember reading that being a product manager was one of the toughest jobs in the market. And that the level of skills needed to perform this job well is beyond any standard. I have always been passionate about challenges, and product managers are certainly not the type to shy away from a challenge.

Q: What are some of the top priorities of the ESG Product Management Team and some of your top priorities as a Climate Product Manager?

A: In the product manager role, I get to be completely immersed in one of Bloomberg’s core principles: customer satisfaction. Our team is fully committed to building not only the best products, but the products that effectively solve clients’ problems. We focus on benefits, not features and on outcomes, rather than outputs.

In my role, collaboration is critical for success. Engineers, sales, lawyers, quants, analysts, and customers are all key stakeholders in our day to day. We constantly need to validate if our product is effective for our customers. It is important that we understand market trends, challenges and anticipate, so we are constantly looking for user’s feedback. Our management’s principle is to “fall in love with the problem, not with the solution.” So we are constantly collaborating with each other, explaining the problem, the vision and constantly testing and validating our hypothesis with clients and sales..

Product managers overall are great communicators, strategists, innovators, organizers, researchers, and on top of it all, outstanding collaborators. And we have to be agile, which makes product management roles uniquely challenging.

Q: The shift from Mexico City to New York must have taken some adjustments. How has your experience been with the relocation?

A: When thinking of adjustments around my new role and new location, I can say that my cultural background has served me quite well. I attribute my tenacity and resilience to my Mexican roots — we are always looking to the positive side so that we can make things happen. This has also proven to be very important in my current role. We face a lot of challenges, so having a positive attitude has proven to be quite an important asset.

Q: What is a typical day like for your team?

A: Understanding the transition to a low carbon economy and the impact of climate change is critical for the subsistence of our people. Trying to define which problems we want to solve and which data, solutions, analytics and tools will help us to solve them, and then defining which projects should be prioritized, is not an easy task, especially in the climate space.

This requires the team to be unfalteringly connected at all times, and extensive reading is mandatory if we want to stay up-to-date. There is always a new consultation, regulation or a new protocol from the science community that can change the world we know.

Q: What inspires you about your work?

A: In the climate space we are facing global challenges, which will require global solidarity. Investors are making overarching commitments to contribute to the transition toward net zero greenhouse gas emissions. We cannot do this right unless we have the governments committed. So governments will have to step up decisively, introducing effective long-term incentives, restrictions and disclosures to their industries and their investors. This will come with disruptions, costs, and uncertainties. But it will also bring benefits and opportunities.

We need to work fast and stay focused to make exponential changes. Everyone can contribute somehow, somewhere with something. We have to be missionaries of our vision, believers, doers, and have fun on the way. It requires hard work, commitment, passion, and curiosity. We are consistently finding ways to test, validate, re-evaluate and learn along the way.

After T-Mobile’s 5G network enabled Pano AI’s early detection of the Boulder Wildfire in Oregon’s Mt. Hood National Forest earlier this week, T-Mobile’s Emergency Response team deployed to the Tygh Valley Spike Camp to bring a boost to network capacity and provide critical support to brave responders stationed at the frontline of the containment.

While T-Mobile’s network was not impacted by the wildfire, T-Mobile teams were on-site to provide an enhanced network experience to 324 users that consumed over 414GB of open and secure Wi-Fi — critical connectivity that allowed crews to order supplies, download maps in real-time and manage the operation’s command post. And as connectivity during a natural disaster is about more than incident command and communications, T-Mobile was able to support cellular traffic in excess of 60GB for firefighters, linemen and logistics personnel who were able to call loved ones during their downtime.

T-Mobile’s Emergency Response Team stands ready to engage with state and local officials, first responders and organizations. Agencies needing communications assistance can reach out to our 24-hour emergency hotline at 888-639-0020 or email at ERTRequests@T-Mobile.com. 

See our newsroom for more information on T-Mobile’s 2023 Emergency Response 

Recent storms and flooding have devastated Vermont and parts of New York, particularly throughout the Hudson Valley area. As with any major natural disaster, KeyBank is taking steps to make sure clients, communities and colleagues have the support they need.

KeyBank Foundation Support

The KeyBank Foundation has donated $30,000 to the American Red Cross- Northern New England- Vermont Chapter and $10,000 to Eastern New York Red Cross- Hudson Valley Chapter in support of flood relief efforts across affected areas. The Red Cross has local teams in place helping families with temporary shelter, assessing and providing financial assistance with property damage, and offering compassion, support, and supplies. The work will continue in the weeks ahead.

“Vermont communities have been devastated by recent storms and floods, and this generous support from KeyBank is helping us provide tangible relief – food, water, shelter – as well as comfort and support as they begin the path to recovery,” said John Montes, American Red Cross Regional Disaster Officer for Northern New England.

Hardship Relief Fund for impacted employees

KeyBank’s Hardship Relief Fund provides financial assistance to employees faced with unexpected life events. Eligible employees can receive financial assistance from the Hardship Relief Fund of up to $3,000 in a rolling 12-month period. That funding is used for the basic needs of food, housing, utilities, and transportation. KeyBank employees can also help their colleagues by donating to the Hardship Relief Fund.

“Our hearts are with our KeyBank colleagues, clients and communities affected by the recent storms – especially those in areas hardest hit with flooding and destruction,” said KeyBank Vermont Market President, Joe McGowan. “We hope that Key’s contributions to the Red Cross will help our neighbors who are facing hardship, uncertainty, and the daunting prospect of cleaning up and rebuilding. As always, we are here for our colleagues, our neighbors, and the communities we so proudly serve.”

About KeyBank Foundation:

KeyBank Foundation serves to fulfill KeyBank’s purpose to help clients and communities thrive, and its mission is to support organizations and programs that prepare people for thriving futures. The Foundation’s mission is advanced through three funding priorities – neighbors, education, and workforce – and through community service. To provide meaningful philanthropy that transforms lives, KeyBank Foundation listens carefully to understand the unique characteristics and needs of its communities and then backs solutions with targeted philanthropic investments. KeyBank Foundation is a nonprofit charitable foundation, funded by KeyCorp.

By 2030, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany’s sustainability strategy aims for a 50% reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions as compared to 2020. To achieve this goal, the company focuses on four areas:

New construction sustainabilityEmissions from industrial processesRenewable energyEDISON: the company’s flagship energy & water efficiency program

The EDISON program focuses on reducing energy consumption within the company’s operations through investment in energy efficiency and onsite renewable energy. In 2022, the program was expanded to focus on both energy and water efficiency, and a central pool of funding was allocated to support these projects. From 2022-2030, the company plans to invest ~€100 million to support sites on their energy and water efficiency journey.

Amongst a wide array of projects focused on solving the company’s toughest energy-saving and water efficiency challenges is a newly installed photovoltaic system at its global headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany. Located on three different building rooftops, these solar modules generate an annual output of 560,000 kWh of green electricity. With a total surface area of 3,000 square meters, these solar panels contribute towards the company’s sustainability strategy by reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 300 tons each year.

The implementation of these photovoltaic projects, along with 44 other EDISON projects at the company’s sites around the world, are examples of the company’s multi-pronged approach to sustainability, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its operations through energy and water efficiency projects across its facilities.

Learn more about the sustainable operations efforts of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany by visiting its sustainability and social business innovation webpage.