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Todd Arthur Bridges, Ph.D.

Build solutions for sustainable business transformation and to accelerate the net-zero transition

Summary

Todd Bridges has experience designing, building, and scaling solutions to bring about long-term sustainable value for companies and investors. He has built innovative products across the technology, data analytics, and asset management industries. His experiences within industry have allowed him to develop executive leadership skills to lead cross-functional divisions, build high-performance teams, execute GTM strategies, and drive growth for new entrepreneurial ventures. His passion and intellectual curiosity have allowed him to develop subject matter expertise in research, product development, product solutions, and technology platforms. He has published articles in academic journals and industry publications within portfolio management, sustainable finance, and sustainable & impact investing. Todd has contributed to consultations for the European Commission, EFRAG, IFRS ISSB, SEC, TCFD, SBTi, Net-Zero Data Public Utility, and ESG Data Convergence Initiative. He has worked with companies (public and private) and investors to understand sustainability and integrate technology to drive sustainable business transformation and accelerate the net-zero transition.

Work experience

20202024

Global Head of Research & Development - Sustainability

ESG Book (private company, venture-backed tech startup)

ESG Book is a global leader in technology and data. The company offers a range of product solutions that are used by the world’s leading investors and companies. The product offering includes reported data, company-level ratings, portfolio-level ratings, and a SaaS data management and disclosure platform. The products cover the full spectrum of sustainability including ESG, climate, transition, regulatory, and impact. The company is backed by Energy Impact Partners, Meridiam, Accenture,  and Allianz X. ESG Book is an headquartered in London.

Trusted Responsibilities:
Strategic Planning - collaborated with CEO to develop the strategic vision for the company and product roadmap to help clients meet global climate and sustainability challenges.  

Product Development - built innovative products (data, analytics, technology platform) that solve for client use cases for ESG performance, risk management, climate, and regulatory compliance. 

Team Leadership - built and led high-performing global research and product team with expertise in data collection, quant research, climate science, artificial intelligence, regulations & standards, and collaborated with engineering, sales, and marketing on GTM product release.

Client Engagement - led corporate engagements on ESG performance, ESG ratings, climate performance, climate transition, ESG software platforms, and ESG standards & regulations.

Education & Advocacy - established the company as a thought leader via speaking engagements, white-papers, industry conferences (UN Climate Week), and professional forums (CFA Society).

20172020

Head of Research & Development - Sustainability

State Street Global Advisors (public company, NYSE: STT)

State Street Global Advisors serves the world’s governments, institutions, and financial advisors. With a rigorous, risk-aware approach built on research, analysis and market-tested experience, they build from a breadth of index and active strategies to create cost-effective solutions. As stewards, they help portfolio companies see that what is fair for people and sustainable for the planet can deliver long-term performance. As pioneers in index, ETF, and ESG investing, they are always inventing new ways to invest. As a result, SSGA has become the world’s fourth-largest asset manager with US $4.13 trillion AUM. SSGA is headquartered in Boston. 

Trusted Responsibilities: 
Strategic Planning - collaborated with CIOs to develop global ESG strategy, ESG data management solutions, new product solutions, and climate investing frameworks.

Product Development - built innovative products (strategies, funds, portfolios, tools) that solve for client requirements for sustainable and climate investing — including central banks, public pensions, corporate pensions, endowments, foundations, and investment consultants.

Team Leadership - built and managed research team and collaborated with strategists, product, and sales on the integration of sustainability and climate across asset class — including beta, smart beta, active quant, fixed income, active fundamental, alternatives, and ETFs.

Client Engagement - led client engagements on climate investments, data management systems, climate transition/decarbonization, and global regulations - voluntary and mandatory.

Education & Advocacy - established the company as a thought leader via speaking engagements, white-papers, industry conferences (UN Climate Week), and professional forums (CFA Society).

20152017

Head of Research & Development - Sustainability

Ethic (private company, venture-backed fintech startup)

Ethic is the tech-driven platform for sustainable and personalized investing. The company empowers wealth advisors and institutional investors to create portfolios that align personal values with financial goals. The Ethic offering is available to advisors and institutions at Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Pershing, BNY Mellon, Northern Trust, US Bank, UBS, and Morgan Stanley. The company is backed by investors including Jordan Park, UBS, Fidelity, Oak HC/FT, NYCA Partners, and Sound Ventures. Ethic is an SEC Registered Investment Adviser headquartered in New York City.

Trusted Responsibilities:
Strategic Planning - collaborated with CEO to develop organizational strategy, research models, and technology product that balances risk, return, and ESG & impact measurement.

Product Development - built innovative fintech platform product that integrates proprietary sustainability investment model and best practice from modern portfolio theory on tracking error, capturing risk premia, and impact preferences. 

Research Leadership - led due diligence on ESG, climate, and market data providers, negotiated data licensing contracts, and integrated data into research and product development. 

Client Engagement - led advisor engagements on ESG data, sustainable investing, climate transition and decarbonization, and investment platform.

20122015

Executive Director - Economy & Society

Cornell University

Cornell University is a privately endowed research university, and as the federal land-grant institution in New York State, it has a responsibility--unique within the Ivy League--to make contributions in all fields of knowledge in a manner that prioritizes public engagement to help improve the quality of life in our state, the nation, and the world. 

Trusted Responsibilities:
Strategic Planning - collaborated with faculty director and board members to develop organizational strategy, secure funding for programs, and manage research institute.

Program Management - let programs and analysts to answer questions focused on building sustainable markets - interactions of entrepreneurs, private capital, and financial markets.

Education & Advocacy - produced data-driven reports and presented finding on the impact of capital markets and government in building innovation hubs and technology ecosystems.

20142015

Postdoctoral Research Scientist

National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense." NSF is vital because they support basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future.

Trusted Responsibilities:
Program Management - led program to model the role of technology, finance, and entrepreneurship in building sustainable markets - awards from National Science Foundation.

Research Leadership - developed research and data analysis to answer key strategic questions focused on entrepreneurs, economics, venture capital, and sustainable markets.

20112012

Postdoctoral Research Scientist

Max Planck Society

The Max Planck Society is Germany's most successful research organization. Since its establishment in 1948, no fewer than 18 Nobel laureates have emerged from the ranks of its scientists, putting it on a par with the best and most prestigious research institutions worldwide. The currently 83 Max Planck Institutes and facilities conduct basic research in the service of the general public in the natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.

Trusted Responsibilities:
Program Management - led program and secured funding for research on corporate governance, networks, and financial regulation in the alternative investment industry.

Research Leadership - produced data-driven research reports on the changing structure of financial markets and the new governance structures in the alternative investment industry--hedge funds and private equity. 

Stakeholder Engagement - led strategic relationships with hedge fund managers, private equity, CIOs, and entrepreneurs - conducting 100+ interviews across network.

Education & Advocacy - presented research findings to scientists and industry leaders in the USA, Germany, United Kingdom, and at the Max Planck Institute for the Advancement of Science.

Education

20072012

Doctor of Philosophy

Brown University

Doctorate with specialization in Organizational Behavior, Social Science, Research Methods

20102011

Doctoral Fellow, Visiting

University of Oxford

Doctoral fellow with specialization in Law, Economics, and Socio-Legal Governance 

20072008

Doctoral Fellow, Exchange

Harvard University

Doctoral fellow with specialization in Organizational Behavior, Social Science, Research Methods 

20052007

Master's Degree

Brown University

Masters with specialization in Organizational Behavior, Social Science, Research Methods 

Publications

Avoiding the Tragedy of the Horizon: Portfolio Design for Climate Change-Related Risk Management and the Low-Carbon Energy Transition

Palgrave Macmillan Feb 2020

Sustainable investing is a rapidly growing and evolving field. With investors expressing ever greater interest in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics and reporting, companies face a sustainability imperative and the need to remake their business models to respond to an array of pressing issues including climate change, air and water pollution, racial justice, workplace diversity, economic inequality, privacy, corporate integrity, and good governance. 

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Reinventing Climate Investing: building equity portfolios for climate risk mitigation and adaptation

Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment (JSFI) Feb 2019

Institutional investors are increasingly concerned with the material financial risks associated with global warming and the impacts of climate change on corporate financial performance and security returns. The challenge remains how to empirically quantify climate risk from an investment perspective and build investable portfolios that address the transition to a low-carbon economy. This study analyzes the available metrics for capturing climate-related investment considerations. 

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A Blueprint for Integrating ESG into Equity Portfolios

Journal Of Investment Management (JOIM) Jan 2018

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) offers a source of new and potentially valuable information for investors, impacting both potential returns and risk. Growing data availability has created the opportunity to integrate ESG into equity portfolios for a variety of investment processes, for both indexing and active management. In this paper, we provide an overview of the current data landscape and several popular methods for integrating ESG.

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