Workgroup Leaders

Roland Dominicé is an expert in microfinance investments and international finance and development. He studied social sciences and international relations both at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, where he wrote his master’s thesis on state-building and the stages of modern political development, and at the University of Chicago’s Committee on International Relations, where he wrote his master’s thesis on globalization strategies and organizational development theory.

Roland Dominicé started his career in finance, both on the wealth management side, in institutional asset management at UBS, and the corporate finance side, as a management consultant at PwC. He then joined the founding team at BueOrchard Finance to launch the first private wealth manager dedicated to microfinance investments, where he served as the CFO for three years. He helped the firm gain an international aura by leading the launch of the first microfinance structured bonds in the capital markets in 2004, in cooperation with J.P. Morgan and the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). He then co-founded Symbiotics, where he initially served as a business development manager, prior to being elected CEO in 2008. He has been the coordinator of the Swiss Sustainable Finance working group Impact investing since 2020.

After having completed her studies in international relations at IHEID Geneva, Ulla worked six years in Private Banking. While working in Private Banking she pursued the MAS program in Finance at the University of Zurich. During these studies she focused on socially responsible investments (SRI) in general and more specifically on microfinance. After completing the master of advanced studies in Finance she deepened her knowledge in the field of SRI during a yearlong assistantship at the Center for Microfinance, Department of Banking and Finance at the University of Zurich. Since 2014 she works at Nest, first as SRI specialist in the investment team and since 2018 as Head Investment Operations & Responsible Investing. Nest is a pioneer in ethical and ecological investing among pension companies in Switzerland.

Marie-Laure Schaufelberger is Head of Stewardship for the Pictet Group.  She began her career at Pictet in 2007 within the media relations and public affairs team.  In 2014 she moved to Pictet Asset Management’s Thematic Equities team as a Product Specialist, covering business development and client-servicing for several environmental and social impact strategies. She coordinates the Pictet Group’s Sustainability Board, and sits on the Board of its Philanthropic Foundation. Marie-Laure holds a Masters in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, and is a CFA charterholder.

Andreas Knörzer is Vice Chairman Vontobel Asset Management: Previously he served as Head Business of the Sustainable & Thematic Investing Boutique. Before joining Vontobel in 2016, Andreas was Deputy CEO of Vescore AG, the institutional asset manager of the Raiffeisen Group in Switzerland. From 2013 to early 2015, he was Head of Asset Management and Member of the Executive Committee at Notenstein Privatbank AG, which was also part of Raiffeisen.

Andreas started his career at Bank J. Safra Sarasin, Basel, in 1989, where he served in various positions, including executive functions from 2000 onward. He established and built-up a sustainable product pipeline in the early 90ties and was instrumental in positioning the bank as a leading European supplier of sustainable investment solutions. He is a sustainable investment pioneer, publishes and speaks regularly about sustainability and ESG related topics. Andreas holds a BSc in Business Administration from the University of Applied Science Berne and is a Federally Certified Banking Specialist.

Coordinator of the workgroup is Alberto Stival, Director Educational Development, responsible for the development of the educational offering on sustainable finance at SSF, as well as liaising with the members in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland at SSF. He has been active in the financial sector for more than 20 years. 

Jean Laville, Deputy CEO of SSF, and a representative of FOEN will also be invited as guests to join the workgroup.