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Top 5 ESG influencers for CISOs and CIOs to follow
The complexity of ESG regulatory landscapes means it is more important than ever for CIOs and CISOs to stay up to date. These ESG influencers share updates, analysis and insights.
More than 70% of surveyed investors and analysts agreed that businesses should incorporate sustainability into their corporate strategies, according to the "Global Investor Survey 2024" published by PwC. As their roles expand into sustainability and diversity initiatives, more CIOs and CISOs are investing in ESG software to help manage, measure, track and report their performance.
Add in the increasing complexity of multi-jurisdictional compliance and the rapid changes of ESG regulatory landscapes, and it is more important than ever for CIOs and CISOs to stay up to date on this topic.
The following influencers share opinions on and analysis of ESG developments and corporate sustainability initiatives that can help CIOs and CISOs navigate changes and challenges.
1. Kate Brandt
Kate Brandt is Google's chief sustainability officer. Brandt leads sustainability initiatives and supply chains.
Previously, she served as America's first federal chief sustainability officer, overseeing sustainability across 360,000 federal buildings, 650,000 vehicles and $445 billion in annual purchases. Brandt's other government experience includes senior roles at the Department of Energy and the White House. She received the U.S. Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award for contributions to the Navy's environmental initiatives. As part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, Outside Magazine named her as one of 40 women who made the biggest impact on our world.
Brandt serves on the boards of Business for Social Responsibility, Restor and the Corporate Eco Forum. She is a LinkedIn Top Voice, with over 213k LinkedIn followers. She is also on Instagram.
Expertise: Environmental Sustainability
2. Tim Mohin
Tim Mohin is a partner and director at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and specializes in climate and sustainability. He is the former chief executive of the Global Reporting Initiative, the world's largest sustainability reporting standard, and is a LinkedIn Top Voice with over 55k followers.
Mohin is the author of the "Sustainability Simplified" newsletter, ESG News' ESG and climate newsletter and the book Changing Business from the Inside Out: A Treehugger's Guide to Working in Corporations. He is also the founder of the Responsible Business Alliance -- formerly the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition -- and has appeared as a guest on podcasts, including 'The So What from BCG' and 'Business & Society with Senthil Nathan.'
Expertise: Sustainability
3. Brian Tippens
Brian Tippens is chief social impact and inclusion officer at Cisco. His expertise includes corporate social responsibility, crisis response, environmental sustainability, inclusion and philanthropy.
At Cisco, he leads accessibility, community enablement and impact, crisis response, inclusion teams, and the Cisco Foundation. He also contributes to global initiatives, including the following:
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United Nations Global Compact.
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World Economic Forum.
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Corporate Eco Forum.
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Executive Leadership Council.
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Hispanic IT Executive Council.
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National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering.
Tippens maintains an active Instagram and LinkedIn presence, and he represents Cisco in external forums and organizations, where he shares industry best practices for ESG initiatives and discusses social justice and sustainability issues.
Expertise: Diversity, equity, and inclusion
4. Suzanne DiBianca
Suzanne DiBianca is executive vice president of ESG and sustainability, and chief impact officer at Salesforce. DiBianca works across the business on DEI, sustainability, philanthropy and governance initiatives.
She joined Salesforce in 2000 and co-founded and led the Salesforce Foundation, which partners with school districts and education nonprofits to help build AI literacy and STEM skills. DiBianca regularly appears on podcasts, including 'Inside the Ohana' and 'IT Visionaries,' and was named in Sustainability Magazine's top 10 Diversity Leaders in 2024.
Alongside Deloitte, DiBianca helped Salesforce form the World Economic Forum's UpLink initiative, which aims to partner with entrepreneurs to create a net-zero, green and equitable future. She has an active presence on LinkedIn.
Expertise: STEM education, DEI, net-zero entrepreneurship
5. Leigh Anne DeWine
Leigh Anne DeWine serves as Amazon's director of human rights and social impact. DeWine leads initiatives to combat human trafficking and forced labor.
Prior to joining Amazon, she worked at the U.S. Department of State, serving as a senior advisor in the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and as a congressional advisor. DeWine holds a juris doctor from George Washington University Law School and a master's degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and was an attorney and policy advisor at the UN's International Labour Organization. She has spoken at South by Southwest and Tech Against Trafficking Summit 2024, and been a guest on podcasts, including 'Leadership Forum' and 'The Fairwork Podcast.'
She has an active LinkedIn presence.
Expertise: Human rights and social impact
Harriet Jamieson is a senior manager on the IT Strategy team at TechTarget covering CIO and ESG topics.
