Sustainability Talks Sustainability in Action: Rakhi Kumar on Climate Strategy and Innovation in Insurance
In this episode of Sustainability Talks our host and Managing Partner of ETF Partners, Rob Genieser, engages with Rakhi Kumar, Senior Vice President at Liberty Mutual, to explore the integration of sustainability within business strategies, particularly in the insurance sector. Rakhi shares her journey into sustainability, the establishment of the Climate Council at Liberty Mutual, and the importance of aligning climate strategies with business objectives.
The conversation delves into the role of the insurance industry in promoting climate resilience, the creation of the Climate Transition Center, and the opportunities that arise from the transition to sustainable practices. Throughout the discussion, Rakhi emphasises the need for pragmatic approaches and the potential for innovation in addressing climate challenges.
About Rakhi Kumar
Rakhi Kumar is Senior Vice President at Liberty Mutual, where she leads efforts to integrate sustainability across the global enterprise. She chairs Liberty’s Climate Council, an internal cross-functional group that is developing and coordinating the company’s climate-related activities. She also represents Liberty on the Taskforce for Nature-Related Financial Disclosure (TNFD) Forum and the Institute of International Finance’s Sustainable Finance Policy Expert Group.
Rakhi joined Liberty in May 2020, prior to which she led State Street Global Advisors’ ESG Investing and Asset Stewardship activities. Other organizations she has worked at include the Institute of International Finance, Ernst&Young, Moody’s and Booz Allen. She serves on the Advisory Board of Persefoni, a SaaS-based carbon accounting, reporting and management platform and is a member of the North American S&P Global Sustainable1 Investor Client Council.
Rakhi is a globally recognized leader in the area of sustainability and was recognized as such by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). She has also been identified as Boston's 100 Most Influential People of Color and is a recipient of the Abigail Adams Award for her work in promoting gender diversity on corporate boards.
She earned her MBA ('02) from Yale University and her Bachelors of Commerce ('95) from Bombay University. She is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India since 1997 and completed a certification in Life Cycle Assessments from MIT in 2023.
Follow Rakhi Kumar on LinkedIn: HERE
Listen to all the episodes of Sustainability Talks HERE
Follow ETF Partners: Website / LinkedIn / Medium