As someone who grew up in the Netherlands, where a third of the land lies below sea level, the sea has always held a dual fascination for me: it is both a powerful natural force to admire and an insistent challenge to contend with. The sea has impressed upon me the importance of coping with the elements and the potential impacts of phenomena such as sea level rise on our lives.My admiration for the natural world has indelibly shaped my 20+ year career in banking so far, taking me from SVP roles at Citigroup to Senior Bank Examiner roles at the New York Fed and the European Central Bank, and now to the Lead of a newly-formed Climate Risk Committee at the Federal Reserve Board and Co-Founder of the New York Fed Climate Hub. As I progressed through these roles, I saw an increasingly critical need to ensure that our banks, financial systems, and economies are galvanized for climate and environmental uncertainties and have, over the last decade, determinedly sought to gather together resources to help solve this global challenge.While my career may be impressed by nature, I operate by the Latin phrase 𝘢𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘮 or “I shall either find a way or make one.” I am known for getting things done, even if I have to create a new way. My persistence – along with a bit of ingenuity and an army of good people – has contributed to new knowledge and methods in climate risk management and enhanced financial practices at US and European financial institutions. Some of my latest achievements include:» Convincing Fed leadership to make climate risk management a priority and join in global climate risk and financial stability efforts through actions such as co-founding the NY Climate Hub to raise awareness of climate risk to the economy, bringing in guest speakers to speak with the Fed leadership, and writing a white paper outlining the importance of taking climate and environmental uncertainties into consideration. » Co-authoring 7 papers raising awareness of the need for climate risk management practices in the financial industry and offering guidance on how to safeguard institutions and systems. » Improving liquidity and climate risk management practices at the European Central Bank and New York Fed, improving contingency funding, stronger defense lines, and enhanced reporting.» Guiding the education and training of global risk professionals as a member of the oversight committee for GARP’s Sustainability & Climate Risk Certificate program and as a Visiting Research Professor at NYU Stern’s Volatility and Risk Institute.