Events

Insper, the Columbia Global Center Rio de Janeiro, and the Columbia Alumni Association Brazil will host a discussion on the challenges and opportunities of sustainable investment in a global context shaped by the climate transition, economic transformation, and the growing demand for long-term development. 

The keynote speaker will be Lisa Sachs, Director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), one of the world's leading experts on sustainable investment. She will be joined by Gustavo Macedo, Professor at Insper, and Luciana Ribeiro, Founder and CEO of Flying Rivers Capital and Columbia University alumna, to discuss global trends, Brazil's strategic role, and pathways to strengthen public policy, responsible investment, and partnerships among academia, the private sector, and government. The event will conclude with an open audience Q&A session.

Program

8:30 - 9:00 AM: Welcome Coffee
9:00 - 9:10 AM: Welcome Remarks
5 min – Vinicius Picanço, Associate Professor of Operations and Sustainability, Insper
5 min – Ana Paula Vitelli, Director, Columbia Global Center Rio de Janeiro
9:10 - 9:30 AM: Lisa Sachs Keynote Address: 
Redirecting Capital for Sustainable Development: Global Trends, New Investment Paradigms, and Brazil's Strategic Role
9:30 - 9:40 AM: Q&A
9:40 - 9:45 AM: Panel Introduction with Ana Paula Vitelli and Vinicius Picanço
9:45 - 10:10 AM: Panel: From Capital to Transformation: How Can Brazil Lead the New Sustainable Economy (Moderators: Ana Paula Vitelli & Vinicius Picanço)

Panelists

9:45 - 9:55 AM: Lisa Sachs, Director, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), Columbia University
   •   Global governance, responsible investment, and sustainable development.
9:55 - 10:05 AM: Gustavo Macedo, Professor of Management and Economics, Insper
   •   Sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness — the role of technology, artificial intelligence, and geopolitics in shaping a new green economy.
10:05 - 10:15 AM: Luciana Ribeiro, Founder and CEO, Flying Rivers Capital | Columbia University Alumna
   •   Investment opportunities in energy, decarbonization, and sustainable infrastructure in Brazil.
10:15 - 10:45 AM: Audience Q&A

Speakers

Lisa Sachs: Director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) at Columbia University. She is an internationally recognized expert in sustainable investment, natural resource governance, development finance, and energy transition policy. She leads research and global initiatives focused on advancing responsible investment and sustainable development across multiple countries.

Gustavo Macedo: Professor of Management and Economics at Insper, specializing in International Relations, Artificial Intelligence, and Sustainability. He coordinates the Insper Earthshot Climate Leadership Program and serves as Faculty Lead for Sustainability and Geopolitics in Executive Education. He is also a United Nations consultant on Ethics and Artificial Intelligence, an advisor to companies, and a political analyst for Brazilian and international media.

He is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at King's College London (2026), following a postdoctoral appointment at the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of São Paulo (2023–2024). He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from the University of São Paulo (USP) and Columbia University, and a bachelor's degree from UNICAMP and the University of London. He has been a visiting researcher in the United States, Canada, Belgium, and Hungary, and previously worked with the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention, where he also trained UN peacekeepers.

Luciana Ribeiro: Founder and CEO of Flying Rivers Capital, an investment platform focused on Latin America that mobilizes capital for the energy transition and global decarbonization. She serves as Chair of the Finance Working Group of the Sustainable Business COP (SBCOP), contributing to climate finance and private-sector engagement.

Previously, she co-founded EB Capital, one of Brazil's leading investment firms focused on transformative growth businesses, and chaired the Finance and Infrastructure Task Force of the B20 Brazil 2024. Throughout her career, she has served on the boards of private and nonprofit organizations, focusing on governance, strategy, and impact. She has been recognized by Forbes as one of Brazil's most influential and innovative women.

Ana Paula Vitelli: Director of the Columbia Global Center Rio, bringing more than 30 years of executive and academic experience in Brazil and internationally.

Prior to joining Columbia, she served as Managing Director of the Blue Management Institute, advising senior executives on strategy, leadership, and organizational culture. Previously, she was Regional Director for South America at the University of Manchester, where she led strategic partnerships that significantly expanded the University's presence across the region and increased student enrollment. Earlier in her career at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), she oversaw more than 200 academic programs annually. She also contributed to international development initiatives as a consultant for the UK Prosperity Fund's Future Cities project, focusing on gender and inclusion. Vitelli served as President and Chairwoman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Brazil (Britcham) and, in 2025, was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of her outstanding service to the organization.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, a Master's in Business Management, and a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior, all from Fundação Getulio Vargas. She is also the author of The (In)Visible Woman: Life, Work, Choices, and Pathways.

Vinicius Picanço: Associate Professor of Operations and Sustainability at Insper, where he coordinates the undergraduate program in Industrial Engineering, the Center for Sustainability and Business, the Advanced Program in Sustainability (PAS), and leads the sustainability portfolio in Executive Education. He is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Strathclyde (UK), an affiliated researcher at the Emerging Market Economies Logistics Lab (EMeL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a board member of The Good Food Institute (GFI). Vinicius serves as Associate Editor of the journals Sustainable Production and Consumption (Elsevier) and Gestão & Produção, and as Policy Council Officer of the System Dynamics Society (2025–2028). He earned his Ph.D. in Production Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), was a visiting researcher at MIT, where he also completed the Graduate Certificate in Logistics and Supply Chain Management (GCLOG), and holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in Production Engineering from the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar).

His research focuses on the intersection of sustainable development, supply chains, and complex systems modeling, particularly in food and humanitarian supply chains. He has also founded two award-winning technology startups in Brazil and a sustainability consultancy in Denmark, with the goal of bridging science and practice to generate real-world impact.