The team

Consisting of market experts and academic researchers,
Universal Owner's team works at the nexus of finance, climate,
and data

Thomas O'Neill

Founder

Before Universal Owner, Thomas O’Neill co-founded InfluenceMap where he led the development of its analysis of corporate lobbying and FinanceMap to benchmark the climate performance of asset managers until June 2020. Thomas has worked internationally in Canada and Germany and has a degree in Politics and an MSc in International Security and Global Governance from Birkbeck, University of London. Thomas is on the 2018 Forbes 30 under 30 list for Europe Law and Policy.

Kate Mackenzie

Advisor

Kate Mackenzie is an independent consultant who advises organisations pursuing the Paris Agreement goals on climate change, particularly in relation to finance and economics, strategy, and communication. She is also a regular contributor for Bloomberg Green, where she writes the "Stranded Assets" column. Kate was formerly director of Finance, Policy and Decision Metrics at Climate-KIC Australia. Prior to that, she worked as a financial journalist at the Financial Times in London and Sydney. She is a member of the stakeholder advisory committee for the NESP Hub, an Australian science research network, and a fellow at the Centre for Policy Development, an independent, research-focused thinktank.

Paul Dickinson

Advisor

Paul founded CDP in 2000 with an ambition of creating a global economic system that operates within sustainable environmental boundaries and prevents dangerous climate change. Paul previously co-founded Rufus Leonard Corporate Design and EyeNetwork. Paul is Chair of the Trustees of the NGO ShareAction as well as a Trustee of the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland where he has established a program of seminars and retreats now used by the responsible investment community as well as emerging social businesses.

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Louis Fletcher

Senior Research Fellow

Louis has undertaken research in the past for organisations including Campaign Against the Arms Trade and the 'Judging Political Violence' project, and has won awards for his writing on existential risk and climate change from The Future of Humanity Institute and The Guardian. He has a PhD from the University of Edinburgh in Politics, and an MPhil from the History Faculty of the University of Cambridge

Sam Brown

Analyst

Sam recently graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA (Double First) and MPhil (Distinction) in English, writing prize-winning theses on ecological psychology and cyclical economic narratives. He has previously worked at The Week and The Sunday Times, where he conducted research into the financial underpinnings of climate disasters. At Cambridge, Sam edited Varsity and The Cambridge Globalist, while also publishing multiple columns on the intersections of indigenous rights, global health, and climate policy.

Syed Hashmi

Analyst

Syed studied Geography and Economics at the LSE. He has previously completed placements at PWC, KPMG and Dubai Islamic Bank. Syed joined Universal Owner as a research analyst hoping to gain a deeper understanding of financial institutions and how they can bring about indelible systemic change. Before Universal Owner Syed has been actively involved in volunteering and was the co-founder of Eik Koshish, an NGO based in Pakistan dedicated to reducing plastic pollution on beaches