Business of Sustainability

Andrew Karolyi is the Charles Field Knight Dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. He is a Professor of Finance and International Business as well as holder of the Harold Bierman Jr. Distinguished Professorship in the Johnson Graduate School of Management. Dr. Karolyi is also a Professor of Economics in Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences.

A scholar in the area of investment management, with a specialization in the study of international financial markets, Dr. Karolyi has published extensively in journals in finance and economics, including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, and Review of Financial Studies. He has also published several books and monographs, and his research is featured in print and electronic media such as the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, Time, New York Times, Washington Post, Forbes, BusinessWeek, and CNBC. Dr. Karolyi recently completed a four-year term as executive editor of the Review of Financial Studies, one of the top-tier journals in finance. He has also served as an associate editor for a variety of journals, including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Empirical Finance, Journal of Banking and Finance, Review of Finance, and the Pacific Basin Finance Journal.

Dr. Karolyi is a recipient of the Michael Jensen Prize for Corporate Finance and Organizations (2017), the Fama/DFA Prize for Capital Markets and Asset Pricing (2005), the William F. Sharpe Award for Scholarship in Finance (2001), the Journal of Empirical Finance’s Biennial Best Paper Prize (2006), and Johnson School’s Prize for Excellence in Research (2010). Dr. Karolyi leads various executive education programs in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia, and he is actively involved in consulting with corporations, banks, investment firms, stock exchanges, and law firms. He is president-elect/program chair of the Western Finance Association, has served as a director of the American Finance Association, and is past chairperson of the board of trustees and past president of the Financial Management Association International. Dr. Karolyi received his B.A. (Honors) in Economics from McGill University and worked at the Bank of Canada for several years in its research department. He subsequently earned his MBA and Ph.D. degrees in Finance at the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago.

Delfina Govia ‘86, MBA ‘98, has over 40 years of global experience in the energy industry, leading activities in management consulting, general management, business transformation, project management and financial analysis. Ms. Govia was most recently engaged by several national and international companies to assist in defining wide-scale sustainability programs, developing performance improvement strategies, and designing and implementing transformation plans. She has also acted as a direct advisor on strategic issues to several executives across oil companies, government agencies, educational institutions, and investment firms.

Previously, Ms. Govia was the Global Managing Director of the Energy and Materials consulting practice within Cisco Systems. Prior to this role, she was an international strategy consultant with CapGemini Ernst & Young, where she played dual roles in the Energy, Chemicals, and Utilities group as well as in developing e-business strategies and financial valuation models for high-tech supply chains, establishing the foundation for developing technology-enabled solutions. Before transitioning to consulting, Ms. Govia’s industry expertise began with a family-owned energy services company in Venezuela, then an integrated U.S. downstream company, and finally with Mobil Oil Corporation, where she led the analysis of offshore logistics, developed financial models for offshore production operations, and created new contract valuation models for oil field services.

An established and award-winning speaker, Ms. Govia received both her B.S. and MBA in Finance from Cornell University.

Mark Milstein is Clinical Professor of Management and Director of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University. He conducts applied research in and oversees the Center’s work on market and enterprise creation, business development, clean technology commercialization, and sustainable finance.

Dr. Milstein specializes in framing the world’s social and environmental challenges as unmet market needs which can be addressed effectively by the private sector through innovation and entrepreneurship, thereby allowing companies to achieve financial success by creatively addressing problems such as climate change, ecosystem degradation, and poverty. He has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation the S.C. Johnson Foundation, SEvEN, the World Bank, the University of Queensland, and the Water Resources Institute. Over the past decade, Dr. Milstein has worked with more than 100 firms across a range of industries, including renewable energy and carbon markets, life sciences and sustainable agriculture, consumables, food and nutrition, healthcare, tourism and hospitality management, as well as finance and international development.

Dr. Milstein’s work and perspectives have been featured in The New York Times, MSNBC, CNBC, Forbes, The Guardian, and GreenBiz. He is a frequent speaker on the topics of strategy, organizational change, and innovation related to business and sustainability. He also consults with a number of multinational firms, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and NGOs. Dr. Milstein currently serves on the board of directors of Livelihood Basix International and as a board member for Johnson & Johnson’s Earthwards Program.

William Restrepo ‘80, MBA ‘85, serves as Chief Financial Officer of Nabors Industries. In addition to his role in global finance, Mr. Restrepo is responsible for investor relations and provides oversight for Nabors corporate development, including the company’s expansion into the clean energy industry.

Mr. Restrepo has an extensive portfolio of proven domestic and international expertise in corporate finance, tax, capital markets, and strategic planning, as well as operational experience in several regional markets.

Before joining Nabors in 2014, Mr. Restrepo served as CFO at Pacific Drilling. He also previously served as CFO at Seitel and at Smith International until its acquisition by Schlumberger. Prior to that, Mr. Restrepo spent 20 years with Schlumberger in various senior financial and operational positions, including operational responsibility for all product lines in the Continental Europe and Arabian Gulf markets, as well as senior financial executive roles in Corporate Treasury and worldwide controller positions with international postings in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Mr. Restrepo holds Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Civil Engineering, respectively, from Cornell University and the University of Miami. He also earned an MBA from Cornell University.