Shaping Your ESG Strategy and Developing Your Data Narrative

Lynn practices corporate law, with a focus on investment management. She represents both Canadian and foreign fund managers on legal issues related to the provision of advisory services, the distribution of securities, and the establishment, operation, and administration of investment products such as:

- mutual funds
- exchange
- traded funds
- segregated funds
- hedge funds
- closed-end funds
- pooled fund products

Lynn is a recognized authority on securities registrant regulation, compliance, and fund governance. She also has extensive experience in merger and acquisition transactions in the investment industry.

Emma serves as Ariel’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and General Counsel as well as Board Secretary of Ariel Investments and Ariel Alternatives. In her role as CAO, she collaborates with the Co-CEO and President on the firm’s administrative and operational strategy and execution. Specifically, Emma helps oversee the administrative functions of legal, compliance, governance, investment operations, and technology, as well as risk oversight for all the firm’s entities, including Ariel Distributors, Ariel Investment Trust and Ariel’s private funds. Emma is a member of Ariel’s Operating Committee, among other governance roles. Prior to joining Ariel, she was the general counsel, chief compliance officer, and board secretary of LGIM America, a diversified asset manager with $220 billion under management, which included traditional and alternative strategies across managed accounts, mutual funds, private funds, and collective investment trusts. At LGIM America, she oversaw all operational risk, compliance, legal and governance functions, was a member of the executive committee and chaired the firm-wide risk committee.
Emma also previously served as general counsel at Mesirow Advanced Strategies—one of the largest alternatives fund-of-funds managers globally at the time—where she was a member of the executive committee and the operating committee. Previously, she was a partner in the investment management practice of the law firm Faegre Drinker, advising across investment product types, primarily in active equity and alternative strategies, including private equity. She began her career at Sidley Austin LLP’s investment funds, products and derivatives group. Emma is an independent director of First Bank Chicago, one of the largest privately held banks in Chicagoland. She serves on the board of Chicago television station WTTW and the Chicago classical music station WFMT. Additionally, she is a founder and board member of Angeles Investors, a Latino-focused angel investing group and is a member of the Latino Corporate Directors Association.
A native of Puerto Rico, Emma graduated summa cum laude with a BA in international business from Saint Louis University and earned her JD from the University of Chicago Law School. She is also qualified as a chief compliance officer by the Canadian Securities Institute and holds Diligent’s climate leadership certification.

Nancy Reynolds is the Chief Ethics Officer at Western Union, a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments headquartered in Denver, Colorado that provides financial services for families, small businesses, multinational corporations, and nonprofit organizations in over 200 countries and territories and that was included in the 2020 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. Nancy has advised Western Union on employment law and ethics matters for 12 years and currently leads the company’s ethics program. Nancy also serves on Western Union’s Environmental, Social and Governance working team and is passionate about advancing the company’s ESG program and D&I efforts.

Nancy graduated from Duke University with a law degree from University of Indiana – Bloomington.

Melanie is Vice President & Head, Corporate Governance & Responsible Investment for RBC Global Asset Management (RBC GAM) and a member of the Executive Committee. The CGRI team supports RBC GAM’s investment teams in integrating environmental, social and governance factors into the investment process, engages in active stewardship and provides meaningful client reporting on responsible investment.

Melanie joined RBC GAM in 2014 and has also held roles in Fund Governance and Strategy. Prior to working at RBC GAM, Melanie was Senior Counsel, Litigation for another large financial institution, and Enforcement Counsel at the Ontario Securities Commission (where she spent time working at the Office of the Criminal Crown Attorney).