Laura Segafredo

Focus Areas: Sustainable Investing, Climate Finance, Natural Capital, Labeled Bond Markets, Index Investing, ETFs

Laura Segafredo, PhD, is a distinguished climate expert with extensive experience spanning the corporate, financial, academic, and non-profit sectors in the US and Europe. As a Managing Director at BlackRock, she led the Global Sustainable Product and Portfolio Research team, driving significant growth in sustainable and transition investment products. Her leadership resulted in the expansion of the sustainable ETF and Index Mutual Funds platform from ~$110B to ~$500B in under four years.

With a master’s from the Toulouse School of Economics and a PhD in Energy Studies from the University of Padova, Laura has held key positions at renowned institutions such as Columbia University, the ClimateWorks Foundation, and Electricité de France. Her work has been instrumental in shaping climate finance research, policy development, and sustainable investment strategies. As the Project Director of the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project, she coordinated over 100 researches in 16 country teams, contributing to the Paris Agreement process.

Currently serving as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, Laura teaches graduate-level courses on climate and sustainable investing. Her expertise in climate change science, sustainable investment, and capital markets, combined with her ability to make complex topics accessible, has established her as a sought-after speaker on global stages. Laura's visionary leadership and commitment to aligning capital markets with global climate goals continue to drive innovation in the field of sustainable finance.

Education

• PhD, Energy Studies, Università Degli Studi Di Padova, Padova, Italy
• Visiting Scholar: Business and Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 2005
• MSc, Industrial Economics, Toulouse School of Economics, Toulouse, France
• BA, Summa Cum Laude: Economics, Università Degli Studi Di Padova, Padova, Italy