Person Type: Team

Davinder Kumar

DAVINDER KUMAR | HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS

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Davinder is a strategic communications leader with nearly two decades of experience in media, human rights, international development, and international higher education.

As Head of Communications at Shift, Davinder leads the development and implementation of the organization’s global communications strategy. His focus is on strengthening Shift’s voice, visibility, and influence with key stakeholders, including governments, international institutions, businesses, civil society, and financial institutions, to advance implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Davinder brings a strong track record shaping narratives, building influence, and aligning communications with mission and impact across diverse sectors and geographies. He has worked extensively at the intersection of policy, systems change, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement, with communications expertise spanning media relations, digital strategy, multi-channel campaigns, brand development, and reputation management. Prior to joining Shift, Davinder was Vice President of Corporate & Public Relations at INTO University Partnerships, a global education services provider, where he built a global PR function, elevated INTO’s brand in key markets, secured unprecedented media profile, led strategic communications for university partners, and oversaw the digital transformation of communications channels.

Previously, Davinder spent a decade at Plan International — one of the world’s largest child rights and humanitarian organizations — where he held various senior roles including Head of Global Media and Public Relations. He supported external engagement across 80+ countries and contributed to global advocacy campaigns on child rights, gender equality, and youth empowerment.

Originally trained as a journalist, Davinder has been published by The Guardian, CNN, BBC, and Al Jazeera, and was a finalist for the Guardian International Development Journalism Award. He is a Chevening Human Rights Scholar, holds an MA in Human Rights from the University of Essex, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Throughout his career, Davinder has used communications and advocacy to help organizations navigate complexity, build alliances, and stay grounded in values of dignity, justice, and accountability.

Jonathan Milläng

JONATHAN MILLÄNG | SENIOR ADVISOR

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As a Senior Advisor, Jonathan has a primary focus on social dimensions of corporate reporting standards, frameworks and practice, including Shift’s engagements with the Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD), and the Sustainability Reporting Board of EFRAG (European Financial Reporting and Advisory Group) as well as on the EU’s wider sustainable finance agenda.

Jonathan has one decade of ESG strategy, reporting, and policy experience. Before joining Shift, he spent five years with the Stockholm-based specialist management consultancy firm Ethos. Here he was a member of the executive management team and served as Senior Advisor and Head of Sustainable Finance while leading a team of sustainability experts. While at Ethos, he worked with multiple Fortune 500 and FTSE 250 firms on projects focused on capacity building and strategic implications ahead of and during the rollout of the EU Action Plan on Sustainable Finance (SFDR, EU Taxonomy, CSRD) and global reporting frameworks such as the IFRS Sustainability Standards (ISSB) and TCFD.

Prior to his tenure as Head of Sustainable Finance at Ethos, he co-founded a venture-backed climate-focused impact startup and filled numerous sustainability and advocacy roles within the public and private sector – on the 2016 U.S. Presidential Campaign, the Swedish Campaign for Zero Emissions, NextGenerationEU, Sustainable Innovation, and as board member at PUSH Sweden and Wellstreet VC.

Other than that, he has worked in stints as a grape picker, groundworker, garbage collector, waiter, deckhand, tutor, translator, and stonemason’s assistant. Jonathan is bilingual in Swedish and English.

Jonathan has a B.A. in Political Economy from University of California, Berkeley. He has also undertaken graduate studies in International Affairs with a focus on International Finance and Economic Policy at Columbia SIPA in New York.

Brianna Peterson

BRIANNA PETERSON | SENIOR ADVISOR

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As a Senior Advisor at Shift, Brianna advises financial institutions and companies on how to put the UNGPs into practice, with a particular focus on the nexus between human rights and climate change. Brianna combines environment and climate change expertise with experience developing and implementing human rights policies, due diligence approaches and sustainability reporting.

Before Shift, Brianna spearheaded innovative sustainability initiatives at Sustainable Development Technology Canada and Export Development Canada (EDC). At EDC she led the development and implementation of exciting new portfolio approaches for climate change and human rights risk management, as well as aligning EDC’s corporate reporting with international reporting frameworks, such as the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and the UNGPs Reporting Framework.  She also led EDC’s international sustainability negotiations and engagements, including as co-Chair of the Equator Principles Climate Change Working Group.

Prior to joining EDC, Brianna worked for nine years as a diplomat with Canada’s foreign ministry, including four years at the United Nations General Assembly where she led environment and development negotiations, advocacy and outreach on behalf of the Government of Canada, including for the creation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Brianna has also advised international financial institutions including the World Bank Group, institutional investors, bilateral development agencies, and small- and medium-sized enterprises on the practical application of environment, climate change, human rights standards.

Brianna has an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University and a Master’s degree in Environmental Change & Management from the University of Oxford.

Andrew Slight

ANDREW SLIGHT | SENIOR ADVISOR

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As a Senior Advisor at Shift, Andrew advises companies and financial institutions on how to put the UNGPs into practice, with a particular focus on the nexus between human rights and climate change. Andrew combines expertise in environmental issues with experience developing and implementing human rights policies, due diligence approaches, reporting and grievance systems at major multinational companies.

Prior to Shift, Andrew worked in public policy and sustainability roles at Tesco in the UK and PepsiCo in both the UK and the US. He has worked across a wide range of challenging issues, leading company approaches to land rights, labor rights in apparel and palm oil supply chains and the provision of access to remedy for affected stakeholders, among many others.

Andrew has extensive experience engaging with affected stakeholders to set environmental and human rights priorities, improve company goals and commitments, and address specific challenges and grievances raised directly, and through proxies. He is also an expert in the connections between human rights and a responsible approach to corporate political engagement.

Andrew has a law degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is based in New York City.

Swantje Pabst

As an Advisor, Swantje works with companies to support their implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

Swantje is an international lawyer with more than ten years of experience in international criminal law, human rights implementation and business and human rights. She has worked at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague as well as the UN Khmer-Rouge Tribunal in Phnom Penh. She has also worked on the broader implementation of human rights with the EU External Action Service, and with the Committee for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs of the German Federal Parliament. As a research fellow for the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law for Cambodia and the Sudan, she designed and delivered training to members of parliament and government representatives.

Prior to joining shift, Swantje was a Manager for Human Rights at Mercedes-Benz Group AG, where she set up the company’s human rights due diligence management system and oversaw implementation of its activities throughout the supply chain. In this role, she also led the implementation of the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act in company policies and processes, working closely with Mercedes’ procurement units and other relevant functions in headquarters and entities across the world. Swantje has also represented Mercedes, a founding member, in the Sector Dialogue of the German Automotive Industry, a multi-stakeholder forum and the first of its kind. Alongside the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, business associations, civil society organizations, trade unions and other enterprises in the automotive supply chain, the sector dialogue seeks to develop joint solutions to address human rights risks and improve the protection of human rights along automotive supply chains. Amongst other things, this included the establishment of a cross-company grievance mechanism in Mexico that seeks to improve access to remedy in the lower tiers of the supply chain.

Swantje holds Master of Laws (distinction) in International Law with a Spezialisation in Human Rights and a Bachelor of Laws in European Law from Maastricht University. She also holds an M.A. (distinction) in European and International Studies from the Centre International de Formation Européenne. She has been a guest lecturer at several universities, including the University of Groningen and the Central European University in Vienna.

Ngonie Chiligo

NGONIE CHILIGO | OPERATIONS COORDINATOR

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As Shift’s Operations Coordinator, Ngonie works with Shift’s team of experts to provide operational support for Shift’s mission, helping to drive positive transformation in corporate practice.

Ngonie brings unique perspective and skills to Shift, shaped through diverse experiences in project and event management in the public sector and various UK charities, including Christians Against Poverty (CAP) and Malawi Leeds Association (MLA).

Originally hailing from the vibrant landscapes of Malawi, Ngonie’s journey has been driven by a deep-rooted commitment to creating meaningful impact through well-executed projects and events. Her approach is characterized by a blend of strategic thinking, meticulous planning, and a keen eye for detail.

Ngonie holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice, and is passionate about understanding and addressing societal challenges.

Théo Jaekel

THÉO JAEKEL | SENIOR ASSOCIATE

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Théo Jaekel is a lawyer specialized in business and human rights and international law. He brings over a decade’s experience working with multinational companies, both as in-house and external legal counsel, research-based civil society organizations, as well as academia.

Théo’s hands-on experience in the implementation of international standards and legal frameworks on business and human rights includes designing and embedding due diligence processes across value chains and global operations, conducting in-depth and on the ground research and investigations in high-risk countries, establishing governance and accountability structures as well as supporting clients on legal cases.

Théo is a frequent, and internationally recognized, panel speaker and lecturer at several universities, and has held several non-executive board seats for international organizations.

Théo holds an LL.M. in international law from Stockholm University and his previous experiences include managing the global legal human rights team at Ericsson Group as Director, Business and Human Rights, establishing and leading the human rights practice group at Vinge law firm, and conducting research projects and investigations on corporate accountability, including field work in high-risk and conflict-affected areas for Swedwatch. Théo currently works as an independent business and human rights advisor.

As a trained and certified SA8000 auditor, Théo conducts social audits in a wide range of sectors and geographies, including extractives, ICT manufacturing and apparel.

Helen Meekings

HELEN MEEKINGS | SENIOR ADVISOR, ENVIRONMENT, CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

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As a Senior Advisor, Helen develops and leads Shift’s work at the nexus of human rights and environment, climate and biodiversity. Helen is an energetic, collaborative and experienced senior leader bringing with her more than 20 years’ experience in sustainability and climate change, 11 of which have been in the international finance sector. Helen has worked at the senior executive level, leading climate and ESG organizational change, including in the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). She has also led international negotiations and UK government policy development relating to climate, sustainability and export finance.

Helen is experienced in delivering the requirements of the UN Guiding Principles from a business and government perspective, particularly in her role with UK Export Finance, where she headed their environmental and social risk management team for a number of years. She has worked with business, financial institutions, standard setters and civil society on interrelated sustainability issues at both corporate and project level. This includes significant experience in the implementation of the IFC Performance Standards, Equator Principles, and with OECD requirements such as the OCED Common Approaches and Guidelines for Multilateral Enterprises. More recently, Helen has advised and supported businesses and financial institutions with evolving international ESG requirements, such as those of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), EU and Global Reporting Initiative.

Helen is a strategic thinker supported by strong practical knowledge and skills gained from working internationally throughout her career and across many industrial sectors. Helen is a civil and public health engineer by training, and a professionally qualified chartered engineer and chartered environmentalist in the UK.

Rutger Goethart

RUTGER GOETHART | SENIOR ASSOCIATE

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In his role as a Senior Associate at Shift, Rutger focuses on corporate human rights due diligence, supporting companies to assess, address, prioritize, and report potential human rights impacts. He guides companies on the practical application of the UNGPs, supporting the acquisition of internal buy-in and development of strategy and policies, risk assessment, external stakeholder engagement and collection of feedback, action-planning and communications and reporting.

Rutger’s expertise is in human rights, labor rights and public/government affairs, in both national and international and EU contexts. Rutger gained this experience through work at the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) supporting the development of the social European Sustainability Reporting Standards; 15 years at HEINEKEN, as Senior Manager for International Labor Relations, where he was responsible for international labor relations and labor & human rights and as Global Public/Government Affairs Manager; as International Public Affairs Manager and as Manager for International Labor Relations at the Postal & Express Company TNT (now part of FedEx). His first practical experience in Labor Rights & Relations and Public Affairs was as Secretary of International Social Affairs for the Dutch Employers’ Federation.

Rutger is an independent member of the Dutch OECD National Contact Point for responsible business conduct (NCP). The NCP mandate is to promote the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and related due diligence guidance, and to handle cases (referred to as “specific instances”) as a non-judicial grievance mechanism.

Rutger studied at the Faculty of Law at Utrecht University, where he specialized in Labor and Civil law. He speaks English and Dutch and is proficient in French, Spanish and German. He is based in Amsterdam.

Subajini Jayasekaran

SUBAJINI JAYASEKARAN | SENIOR ADVISOR

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As a Senior Advisor at Shift, Subajini works with companies and other strategic partners to support their implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

Suba brings extensive operational experience working on children’s and women’s rights. Prior to joining Shift, she worked for 17 years with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in Asia and Africa and global headquarters in New York and Geneva. Suba was the architect of UNICEF’s Better Business for Children initiative, positioning UNICEF as one of the leading organizations working with business to create positive impact for women and children in workplaces and across global supply chains. Suba also played a key role in the development of the Children’s Rights and Business Principles, a framework for businesses to respect and support children’s rights, building directly on the UN Guiding Principles.

Suba has worked on child rights in a range of business sectors – from the apparel sector in Bangladesh, to footwear factories in Vietnam, palm oil plantations in Indonesia, and cocoa farms in Côte d’Ivoire. She began her career at UNICEF working in humanitarian and conflict programming in Sri Lanka and Sudan. Here, she managed child protection programs, building the capacity of government and civil society and strengthening systems for social work, social protection, mental health and psychosocial wellbeing and justice for children. She has developed information management systems to monitor child rights violations in conflict and led programs to support the rehabilitation and reintegration of former child soldiers.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Suba created a social media project called Nyaanum to explore diversity and inclusion in travel storytelling. Through the project, she worked with local and indigenous communities to create a series of short Instagram videos capturing everyday life from their perspective. The videos were featured on the UN Biodiversity Instagram channel, reaching an audience of 300,000.

Suba has published on business and children’s rights, writing about family-friendly workplace policies, and children as stakeholders in the financial sector. She has a Masters in Social Policy and Planning from the London School of Economics and Political Science; and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto.