EFFAS Advisory Council

The Council is conceived as a consultative body that will provide strategic, academic, and technical guidance to EFFAS, reinforcing its mission to advance the financial analyst profession and foster excellence in financial education, innovation, and sustainability across Europe and beyond.

The Advisory Council will play a key role in:

• Providing expert advice on developments in financial markets, sustainability, and digitalisation;
• Supporting the definition of standards and best practices for the financial analyst profession;
• Contributing to the continuous improvement of EFFAS educational programmes and certifications;
• Advising on research priorities and strategic initiatives;
• Promoting the integration of academic research with professional practice.

The founding members of the Council are:

Chair

Dr. Jesús López Zaballos

PhD in Management & Business Administration at San Pablo CEU University, Madrid (1999), summa cum laude, and Degree in Economics & Business Administration at Complutense Universtity, Madrid (1985). He also has a Diploma in General Management (PDG) from IESE (1997) and is a Certified Expert in Business Valuation and Certified Financial Advisor by the Spanish Institute of Financial Analysts, Madrid (2008).

Jesús is a member of the boards of ACIIA, ILPIP, EFFAS, and IATEC Spain. Since 1985 he has been a member of the Madrid College of Economists (actually Member of the Board) and since 2006 a member of the European University Association for Community Studies.

In 1984 he started his professional career as a broker in the Spanish Money Market. Later he worked as an expert in the Capital Market Industry for several important private and public financial institutions where he held a variety of responsibilities in different fields. He was Head of Domestic Treasury of the Banco de Crédito Industrial in 1991 and he was Head of Training of the Treasury and Capital Markets areas of Argentaria (1995-1998). In 1999, he created “Formación y Finanzas, SL”, a Business Consulting and Financial Advisory firm specialized in advisor and training activities for the Financial Industry. At present, he is the chair of the company.

In 2013 he was a founding partner of Aureo Wealth Advice EAFI, S.L, a wealth management company registered with the Spanish regulator. In 2014 he was appointed member of the Advisory Board of Docout, a company specialized in outsourcing services, business processes, records management and consulting, using high-tech tools. In 2023 he was appointed as Senior Advior of OESIA Group, Spanish multinational company specializing in dual-use digital and industrial engineering.

PhD in Management & Business Administration at San Pablo CEU University, Madrid (1999), summa cum laude, and Degree in Economics & Business Administration at Complutense Universtity, Madrid (1985). He also has a Diploma in General Management (PDG) from IESE (1997) and is a Certified Expert in Business Valuation by the Spanish Institute of Financial Analysts, Madrid (2008). Since 1990 he has been a usual Lecturer and Visiting Professor in Seminars and specialized courses in several Universities and Business Schools.

Members 

Prof. Dr. Leef H. Dierks

Dr. Dierks (1977) was appointed Professor for Finance and International Capital Markets at Lübeck University of Applied Sciences in winter 2013/14. Guest professorships led him to universities in Almaty (Kazakhstan), Amman (Jordan), Chiang Mai (Thailand) and Hangzhou (China), amongst others. Between 2010 and 2013 Dr. Dierks served as Global Head of Covered Bond Strategy at US-investment bank Morgan Stanley in London. Previously, he worked as a Vice President analysing the European fixed income markets at Barclays Capital in Frankfurt.

In 2006, Dr. Dierks earned a doctoral degree (magna cum laude) for his research on “The impact of trust as a determinant of consumer behaviour under uncertainty – an empirical analysis of consumers’ reactions to a random external shock in Europe” at the Christian-Albrechts-University at Kiel. Following longer stays in Pretoria, South Africa and Mexico-City, Mexico, Dr. Dierks studied economics as well as business administration at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the Christian-Albrechts-University at Kiel from 1997 to 2003. Within the scope of his diploma thesis, he investigated the “Predictability of Currency Crises” at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW).

Dr. Dierks has been awarded the Faculty of Economics’ “Lecturer of the Year Award” in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and is a liaison professor of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (SddV). Further, Dr. Dierks is former Deputy Chairman of EFFAS’ Capital Markets Commission (CMC) and Academic Director of the Certified European Financial Analyst Programme.

Prof. Dr. Emanuele Campiglio

Emanuele Campiglio is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Bologna and Scientist at the RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment (EIEE). He is also a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE), where he previously held academic positions. His research focuses on environmental macroeconomics, sustainable finance, and the political economy of sustainability transitions. He leads the ERC-funded SMOOTH project on sustainable finance and has contributed to several international research initiatives, including the Horizon 2020 CASCADES project. A recipient of prestigious grants and a recognized expert in his field, he has published extensively on climate-related financial risks, green macroeconomics, and low-carbon economic transitions.

Davide Grignani

Davide Grignani brings more than three decades of senior leadership experience in international investment banking and financial advisory. He currently serves as Senior Advisor at Terzi & Partners and Arwin & Partners in Milan, focusing on corporate finance, M&A, investor relations, and sustainability advisory. He holds a DES (MSc) in Economics and an MBA in Finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Prior to this, Davide spent nearly 20 years at Société Générale CIB, where he was Managing Director and Head of the Italian Financial Institutions Group, and held senior roles at Lehman Brothers, Paribas, and Salomon Brothers. He has advised leading European financial institutions on strategic transactions, capital markets activity, and financial restructuring.

Davide is a long-standing member of AIAF – Associazione Italiana per l’Analisi Finanziaria, where he served as Executive Chairman from 2020 to 2024 and now continues as a Board Member. He is actively engaged in education and research through published articles and lectures in corporate finance and capital markets, alongside initiatives related to sustainability.

Masato Takebayashi

Masato Takebayashi has nearly 20 years of experience in ESG investment and strategic consultancy and has been active in the field since its early development in Japan. He is the CEO of Musashino ESG Advisory, where he provides independent strategic advice to corporations and investment managers on ESG integration and sustainable value creation.

Masato has held key roles as an ESG assessment and engagement specialist at leading global ESG rating providers and as an ESG strategy consultant at a major international professional services firm. He is widely recognised for his deep understanding of the Japanese and global ESG ecosystems and for his close collaboration with institutional stakeholders in sustainable finance.

Since 2018, Masato has also contributed to executive education as a lecturer in the Executive MBA programme at Keio Business School, focusing on ESG, sustainable corporate value propositions, and competitive advantage. He holds an MSc from University College London (UCL) and is an EFFAS Certified ESG Analyst® (CESGA).