The Hitchhiker’s Guide to ESG: Remarks at Annual US-Central and Eastern European Connection Weekend
"Thank you, Lukasz [Chyla],for that introduction. And thank you to the Jagiellonian University and to Catholic University for hosting this conference. Let me begin by stating that my views are my own as a Commissioner and not necessarily those of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or my fellow Commissioners. The last time I was in Poland was approximately three decades ago. It was a brief but memorable stop on an unfocused American student’s hop across Europe. Among other things, Poland provided me my only hitchhiking experience. Some kind soldiers in a military jeep driving through the richly beautiful, deeply wooded Polish countryside picked my traveling companions and me up in the early morning hours. They were ferrying, in addition to us weary travelers, freshly baked bread, the smell of which still lingers in my memories. On that trip I did not get any of that bread and I did not make it to Krakow, despite the allure of both. All those years ago, I never would have guessed that a conversation about environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) issues would allow me to visit Poland again. I certainly never would have imagined that I would be a securities regulator spending much time thinking about these issues."