ESG Investor’s weekly round-up of new hires in the sustainable investing sector, including OnePlanetCapital, Cardano Advisory, Marsh, Brown Advisory and Xpansiv.
Anthony Chant has been appointed as Investment Director at OnePlanetCapital, the climate change focused early-stage venture capital fund. He will be leading investment decisions for the company’s flagship EIS fund which targets companies and projects that will positively contribute to the environmental prospects of the UK and wider planet. Chant will advise on targeted investments designed to tackle CO2 emissions and corporates demonstrating a positive environmental impact. “Anthony’s experience will be crucial for helping us to expand our investments into early-stage companies genuinely making a real difference to our planet,” said Matthew Jellicoe, Co-Founder of OnePlanetCapital. “We only have one planet and now it’s time to get involved and make a difference for our collective future.” With 20 years of experience managing businesses across the public and private sectors, Chant has held a number of leadership positions and completed over 50 investments and acquisitions. Most recently, he was CEO of risk and compliance company SGI Compliance. “We’ve successfully deployed our first round of inaugural investments and OnePlanetCapital is at the forefront of the green industrial revolution,” said Chant. “We know that unprecedented change is required to our global economy. There has never been a more heightened time to tackle the climate issues we face and to work with such an exciting investment house.”
Cardano Advisory, the pensions and sustainability-focused specialist advisory and investment management arm of Cardano, has announced six promotions. “We are experiencing increasing demand from both trustees and corporates for big picture thinking and specialist advice on covenant assessment, sustainability issues and corporate activity, including restructuring,” said Darren Redmayne, Cardano Advisory’s CEO. Emily Goodridge has been promoted to Managing Director and now leads the firm’s covenant assessment offering within the trustee services business. Nick Agius, Felix Mantz and Lara Rutty have been promoted to Directors and will continue to provide sustainability-focused advisory services. Qiongzhi Hu and Stephen Ronald are now Associate Directors and will be focused on providing advice on the impact of corporate transactions and restructuring activity. “It is rewarding to see talented colleagues thrive through supporting clients achieve great outcomes,’ said Redmayne.
Insurance broker and risk advisor Marsh has appointed Nick Faull as Head of Climate and Sustainability Risk. Effective from 1 April and based in London, Faull will help to develop the firm’s global sustainability and climate services, including risk modelling and management. He will work with Ryan Bond, Head of Climate and Sustainability Insurance Innovation, to design and implement new services to address emerging risks around the environment and circular economy. Faull first joined Marsh has Head of Strategic Risk Consulting for the UK and Ireland in 2017. “Increasing their overall resilience to the risks associated with climate change, while meeting their obligations around sustainability, should be a key strategic priority for organisations as we move towards net zero and a nature-positive world,” said Faull.
Brown Advisory has opened a new office in Frankfurt, Germany, following the strong performance of sustainability-focused funds across Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH). “We’ve seen strong inflows from local investors who are eager to access the benefits of Brown Advisory’s concentrated, active and sustainable equity strategies, and our newly established presence will help us better serve existing clients in these important markets,” said Logie Fitzwilliams, Head of International Business and Global Head of Sales at Brown Advisory. Elisa Wagnitz, Head of DACH Region for the privately held global investment management firm, has relocated to the new office to better engage with clients across these regions. “Our commitment to fundamental research coupled with more than a decade of experience in sustainable investing and ESG research means we’re particularly well-positioned to fulfil demand for values-based investing, with a variety of UCITS funds meeting the Article 8 designation. We’re excited to further strengthen our dedication to clients in this region who share our thoughtful investment philosophy,” said Wagnitz. Brown Advisory further hired three new global sustainable fixed income portfolio managers last year to develop its sustainable investment philosophy across the region and more globally.
Sesh Sundaram has joined Xpansiv, a global marketplace for ESG commodities, as Chief Technology Officer. With more than 20 years of experience in capital markets, he has experience across trading, clearing and risk management systems. Sundaram will aid Xpansiv’s expansion of its digital infrastructure platform to support a new asset class of commodities valued according to ESG factors. “Sesh brings to Xpansiv proven success in driving digital transformation and migrating to hybrid-cloud infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on information security,” said Xpansiv CEO Joe Madden. Prior to joining the firm, Sundaram held the role of Managing Director of Engineering and Execution at CME Group. “I’m looking forward to advancing Xpansiv’s impact by helping to deliver robust, innovative systems that enhance the liquidity, transparency, and utility of ESG commodity markets,” he said.
