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LeapFrog Investments adds to global climate team

Supporting green growth opportunities for low-income consumers and producers across emerging markets

LeapFrog Investments has expanded its climate investment strategy team with the addition of four team members.

Katherine Owens (pictured) will be based in London and will be responsible for developing the firm’s climate impact focus and measuring LeapFrog’s contribution to climate action and adaptation. She brings more than 10 years of experience in ESG and sustainability, having previously worked with Ernst & Young’s climate change and sustainability services team in London and as head of impact and ESG at M-KOPA, a leading PAYG finance player in Africa.

Saurabh Bajaj joins LeapFrog as director of investments, climate in Southeast Asia working on food-related investments globally, and will be based in Singapore. He brings more than 10 years of experience in food systems and agriculture, having joined from Proterra Investment Partners Asia, one of the world’s largest food and agriculture focused private equity firms, where he led deal origination in India and Southeast Asia.

Nimish Desai has more than 15 years of experience in sustainable investing and investment banking across alternative asset classes, including at Relativity Investment Management and mid-market firm Kitara Capital. He will be responsible for originating, executing and managing climate investments and portfolios across a range of sectors, and is based in Mumbai.

Akshi Sharma brings experience in deal evaluation, execution and portfolio management, having previously worked with Relativity Investment Management and HSBC investment banking. She has worked across sectors including transport and mobility, climate tech, consumer and retail, health tech, and prop tech, and will also be based in Mumbai.

LeapFrog’s climate investment strategy focuses on companies providing green products and services that are already cost competitive in many emerging markets and enjoy enabling regulatory tailwinds. This includes sectors such as renewable energy, sustainable food, electric mobility and climate-smart housing and appliances.

Nakul Zaveri, partner and co-head of the climate investment strategy at LeapFrog Investments, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Saurabh, Katherine, Nimish, and Akshi to our growing team. Their diverse backgrounds and expertise across climate, impact investing, and financial services will be instrumental to the objectives of the climate investment strategy.”

Artemis appoints CT portfolio manager as head of impact equities

Sacha El Khoury will lead the Positive Future fund

Artemis has hired Columbia Threadneedle (CT) portfolio manager Sacha El Khoury (pictured) as head of impact equities.

In the newly created role, she will be responsible for developing Artemis’ impact investing capabilities while leading the firm’s Positive Future strategy.

At CT, El Khoury was lead manager of the CT Sustainable Global Equity Income Strategy and co-managed the CT Sustainable Opportunities Global Equity and CT SDG Engagement Global Equity funds.

She spent 12 years at BMO before CT acquired the firm in November 2021.

Based in London, El Khoury will report to newly appointed head of global equities Alex Stanic, who arrived at the firm following portfolio manager Simon Edelsten’s decision to retire at the end of the year. 

Stanic said: “This is a great hire for the firm and will not only help leverage off the excellent work the positive future team do currently but also help enhance the ESG research that Artemis integrates within its portfolios.

“It is clear to us that an active approach can really create real-world impact and produce good long-term returns for investors. Sacha’s addition to an already strong team underlines our commitment to proving that.”

Paras Anand, Artemis’ CIO, said: “Sacha is an expert in identifying companies with strong sustainability credentials that can make a positive impact on the environment and society. Her expertise overlaps well with that of the Artemis positive future team.

“Many of our clients share Artemis’ long-term commitment to sustainable investment and increasingly they want strategies that make a measurable positive impact. Sacha’s appointment further strengthens our capabilities in global equities and in impact equities specifically. Over time she will help enable us to broaden our offering in this space.”

This article first appeared on ESG Clarity sister title Portfolio Adviser.

Rathbone Greenbank hires duo to boost ethical investment team

Greenbank has also created a new head of investments role

Rathbone Greenbank Investments has made a double hire to expand its ethical investing team.

Laura Hobbs (pictured, right) joins Greenbank as an investment director, responsible for managing charity portfolios and helping charities align their investments with their ethical values and sustainability ambitions. 

She has more than 10 years’ experience working with not-for-profit clients. She previously worked as responsible investment manager for Brunel Pension Partnership, where she also led on the sustainability and climate integration strategy. 

Hobbs is a chartered financial analyst charterholder, and alongside her professional employment, she sits on the investment committee of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as an independent investment adviser, providing guidance on the charity’s endowment and pension fund investments.

Emma Williams (pictured, left) has also joined the team, as a senior ethical, sustainable and impact (ESI) researcher. 

In addition to conducting research into companies’ ESG and ethical performance and practices, she will play a key role in supporting the roll-out of Greenbank’s 2023 company engagement projects. 

This includes projects on companies’ net zero objectives and human rights due diligence. 

Before joining Greenbank, Williams was an associate director at Grant Thornton UK LLP and has previously held positions within social investment at Bristol & Bath Regional Capital CIC and corporate sustainability at PwC.

Greenbank has also created a new head of investments role as it strengthens research and investment teams.

David Cox has joined the senior team as head of investments, where he will be responsible for evolving the Greenbank investment proposition.

With nearly 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry, Cox joins from his latest role at Brunel Pension Partnership, where he was deputy chief investment officer. 

While there, he spearheaded the setup and management of public market investments and strategies worth around £30bn. 

Cox has also led award-winning initiatives in sustainable and environmental investing across asset classes. 

He holds the chartered alternative investment analyst (CAIA) designation, specialising in alternative asset classes and portfolio and index construction.

All three hires will be based in Greenbank’s Bristol office, helping to strengthen its scope and influence across the UK.

David Cox, head of investments at Greenbank, said: “ESI is at the heart of everything Greenbank does, from its people and its research to its investment and stewardship propositions. Investors can be a force for changing the world, and Greenbank has made real strides in supporting clients to this end. 

“The team has also had a considerable impact with its engagement projects to instil fundamental change from deep within businesses and investment companies. I look forward to working with the team to help Greenbank drive its investment proposition forward.”

CBRE IM boosts sustainability team

ESG lead appointed for indirect real estate team

CBRE IM has bolstered its sustainability team with the hire of a Chris Burgess as ESG lead for indirect real estate. 

He will help implement and deliver CBRE IM’s sustainability vision, which focuses on bringing positive change, across the firm’s global indirect investments.  

Burgess joins from ESG consultancy Evora Global, where he developed ESG strategies for  international real estate investment companies.

Since 2007 he has spent his career in the sustainability space, including working on development practices across major infrastructure and real estate construction projects for engineering consultancy Arup.  

Based in London, Burgess will work with CBRE IM’s clients to communicate the firms’ sustainability practices, initiatives and performance information. 

He will also drive sustainability best practice throughout the real estate investment division working closely with CBRE IM’s investment management teams and managers of its indirect portfolio. 

Helen Gurfel, head of sustainability and innovation at CBRE Investment Management, said:  “Chris brings valuable experience as we continue to integrate and deliver our sustainability strategy across our indirect investments. 

“From monitoring and evaluating our performance against tough  environmental objectives to completing sustainability projects, he will work with colleagues across  the entire business as we look to fulfil our goals.”

Clarity AI hires chief sustainability officer from PRI

Exclusive: Lorenzo Saa joins the sustainable technology platform

Sustainable technology platform Clarity AI has hired Lorenzo Saa as chief sustainability officer from the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).

Saa (pictured), who was previously chief signatory relations officer at the PRI and developed the organisation’s first in-house global reporting framework, will help build Clarity AI’s sustainability solutions, including its impact, ESG, climate and regulatory reporting capabilities.

He will also support CEO Rebeca Minguela in her public and stakeholder engagements and in her capacity as board member of the PRI.

Saa, who will be based in London, has more than 25 years’ experience in the industry, having started his career at MicroRate, the World Bank, and UniCredit Group, where he worked in microfinance and development finance. In his 14 years at the PRI, Saa drove membership from 300 to 5,500 institutional investors representing more than $120trn in assets under management.

“The addition of Lorenzo and his many years of experience at the PRI will help us to continue to anticipate client needs and develop solutions before they are required,” Minguela said.

Saa added: “I am excited to join a firm that is already reshaping the way investors approach their sustainability agenda. I am committed to being part of the next big transformation around reliable, transparent and easy to access data assessment and analysis capabilities that ensure investors, companies and consumers can drive positive societal outcomes.”

Snowball hires Chang from Big Society Capital

Also recruited CIO and made changes to board

Impact investment manager Snowball has made a series of appointments including Christine Chang (pictured) from Big Society Capital.

Chang joins Snowball’s investment committee. She previously worked at Big Society Capital as a member of the executive and investment committees and is also the managing director of Path to Impact, a consultancy embedding impact strategies into investment.

Meanwhile, Danielle Walker-Palmour is joining Snowball’s board as non-executive director (NED). She is the founding director of Friends Provident Foundation, a charity dedicated to creating a fair and sustainable economy.

The group previously announced the appointment of Sean Farrell, who is now replacing Peter Baxter as CIO, with Baxter moving into an NED role and becoming chair of Snowball’s impact investment committee.

CEO Daniela Barone Soares commented on the appointments: “The investment sector needs accountability and transparency. We continue to recruit and retain original thinkers with extensive asset management experience, as we work towards our goal of setting standards now for tomorrow’s markets.”

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