Solutionists Making Moves: October 22-29 2021

Welcome to this week’s edition of Solutionists Making Moves. 

From established ESG professionals to rising Solutionists, we want to share their successes and celebrate the achievements of those leading the charge in bringing net-positive solutions to the world. Here’s this week’s roundup of Solutionists making waves in their respective industries.

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a leading organization promoting standardized ESG reporting, recently announced the appointment of Eelco van der Enden as their CEO. Van der Enden has been on the board of directors since 2020, where he most recently served as the firm’s global ESG Tax & Legal Services platform leader. Van der Enden will start his new role in January 2022, he brings over 20 years of experience in sustainability senior management roles. Nadja Picard, PwC Global Reporting Leader, said: “Eelco has always been passionate about broader corporate reporting and the responsibility business has to the planet and society – a passion he has successfully communicated both within PwC and to our clients and stakeholders.”

Apollo has recently hired Michael Kashani as their Head of ESG Credit. Kashani spent over 15 years at Goldman Sachs, where he was the global head of ESG portfolio management within their asset management fixed income department. Prior to this, he spent 11 years as a senior research analyst at the firm and helped to develop their ESG division. Kashani was selected by Apollo to help accelerate ESG integration across the firm’s credit platform, for which the company has a proprietary ESG rating system. His hire comes one month after Apollo’s appointment of David Stangis to the newly-created role of Chief Sustainability Officer.

Applied Real Intelligence, a venture debt investment firm that provides debt financing solutions to venture capital-backed companies, recently announced the hiring of Kathryn Bohn as Director of Business Development. Bohn will manage A.R.I.’s business development initiatives related to ESG. “I have known Kathryn for many years, and it is a great pleasure to welcome her to A.R.I.’s team. Her extensive professional experience and strong existing relationships with members of A.R.I.’s leadership will be instrumental in facilitating A.R.I.’s rapid growth and emergence as the ESG investment leader in venture debt. She will play a key role in furthering A.R.I.’s mission to democratize access to capital for women and other underrepresented company founders as A.R.I. continues to lead the way in promoting an inclusive venture investment ecosystem,” said managing partner Zack Ellison.

In line with their intent to push forward the world of sustainable investing, Schroders has named a head of sustainable investment management. The company has appointed Margot Von Aesch as its first Head of Sustainable Investment Management, which covers research, development of sustainable investment models and ensuring the continued integration of sustainability into Schroders’ investment decision-making. “We see this moment as a significant milestone in our sustainability journey and a natural step to ensure our path to net zero is clear and successful: we are injecting into the firm market-leading talents with vision and experience, who are highly regarded not only within, but also outside our industry,” said Andy Howard. Howard added that Schroders aims to accelerate its sustainability commitments, such as achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.

Clarion Partners, a real estate investment manager, has recently appointed Karen Mahrous as Senior Vice President and Head of ESG. Karen will be based in Clarion’s New York City office. Mahrous will work with several teams throughout the organization to develop a formal framework to implement the firm’s recently announced commitment to the Urban Land Institute’s Net Zero by 2050 Greenprint program, and strengthen Clarion’s alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Mahrous joins Clarion from CodeGreen Solutions, an energy and sustainability consulting firm specializing in the real estate industry.