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Climate Asset Management appoints Martin Berg as CEO

Christof Kutscher has stepped down from the role and Berg will move up from his position as chief investment officer for the firm’s nature based carbon strategy.

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HSBC and Pollination JV Climate Asset Management has appointed Martin Berg as chief executive officer after Christof Kutscher stepped down from the role.

Berg was most recently chief investment officer for CAM’s nature based carbon strategy, which has a $600 million target and had raised approximately $325 million in December. Prior to that, he was a partner at Pollination.

Berg will continue to lead the firm’s carbon strategy until a new appointment is made and he joins the board with immediate effect.

CAM’s new CEO said of his appointment: “At Climate Asset Management we are passionate about the conservation and restoration of nature. It is testimony to the strength, diversity and experience of the team we have assembled, that we were able to announce an initial raise of $650 million across our two natural capital strategies last December.

“We continue to fundraise and deploy capital and are working tirelessly with our clients to invest in landscape transformation projects at scale, to help turn the tide on the catastrophic destruction of nature around the world.”

No further details were provided about Kutscher’s reasons for stepping down or what he plans to do next. In a statement, he said he was “looking forward to supporting Martin and the management team in an advisory capacity over the next period of growth”.

CAM received a $200 million mandate from Apple in April, which is held in a distinct separate fund. The vehicle will make investments aligned with the firm’s existing nature based carbon strategy and its natural capital strategy, which is led by CIO Ben O’Donnell.

The natural capital strategy had also raised approximately $325 million in December 2022 and has a $1 billion target.

Apple views the $200 million mandate handed to CAM as part of its Restore Fund series, which commenced in April 2021 with a separate $200 million mandate managed by Goldman Sachs, which is also held in a distinct fund.

CAM also delivered the first tranche of a $150 million financing package to the Restore Africa program in May 2022.

Restore Africa aims to restore two million-ha of land and directly support two million smallholder farmers by 2026 across Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.