In brief: Ardian recruits DFI veteran to lead nature strategy

Private markets firm Ardian has hired Damien Braud as head of nature-based solutions, according to a statement.

Prior to joining Ardian, Braud was head of Africa and Middle East private equity at Proparco, a subsidiary of French development bank French Development Agency. Prior to that, he worked at Amundi Private Equity.

Ardian partnered with aDryada, a French developer of nature-based projects, to launch a natural capital fund in October. It will invest primarily – around 75 percent – in emerging markets. The fund “aims to finance projects to restore forests, wetlands and mangroves in order to sequester large quantities of carbon” and has a $500 million fundraising target, a source told affiliate title Infrastructure Investor.

Paris-based aDryada has also added to its executive team, with Bertrand Monin joining as managing director, per the statement. He was previously a senior investment manager in the sustainable land management team at CDPQ.