Influencers in sustainable private markets: The ecosystem

Who are the ‘connectors’ in sustainable private markets? Who is designing the systems that facilitate sustainable investment activity? As part of our 50 Influencers list we identify individuals who, through their advice, connections or thought-leadership, are shaping the space.

Paula Langton, Campbell Lutyens

Advisory firm Campbell Lutyens has worked with likes of Trill Impact, Lightrock and Meridiam on their sustainable offerings, while Paula Langton, head of the firm’s sustainability practice, has advised on more than 45 fundraisings for European and global private equity firms during her career, representing almost $65 billion in capital commitments.

Christina Leijonhufvud and Ben Thornley, Tideline

Tideline managing partners Christina Leijonhufvud and Ben Thornley are playing a key role in promoting consistency and transparency among investors’ impact management practices. The client list for Tideline, an impact consultancy, and Bluemark, its affiliate impact verification business, reads like a who’s who of institutional impact investors. The organisations are frequently cited by market participants as raising and defining standards in impact.

Marc Lino, Bain & Company

Marc Lino leads global sustainability efforts for the private equity practice at Bain & Company, a go-to consulting firm for financial sponsors. He is credited as being a driving force behind the Private Markets Decarbonization Roadmap, an initiative launched last year that brings together work by the Initiative Climat International and the Sustainable Markets Initiative Private Equity Task Force into a unified guidance for private markets investors on decarbonization.

Greg Fischer and Ben Morley, BCG

Greg Fischer and Ben Morley, both partners at consulting firm BCG, are between the two of them spear-heading significant private markets initiatives on either side of the Atlantic. London-based Fischer is leading work with the members of the Sustainable Markets Initiative on integrating carbon considerations into EBITDA and multiple calculations. Boston-based Morley, meanwhile, is the point person for BCG’s work on the EDCI, meaning he is leading the development and analysis of the most prominent ESG data set in the private equity space.

Delilah Rothenberg, The Predistribution Initiative

The Predistribution Initiative, a US-based non-profit, seeks to create a more equitable global financial industry and has been leading efforts to form the Task Force on Inequality-related Financial Disclosures (which recently merged with the the Task Force on Social-related Financial Disclosures to form the Task Force on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures) alongside Rights CoLab and others. In doing so, it could shape the way investors report on some of the trickiest ‘extra-financial’ issues. Delilah Rothenberg, The Predistribution Initiative’s co-founder, is a key voice in the social impact conversation.

Jeremy Smith, Rede Partners

Jeremy Smith leads the impact practice at advisory firm Rede Partners, which in 2023 helped Ara Partners raise $2.8 billion for its third decarbonisation fund, and Apax gather circa $900 million for its inaugural impact offering. Smith also co-founded CDP, a prominent non-profit that runs an environmental disclosure system supported by investors representing $98 trillion of AUM.