Partners Capital Strengthens ESG and Responsible Investing Team with New Head

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23 Feb, 2021, 08:03 GMT

Kristen Eshak Weldon joins Partners Capital as Global Head of ESG and Impact Investing

LONDON, Feb. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Partners Capital, a leading global Outsourced Investment Office with in excess of $38 billion in assets under management, announced that Kristen Eshak Weldon has joined the firm as Global Head of ESG and Impact Investing.

This is a strategically important leadership role within the firm with the overarching objective of continuing to build out its ESG and Impact investment platform. Kristen will further integrate ESG considerations into the firm's decision making and lead targeted engagements with asset managers to ensure that they fully and effectively incorporate ESG drivers into their investment decisions. Furthermore, Kristen will be responsible for building impact investment portfolios and taking over responsibility for measuring the impact that those investments have on the planet and society. She will report to Euan Finlay, Partner and Chair of the firm's Responsible Investment Committee, and Stan Miranda, founder and Chairman.

"Kristen's hire is a meaningful step forward in our focus on ESG and Impact Investing," said Arjun Raghavan, CEO of Partners Capital. "Our goal is for our portfolios to generate meaningful positive societal and environmental change while maintaining the market beating returns that our investors have come to expect. Kristen's expertise will be invaluable in this endeavor."

Sir Ronald Cohen, Chairman of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment, and long-standing strategic shareholder of Partners Capital said, "We are at historic crossroads, as the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic with record-breaking levels of government debt and heightened social and climate challenges. An impact revolution has started, which is building on the tech revolution which preceded it. ESG and Impact investment will continue to grow fast in the years ahead, creating a new source of investment outperformance while improving lives and the environment. I look forward to supporting Kristen's important efforts and ensuring Partners Capital's clients benefit from this historic mega-trend, while contributing to improving our world."

Kristen joins Partners Capital from the Louis Dreyfus Company, where she was a member of the Executive Group and was responsible for steering the company's sustainability-focused investment activities. She led the launch of LDC Ventures, the company's investment fund management group, and was also Head of Food Innovation and Downstream Strategy, developing and implementing the strategy to extend the Company's capabilities further downstream, focusing on investments and strategic partnerships in alternative proteins, aquaculture and specialty commodities.

Kristen previously served as Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of the London office for Hedge Fund Solutions at Blackstone. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Georgetown University and a M.Sc (Sloan) in Leadership and Strategy from the London Business School. She is currently an independent advisor to the Cambridge University Endowment Fund with a particular focus on their push towards carbon neutrality.

"I am thrilled to be joining Partners Capital at such an important time. I have always held the firm in high regard and admired the intellectual and analytical rigor underlying their investment approach. I look forward to combining their investment principles with my experience in sustainable investing," added Weldon.

About Partners Capital

Founded in 2001, Partners Capital is a wholly independent Outsourced Investment Office (OCIO) primarily serving sophisticated institutions and senior investment professionals in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. With offices in Boston, New York, London, San Francisco, Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong, the firm is one of the few truly global OCIOs, employing over 200 professionals worldwide and covering all major asset classes. The firm oversees assets in excess of $38 billion^¹. Additional information on Partners Capital may be found at http://www.partners-cap.com