Partners Capital Appoints Kristen Eshak Weldon Global Head of ESG and Impact Investing
Global outsourced investment office Partners Capital announced today that it has hired Kristen Eshak Weldon, appointing her as the firm’s new Global Head of ESG and Impact Investing.
In her new role, Weldon will be responsible for further integrating ESG considerations into the Partner Capital’s decision making, leading targeted engagements with asset managers to ensure that they fully and effectively incorporate ESG drivers into their investment decisions, as well as building impact investment portfolios and taking over responsibility for measuring the impact that those investments have on the planet and society. Weldon will report to Euan Finlay, Partner and Chair of the firm’s Responsible Investment Committee, and Stan Miranda, founder and Chairman.
Arjun Raghavan, CEO of Partners Capital, said:
“Kristen’s hire is a meaningful step forward in our focus on ESG and Impact Investing. 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.”
Prior to joining Partners Capital, Weldon was Head of Innovation and Downstream Strategy at agricultural goods merchant and processor Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), and also served on the firm’s Executive Committee. While at LDC, she launched the sustainability-focused investment fund management group, Louis Dreyfus Ventures, and led the company’s venture and growth equity investment activities in the ag-tech and food technology industries. She also worked for over 13 years at the Blackstone Group, serving as Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of the London office for Hedge Fund Solutions.
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 Eshak Weldon said:
“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.”