News & Analysis

17Capital taps Goldman for first ESG appointment

Claire Hedley most recently led GSAM’s ESG client strategy group in London and was responsible for the asset manager’s client facing and commercial ESG efforts across EMEA.

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17Capital has made its first ESG focused appointment, hiring Claire Hedley from Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Claire Hedley 17Capital
Hedley joins as 17Capital’s first ESG-focused hire

Hedley joins as ESG director and will report to 17Capital managing partner and co-founder Augustin Duhamel, according to a statement shared with Secondaries Investor.

Hedley most recently headed up GSAM’s ESG client strategy group in London and was responsible for the asset manager’s client facing and commercial ESG efforts across EMEA. Having joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in 2007, Hedley also held roles in the bank’s alternative investments and manager selection group.

A spokesperson confirmed Hedley is 17Capital’s first ESG-focused internal hire. The firm appointed Myriam Vander Elst to its supervisory board in 2020 to support its growth and commitment to ESG issues, it said in a statement at the time.

Duhamel said Hedley’s appointment marks an important milestone for London-headquartered 17Capital.

“ESG is now central to our firm and Claire’s extensive experience and expertise will allow us to further incorporate ESG across our investments and client solutions,” he said.

In April, the firm closed on its debut credit fund focused on NAV lending raising €2.6 billion after almost two years on the fundraising trail. The fund will lend via around 10-15 transactions and has around $500 million in discretionary co-investment capital, in addition to non-discretionary co-investment capital, 17Capital managing partner Pierre-Antoine de Selancy told Secondaries Investor at the time.

Europe and emerging markets firms are ahead of their North American peers when it comes to ESG policies and practices, according to data from fund investor PineBridge Investments. The firm received responses from 59 managers, predominantly in the mid-market, in H1 2022.

All of the responding managers in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa reported having ESG policies in place, versus 80 percent in North America, affiliate title New Private Markets reported last week. Similarly, 85 percent of European managers incorporate ESG metrics into their corporate reporting, versus just 47 percent in North America and 43 percent in Asia.