Macquarie hires ESG expert Kloberdanz as new sustainability chief

Macquarie Asset Management has appointed Kristina Kloberdanz as its new chief sustainability officer.

She joins the asset manager from Mastercard where she led its sustainability strategy and also established herself as a prominent voice in business ESG strategies.

Kloberdanz said that because Macquarie Asset Management “has a central and critical role to accelerate progress towards a more sustainable society, environment and economy”.

She will lead Macquarie’s ambition to invest and manage its $579 billion global portfolio in line with net zero emissions by 2040, and scale the company’s bid to operationalise sustainability and ESG across its investment and asset management processes.

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During her five years at mastercard, Kloberdanz led financial inclusion efforts to bring one billion people into the financial mainstream and helped establish the Mastercard Impact Fund.

Net zero commitment

She also spearheaded the company’s net zero emissions 2040 commitment and also its first sustainability bond.

She has chaired the World Economic Forum’s Trillion Trees US Stakeholder Council, mobilising the private sector to accelerate nature-based solutions.

Prior to Mastercard, she led IBM’s global corporate responsibility strategy.

Kloberdanz said of her new role: “While we have a significant task ahead, particularly as we seek to decarbonise our global portfolio.

"I’m excited and optimistic about the progress and commitments Macquarie has made to its communities, clients, employees and stakeholders.”

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Ben Way, group head of Macquarie Asset Management, said the company wanted “to become a global leader in sustainable asset management, not just because it’s the right thing to do for our communities and the environment, but because we firmly believe that integrating sustainability and ESG drives better investment performance for our clients”.

He said Kloberdanz “will play an important role in driving progress across our sustainability priorities and commitments, ensuring every investment we make is aligned with our vision to deliver positive impact for everyone”.

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