Sparring Capital is strengthening and expanding the scope of its ESG approach by appointing Charlotte Allard as Sustainability Officer.
Charlotte, a graduate of EDHEC Business School, began her career in investment banking (Groupama Banque, Degroof Petercam) and then in lower midcap Private Equity (M80 Partners), where she developed a deep understanding of value creation challenges in SMEs. Convinced that SMEs are key players in facing environmental and societal challenges, Charlotte then trained in methods and tools for defining and implementing an operational sustainability strategy in businesses. With a certification from Centrale Supelec, several training courses in Sustainable Development and experience in the non-profit sector (including among others Fresque du Climat and Atelier 2tonnes), Charlotte has built expertise in climate and sustainability issues throughout the value chain of companies, as well as in diversity and inclusion.
As Sustainability Officer, Charlotte will oversee the implementation of ESG strategies for Sparring Capital and for Pechel, Sparring Capital’s subsidiary responsible for managing the “Responsible Growth” fund, which is currently being raised. She will work on regulatory issues and their integration in both investment processes and reporting. Charlotte’s mission also includes strengthening Sparring Capital’s ESG expert ecosystem and maintaining continuous monitoring of these topics. Beyond pursuing high financial performance, Sparring Capital and Pechel’s primary goal is to provide their investors with the best practices in sustainable finance.
In addition, Charlotte will support investment teams in systematically integrating ESG issues into the value creation of each company in the portfolio. Her missions will include, alongside the companies in the portfolio, supervising ESG audits, supporting construction and implementation building of action plans, establishing decarbonization plans, identifying development opportunities related to better integration of sustainability issues and implementing non-financial performance measurement tools, among others. While business leaders often face a lack of resources and expertise in ESG matters, her experience in supporting SMEs and understanding their organizational challenges will enable the management teams supported by Sparring Capital and Pechel to effectively address their sustainability issues.
After being among the first French lower midcap teams to create the Sustainability Manager function in 2021, Sparring Capital confirms its ambition to be a catalyst for sustainable transformation of SMEs with the recruitment of Charlotte.