J.P. Morgan Announces New Private Equity Team Focused on Sustainable Growth, First Strategy to Target Investments in High Growth Private Climate Companies

NEW YORK, Jan. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- J.P. Morgan Asset Management today announced a new sustainability-focused growth private equity investment team. The team will launch its first private equity strategy focused on investing in growth-stage private companies that drive resource efficiency and climate adaptation solutions across a range of industries. J.P. Morgan is anchoring the team's first investment strategy with an investment of up to $150 million, one of its largest capital commitments ever made into an alternative investment strategy.  The new sustainable growth private equity team sits within J.P. Morgan Private Capital, a growth equity and private credit investment platform established to tap into the continued growth of private markets and significant pre-IPO value creation opportunities.

"As one of the world's largest asset managers, we are committed to playing a leading role in the transition to a low carbon economy and are proud to be part of a firm that has established a 10-year  $2.5 trillion sustainable development target." said George Gatch, Chief Executive Officer, J.P. Morgan Asset Management. "We are in a unique position to leverage our global scale, data science capabilities, and the expertise of our sustainability leaders to source and invest in best-in-class companies driving the sustainable future." 

In support of these efforts, the firm announced that it has hired Tanya Barnes as Co-Managing Partner of the new team alongside Osei Van Horne, bringing significant private market and sustainability investment experience and expertise. Ms. Barnes joins from Blackstone Group where she was head of the Blackstone Impact platform, and previously was a Managing Director in the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs focused on executing direct private equity investments.

J.P. Morgan's Senior Climate Scientist and Sustainability Strategist, Dr. Sarah Kapnick, will serve on the team's investment committee, and engage with portfolio companies, leveraging her unique expertise and background as a climate scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Full biographies are included below.

"We believe we're on the front-end of a once-in-a-generation market opportunity that has the potential to provide both attractive returns for investors and measurable sustainable outcomes for society" said Mr. Van Horne, Co-Managing Partner. "We will harness J.P. Morgan's deep commitment to sustainability, significant big data capabilities, and extensive network with growth stage companies to drive value for our portfolio companies and limited partners."

"I've had the privilege of working with Tanya Barnes in previous roles over the past 14 years and her expertise will prove invaluable as we look to tap into growing investment opportunities in scalable climate technologies across industries," concluded Mr. Van Horne.

"Our new sustainable growth private equity team sits at the intersection of the two investing megatrends of our times – the massive opportunity and innovation required to address the sustainability transition, coupled with the ever-increasing demand from both individual and institutional investors to look beyond public markets," said Brian Carlin, Chief Executive Officer, J.P. Morgan Private Capital. "Tanya Barnes will add significant value to the team, and we look forward to working with her."

JPMorgan Chase is helping advance a sustainable and inclusive economy by helping clients transition to a low-carbon world, supporting the development and scaling of green technologies, and minimizing the environmental impact of its own operations.

Biographies

Tanya Barnes, Co-Managing Partner

Tanya is Co-Managing Partner of Sustainable Growth Private Equity, part of J.P. Morgan Private Capital. Tanya was previously a Managing Director and the Head of Blackstone Impact, an investing platform dedicated to partnering with mission-driven companies and management teams whose products or services address major social and environmental challenges.

Previously, Tanya was a Managing Director in the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs where she focused on executing direct private equity investments for the Principal Investment Area (PIA) and helped to build and run the division's co-investment platform. During her career, she was responsible for all stages of investing: sourcing, diligence, structuring, execution and asset management, as well as serving on the boards of portfolio companies and sector coverage responsibilities for financial services and consumer retail investments. '

Tanya spent the early part of her career at Goldman in the Special Situations Group (SSG) where she invested the firm's proprietary capital in debt and equity transactions for distressed assets and businesses. 

She received an A.B. from Harvard College and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Sarah Kapnick, Senior Climate Scientist and Sustainability Strategist, J.P. Morgan Asset Management

Dr. Sarah Kapnick, Managing Director, is Senior Climate Scientist and Sustainability Strategist for the Asset and Wealth Management (AWM) Strategy & Business Development organization. Dr. Kapnick supports AWM's sustainability and climate action efforts and serves as an advisor on new business and investment opportunities and risks.

Dr. Kapnick joined J.P. Morgan in 2021 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), where she was a climate scientist and Deputy Division Leader on Seasonal to Decadal Variability and Predictability. Her work spanned seasonal climate prediction, mountain snowpack, extreme storms, water security and climate impacts. Dr. Kapnick served as an expert and reviewer for NOAA's Small Business Innovation Research Program, was a member of its Eastern Region Climate Team, sat on the science panel for Climate.gov, and was the NOAA team lead for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration High Mountain Asia Team.

Dr. Kapnick is a member of the American Geophysical Union, American Meteorological Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. Prior to her graduate studies she spent two years as an investment banking analyst with Goldman Sachs covering financial institutions. She received a Ph.D. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences with a Certificate in Leaders in Sustainability from UCLA, and an A.B in Mathematics with a Certificate in Finance from Princeton University.

About J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives & J.P. Morgan Private Capital

J.P. Morgan Private Capital provides customized financing solutions for private companies across the capital structure and is comprised of a growth equity arm and a private credit business that spans corporate lending, distressed lending, special situations, and asset-based lending strategies. J.P. Morgan Private Capital is part of J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives, the alternative investment arm of J.P. Morgan Asset Management. With more than 50 years as an alternatives investment manager, $201 billion in assets under management and more than 700 professionals (as of September 30, 2021), J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives offers strategies across the alternative investment spectrum including real estate, private equity and credit, hedge funds, infrastructure, transportation and liquid alternatives. Operating from offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, our 18 independent alternative investment engines combine specialist knowledge and singular focus with the global reach, vast resources and powerful infrastructure of J.P. Morgan to help meet each client's specific objectives. For more information: jpmorgan.com/am.

SOURCE J.P. Morgan Asset Management