Petra Funds Group (“Petra”), a leading independent private funds administrator, announced today that KPMG’s Hugh Simpson joined the firm as Director of ESG in Petra’s London office.
Hugh will be responsible for delivering the firm’s ESG managed services and advisory offering for private market investment funds. Working closely with Petra’s Head of ESG, Charlie Chipchase, the team will continue to build out its comprehensive ESG advisory services that focus on helping fund managers establish scalable and value driving ESG/sustainability strategies that are in step with investor and increasingly stringent regulator expectations.
“At Petra, we are continuing to improve our ESG practice for asset management firms and our continued investment in senior ESG talent is a testament to the demand for our services,” stated Mr. Chipchase. “We are confident that Hugh’s breadth of experience and knowledge of ESG regulation and sustainability best practices will greatly strengthen Petra’s ESG offering and be accretive to Petra’s clients.”
Mr. Simpson joins Petra from KPMG, where he served as the Sustainable and Impact Investors Lead for institutional investors and multinational private equity firms across Europe and North America. In this role, he helped private equity fund managers integrate ESG and launch sustainable and impact-driven funds aligned to the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). Mr.Simpson gained hands-on experience working with top-tier private equity firms through the investment cycle, including strategy, origination, due diligence, monitoring, and reporting to ensure value creation as well as investor and regulatory alignment.
Prior to KPMG, Hugh held roles with Deloitte’s private market funds practice and MSCI, one of the leading providers of ESG investment data.
“The focus of our recruiting efforts on hiring top-tier talent with years of industry experience has differentiated Petra’s service offering,” stated Stephen Coats, Managing Partner and Co-Founder. “Hugh’s proven experience helping fund managers establish ESG programs will be a huge asset to the continued development and refinement of our comprehensive ESG managed services and advisory practice.”
“I’m excited by the opportunity to join Petra at such a pivotal time in the development of the firm’s ESG solution,” stated Mr. Simpson. “I have known Charlie for years and have great admiration for the ESG program he developed at Riverstone. Leveraging our complimentary backgrounds and the wider team’s experience, I am excited to deliver the outsourced ESG solution that private equity and private debt firms have been seeking, focusing on clear, practical, and pragmatic delivery.”
