Schroders and BlueOrchard, a leading impact investment pioneer and member of the Schroders Group, are celebrating two of their senior managers being recognised among the most influential women in private markets.
Sophie van Oosterom, Schroders Capital’s Global Head of Real Estate, and Maria Teresa Zappia, Chief Blended Finance and Impact Management Officer and Deputy CEO of BlueOrchard, were both named among Private Equity International’s (PEI) Women of Influence in Private Markets List 2022.
The annual list, which was first launched in 2021, was highly competitive with just ten nominations secured for each asset class out of 600 industry nominations. The winners were selected by PEI’s editorial teams. Sophie van Oosterom was selected in the real estate category, while Maria Teresa Zappia was recognised in the cross asset class category.
The growth and development of Schroders Capital’s real estate business was highlighted in Sophie van Oosterom’s nomination, while Maria Teresa Zappia’s leaderhip in impact management and blended finance was highlighted. It is the second consecutive year that Sophie van Oosterom and Maria Teresa Zappia have been named in this list.
Schroders Capital places a strong focus on promoting diversity. Other female leaders who have joined Schroders Capital’s leadership team in recent years include Chantale Pelletier, as Global Head of Infrastructure, Natalie Howard as Head of Real Estate Debt and Nicole Kidd as Head of Private Debt for APAC. These appointments have all supported the ambitious growth strategy of Schroders Capital.
Georg Wunderlin, Global Head of Private Assets, Schroders Capital, commented:
“It is a fantastic achievement to have two women recognised by this influential list. Sophie and Maria Teresa have rightly received the accolades for their work across real estate and impact investing. More broadly, at Schroders Capital we regard diversity and inclusion as a key success factor and we see it as our mission to promote inclusive, holistic, and sustainable business practices in private markets.”
Maria Teresa Zappia, Chief Blended Finance and Impact Management Officer and Deputy CEO, BlueOrchard Finance, commented:
“The partnership between BlueOrchard and Schroders has been a unique opportunity to expand our outreach and best-in class expertise in sustainability and impact investing to new sectors and to developed markets. The private market platform of Schroders Capital across teams and investment solutions is a terrific way to integrate sustainability and impact at scale, and we have been entrusted to follow the same level of rigour by embedding sustainability in each stage of the investment process.”