The transition to a low- or no-carbon economy requires more than just money. It requires a combination of skills and capital that has not traditionally existed in private markets.

This was the view taken by Charles Cherington and Troy Thacker, who in 2017 co-founded Ara Partners to take a "builder" approach to the decarbonisation of industry, with a particular focus on difficult-to-abate sectors. Eight years later, the firm has raised three generations of its flagship private equity fund, and is raising an infrastructure strategy. In doing so it has helped define the emerging category of decarbonisation-focused private markets investors.

"You hear a lot in this world about the missing middle; that's right where we sit; And you know, we're a drop in the bucket," says Cherington in this episode.

"We are taking the hand-off from venture, we are taking proven technologies in companies that need to be industrialised, building the first handful of plants, and when we are done, we'll be handing those companies off to public markets, large strategics or mega-cap private equity."

Join us as we talk to Cherington about the rapid growth of the firm, and what he wishes he had known eight years ago.

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Singapore's Temasek is a large investor in both dollar terms and in terms of its influence in private markets. As of March 2024, it had S$389 billion ($291 billion; €278 billion) in assets under management and has become known for its focus on sustainability and climate investing. For around five years it has had a formalised approach to impact investing.

Leading that formal approach is Benoit Valentin, one of our 50 influencers in sustainable private markets. Valentin is Temasek's head of private equity fund investments, head of partnership solutions, deputy head of EMEA and head of impact investing.

In this episode, Valentin explains the three principles to Temasek's approach, the challenges encountered since launching the programme and the qualities the investor looks for in a GP.

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The concept of employee ownership in private equity – whereby all workers at a portfolio company benefit from a successful exit – has caught on. And it continues to gather pace.

One individual – KKR's co-head of private equity Pete Stavros – has arguably done more than anyone to build momentum behind this trend, through both KKR's portfolio and through Ownership Works, a non-profit he founded with his wife Lindsay.

Now Stavros has taken on an additional mission: to encourage greater use of ESOPS – employee stock ownership programmes – in corporate America.

In this episode, senior editor for ESG and sustainability Toby Mitchenall connects with Stavros to take stock of how the employee ownership revolution was progressing, and find out what is needed to advance the mission and create wealth for working families.

To subscribe and hear more episodes already online, search for The New Private Markets Podcast wherever you like to listen, or click here.