PERSEFONI ANNOUNCES FORMER U.S. SEC ACTING CHAIR AND COMMISSIONER ALLISON HERREN LEE JOINS ITS SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY BOARD
TEMPE, AZ: May 10, 2023 – Persefoni, a leading Climate Management & Accounting Platform (CMAP) for enterprises and financial institutions, today announced former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Acting Chair and Commissioner Allison Herren Lee has joined its Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB).
During her time as Acting Chair, Commissioner Lee brought environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues to the forefront of the agency's agenda, and specifically worked to meet investors’ demand for material climate disclosures. She launched a program during her tenure as Acting Chair that included extensive public outreach and a request for public comment related to climate-related disclosures, which laid the foundation for the subsequent climate disclosure proposal pending before the SEC. She created an ESG Taskforce in the Commission’s Division of Enforcement, and launched an investor education program related to ESG investment risks, among other critical initiatives. Prior to her role as Acting Chair and Commissioner, she spent over a decade at the SEC, including as counsel to Commissioner Kara Stein and as Senior Counsel in the Division of Enforcement’s Complex Financial Instruments Unit.
“Allison is a global leader in addressing climate risk as financial risk within the public markets; I can think of no one better to advise Persefoni and our clients/partners through upcoming climate disclosure regulation,” said Kentaro Kawamori, CEO & Co-Founder of Persefoni. “The insight and relationships she has formed during her time at the SEC will be vital as we continue to guide our clients on their journey to compliance. We are excited to welcome her on board.”
“Allison has been a driving force in providing investors in the US markets with the information they need about companies’ climate-related risks. Before it was popular to speak about climate change as a financial risk, Allison was speaking out and working to bring investors the information they have long been asking for” remarked Kristina Wyatt, Persefoni’s Deputy General Counsel and Chief Sustainability Officer.
Commenting on her new role, Commissioner Lee said: “I am incredibly fortunate to be joining Persefoni’s Sustainability Advisory Board to advance climate disclosure and promote greater transparency and accountability in this space. Sustainability continues to be a complex topic for many businesses, particularly around regulation, and I admire the work Persefoni is doing. I hope that my skills and experience at the SEC will help further Persefoni’s goal of providing timely solutions to businesses across the globe.”
Commissioner Lee joins the SAB alongside industry experts including Robert Eccles, a professor at the University of Oxford who was founding Chair of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (now merged into the ISSB/IFRS); Paul Dickinson, founding Chair of CDP, and Kristina Wyatt, Chief Sustainability Officer of Persefoni. Her role will be to advise Persefoni’s board and executive team on best-in-class climate disclosure standards and likely regulatory shifts, and on the integration of sustainability reporting into corporate and investment management.
“There is no better time for Allison to join the sustainability advisory board than now. I know that she will provide critical insights and expertise that will add great value to the SAB. We are delighted to welcome her and very much looking forward to working with her,” said Robert Eccles, a SAB co-chair.
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About Persefoni
Persefoni’s Climate Management & Accounting Platform (CMAP) provides businesses, financial institutions, and governmental agencies the software fabric for managing their organization’s climate-related data, disclosures, and performance with the same level of rigor and confidence as their financial reporting systems. The company’s software enables users to simplify the calculation of their carbon footprint, identify decarbonization strategies and perform climate trajectory modeling aligned to temperature rise scenarios set forth by the Paris Agreement, and benchmark their impact by region, sector, and/or peer groups.
For press contact:
Anna Maldonado
press@persefoni.com
