Preqin appoints head of ESG

Preqin has named Jaclyn Bouchard as head of ESG.

She joins from S&P Global, where she worked for almost 10 years, most recently as director of ESG & sustainable finance products within its global ratings division. In this role, she spearheaded the development of S&P’s ESG products. She initially joined the firm in 2013 as manager of global ESG & corporate sustainability and rose through the ranks to more senior ESG-related roles until she reached her most recent position.

In her new role based in Preqin's London office, Bouchard is responsible for further developing Preqin’s ESG product suite, as well as working with external stakeholders globally to support the alternative assets industry to navigate a complex and ever-changing ESG reporting landscape.

Bouchard’s appointment is part of the firm’s wider strategy to ramp up its efforts to provide quality ESG data at scale for private markets. 

According to a recent Preqin survey, two thirds of fund managers noted the lack of high-quality, consistent ESG data was the main challenge to implementing an ESG policy. A further 43% of respondents cited confusion over terminology, while 32% noted a lack of knowledge or expertise are prime barriers to creating comprehensive ESG policies. 

In a bid to address these challenges, Preqin launched ESG Solutions in November 2020. The data solution, which claims to be the first of its kind, aims to capture, analyse and display ESG risk exposure and transparency data from across the alternatives sector.

“ESG is transforming how institutional investors source and select alternative asset funds, and there are still challenges around adoption, scoring and benchmarking,” said Mark O’Hare, founder and CEO of Preqin. “Jaclyn’s invaluable experience and expertise will help us tackle those challenges with the most comprehensive ESG data in the sector and advance the adoption of ESG in the private markets.”