BlackRock Hires Paul Bodnar to Lead Sustainable Investing

Brings Climate Finance Expertise and Extensive Public and Private Sector Experience

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) has hired Paul Bodnar to lead its sustainable investing platform and its global initiative to help clients create more sustainable, more resilient investment portfolios. As Global Head of BlackRock Sustainable Investing (BSI), Bodnar will be responsible for sustainable research, analytics, product development, and integration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations into the investment process.

“Understanding the interplay between public policy, technology and finance is absolutely critical in helping clients invest sustainably,” said Philipp Hildebrand, Vice Chairman of BlackRock. “Paul is universally respected for his intellect, experience and practical approach to solving this urgent and complex issue. His experience in developing both policy and market-based solutions for the financial sector make him an ideal choice to help BlackRock’s clients achieve their net zero ambitions.”

Most recently, Mr. Bodnar was a Managing Director and Chief Strategy Officer at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), an independent non-profit organization working to accelerate the clean energy transition. While at RMI, Mr. Bodnar founded and chaired RMI’s Center for Climate-Aligned Finance, which works with some of the world’s largest financial institutions to enable their transition to net-zero emissions portfolios. He also established initiatives to support green investment in emerging markets, including the Climate Finance Access Network and the Green Bank Design Platform.

Before joining RMI, Mr. Bodnar held a number of climate leadership roles in the U.S. government, including as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Energy and Climate Change at the National Security Council. Mr. Bodnar also held positions at the U.S. Department of State, including as lead negotiator for climate finance and Counselor to the Special Envoy for Climate Change.

Mr. Bodnar played a critical role in the development of Obama Administration climate policies, including the U.S. strategy for the Paris Climate Conference, the historic U.S.-China presidential joint climate announcement of November 2014, the OECD agreement to strictly limit public financing for coal-fired power plants, and the doubling of clean energy research and development budgets by 20 major countries through the Mission Innovation initiative.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Bodnar worked as a Director for Carbon Finance at the $1.2 billion carbon fund managed by London-based Climate Change Capital. He was also co-founder and partner at Vertis Environmental Finance, now one of Europe’s leading environmental commodity brokerage firms.

“I’m thrilled to join BlackRock as it takes major steps in its journey to become the leading sustainable investment firm in the world. BlackRock’s willingness to speak up on the risks of deferred climate action – and the opportunities inherent in the transition to a net zero economy – has brought the issue to the forefront for companies and investors,” said Paul Bodnar. “I look forward to helping BlackRock deliver innovative research, analytics and investment products across both climate risk and the full range of sustainability considerations.”

BlackRock is a global leader in sustainable investing. In January, BlackRock laid out its ambition to help clients prepare their portfolios for a net zero world. As part of those commitments, the firm has committed to publishing the temperature alignment of its assets under management by year end, establishing a heightened scrutiny model for investments that pose a high climate-related risk, and developing leading climate risk analytics through Aladdin Climate, an arm of the firm’s industry-leading Aladdin risk management technology. Through its investment stewardship team, the firm engages with companies that it invests in on behalf of clients on issues that impact long-term financial performance such as preparedness for the net zero transition.

BlackRock is also at the cutting edge of sustainable investing research, drawing on expertise from across the investment teams and the BlackRock Investment Institute to understand the relationship between climate- and sustainability-related factors and investment returns. The firm has also developed investment processes to help clients target the companies that are best positioned to benefit from the energy transition.

The company offers sustainable investment opportunities across active, index, and alternative investments: iShares offers the world’s most extensive suite of sustainable ETFs, LEAF was the first environmentally-aware cash vehicle, we have a flagship Global Impact Fund, and we are one of the world’s largest investors in renewable power through our Global Renewable Power franchise. BlackRock is also working to accelerate the energy transition in emerging markets, having established the Climate Finance Partnership with the French and German governments and three leading U.S. impact charitable organizations.

About BlackRock

BlackRock’s purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology, we help millions of people build savings that serve them throughout their lives by making investing easier and more affordable. For additional information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/corporate | Twitter: @blackrock | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock