Former HP Chief Sustainability Officer Named CEO of Climate Finance Specialist Laconic

Carbon FinTech specialist Laconic Infrastructure Partners Inc. has hired former HP Inc. Chief Sustainability Officer James McCall (pictured above) to succeed Andrew Gilmour as CEO, the company announced.

Laconic, founded in 2021, is based in Chicago. The company specializes in Sovereign Carbon Securities -- a relatively new financial instrument that links sovereign debt (government-issued bonds) to climate and carbon performance.

Laconic works with "global governments to monetize their natural capital assets through the issuance of Sovereign Carbon Securities, unlocking a unique source of permanent foreign direct investment into national economies," the firm asserts.

McCall joins Laconic amid a continued partner and alliance push at the company. CrowdsStrike veteran Jessica Alexander joined Laconic as senior VP of partnerships in February 2025, essentially succeeding Nicola von Schroeter around that time.

Laconic's key relationships include The Commonwealth of the Bahamas, which aligned with Laconic in a quest to become "a full economy net-remover of atmospheric carbon by 2035", according to an April 2025 statement from the commonwealth.

We don't have a feel for Laconic's financial performance.

Laconic CEO James McCall: Executive Experience

McCall has extensive experience in and around the sustainability industry. As senior VP and CSO of HP through February 2024, he developed and led HP's ESG programs across climate, human rights, and digital equity.

During McCall's time at HP, the technology giant expanded its channel partner program to included various sustainability efforts -- such as HP Certified Refurbished Hardware, HOPE Recycling Futures, HP Renew Solutions, and plenty more. Intel veteran Jen Huffstetler ultimately succeeded McCall as HP's CSO.

Earlier, McCall spent 20-plus years at consumer products giant Procter & Gamble. While there, he helped to build and lead P&G's end-to-end supply chain sustainability program, according to the Laconic announcement.

Laconic CEO Transition: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement, Laconic Chairman Joe Niciforo said: “James is an accomplished business leader who brings extensive growth, operational discipline and commercialization experience demonstrated by his management of key Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts across two major Fortune 100 companies. His track record of delivering top and bottom-line growth, while reducing the companies’ absolute carbon footprint, combined with his experience in developing global partnerships, are huge assets for Laconic. James joins us at an integral time where we have built a strong technology platform and secured the initial supply of Sovereign Carbon Securities (SCS) through robust partnerships with Bolivia and The Bahamas.”

Added McCall: “My work at HP and P&G enabled me to tangibly reduce our corporate carbon footprint, product carbon footprint, and enable billions of customers globally to make more sustainable choices at the shelf. This work included multiple nature-based projects that ultimately protected several hundred thousand hectares of forests and critical ecosystems. I am excited to be working with the Laconic team, and to have the opportunity to drive even larger Sovereign country-level partnerships. We’ve seen a significant increase in the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) but have still not reached the scale needed to achieve a global impact. To effectively reduce deforestation and carbon emissions, we need to take the environmental impact of the carbon market and combine it with the size, scale and rigor of the financial market. Laconic’s work with financially tradeable Sovereign Carbon Securities provides the instrument needed to help converge these two markets.”

McCall added, “It’s a privilege to collaborate with Laconic’s employees and strategic partners as we work to create a more sustainable future by helping companies meet their net zero goals and Sovereign nations meet their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)."

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