Former Ralph Lauren Chief Sustainability Officer Devon Leahy Joins L Catterton: 4 Things to Know

Consumer investment firm L Catterton has hired Ralph Lauren veteran Devon Leahy as global head of sustainability. Here are four things to know about L Catterton's business focus and sustainability strategy, and Leahy's experience.

1. Business Scope and Scale: L Catterton, founded in 1989, is based in Greenwich, Connecticut. The investment firm manages roughly $35 billion in equity capital across its private equity, credit and real estate portfolios. L Catterton employs more than 200 investment and operating professionals across 17 offices.

2. Sustainability Strategy: L Catterton formalized an ESG policy in 2015. The company published Annual Impact Reports for 2022, 2021 and 2020. We don't know if impact reports for 2023 and 2024 are forthcoming. Many of the existing reports focus heavily on sustainability partnerships and portfolio company milestones. But we don't know if L Catterton has set specific carbon reduction targets and associated deadlines for its own business.

3. Global Head of Sustainability Role: In her new role, Devon Leahy will "support portfolio companies across the L Catterton platform with a range of sustainability-focused projects and value-creation initiatives," the company said.

Leahy previously was global head of sustainability at Ralph Lauren for five years. Earlier, she held key strategy and sustainability positions at Etsy and Walmart.

4. Executive Perspectives: In a prepared statement, L Catterton Global Co-CEO Scott Dahnke said: "Sustainability considerations have played a key role in our business since our founding 35 years ago. As we continue to strengthen our resources and capabilities to support the growth of our firm and the mission-driven brands with which we partner, Devon's expertise will be invaluable in helping our teams create, unlock, and capture more value. We are excited to welcome her to the L Catterton team as we continue to build on our commitment to drive sustainability across the global consumer landscape."

Added Michael Chu, global Co-CEO of L Catterton: "Consumers are increasingly focused on the social and environmental impact of the products they consume and the brands they interact with. We are confident Devon's experience and insight will position us to best support the brands and management teams we partner with around the world."

Concluded Leahy: "I am pleased to join L Catterton in this important global role. Having worked with numerous leading consumer brands across the fashion, retail, and technology sectors to develop and execute impact-oriented sustainability strategies, I am excited to bring my expertise and insight to the L Catterton portfolio, which includes some of the most important and iconic category-leading consumer brands in the world."

Chief Sustainability Officers: Why Technology Partners Should Care

By 2027, 25% of Global 2000 companies will have assigned a chief sustainability officer (CSO) responsible for meeting their organization’s ESG goals and making ESG-related IT purchasing decisions, according to IDC.

The bottom line: Technology partners need to extend their sales, marketing, engagement and support strategies to successfully fulfill those CSO customer needs, Sustainable Tech Partner believes.