General Atlantic Announces Appointment of Lance Uggla as CEO of BeyondNetZero
General Atlantic, an American growth equity firm, announced the appointment of Lance Uggla as Chief Executive Officer of its climate growth equity venture, BeyondNetZero, which offers support to companies that are developing innovative solutions to achieve and exceed net-zero emissions goals.
Uggla is a global business leader and entrepreneur who recently served as Chairman and CEO of IHS Markit before joining BeyondNetZero. He founded Markit in 2003 to enhance data accuracy and transparency in financial markets.
He grew the company organically, and through acquisition, the company's revenues in 2021 were $4.7 billion, and it employed 15,000 people. Recently in February 2022, IHS Markit announced a merger with S$P Global that valued it at $44 billion. He also served and held executive positions at The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Toronto Dominion Bank.
BeyondNetZero is a platform that combines investing experience, entrepreneurial leadership, industrial expertise, and the investment approach of General Atlantic. The platform focuses on four central themes: decarbonisation, energy efficiency, resource conservation and emissions management.
General Atlantic's unique platform aims for high-quality and high growth investments. The venture has made investments of over $400 million in three companies—80 Acres Farms, RoadRunner, and o9 Solutions.
Bill Ford, Chairman and CEO of General Atlantic, commented: “We are incredibly excited to have Lance as part of the General Atlantic team as a driving force in our climate investing efforts. I have known Lance for over 15 years and have long respected his leadership and vision in finance and climate, and he brings a unique perspective and powerful insights on the opportunities on the road to net zero. With experts now estimating that it will require $3.5 trillion in annual investment across all sectors for us to reach net-zero targets, Lance and General Atlantic’s BeyondNetZero team have a critical role to play in backing promising technologies, scaling high-quality companies that are making a climate impact now, and helping to fuel innovation and entrepreneurship-focused on net-zero solutions.”
Uggla said: "I’m delighted to join BeyondNetZero and support entrepreneurs around the world who are harnessing the power of technology to address the global climate crisis. Growth investors can play a pivotal role in advancing the tools and business models that will make the net-zero transition possible, and I’m energized by the opportunity to work with Lord John Browne, our partners at General Atlantic and an incredible team of seasoned executives and climate experts who share that vision. As someone who built an intelligence platform that helps the business make more informed decisions, including on environmental and sustainability matters, I’ve seen first-hand how lasting progress can be accelerated when the right resources are in place."
“In the months and years ahead, I look forward to building on BeyondNetZero’s momentum as we continue to identify entrepreneurs who are on the front lines of innovation in this area and partner with them to scale their solutions.”
Lord John Browne of Madingley, Co-Founder and Chairman of BeyondNetZero, and Senior Advisor to General Atlantic, said: "It is a pleasure to welcome Lance to BeyondNetZero. Having built one of the world’s most successful information companies, Lance is an excellent entrepreneur and exemplifies the kind of founder we’re looking to back. His network and experience, particularly in identifying high-growth businesses and applying big data tools to the measurement and management of ESG considerations, will be critical as we build out BeyondNetZero’s strategy and aim to make an important contribution to addressing global climate change.”
