Octopus Investments (Octopus), an investment manager investing in the people, ideas and industries that will change the world, has today announced the appointment of Lieven Debruyne as Executive Vice Chair.
This is a newly created role with a focus on creating a scalable and industry-leading investment platform for institutional investors globally, in alternative asset classes across venture capital, sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy, real estate, healthcare and smaller listed companies.
Lieven has a long-established career in asset management, including 20 years at Schroders Investment Management. His career at Schroders spanned roles in Hong Kong, including Chief Executive of the Asia Pacific region, and London, as Global Head of Distribution and member of the Group Management Committee. In the latter roles, he was responsible for leading on the strategy and growth of the institutional, retail and wealth management businesses. Lieven also served on the Board of Greencoat Capital, the investment manager to Greencoat UK Wind, the leading listed renewable infrastructure trust. Most recently Lieven has worked as a Senior Advisor with the Boston Consulting Group, providing consulting expertise in the firm’s financial institution practice, focusing on private markets, asset and wealth management.
At Octopus, Lieven will take responsibility for establishing a market-leading capital raising platform focused on growing its institutional client base globally, a key part of the growth strategy for the business. Additionally, he will focus on expanding the firm’s existing investment capabilities by developing new strategies with high growth potential, which will allow the firm to deploy more capital into its impact driven funds. This will enable Octopus to grow the company’s assets under management from its current base of £13.5bn* towards the £50 billion it aims to raise.
Simon Rogerson, Co-Founder and Group CEO of Octopus, said:
“Institutional investors hold an immense amount of power in today’s world. The decisions they make in allocating the capital of the families, organisations, pension members and citizens they support, can have a profound impact on the society and environment we live in and what we’ll leave behind for future generations. At Octopus, we believe that investing should no longer solely be focused on numbers on a page, but meaningful and empowering investments that represent investors’ values and beliefs.
“We’re creating a platform for investors who believe their money can be a force for good, investing across three themes: empowering people, revitalising healthcare and building a sustainable planet. We needed a leader with the values, vision, network and ambition to make that platform a reality, and we’ve found that in Lieven. He brings decades of experience working with the world’s institutional investors, but importantly, shares our belief that how a company behaves is just as important as what it does.”
Lieven Debruyne said:
“I have long been impressed how Octopus has helped shape solutions that aim to tackle some of society’s biggest challenges. Through its investment strategies and portfolio of group companies, Octopus is in a truly unique position to drive innovation. It can deliver the investment propositions pension funds, insurers, corporates and wealth managers the world over are looking to increasingly allocate capital to. Driving the development of the investment and capital raising platform that can meet this demand is incredibly exciting.
“Ultimately the world’s biggest challenges are going to provide the biggest investment opportunities, but substantially more capital is needed if we are to make progress at the pace required. Institutional investors have an ever-bigger obligation and desire to move their investments in this direction. Now is an important point in time for Octopus to genuinely capitalise on this large and rapidly growing opportunity.”
-Ends-