
Since 2003, we’ve enabled aspirational businesses to create real change by embedding impactful, purpose-led, global leaders in the boardroom.
Our vision for a more sustainable future drives us - we recognise the difference the right people make. After all, businesses don’t create change; people do. With a deep understanding of your ambitions, we find and develop the executive talent your business needs to build resilience, adapt and tackle climate change.
Why Acre?
An Established Network
Sustainability has been our only focus since 2003. What does that mean for you? Our network of purpose-driven leaders is expansive and truly unique.
We know the right people to drive your business forward; that are passionate about tackling systemic issues and realise the commercial benefits of purposeful leadership.
At the intersection of corporate, investment, NGOs, academia and the public sector - we have a track record of sourcing impactful C-Suite leaders.

At the Forefront of Change
We don’t just have experience finding the right people for new and emerging roles - we’ve been supporting our clients to design those roles, for 20 years.
Acre is proud to have had a founding role in shaping the face of sustainability in business; from SME firms scaling rapidly and providing impactful climate-focussed solutions, to larger corporates seeking to transition effectively. Acre is a party to the transition of sustainability into a boardroom agenda, and we know how to support you.

Unmatched Service and Expertise
The depth of knowledge and passion of our Executive Search specialists is what makes Acre a truly great partner.
The way we operate means that we don’t just deliver a shortlist – we care, and we want your leaders to have an impact.
We’ll ask questions, challenge, and advise on the best way to facilitate sustainable change across your organisation, incorporating both purpose and profit into your future.
Meet the Team
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Ian Povey-Hall
ED, Global Head of Sustainable Finance & Impact Investing
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Ben Flint
Director - Sustainable Real Estate & Interim Recruitment
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Tanith Allen
Director - Sustainable Infrastructure & Manufacturing
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Catherine Harris
Director of Sustainable Business, North America
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Sofia Benmouffok
Director - Sustainable Finance & Impact Investing | Energy & Climate Technologies - Americas
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Chloë Hunt
Director of Research & Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Lead
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Helen Pradas-Page
Client Director - ESG, Sustainability & Impact for Private Markets & Real Assets
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Greg Brittian
Head of Sustainable FMCG Recruitment
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Rufus Bullough
Head of Sustainable Technology Recruitment
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Ricardo Pengel
Head of CR & Sustainability - Benelux
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Nancy Schurig
Principal Consultant - Energy & Climate Change - Europe
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Dulce Flores
Principal Consultant - Private Markets & Real Assets - Europe
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Elisabeth Tengbergen
Principal Consultant - Sustainable Business
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What Our Clients Say
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I am honoured, and humbled, by the task at hand and the responsibilities ahead as the Executive Director at the ICI. Thank you, Harco. It was my pleasure to participate in this process, especially considering the outcome. Thanks again for the support, guidance, advice and professionalism through the steps of what was also for me, an excellent learning process.
Executive Director
International Cocoa Initiative
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Ian was a pleasure to work with - really plugged into the sustainable finance space and opportunities there. Very supportive through the recruitment process. I highly recommend.
Ingrid Holmes, Executive Director
Green Finance Institute
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There’s no doubt that Acre is the best when it comes to recruiting sustainability professionals. This is partly down to the high-calibre of candidates they find - but also because they take the time to understand the role, the requirements, and the business to find the perfect match.
Head of Corporate Responsibility
Sky
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Acre have provided two high quality senior interim hires to our FTSE250 Sustainability Team in the past nine months.
Faced with a fast turnaround request from us, our consultant Tanith understood the brief swiftly and accurately, and supplied us with a pool of well qualified, and well-matched, candidates. Both hires have been excellent in-post, so I could comfortably recommend Acre's services and in particular Tanith's support.
Group Head of Corporate Responsibility
First Group
Featured Content
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The Future of the CSO | Episode 1 | Aditya Birla Group
Over the last 3 months, Acre has teamed up with Mike Barry, previous Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) for Marks and Spencer, to interview Sustainability leaders across the world to unpack the current and future role of the CSO. Each week, ‘The Future of the CSO’ series will bring you a new interview with a Sustainability leader who will share their insights into how the role has changed, how it will continue to evolve, the skillset required and the challenges that will be faced. This week's episode is with Deeksha Vats, Chief Sustainability Officer for Aditya Birla Group, who has over 25 years of experience across a multitude of sectors and is at the forefront of the sustainability agenda in India.
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The Future of the CSO | Episode 1 | Aditya Birla Group
Over the last 3 months, Acre has teamed up with Mike Barry, previous Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) for Marks and Spencer, to interview Sustainability leaders across the world to unpack the current and future role of the CSO. Each week, ‘The Future of the CSO’ series will bring you a new interview with a Sustainability leader who will share their insights into how the role has changed, how it will continue to evolve, the skillset required and the challenges that will be faced. This week's episode is with Deeksha Vats, Chief Sustainability Officer for Aditya Birla Group, who has over 25 years of experience across a multitude of sectors and is at the forefront of the sustainability agenda in India.
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The Future of the CSO | Episode 2 | Vodafone
In this week's instalment of the 'Future of the CSO' series, we were joined by Dorothée D'Herde, Head of Sustainable Business at the Vodafone Group. Currently leading the sustainability team at Vodafone, her aim is to work with colleagues across the company to deliver their purpose - Digital Society, Inclusion & Planet.
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The Future of the CSO | Episode 2 | Vodafone
In this week's instalment of the 'Future of the CSO' series, we were joined by Dorothée D'Herde, Head of Sustainable Business at the Vodafone Group. Currently leading the sustainability team at Vodafone, her aim is to work with colleagues across the company to deliver their purpose - Digital Society, Inclusion & Planet.
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Outcomes Aligned Incentive Structures for Investment Managers
For this roundtable, and subsequent whitepaper summarising the discussion, we assembled representatives from asset owners, investment managers, family offices, foundations, private equity groups and a responsible remuneration specialist to discuss the potential for outcomes-based investment products to offer an opportunity for investment managers to deliver greater value for their clients.
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Outcomes Aligned Incentive Structures for Investment Managers
For this roundtable, and subsequent whitepaper summarising the discussion, we assembled representatives from asset owners, investment managers, family offices, foundations, private equity groups and a responsible remuneration specialist to discuss the potential for outcomes-based investment products to offer an opportunity for investment managers to deliver greater value for their clients.
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Acre Impact Stories: Louise Kjellerup Roper
Louise Kjellerup Roper sits down with Acre to discuss the impact and challenges of her first six months in her role as Non-Executive Director at Volans, which she found with the help of Catherine Harris, Principal Consultant.
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Recognising the Impact of our Investments - A Popular Choice?
Driven by a triple helix of change – environmental, regulatory and social – demand from investors for products which demonstrate tangible positive impact is rising rapidly. How is regulatory pressure affecting this growing market, and how can the investment industry capitalise on the opportunities it presents?
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Recognising the Impact of our Investments - A Popular Choice?
Driven by a triple helix of change – environmental, regulatory and social – demand from investors for products which demonstrate tangible positive impact is rising rapidly. How is regulatory pressure affecting this growing market, and how can the investment industry capitalise on the opportunities it presents?
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The Social Board
For many company boards, tackling the unmet needs of society is an aspiration that can be delegated to Corporate Social Responsibility teams. They see government as primarily responsible for addressing challenges such as climate change and mental illness, leaving boards to focus on shareholder value. This paper argues otherwise; the relationship between business and society has reached a point where the voice of society needs to be introduced explicitly as a stakeholder in the boardroom.
Service Overview
When should you engage Acre on an Executive Search?
Our team will be able to support you with Executive Committee or Non-Executive Director level roles where a comprehensive, whole of market search and an impactful, purpose-driven leader is required.
What positions can Acre’s Executive Search Team support with?
Our Executive Search team focuses on enabling change by establishing impactful people within your business to drive the sustainability, corporate affairs, safety and responsible investment agenda.
Roles we focus on:
- Chief Executive Officers
- Board of Directors
- Chief Sustainability Officers
- Corporate Affairs & Public Affairs
We have experience in appointing individuals as well as entire teams; from Boards and CEOs to Directors, VPs and other senior executives.
What types of business does Acre’s Executive Search Team support?
Our work isn’t limited by sector or location; our focus is on working with impactful, ambitious businesses with the potential to drive real change. We have appointed senior executives within larger corporates seeking to transition effectively, to SME firms scaling rapidly and providing impactful climate-focused solutions.
Why should you choose Acre over another Executive Search firm?
We will deliver all of the traditional elements you expect when working with an Executive Search firm, but our true value lies in the additional specialist insight that comes from 20 years of focus on Sustainability, Sustainable Finance, and Sustainable Energy.
The knowledge, capabilities and experience of the people delivering your search, and the access that provides to our network, make us the go-to partner for Executive Search for progressive businesses.
What does Acre's Executive Search service provide?
Leadership assessments
Driving real change in purpose-driven professions takes more than technical expertise. From our experience in developing leaders in over 100 market-leading organisations, we understand the skills and behaviours required to drive this change.
Our comprehensive data analytics platform, developed in-house, encompasses data from 2,000 purpose-driven professionals to benchmark your team against; enabling informed decision making. We will utilise our data to ensure you’re finding the right match for your organisation.
We include a leadership assessment, feedback session, and onboarding coaching as standard in our executive search processes.
A bespoke marketing campaign
Bringing the right people into your business has never been more competitive, or more challenging. To attract a progressive leader into your business, it is critical that you bring your organisation’s journey towards a resilient and impactful future to life, in a way that sets the scene for a future where sustainability is embedded into the business’ DNA.
Our specialist marketing team can produce highly professional and visually appealing dual-branded materials to help bring your brand to life and to position your business as an employer of choice. We’ll work with your marketing and brand teams to ensure we're getting your messaging right, and will provide materials in PDF format, or hosted on our website via a dedicated landing page.
A dedicated Research Team, and all of the information you need to make the right decision
Our Research Team will work on your behalf to find the needle-in-a-haystack person you’re looking for. We will provide you with detailed documentation which outlines the breadth of the search, including market maps, salary benchmarking and detailed feedback, reinforced by the expertise and organisational support to drive an efficient, precise and sophisticated search.
Where can Acre carry out an Executive Search?
From our offices in London, Amsterdam, New York and soon to be Asia-Pacific, we can support you anywhere you are in the world. Our teams have a global network, reach and expertise.
Engage Acre on an impactful Executive Search.
Contact us at mail@acre.com to arrange an initial conversation.
Insights
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corporate affairs communications recruitment
executive search US
02 March 2022
Five Traits a Corporate Affairs Director Should Possess When Taking on Sustainability/ESG Duties
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executive search US
executive search
18 February 2022
ITA Appoints a new CEO to Deliver a Future Vision for the Tin Industry
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sustainability recruitment
executive search US
11 January 2022
Hiring an Executive Director for the International Cocoa Initiative
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