28 May 2024, Zurich: South Pole, the leading carbon project expert and climate consultancy, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dame Inga Beale as new Chair of its Board. Dame Inga brings a track record of driving organisational excellence and navigating governance and operational change.
At South Pole, Dame Inga will provide fresh leadership and governance experience, strategic direction, and oversight to ensure the company's long-term success as the carbon markets and corporate sustainability practices mature. Working with new CEO Daniel Klier and the wider executive team, she will help steer the business towards the next stage of growth and innovation.
Her career spans over four decades and includes senior leadership roles at various large organisations, including General Electric, Zurich Insurance, and Lloyd's of London, where she focused on strategy, risk mitigation and regulatory compliance, as well as delivering business transformation plans. Dame Inga made history as the first female CEO of Lloyd's of London, the world's leading insurance and reinsurance marketplace. She now has a portfolio of Non-Executive roles.
Dame Inga's appointment underscores the Board's continued commitment to enhance the company's strategic governance, risk mitigation and regulatory compliance, and its wider stakeholder engagement. This appointment, along with other recent changes, helps to ensure that South Pole is well placed to keep delivering positive climate impact and to lead in the growing sustainability industry.
Dame Inga will replace Christoph Grobbel, following his 9 year tenure as Chair. The Board expresses its sincere gratitude to Christoph for his significant contributions over the years and now looks forward to working alongside him as board director.
Daniel Klier, CEO of South Pole, said: “I'm delighted to welcome Dame Inga during this important period of transformation for our business. Her proven leadership and vision will be instrumental as we chart a course towards sustained growth and, in the long-term, innovate for impact. I am looking forward to working together as we strengthen South Pole's resilience and create positive outcomes for all our stakeholders."
Outgoing Chair, Christoph Grobbel added: “After nearly a decade as Chair and helping to scale the business I am now delighted to be handing over to Dame Inga. She is an exceptional leader, and the company will benefit greatly from her experience and expertise as it moves to its next phase of growth in a maturing sustainability industry."
Dame Inga Beale, Chair of South Pole, added: “I'm thrilled to be joining South Pole on this next stage of its journey as a global leader in climate action. Together with our dedicated executive team and board members, I am committed to helping South Pole deliver on its new strategic direction, fostering a renewed culture of resilience and growth, and delivering positive and sustainable value for the business, our stakeholders and the planet."
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Dame Inga Beale – Full Biography
Dame Inga Beale is the former CEO of Lloyd's of London, where she served for five years before stepping down in 2018. She was the first female CEO in the global insurance and reinsurance market's 325-year history. Beale started her career at Prudential Assurance Company in London and is trained as an underwriter specialising in international treaty reinsurance. She worked for General Electric's insurance division for 14 years, where she held numerous management roles, including leadership roles in Kansas City, Paris and Munich. Beale then led the Swiss reinsurer Converium, where she spearheaded a company turnaround.
In 2008, she joined Zurich Insurance Group as a member of their Group Management Board. The following year she was named the group's Global Chief Underwriting Officer. From 2012-13, she was the Group CEO at the privately held Lloyd's insurer, Canopius.
Beale is a Chartered Insurer and studied economics and accounting at Newbury College, Berkshire, England and was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to the UK economy. Dame Inga has also played a critical role in advancing diversity and inclusion initiatives across the global insurance sector, including the Dive In Festival, the only sector-wide diversity and inclusion festival in the world. She also sits on the board of directors of NN Group N.V., Crawford and Company and Willis Towers Watson plc.
South Pole is the world’s leading carbon project expert and climate consultancy.
Since 2006, South Pole has been a trusted partner and advisor to governments, public sector organisations, and leading businesses on their decarbonisation journeys. South Pole serves over 1,000 clients across the world, and its global team of experts has helped many Fortune 500 businesses implement comprehensive strategies that help build resilience and turn climate action into long-term business opportunities.
In line with its mission to deliver climate impact at scale, South Pole has used the power of markets to help channel climate finance to over 850 projects in more than 50 countries across the globe. To date, these projects have helped reduce over 200 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions, accelerated low-carbon transformations across several sectors, and provided measurable benefits to communities vulnerable to climate change.
The business is supported by world-class investors, including Temasek’s GenZero, Lightrock, Corisol, and Salesforce Ventures.
South Pole is a social enterprise recognised by the World Economic Forum's Schwab Foundation, and committed to becoming a B Corp globally across all of its local entities.
For more information, visit www.southpole.com or follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook
