Fifth Wall Expands Mandate of Its Climate Business to Include Infrastructure

Bolstering its position as the largest asset manager focused on decarbonizing the real estate industry

NEW YORK, Jan. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fifth Wall—the largest asset manager focused on decarbonizing the real estate industry—has hired Alok Sindher as a Partner to expand the mandate of its Climate business to include infrastructure investing alongside the Firm's leading venture and growth equity business. The Firm also added Heather McGeory as Head of Climate & ESG Partnerships to bolster the Firm's ESG and decarbonization strategies.

Fifth Wall's Climate business has rapidly emerged as the largest and most prominent private fund dedicated to decarbonizing the real estate industry, with more than $740M in commitments and over 110 of the world's biggest real estate companies as investors. The Firm has made noteworthy investments in more than twenty Climate companies such as Ascend Elements, Electric Hydrogen, RoadRunner, Runwise, SPAN, and Sealed, to name a few.

Thus far, the Firm's climate investment strategy has been primarily focused on taking non-controlling venture and growth equity stakes in promising startups. With the addition of Sindher, Fifth Wall will now be able to invest in renewable energy infrastructure, decarbonization services, and project finance, in addition to debt securities and majority equity stakes in companies. As a result, Fifth Wall will not only be able to invest in world-changing venture and growth-stage Climate companies, but also finance post-money growth of their technologies, enabling them to scale from laboratory to factory to deployment. 

Prior to joining Fifth Wall, Sindher served as a Partner at The D.E. Shaw Group's renewable energy and infrastructure platform for over a decade. Sindher previously worked for J.P. Morgan's Energy Investment Banking group, and currently serves as an Advisor to The Department of Defense's energy transition and decarbonization efforts and the TomKat Center, a part of the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford University. Based out of San Francisco, Sindher is a Computer Science and Economics graduate of Stanford and holds an MBA from The Wharton School.

"Fifth Wall has firmly established itself as today's leading venture and growth equity investor in emerging technologies to decarbonize the global real estate industry," said Brendan Wallace, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Fifth Wall. "Alok's seasoned track record combined with our new ability to invest in Climate infrastructure is the necessary, synergistic element to accelerating the energy transition for the real estate industry, representing an $18 trillion opportunity." 

McGeory joins from APCO Worldwide where she advised multilateral institutions and corporates on their climate engagement. Prior to APCO, McGeory grew the We Mean Business Coalition, developing corporate commitments on climate change, such as the Science Based Targets Initiative. McGeory is also a former carbon trader. Based out of New York City, McGeory is a graduate of Barnard College and has a Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University.

Real estate is the single largest emitter of CO2, representing 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions as well as energy consumption. Fifth Wall's record $500M Climate Fund announced in July 2022, was the inaugural dedicated fund focused on reducing the industry's immense carbon footprint. The Firm's newfound capability to deploy capital toward infrastructure investments enables it to be a full spectrum investor, accelerating the critical work of decarbonizing the real estate industry over the next twenty years. McGeory will enhance these efforts, working collaboratively with the Firm's strategic investors to expedite their climate commitments.

"I have been consistently amazed at the success and speed with which Fifth Wall has established itself as one of the top investors in Climate," shared Sindher. "I look forward to augmenting the team's venture and growth equity investment capabilities with the infrastructure expertise needed to enable the industry to achieve carbon neutrality."

"Fifth Wall has built an unparalleled consortium of real estate investors, representing the largest network of leading industry participants committed to sustainability in the world," said McGeory. "I couldn't be more excited to help them with their decarbonization goals."

Within its existing Climate practice, Fifth Wall elevated Anastasia Istratovaand Clay Macfarlane to Principals and Cedric Charand Christian Thatcher to Vice Presidents.

Founded in 2016, Fifth Wall, a Certified B Corporation, is the largest venture capital firm focused on technology for the global real estate industry. With approximately $3.2B in commitments and capital under management, Fifth Wall connects many of the world's largest owners and operators of real estate with the entrepreneurs who are redefining the future of the Built World. Fifth Wall is backed by a global mix of more than 110 strategic Limited Partners from more than 15 countries, including BNP Paribas Real Estate, British Land, CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, Hilton, Host Hotels & Resorts, Ivanhoé Cambridge, Kimco Realty Corporation, Lennar, Lowe's Home Improvement, Marriott International, MetLife Investment Management, MGM Resorts, Related Companies, Starwood Capital, Toll Brothers, and others. Fifth Wall believes this consortium represents one of the largest groups of potential partners in the global Built World ecosystem, which can result in transformational investments and collaborations with promising portfolio companies as well as decarbonization technologies. For more info about Fifth Wall, its Limited Partners, and portfolio, visit www.fifthwall.com.

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