- Verdane, the European specialist growth investor, has announced the appointment of new Partner Dr Erich Becker, a veteran of the sustainable investment. and energy industry.
- Verdane has expanded its decarbonisation team by hiring Christina Levin-Rylander as the Chief Operating Officer for Elevate, Verdane’s team of in-house operational advisors, where she will focus on decarbonisation investments and lead Verdane’s sustainability team.
These senior hires will help Verdane continue to invest in digitalisation and decarbonisation. There is a growing focus on decarbonisation as an investment theme, with over $1.7 trillion invested in clean energy in 2023, including renewable power, nuclear energy, grids, storage, and efficiency improvements.
Dr. Erich Becker has joined Verdane as a Partner in its decarbonisation team in London. He has over 25 years of experience in energy investment and a background in engineering, holding a Doctorate in Applied Thermodynamics and a Masters degree in Business Administration.
Verdane has expanded Elevate, its team of in-house operational experts, by appointing Christina Levin-Rylander as its new Chief Operating Officer focusing on decarbonisation investments from its Stockholm office. The Elevate team provides strategic and operational support on projects and offers portfolio companies access to a network of leading executives as partners.
Before joining Verdane, Levin-Rylander worked at Northvolt and Linde Gas, and held several other executive roles. Levin-Rylander has experience in scaling businesses and managing large international organizations. She holds an MSc in Chemical Engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, in combination with studies at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland and at MIT in the US.
Two more team members have joined Verdane’s Copenhagen and London offices, strengthening the firm’s focus on decarbonisation alongside digitalisation: Senior Decarbonisation Project Director Nikolaj Ager Hamann and Principal Ali Ersöz.
Bjarne Kveim Lie, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Verdane, commented: “We are very happy to have Erich join the Verdane team. By adding Erich, Christina, Nikolaj and Ali to our group of experienced senior talent, we are strengthening our already impressive team of investors and operational experts. We believe strongly that decarbonisation and digitalisation are the most important long-term trends, and Verdane has the deep expertise, global network and consistent track record of success needed to partner with the leading companies in these areas of focus.”
Erich Becker, Partner at Verdane, remarked: “Decarbonisation will be one of the most significant investment themes in the near future, and Verdane has the trustworthiness and culture necessary to support the most exciting companies in this industry as they grow. I am impressed by the way Verdane collaborates with companies, its experienced team, and its consistent 20-year track record of delivering outstanding results. With my new colleagues, I am excited to use my experience to help Verdane become the preferred growth partner for Europe’s top companies that are digitizing and decarbonizing the economy..”
Verdane is dedicated to maintaining a leading position in sustainability and is the first private equity firm globally to commit to neutralizing all future residual carbon emissions with engineered, permanent carbon removals. The firm also ranks in the top 10 purchasers of carbon offsets globally – the only private equity firm to do so.
