Kevin Brennan
Capital Raising and Investor Relations.
Kevin Brennan
Capital Raising and Investor Relations.
San Francisco, California
Overview
Work Experience
Associate Partner
2022 - 2023
Antler is an early-stage (pre-seed) venture capital platform with the mission to back exceptional founders globally. Antler runs in-residence Founder programs - in 26 countries - to offer entrepreneurs co-founder matching, business model validation, initial capital injection and opportunity for follow-on funding. As at June 2023, Antler has helped build more than 850 startups across a wide range of industries, and aims to back more than 6,000 by 2030. I worked to expand Antler's investor network expansion into US and Canada institutions, having been invited into Antler's expert advisory network in 2020 (for carbon markets Founders, continuing to be an advisor to Maya Climate - www.maya-climate.com). I contributed to Antler Insights market commentary with two White Papers "Venture Investing In The Downturn" (November 2022) and "What's the Future of VC?" (June 2023).
Principal
2013 - 2022
Equilibrium builds and manages sustainability-driven real asset investment strategies in food & agriculture, water, waste and energy sectors that are part of the energy and carbon transition infrastructure. I was part of the Capital Markets team that between 2014 and 2021 raised $2.5 billion across agriculture (permanent crops and controlled environment mega-greenhouses) and infrastructure (water, waste and renewable energy investments). I worked in particular with large institutional investors in the US and Canada.
Managing Director
2010 - 2013
Terra Global Capital is a specialist asset manager in forest and agricultural carbon projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I worked with Founder Leslie Durschinger, a leading practitioner in agriculture and forest carbon finance, to launch and build the asset management function alongside project origination and development core business. Today, I continue to be a member of Terra's Technical Advisory Board and on the Investment Committee of the Terra Bella Fund. My work at Terra included: - Building network of investor relationships across European and US institutional investors, driven by investment opportunities from climate mitigation projects. - Structuring and capital raising for Terra's private equity-type carbon project finance vehicle, the Terra Bella Fund. We won a $40 million anchor investment from OPIC, the US Development Finance Bank, in a competitive tender of 88 proposals advised by Cambridge Associates. - Originating and negotiating Terra's first carbon emission reductions purchase agreements, including sale of emission reduction offsets to Microsoft and major European utility. - Building Terra's fund model for the Terra Bella Fund. - Co-authoring White Papers on financial structuring and market framework development for emissions reductions markets from forest and agricultural carbon sectors.
Portfolio Manager
2008 - 2010
With Egbert Liese, launched and assisted portfolio management of NAT-CAP, the Natsource Carbon Asset Pool, a €130m carbon investment fund. We signed 33 emission reduction purchase agreements in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in China and Eastern Europe, on behalf of EU utility and government clients.
Global Product Specialist
2006 - 2008
ABN AMRO acquired International Asset Management (see prior entry) in 2006, and I was appointed Global Product Specialist responsible for training and driving capital raising from ABN AMRO's Northern European Private Institutional and Wealth Management clients.
Capital Raising and Investor Relations
2005 - 2008
Global Product Specialist responsible for driving global sales and marketing of IAM funds of hedge funds through institutional and private client channels of ABN AMRO Asset Management. Client relationship management responsibilities within $2bn fund of hedge fund manager included $400m insurance sector client and launch of Spanish joint venture partnership. Initiated internal cross-team knowledge sharing program.
Project Finance, Energy and Natural Resources
2004 - 2005
Drawing on environmental management and sustainability academic and consulting experience, I represented HSBC in the first Equator Principles Working Group, negotiating these lending standards with International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) in 2004-5. Led transaction due diligence, financial model development and review on UK public-private and private finance initiative transaction and international energy projects. I also worked on the securitization of HSBC's project finance portfolio and completed sector reviews in UK waste and German power generation sectors.
Strategy Consultant - Corporate Sustainability
2002 - 2003
Developed frameworks for assessing the financial value of corporate sustainability initiatives, focusing on financial sector. My work and implementation modeling contributed to themes in Ecos' August 2002 White Paper "Single Bottom Line Sustainability: How A Value Centered Approach to Corporate Sustainability Can Pay Off for Shareholders and Society". Clients include IAG, ANZ Bank, AGL, BHP Steel.
Analyst
1998 - 2002
3-year Analyst Training Programme training in security analysis and capital raising, including Chartered Financial Analyst certification (all first-time passes). Represented Graduate Analysts in Senior Management Working Group reviewing Graduate Analyst Training Program. Received senior management letter of commendation for this work, and initiated MLIM's first Sales and Marketing Graduate Analyst Program.
Education
BCom
1994 - 1998
Master of Environmental Management
2002 - 2003
Chartered Financial Analyst
1998 - 2001
Academic, Music & All-Rounder Scholar
1989 - 1994