Women in Alternatives: Sustainable Finance in Focus

A reflection on an intimate roundtable hosted by Jersey Finance

There is a particular energy that emerges when you gather a small group of sharp, thoughtful women around a table and give them the space to speak candidly. That was the spirit of the Women in Alternatives Afternoon Tea, held at The Corinthia in London — an exclusive roundtable hosted by Jersey Finance as part of their long-running Women in Alts series.

The setting was elegant, the conversation intimate, and the purpose clear: to bring together senior women from the alternative investments and private-markets ecosystem across Jersey and London to explore the themes shaping our industry, this time with a spotlight on sustainable finance, ESG trends, and long-term value creation.

I was invited to join a group of around ten leaders for this session — an afternoon that proved both enriching and thought-provoking.

Why this roundtable matters

Women in Alts is a series designed to connect female professionals from across private markets, alternatives, and adjacent strategic roles.
It creates precisely the kind of environment our industry needs more of:
spaces where women can share insights openly, compare notes on challenges, and collaborate without the filters that often shape more formal environments.

This session coincided with Jersey Finance’s week-long initiative marking the five-year countdown to the island’s 2030 sustainable-finance vision — tying private-markets leadership to broader questions of ESG, stewardship, and long-term impact.

The timing could not have been more relevant.

Inside the discussion: sustainable finance is no longer a chapter — it’s the whole book

Our conversation moved quickly from definitions to the far more interesting question:
how do financial professionals embed sustainable thinking into decisions that, by nature, must balance risk, growth and long-term value?

A few themes stood out:

1. ESG has matured — and expectations have risen even faster

Across private markets, investors now expect clarity, not rhetoric.
Managers are under pressure to demonstrate genuine progress, not glossy frameworks, and to connect sustainability to financial performance in a way that withstands scrutiny.

2. “Sustainable finance” is leaning into operational reality

Several participants highlighted how far ESG has shifted from policy into practice — influencing due-diligence processes, portfolio monitoring, risk models and the mechanics of investment governance.

This resonated strongly with my own work in consumer and retail: sustainability is no longer a side consideration; it is increasingly a strategic constraint that shapes product, supply chain, and capital allocation.

3. The talent pipeline remains an urgent priority

The group discussed the importance of developing female leaders capable not only of interpreting ESG frameworks but of influencing boards, investors and cross-functional teams.

This is where the crossover between finance, operations, and strategy becomes essential — and where women often bring a particularly collaborative, cross-disciplinary strength.

What I contributed to the conversation

I spoke about the challenges consumer brands face when navigating sustainability in markets where:

• customer expectations are rising faster than regulatory frameworks

• commercial growth is increasingly tied to transparency

• operational constraints (from packaging to logistics) are tightening

• and capital is moving towards businesses with credible, measurable ESG commitments

From a finance-leadership perspective, I emphasised the value of connecting sustainability with unit economics, operational planning, and long-term profitability — grounding ESG in commercial realism rather than abstract ambition.

This lens felt especially relevant as the room discussed the gap between ESG strategy and implementation — a gap that finance leaders are uniquely placed to bridge.

What I took away

Three reflections stayed with me long after the afternoon ended:

• Small groups create deeper conversations.
With only about ten women in the room, the dialogue was honest, generous and nuanced.

• Sustainable finance will define the next decade of value creation.
The firms that succeed will be those that integrate sustainability into their decision-making architecture — not as reporting, but as strategy.

• Spaces like this are essential — and still too rare.
Women in Alts creates a forum where expertise is shared freely, with a sense of collective purpose rather than performance.

An afternoon that blended insight, collaboration and purpose

It was a privilege to take part in this session, and I left inspired by the calibre of women leading in alternative investments today.
Jersey Finance have built something special with Women in Alts — a series that pairs intellectual depth with genuine connection, all held in settings that encourage openness and thoughtful dialogue.

For anyone interested, I’ve included the event details on my Speaking & Executive Workshops page, where you can also explore other talks and roundtables I’ve contributed to.

If you’d like to discuss a speaking engagement — particularly on the intersection of finance, sustainability, consumer strategy and high-growth environments — please feel free to get in touch.