Environmental Finance
Seneca Impact Advisors
Mr Champagne is the Co-Founder and Director of Seneca Impact Advisors in Hong Kong, focused on innovative financial solutions for nature and is a Co-Founder of The Climate Impact Asia Fund for which he sits on the Investment Advisory Committee.
He was previously Head of Environmental Finance and Bankable Nature Solutions Asia at WWF for 7 years, working on impact-oriented green financial products and initiatives, and oversaw the implementation of the Asia portion of WWF’s global Environmental Bonds initiative. He led Bankable Nature Solutions in Asia which aims to originate and develop scalable bankable projects with conservation impact; including the implementation of projects for the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development. He was also leading the bankable project effort on WWF’s global Freshwater Practice initiatives, Resilient Asian Deltas and Asian Flyways.
Beyond impact-oriented finance, Mr Champagne advised institutional investors, lenders, and underwriters on the financial and economic risks and opportunities related to climate change and environmental degradation issues; he aimed to shift their financial flows toward sustainable investments. He also guided thematic research, with publications including the Climate Primer for Institutional Investors, and Shrinking Plastics: Tighter Regulations Threaten the World Plastics Industry.
Prior to WWF, he spent 17 years in the financial industry advising institutional investors on equities and equity derivatives. He started his investment banking career in 1997 with Merrill Lynch in New York City and has been based in Hong Kong since 2004, working for BNP Paribas and Jefferies. He graduated from Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY.