Ares Management Corporation announced that Adam Heltzer has joined as Managing Director and Head of Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”), effective April 1, 2020. Mr. Heltzer will be based in New York and will report to Michael Arougheti, Chief Executive Officer and President of Ares.
In his new position, Mr. Heltzer will lead Ares’ global ESG initiatives, and will work in close coordination with the investment teams and portfolio companies across the Ares platform. Under his guidance, Ares will seek to enhance its existing ESG efforts, and establish a more robust framework for assessing and reporting against key performance indicators across Ares’ Credit, Private Equity and Real Estate strategies. Mr. Heltzer will also advise Ares on the formulation of new corporate ESG policies and ESG-related investment products.
“We are excited to have Adam join us as Head of ESG at Ares. With over 15 years of experience and a demonstrated track record of overseeing ESG value creation and risk mitigation at Partners Group, a well-regarded leader of ESG practices, we believe Adam will help to ensure that we are fulfilling our commitment to adhering to ESG best practices while generating attractive long-term returns for our investors,” said Mr. Arougheti. “ESG has been, and continues to remain, a strategic priority for Ares and we look forward to sharing further updates on our ESG efforts and progress going forward.”
Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Heltzer said, “I am very pleased to have the opportunity to lead Ares’ ESG initiatives in partnership with the firm’s leadership team.” Mr. Heltzer continued, “While Ares has made great strides in its ESG efforts over the years, I’m confident that I will be able to help enhance the existing foundation and launch new ESG initiatives across the firm’s platform and portfolio companies.”
During his more than four years at Partners Group, Mr. Heltzer oversaw a team managing the integration of ESG factors throughout the entire investment process and across multiple asset classes, including private equity, debt, real estate, and infrastructure. Prior to joining Partners Group, Mr. Heltzer served as a Global Leadership Fellow at the World Economic Forum (“WEF”) where he was responsible for working with the CEOs of the WEF's multinational agribusiness members to improve their sustainability performance through partnership with public and non-profit sector stakeholders. Before his time at the WEF, Mr. Heltzer worked at The Louis Berger Group and CG/LA Infrastructure, focusing on infrastructure and agricultural development in emerging markets with a special emphasis on post-conflict zones. Mr. Heltzer holds a B.A. in Political Science and U.S. History from the University of Michigan, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.