Meet Stella Clarke, Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board at EthiFinance

“I am taking this role at a genuinely pivotal moment, right after the combination with ESG Book”

How do you read the current sustainable finance landscape?

Sustainable finance is not retreating; it is recalibrating. In Europe, the Omnibus simplification has narrowed the scope of CSRD and CSDDD, and the Commission adopted revised, shorter ESRS in July 2026 — a genuine simplification, while leaving the underlying ambition intact. In the US, the picture is more political: SEC climate disclosure rules remain, while anti-ESG legislative pressure continues in Congress.

What matters most for this Board is the arrival of the ESG Rating Regulation. Since 2 July 2026, ESMA has become the direct supervisor of ESG rating providers, following the same model it applies to credit rating agencies. The latest list of firms that have notified ESMA is long — and it says a great deal about market fragmentation: demand for sustainable finance continues to grow, while compliance costs, governance requirements and methodology disclosure obligations may act as a natural filter, accelerating consolidation in a market that has been fragmented for years.

What does the ESG Rating Regulation mean for EthiFinance and for the wider market?

I see the Board’s first role as helping EthiFinance navigate that complexity: Europe simplifying while maintaining its architecture; the US remaining fragmented and politically charged; and a ratings market set to consolidate around scale, data quality and governance credibility, rather than compliance mandates alone.

What are your first priorities as Chair of the Board?

I am taking on this role at a genuinely pivotal moment, right after the integration of ESG Book. My first priority is integration discipline: ensuring that the combined data, methodology and technology stacks from both businesses come together into one credible offering — seamless and invisible to clients as an integration.

The second priority follows directly from the ESMA authorisation cycle now underway: turning regulatory-grade governance into a competitive advantage rather than a box-ticking exercise, precisely when smaller, less-resourced providers may struggle to meet the bar. This positions EthiFinance not only to comply, but also to consolidate. The combined group already has the scale — more than 300 experts, coverage of 10,000+ companies and over 500 clients across Europe, the US and Asia — to be a natural acquirer as the market thins out.

Third, I want to see the product offering evolve towards decision-useful data for transition risk, comparability and scenario analysis, leveraging EthiFinance’s analytics capabilities and the responsible AI. As the scope of mandatory reporting narrows in Europe, the commercial centre of gravity shifts towards voluntary leadership: companies and investors seeking credible, comparable ESG data because it supports better risk management and capital allocation — not only because a regulator requires it. That makes it an even more durable growth engine.

What experience do you bring to this role?

With my professional background, I bring three key expertise this moment needs. First, capital markets technology experience: many years in banking and technology operations, followed by the launch of risk and regulatory solutions for trading and capital management, gave me first-hand experience of building and scaling demanding financial infrastructure globally for regulated entities. Second, regulatory technology and Private Equity-backed governance fluency, acquired through commercial and board roles in scale-ups. I understand how PE-backed boards should operate through a fast-moving regulatory cycle, because I have lived through comparable ones. Third, a genuinely cross-border perspective — Franco-Irish, educated at Chicago Booth and ESSEC — which matters for a business with pan-European and international ambitions, navigating global investor expectations and EU regulatory culture at the same time.

What excites you most about joining EthiFinance at this point in its development?

What excites me most is the timing and the team. I am joining just as the sector’s structure is being redrawn: the new ESG regulation’s discipline and the consolidation wave it is likely to trigger mean that the next eighteen months will help determine which two or three players become Europe’s independent champions — not simply how any one company performs in isolation. That is a rare opportunity to help shape a business’s trajectory, rather than manage an already-settled one, and it plays directly to the kind of regulatory-change environments I have spent my career working in. EthiFinance’s leadership is of exceptional quality, with Carol Sirou at the helm and a team of seasoned professionals across sustainable finance, commercial and finance domains.

What message would you like to send to EthiFinance’s people, clients, partners and shareholders?

To EthiFinance’s people, my message is that the integration work already completed, combined with your expertise, provides the platform for what comes next — and the Board’s role is to back that with clear governance and support you and your management team. To clients, the message is that regulatory-grade rigour and independence are becoming more valuable, not less, as the market consolidates around fewer, more credible European providers — a reason to rely on us more, not to wait and see. To partners and shareholders, it is that this Board takes office with a clear-eyed view of where the sustainable finance market is heading: recalibration and consolidation rather than retreat, and the discipline to help EthiFinance become the European leader.

I can’t wait to embark on this journey with Carol, the team and our shareholders.