BrazilDutch consultancy Steward Redqueen expands into Sweden
Steward Redqueen, a consulting firm specialised in social impact and sustainability, has opened an office in Sweden, its second outside of home base the Netherlands.
The Dutch consultancy was established just outside of Amsterdam in 2010, and on the back of a growing track record in Asia, last year Steward Redqueen opened its first international hub in Asia’s leading financial centre, Singapore. “Our first year in Asia exceeded our expectations in terms of new clients and projects,” said company founder and managing director Wouter Scheepens.
Roughly one year down the line, the 20-strong boutique consultancy has now made a foray into a second new market: the Nordics. From its base in Sweden, the sustainability consultancy aims to serve its expanding client roster in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland – combined the quartet of countries make up a consulting industry of over €2.8 billion.
“Our office in Stockholm allows us to service more clients in more countries, we are delighted with our expanding international network,” said Scheepens, who in 2017 launched a book on sustainability in the boardroom, for which he interviewed some 25 executives, (non) executive board members and academics.
The Swedish operation is led by Niclas During, who has been appointed an Associate Partner. He brings ten years of experience with development finance to the consulting firm. Most recently, he served as Portfolio Director at Swedfund in Stockholm, and before that was Head of ESG Finance at CDC Group, one of the world’s largest private equity investors in emerging markets. Previously, he worked as a consultant for the World Bank, Celerant Consulting (now Hitachi Consulting) and McKinsey & Company.
Scheepens: “With this experience in sustainability, development impact, private equity and consultancy, Niclas is well-positioned to expand our current portfolio of projects in the Scandinavian markets.”
The move comes shortly after Steward Redqueen struck a global alliance with Qbera Capital, a London-based provider of debt and equity solutions. Together, the two companies are bundling their offerings to provide corporates, investors and non-profits with a more integrated approach to their environmental, social and corporate (ESG) governance. “Through the alliance, we are combining access to capital combined with sustainability objectives, an obvious win-win,” remarked Ali Shafqat, Qbera Capital’s chief executive.
Two months ago, another boutique Dutch sustainability and ESG consultancy, Spring Associates, was (partly) acquired by MJ Hudson, a UK-based asset and wealth management player. The firm has since rebranded as MJ Hudson Spring.
