Dive Brief:
- The Green Impact Exchange — the first approved “green” stock exchange — hired veteran financial executive Kevin Buckley as chief financial officer ahead of its launch later this year, GIX announced Tuesday.
- Though the appointment was officially announced this week, Buckley has served as CFO for the exchange since January, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to joining GIX, his resume includes serving over 25 years in corporate finance and treasury roles at Prudential Financial.
- GIX was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission last April to become the first national exchange for sustainability-focused offerings. Since then, the company has worked to fill out its executive team and unveiled the initial suite of products it plans on offering.
Dive Insight:
The CFO’s appointment comes after the Green Impact Exchange announced the hirings of a chief operating officer, chief product officer, chief commercial officer and five board members since receiving SEC approval. The exchange’s product roadmap includes plans to offer an index of companies with “measurable environmental benefits” and a financial instrument to trade certified carbon credits on the index as part of its initial offerings.
Buckley comes to GIX after nearly two years doing independent consulting and CFO work. Prior to that, he spent over 25 years at Prudential, finishing his stint at the company as its vice president of finance and international treasurer. In those roles, he led financing for the company’s international insurance segment, oversaw all international capital initiatives and managed banking relationships, among other responsibilities, according to his LinkedIn.
GIX CEO Dan Labovitz said in the release that Buckley will provide the company with “the financial rigor and strategic perspective that we need as we modernize the traditional equities exchange.” Labovitz said Buckley’s “thorough experience navigating within a highly regulated industry will help GIX build a more transparent mechanism for capital formation and secondary market liquidity.”
In his over quarter of a century at Prudential, Buckley also served as managing director and treasurer for the company’s International Insurance and asset management businesses, CFO for the international investments business, a regional finance advisor, international treasurer and vice president for corporate treasurers.
Prior to Prudential, Buckley worked at ADP as VP of mergers and acquisitions retirement services and at life insurance company AXA Equitable in treasurer and corporate development roles, according to his LinkedIn.
“Public companies today face a complex landscape where short-term market pressures often conflict with long-term strategic execution,” Buckley said in the release. “GIX represents a fundamental shift in that dynamic.”
Buckley added that he is “excited to join a talented team of industry veterans who are committed to innovating the equity markets to more effectively support public companies, especially small- and mid-size companies, as they invest in the next-generation economy.”
