iGravity appoints co-head of investments | De Klerk becomes supervisory board member at ILX Management | Unity Trust appoints new COO | KGAL boosts sustainable infrastructure with latest hire.
Big Issue Invest, the UK social investor, has appointed Holger Westphely as managing director. Westphely has two decades of experience working in finance and social investment, most recently as head of lending at the organisation. Prior to this, he spent seven years at CAF Venturesome in a number of senior roles. He also co-founded Eastside People, advising hundreds of charities and social enterprises on finance and growth, according to the firm.
Big Issue Invest was set up in 2005 by Big Issue founder John Bird and social entrepreneur Nigel Kershaw, and has invested over £100m (€114m) in UK businesses with a social mission in the past two decades. It allocated £9.3m in 50 social purpose organisations in 2025, it says.
“With the UK impact investing sector growing rapidly, now accounting for around 8% of the global impact investing market, we’re excited for this new chapter under Holger’s leadership to make the most of this opportunity and unlock more investment for businesses doing good across the country,” said Mark Porter, chair of Big Issue Invest.
iGravity appoints Susan Tirop as co-head of investments
iGravity, the impact advisory and investment firm, has appointed Susan Tirop as co-head of investments. Tirop joins the firm from Bamboo Capital Partners, where she was an investment lead and head of the Africa office, overseeing the full investment cycle, from deal origination, execution, monitoring, restructuring and exit.
She has over 15 years of experience in impact investing and advisory across sub-Saharan Africa and has built and managed debt and equity portfolios in financial inclusion, agribusiness, and climate-linked sectors, according to the firm.
“iGravity is walking the talk on serving underserved segments, for example with the Refugee Investment Facility and Balim Investments, and pushing the envelope in its use of innovative blended finance solutions through impact linked offerings like Social Impact Incentives “SIINC’s” and impact-linked loans. This provides the ideal environment to drive meaningful impact at scale,” said Tirop.
Paul de Klerk becomes supervisory board member at ILX Management
ILX Management, the Amsterdam-based emerging markets private credit asset manager, has appointed Paul de Klerk to its supervisory board. De Klerk was formerly chief operating officer, chief financial officer and chairman of the managing board at AlpInvest Partners and managing director and chief financial officer at Carlyle Global Investment Solutions.
“We are delighted to welcome Paul de Klerk to the Supervisory Board of ILX. Paul brings a strong track record and fresh perspective that will be a huge asset as we continue to scale up the ILX investment platform,” said Nanno Kleiterp, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ILX.
Unity Trust Bank appoints Martin Barrett as COO
Unity Trust Bank has appointed Martin Barrett as its chief operating officer. Barrett formerly held a number of senior roles at Lloyds Banking Group for 24 years, most recently as managing director of banking operations for Lloyd’s business and commercial customers.
In his new role, he will be responsible for enabling Unity to best deliver its five-year plan to 2030, according to the firm, which says his work will “focus on unlocking business growth potential in new sectors and segments, improving operational capacity, and strengthening the bank’s strategic objectives for the future.”
“Martin deeply values our customer-driven proposition, which places people and purpose at the heart of our business growth plans. His leadership skills and expertise will play a vital role in enhancing our services to customers and amplifying our future impact, so we can continue to make a real difference for communities and individuals across the UK,” said Colin Fyfe, CEO at Unity Trust Bank, which last month appointed Matt Conroy as head of impact propositions.
KGAL boosts sustainable infrastructure team with Christian Topp appointment
Renewable emerging infrastructure investor KGAL has hired Christian Topp as senior director of institutional business. Topp formerly held roles at Swiss Life Asset Managers and Allianz Capital Partners and has more than 25 years’ of experience in energy transition and infrastructure investments, according to the firm.
KGAL has been implementing solar and wind farms in Europe since 2003. It is also responsible for managing KfW’s PtX development fund for investments in non-European hydrogen projects.
“The sustainable infrastructure asset class, which we make accessible to institutional investors with our new ESPF 8 Fund focusing on European renewable energies, offers attractive investment opportunities on the path to climate neutrality. Christian’s extensive experience, both in the field of energy infrastructure and in individual customer care, will further enhance our consulting expertise,” said Carolin Vormann, head of institutional business at KGAL.
