Global investment manager New Forests has announced the appointment of Mark Rogers as CEO, replacing David Brand who will take on a new role as chair.
Mr Rogers will commence his new role on April 3. He joined New Forests in 2016 as managing director Australia and New Zealand and took on the additional responsibility for the US as senior managing director in 2019, overseeing the investments and business lines in those regions managing teams across acquisitions, operations and investment analytics.
During his time at New Forests, Mr Rogers has overseen strong investment performance and assets under management have grown from about $3 billion to almost $10 billion today. Prior to New Forests, he held senior leadership roles across other real asset companies where he was responsible for businesses and teams including acquisitions, distribution, project development and finance.
In addition to his role as chair, David Brand will work on strategic growth opportunities for New Forests, looking at new markets and new opportunities for the business in support of the senior executive team. He will continue to chair New Forests’ investment committees and remain as chair of New Forests until June 2025. Commenting on the appointment David Brand said, “Mark is a proven, strategic leader who has a deep understanding of our business, our culture and our vision, making him the ideal candidate to lead us into its next stage of growth.
“He has demonstrated an outstanding track record across our Australia, New Zealand and US operations with a vision to see investment in land use and forestry as key to the transition to a sustainable future,”
Mr. Brand added: “After 17 years at the helm of New Forests, it is time for me to step down from the CEO role and do what I love doing most and that is looking at strategic growth opportunities in new markets and new geographies.
“I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved growing from a handful of people in 2005 to more than 100 staff in five countries, across 1.1 million ha and $10 billion in assets under management.”
Mark Rogers said he was honored to take on the CEO role and looked forward to continuing to cement the company’s reputation as leaders in the natural capital investment space across developed and emerging markets.
“With the new shareholders Mitsui and Nomura providing growth capital and access to a global distribution platform, it’s an exciting time for New Forests,” Mr. Rogers said.
New Forests will undertake a search process for Mark’s replacement and will confirm any interim arrangements in due course.
New Forests as a global investment manager of nature-based real assets and natural capital strategies has $9.95 billion in assets under management across more than 1.1 million ha of investments.
New Forests manages a diversified portfolio of sustainable timber plantations and conservation areas, carbon and conservation finance projects, agriculture, timber processing and infrastructure. Headquartered in Sydney, New Forests is a certified B Corp and operates in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Africa and the UK.
