MaryKate Bullen leads FIA’s Business Development and Sustainability Team, responsible for the firm’s business development functions, including capital raising, product development, institutional market engagement, and strategic communications and marketing as well as FIA’s sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) programs. MaryKate is a member of the Executive and Investment Committees and is Chair of the ESG Committee. She was previously Director of Sustainability and ESG for FIA from 2021 through 2023, during which time she developed and implemented a strategic roadmap for FIA’s sustainability programs and led the collaborative publication of FIA’s ESG Principles. 

MaryKate brings more than 15 years of experience in forest investment and conservation finance working across roles in ESG and impact, investor services, communications, and research. She has focused on development and capital raising for innovative approaches to sustainable investment in forestry, carbon markets, and conservation. Our clients benefit from her significant expertise in responsible investment policy, implementation, and managing forest investments for economic, environmental, and social benefits. Her investment and project experience spans North America, Latin America, Australasia, and Southeast Asia. 

In addition to her work with FIA, MaryKate is an active participant in industry developments for responsible investment in forestry and natural climate solutions, including serving on working groups and advisory roles related to carbon accounting, impact measurement, and private markets responsible investment. She is a Steering Committee member for the Women’s Forest Congress and active in working groups of the GHG Protocol, Verra, and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the vice-chair for NAFO’s Air Task Group. 

Previous Experience

Prior to joining FIA, MaryKate led the responsible investment program for forestry investment manager, New Forests, ultimately overseeing ESG for more than two million acres of investments in developed and emerging markets. In this role, she had oversight for the company’s corporate sustainability, responsible investment, and impact initiatives. She also led corporate communications and media relations across global operations. In earlier roles, MaryKate developed and managed New Forests’ corporate research program, producing policy analyses and market outlooks on key features of the timberland and environmental markets asset classes.

What is your business philosophy?

As asset managers, we can preserve and create more value by considering the environment and society in our decision-making. The formalization of ESG within forestry investment is a natural fit between the stewardship ethic of our industry and the growing aspiration of institutional investors to ensure their investment portfolios align with a sustainable future.

Why did you choose this field / career path?

In my undergraduate studies, I had the opportunity to spend two summer seasons conducting field research in the Peruvian Amazon. I fell in love with the rainforest during those summers, but I also learned firsthand how vital a long-term management plan and financial drivers for managing forests can be to safeguard our natural resources and natural places. This led me into environmental markets, where ecosystem services are valued in financial terms, and progressively into all facets of forestry investment and conservation markets.

What is one of the best lessons you’ve learned during your career?

If you want to feel better after a difficult conversation, think about how the other person feels during it.