This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Camille Zimmermann, Investment Director at France-based equity firm Omnes. She says that when women are at the helm of companies, there seems to be no problem finding other talented women to join the ranks of their organizations.
Although the sustainable energy sector is still emerging, it is part of the traditionally male-dominated energy sector. Likewise, private equity is still led primarily by seasoned male professionals. The intersection of these fields means that female investors in renewables are significantly underrepresented.
As an investment professional at Omnes Capital who invests in the capital of renewable energy developers, I see how this minority status can provide unique benefits, such as providing new perspectives, leveraging separate networks and fostering new connections. However, it also comes with significant challenges, including the scarcity of female peers and role models, which can lead to isolation and a lack of natural allies.
Characterized by its entrepreneurial spirit, the renewable energy sector is more receptive to diversity than the traditional fossil fuel industry. Despite this progressive attitude, leadership roles, including CEOs, CFOs and COOs, are still largely held by men. Female entrepreneurs are extremely rare within the energy sector, and male entrepreneurs often report difficulties recruiting women for senior management positions.
There are undoubtedly qualified women eager to fill these roles, but the lack of role models remains a critical barrier. When women are at the helm of companies, there seems to be no problem finding other talented women to join the ranks of their organizations. I recently spoke to the founder of a civil engineering startup. More than 66% of its workforce was female. She attributed this achievement to having female founders, who served as recognizable figures for younger women in the field.
Empowering women entrepreneurs in the sustainable energy sector is essential to attract more women to leadership positions. The financial sector has a crucial role to play in this endeavor. Just as environmental considerations have become an integral part of investment decisions, gender diversity must also be taken into account.
Diversity leads to better team performance and ultimately to value creation. Additionally, financial value is created through cost of capital opportunities. Many sustainability loans combine interest rate discounts with parity objectives.
By 2026, EU legislation will come into force to enforce a minimum parity of 40% on company boards. Parity will no longer be an option. As investors, we are particularly attentive to the opportunity to mentor female entrepreneurs or mixed management teams within our portfolio companies.
At Omnes, our investments in development teams and energy producers are aimed at fueling their growth into leading independent energy producers (IPPs). At the same time, we support the implementation of ESG strategies, with a particular emphasis on promoting diversity at board level. Our goal is to achieve gender equality and underline the value of diversity, in order to achieve even better team performance.
In the recent McKinsey Diversity Matters report“Companies with a female representation of more than 30 percent are significantly more likely to perform better financially than those with 30 percent or less.” A board consisting of an equal number of men and women, with varied educational and professional backgrounds, is exceptionally well positioned to drive value creation and adeptly navigate diverse market conditions. That is why I strongly recommend that female professionals committed to the energy transition join the sustainable energy sector. We are looking for the next generation of ambitious female entrepreneurs.
Camille Zimmermann joined Omnes in 2023 as Investment Director. It invests in the capital of European renewable energy developers and IPPs to support their growth to become leading and fully-fledged players in Europe. She is a board member of six European IPPs in different geographical areas (Italy, Sweden, Denmark, France, Greece). Camille has more than sixteen years of experience in strategy and financial advice (Oliver Wyman) and in energy (Naturgy). For five years she held the position of Investment Director and Fund Manager of debt funds focusing on renewable energy developers and energy transition players at Sienna Investment Managers (ex Acofi). Camille is a graduate of ESCP Paris and holds a master’s degree from City University and the Kauffrau diploma.
Interested in participating Camille Zimmermann and other female leaders and industry experts at Women in Solar Europe? Find out more: www.wiseu.network
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