SK Capital Announces Anne Kolton as Chief Sustainability Officer
Newly created position demonstrates continued leadership in sustainability
New York, February 1, 2022 – SK Capital Partners, LP (“SK Capital”), a private investment firm focused on the specialty materials, specialty chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors, today announced the hiring of Anne Kolton as its first Chief Sustainability Officer. Ms. Kolton, who most recently held a similar position at the American Chemistry Council (ACC), will focus on growing SK Capital’s position as a sustainability leader in the private markets industry while identifying opportunities to enhance the performance of portfolio companies across the firm’s sectors of focus.
In her new role, Ms. Kolton will chair the SK Capital Sustainability Board, composed of a subset of SK Capital’s portfolio company CEOs and Managing Directors that oversee SK Capital’s Sustainability Program. She will also lead the Sustainability Council of SK Capital, consisting of 21 Sustainability leaders representing each of SK Capital’s portfolio companies. Ms. Kolton will report to Barry Siadat, Co-Founder of SK Capital.
“Anne is a proven thought leader and accomplished advocate for sustainability progress in the chemicals and materials manufacturing sectors, and we’re excited to bring her expertise and commitment to these important issues,” said Mr. Siadat. “SK Capital’s dedication to sustainability and the broader issues surrounding ESG has been unwavering. Sustainability is essential to the success of our portfolio companies, as well as our firm’s leadership position as an investor in our sectors.”
“Anne has a deep understanding of our industry and has been influential in developing the path forward to address critical topics such as climate change and circularity,” said Phil McDivitt, CEO of Ascend Performance Materials (an SK Capital portfolio company), a member of SK Capital’s Sustainability Board, and a Board member of the ACC. “I am excited to work with Anne in her new role and am confident she will have a transformational impact on SK Capital’s portfolio of companies.”
In her prior role as Executive Vice President, Communications, Sustainability & Market Outreach at ACC, Ms. Kolton developed and executed sustainability, environment, health and safety, strategic communications and advocacy strategies to support the success of the $526 billion U.S. chemical manufacturing sector. Ms. Kolton also led the ACC’s creation of a comprehensive sustainability program to support industry-wide progress on material sustainability issues including circularity, climate change, air, water, product safety and diversity and inclusion. She also led a top-to-bottom review of Responsible Care®, heightening the program’s focus on cyber security, sustainable chemistry principles and process safety leadership.
“SK Capital is a proven sustainability leader having transformed companies and built value by prioritizing responsible investing and sustainable practices across its portfolio. Joining the SK Capital team offers an exciting opportunity to build on the firm’s strong sustainability foundation to enhance value, reduce risk and maximize positive environmental and societal impacts across SK Capital’s entire portfolio,” said Ms. Kolton.
Ms. Kolton has 20 years of advocacy, issues management and sustainability experience, integrating strategy development, cross-industry and cross-value chain collaboration, industry and public policy development, legislative and regulatory government relations and strategic communications. She also previously served as a White House Spokesperson, an Advisor to the Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and as Director of Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and U.S. Department of Energy.