Philanthropic and business leader Dueck joins the executive leadership team to continue positioning NESsT at the forefront of the impact investment industry
St Petersburg, FL– BUSINESSWIRE, December 5th, 2023 – NESsT, a leading global impact investor and venture philanthropist, today announced the appointment of Kirsten Dueck as Chief Executive Officer. NESsT announces this significant leadership transition as it closes out its milestone of over a quarter-century of success, and prepares to embark on its next quarter-century journey of impact investing. Nicole Etchart, NESsT co-founder and outgoing CEO, will transition into a new role as Senior Advisor and will remain on the Board of Directors.
Kirsten Dueck, incoming CEO of NESsT
“For 27 years, NESsT has been at the forefront of creating change through an innovative and purpose-driven approach to impact investing, consistently demonstrating a rare blend of impact and forward-thinking innovation,” said Kirsten Dueck, incoming CEO. “Nicole leaves a legacy of pioneering initiatives in collaboration with major corporate partners and launching funds that have made a substantial impact on deserving populations, particularly in the tangible improvement of the lives of 1.1 million people in need.”
Kirsten’s extensive experience in foundations and philanthropic work leaves her well poised to continue imparting and elevating NESsT’s core mission: investing in the missing middle. She spent the past decade in increasingly senior positions at the PATH Foundation, a grantmaking foundation based in Virginia. Kirsten led the development of PATH's multi-million dollar sustainable agriculture and food systems portfolio and spearheaded creation of the foundation's impact investment program in social enterprise. Most recently she served as Director of Community Investment and Impact. Before joining PATH, Kirsten held a range of significant roles, including Executive Director at the George C. Marshall International Center, Director of Alumni Relations and Communications at the University of Colorado School of Law, and Vice President and Director of Latin American Art at Sotheby's.
Nicole will take on a new role as NESsT's Senior Advisor. In this capacity, Nicole will support Kirsten in the development of the organization’s strategies, policies, and operations, offering guidance and input on high-level decisions and key initiatives. She will continue to work closely with the Board of Directors to usher in a new era of leadership.
“Kirsten brings a wealth of experience and a distinguished career in investment and impact to NESsT,” says Nicole. “It has been incredibly rewarding and fulfilling to have started and grown NESsT to the organization it is over the past 27 years. As I work alongside Kirsten over the next several months to ensure a smooth and successful transition, the communities and organizations we’ve meaningfully impacted will only continue to see positive change under Kirsten’s guidance and leadership.”
NESsT Board Chairman, Lord Mervyn Davies, said, “Kirsten’s strategic foresight and dedication to innovation are not just promises for the future but are the building blocks for the evolution of NESsT. As Chairman, I am confident that Kirsten's diverse experiences, ranging from philanthropy to academia to the world of international business, uniquely position her to lead NESsT into uncharted territories of impact and sustainability.”
About NESsT
NESsT invests in enterprises that create quality jobs for underserved communities while sustaining the planet.
Locally-based social enterprises are uniquely qualified to transform low-income, excluded and environmentally-vulnerable communities. These enterprises are on the ground, have the trust of the communities, and have created businesses aligned with their best interests. NESsT supports social enterprises through two businesses: (1) loan funds that provide patient debt financing to purpose-driven small and growing businesses in emerging markets and (2) an accelerator program that catalyzes impact-focused enterprises towards growth and investment readiness.
Since its founding in 1997, NESsT has invested over $30M and trained and supported over 30,000 entrepreneurs across 50 countries. It has accelerated and financed 236 enterprises, in total sustaining more than 89,000 formal jobs and improving the lives of 1.1 million people from the most marginalized communities around the world, including Black people, Indigenous peoples, the LGBTQIA+ community, migrants and refugees, people with disabilities, smallholder farmers, women, and youth.