Teresa Mary "Tessa" Tennant ( Cormack; 29 May 1959 – 7 July 2018) was a British advocate of sustainable investment. She co-founded one of the UK's first green investment funds. She was a pioneer in the field of responsible investment and was described by ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'' in its obituary notice as "a giant of green finance."

Life and career

Tennant was born in

Bletchingley Bletchingley (historically "Blechingley") is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill, Surrey, Redhill and to the west of Godstone, has a conservation area with Middle Ages, medieval buildings and is mostly on a ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, to John Cormack and Jean Davies. After attending Prior's Field School, Godalming, Tennant studied for a Human Environmental Studies degree at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. Following her graduation, she worked for the

Green Alliance Green Alliance may refer to: * Green Alliance (think tank), a British think tank * Green Alliance (Colombia), a political party * Green Alliance (Ireland), former name of the Green Party in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland * Green Allian ...

in the early 1980s. Subsequently, Tennant co-founded the UK's first green investment fund, the Merlin (now Jupiter) Ecology Fund, in 1988. During her career, Tennant helped lead and found several influential organisations for green and responsible investors including UKSIF, AsRIA and the

Carbon Disclosure Project The CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) is an international non-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom, Japan, India, China, Germany and the United States of America that helps companies and cities disclose their environmental im ...

. Among many other roles, she served as a director of the Green Investment Bank. During her career, Tennant was a pioneer in the field of responsible investment. She led the creation and was first Chair of the Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia based in Hong Kong (ASrIA), and The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), which works with over 6,000 of the largest corporations in the world to reduce their carbon emissions.

Awards and honours

In June 2018, the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

''/IFC Transformational Business Awards presented Tennant with its inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award and announced that this award would be named after her in future. She was awarded an OBE in recognition of her services to sustainable investment at Holyroodhouse in 2018.

Marriage and family

The then Teresa Cormack met Henry Lovell Tennant in South America during her

gap year A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is typically a year-long break before or after college/university during which students engage in various educational and developmental activities, such as travel or some type of regular work. Gap yea ...

. He was the second son of

Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner Colin Christopher Paget Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner (1 December 1926 – 27 August 2010) was a British aristocrat. He was the son of Christopher Grey Tennant, 2nd Baron Glenconner, and Pamela Winefred Paget. He was also the nephew of Edward ...

and Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner,

lady in waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

; the couple married in 1983 after four years together. Although they separated after two years, they did not divorce and remained close friends. Henry Tennant died from

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

in 1990. The couple's son, Euan (born 1983), now manages The Glen, the Tennant family estate in the Scottish borders. In 2007, she married Bill Staempfli, a New York-born architect.

Death

Tennant spent her last months at The Glen with her family, and died from

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

on 7 July 2018, aged 59. A testimonial in ''

'' paid tribute to her networking skills and ability to work with and influence diverse groups by describing her as "A rainmaker who cajoled the religious and made them greener."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennant, Tessa 1959 births 2018 deaths Alumni of King's College London British environmentalists Deaths from cancer in Scotland Deaths from ovarian cancer English women in business Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Prior's Field School Tennant family 20th-century English businesspeople People from Tandridge (district)