Former CalPERS portfolio manager Andrew Karsh has left the $500 billion pension scheme to co-found sustainability focused venture capital firm Bay Bridge Ventures, Bay said on Thursday.

The move comes as demand to invest in funds focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues surges, and the new firm will look to invest in “impactful” technologies in climate tech, health innovation and inclusive capitalism, it said.

Karsh has spent the last decade at CalPERS, where he managed direct investments and was a member of the Absolute Return Strategies Advisory Board. Prior to that, he managed more than $5 billion for clients at Credit Suisse Alternative Investments.

He joins fellow co-founders Joe Blair and Kim Kolt, both of whom were previously involved in venture capital.

“Bay Bridge Ventures is created from the belief that the future’s most successful companies will be those that solve critical problems facing the environment and humanity,” said Karsh.

“There is a heightened demand for opportunities to invest in companies committed to positive environmental and social change along with a growing awareness of the high costs of inaction.”

Source: Reuters