Singapore-based carbon exchange Climate Impact X (CIX), which is backed by some of the country’s largest financial institutions, has announced the appointment of Oi-Yee Choo as its new chief executive officer and Claire O’Neill as the new chair of its board of directors.
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Choo was most recently CEO of ADDX, a blockchain-based private capital markets exchange in Singapore licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city-state’s central bank. She has more than 20 years of experience in investment banking, having led the Singapore investment banking unit at Swiss-backed UBS and held leadership positions at Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Nomura and Parkway Holdings.
Choo’s appointment is effective 21 October 2024 and follows an “extensive global search by [ClX’s] board to identify a visionary leader with the strategic and commercial acumen” to drive the company’s growth, CIX said in a statement on Tuesday.
She will succeed interim CEO Mark Glossoti, who has temporarily filled in since 1 July and will now return to his role as chief operating officer. This followed the resignation of the company’s founder and former CEO Mikkel Larsen, who resigned in March this year, citing a focus on family as the reason for stepping down.
Larsen will continue serving on the company’s board as an executive director during the transition, CIX said.
Bill Winters, outgoing chair of the CIX board of directors and group chief executive of Standard Chartered Bank, said in a press statement that Choo brings “a track record of success in leadership roles, strong commercial acumen and exceptional experience in scaling high-performing businesses” to the job.
“Her fresh perspective, combined with a deep understanding of fostering robust ecosystems, will be instrumental as CIX enters its next phase of growth,” he said.
Choo is currently a also board member of Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, Capitaland Ascendas Real Estate Investment trust and Singapore’s National Kidney Foundation.
Meanwhile, O’Neill will succeed Winters as board chair, effective 1 November 2024. O’Neill, who currently the co-chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) Global Imperatives advisory board, has been a board member of CIX since 2022.
“This transition marks a strategic shift from the rotational chairperson system previously in place,” the company said. CIX’s board members represent shareholders and key investors including DBS, Mizuho, Standard Chartered, Singapore Exchange and the country’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek. Under the rotational system, each board member takes on the role of chair for a minimum six-month term.
As CEO, Choo will also be appointed to the CIX board as a director when she assumes her role, CIX said.
O’Neill, who once served as the United Kingdom’s minister for energy and clean growth, is currently the co-chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) Global Imperatives advisory board. She holds non-executive board positions at the Singapore Exchange Group, Occidental Petroleum and Windward AI and is also senior global advisor to consulting firm McKinsey & Company, a member of the UK Privy council and a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and the Energy Institute.
O’Neill said she had joined CIX’s board “in its early stages” as she was impressed by the company’s strategy, team and shareholder commitments.
“While the global carbon markets have faced growing pains, I believe we are at an inflection point,” she said. “There are emerging positive signs that point to a growing market, such as clearer standards for [carbon credits] quality via the work of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) and maturing regulation to guide high-integrity use—all of which inspire confidence.”
Established in 2021, CIX has facilitated the trading of “high-quality” nature-based carbon credits, which are considered to be effective carbon removal solutions. Demand, however, has been affected by investor concerns about the integrity and credibility of underlying carbon projects. A recent study showed that executives in Southeast Asia are uncertain about the effectiveness of carbon pricing and trading in reducing emissions.
