Jonathan Szöke

I am a Director in the Transaction Services team, specifically focused on ESG due diligence. I believe that ESG is an important lens for value creation and value protection opportunities.

I have worked in the ESG space for over 20 years. Primarily with private equity (PE) clients on both buy-side and sell-side transactions, helping them identify ESG opportunities and risks associated with their deals.

I started with environmental management and evolved to health, safety and environmental advisory for large internationally funded development projects. This hands-on experience allows me to bring a pragmatic approach to ESG and ESG due diligence. I have worked in multiple sectors including energy, infra, IT, healthcare, manufacturing, waste management (and circular economy), consumer, professional services, and leisure and entertainment.

One of my rewarding experiences was working as part of a team assisting a mid-cap PE firm with an investment process. I worked closely with the deal team who had limited experience with ESG. Through this process, the deal team developed their knowledge, and in collaboration with the portfolio company management, helped them leverage ESG to identify post-deal opportunities, new market opportunities, and bolt-on synergies. Since this transaction the deal team has continued to grow their ESG knowledge and is now actively incorporating ESG into investment opportunities.

Outside of work and the office, I am an avid reader of fiction. I think it’s important to keep our imagination engaged, and it gives me an opportunity to recharge my social battery.

As an avid foodie, I cannot let a meal pass without a good wine, so it is no surprise that I should love travelling to experience both food and wine. Some of my favourites include Japan, Italy, Vietnam and Singapore.