The appointment follows Rochus Mommartz's decision to retire after 22 years with responsAbility.

UK investment house M&G has appointed Nadia Nikolova (pictured) as chief executive officer of responsAbility, effective 1 September, subject to regulatory approval.

Nikolova, formerly head of direct lending at Allianz Global Investors, will be succeeding Rochus Mommartz, who has decided to retire after 22 years with responsAbility since it was founded in 2003. Nikolova will report to Emmanuel Deblanc, CIO of private markets at M&G Investments and chair of responsAbility

Nikolova has spent more than a decade at Allianz Global Investors working in private markets across infrastructure debt, credit and real assets. In 2019, she established its sustainable and impact credit investment team, the firm said in a statement. Since then, she has scaled its blended finance strategy, led co-investments alongside development finance institutions, with two flagship funds and raised over €4.5 billion ($5.30 billion) in capital, including the launch of an impact private credit strategy focusing on small-cap impact companies in Europe.

Appointed as CEO in 2016, Mommartz has been an important figure in impact investment and the success of responsAbility. During his career, he has designed legal frameworks for the microfinance sector in eight countries and worked as a consultant to governments and regulators in more than 40 emerging markets. Whilst leading responsAbility, he has doubled its assets under management and, as the company sought to institutionalise its strategies and increase its distribution reach, led the company through its sale to M&G which completed in May 2022.

"Rochus has not only made a significant contribution to responsAbility, but has been a pioneer of the impact investing industry, which has gained traction in recent years. We wish him the very best for his forthcoming retirement,” Deblanc said. “We look forward to welcoming Nadia to responsAbility – a business that is important to the growth of our private markets strategy as investors seek managers with proven track records in financial inclusion, climate finance and sustainable food.”

responsAbility’s mission is to mobilise capital and invest in emerging markets, aiming to achieve financial returns while generating a positive societal and environmental impact focusing on three major themes – financial inclusion, climate finance and sustainable food. It is part of M&G’s €90 billion private markets business investing in private credit, private equity, infrastructure and real estate, investing on behalf of M&G’s £128 billion ($175 billion) Life Fund and external investors, including pensions funds.

responsAbility offers tailor-made and fund investment solutions to institutional investors. Since becoming part of M&G, the firm’s Life business has provided about £360 million of patient capital in total to responsAbility, including to its Asian climate and Latin American and Asian food strategies.