She has stayed close to UnaTerra all along our journey providing an incredibly valuable sounding board. She is a charismatic leader, both in terms of developing purpose-led organizations and in terms of how to achieve environmental, social and governance objectives. She will be a unique partner to ensure that we have an unbiased third-party view of our investment agenda from an impact perspective and that we support our portfolio companies with cutting-edge sustainability plans driven by crystal clear purpose”.

Dr Victoria Hurth said: “We are living at the most important choice point for humanity’s long-term wellbeing – and ensuring the right money funds the right companies in the right way, has never, ever, been so important. I am therefore excited to formally support UnaTerra in its ambitions to set the benchmark for sustainable financing – not just in terms of astute decisions about what innovations to scale, but in helping lead the vital Venture Capital ecosystem towards the purpose-driven governance and decision-making that the world needs”.

This appointment is the first of a few announcements that UnaTerra will release in the coming weeks to reveal its full Sustainability Impact Committee. Tangentially, in a moment of profound debate about diversity and inclusion, UnaTerra’s Sustainability Committee includes a world-class leader like Victoria, showing that it is entirely possible to be committed to gender equality and attract impressive talent.

Many thanks to Victoria for her demonstrated support to UnaTerra and for her environmental and social leadership. We look forward to a fruitful and impactful long-term collaboration in the years to come.

Her work with cross-sector global organisations focuses on 5 key areas that underpin strategy and execution: purpose, governance, marketing, leadership and culture.

Victoria is a Fellow of the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and is engaged by CISL on a range of executive and academic leadership programmes thought leadership and research, including with some of the world’s largest financing organisations. She co-designed and is Head Tutor, for CISL’s online certificate: ‘Sustainable Marketing, Media and Culture.

Victoria is passionate about the role that standards have in clarifying emerging multi-stakeholder consensus in cutting-edge areas of practice: she was the Technical Author for the first National Standard in Purpose-Driven Organisations (PAS 808:2022) and prior to that co-led the 5-year development of first multi-stakeholder global benchmark in Governance of Organizations (ISO 37000:2021) – facilitating the consensus between more than 70 countries and 25 liaison organisations.

Victoria has been a regular UNCTAD review panel member for ISAR Honors on business reporting best practice, a member of the UNCTAD/UNEP Task Force developing a methodology for SDG indicator 12.6.1 (business sustainability reporting) and a member of CISL’s and WBCSD’s advisory groups on Governance. Victoria is the academic lead for Common Ground Research Network’s Climate Change Theme and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Scientist’s Warning Foundation. Victoria has published research papers and thought pieces in journals including: Nature Climate Change, Energy Policy, The New Scientist and Sustainable Development and was co-editor of a Frontier’s Special Issue on Re-purposing Universities for Sustainable Human Progress. She is regularly involved, and has led, research funding panels for a range of large European funders.

Victoria has over 20 years’ experience in marketing, management and sustainability, having previously worked for 3M and Accenture with companies including Marks and Spencer, Cancer Research, J Sainsbury. She also spent more than a decade as a full-time academic developing rigorous sustainable business tools at the Universities of Exeter and at the University of Plymouth as an Associate Professor of Sustainable Business and Marketing. She is an active board member, serving as a Non-Executive Director at the Soil Association Certification Ltd and previously for family hardware retail chain FTB Lawson Ltd. Victoria is a Chartered Manager and Chartered Marketer and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.