R. Paul Herman, FSA
CEO + Founder * Chief Investment Officer * Portfolio Manager * Series 65 Investment Adviser
R. Paul Herman is a globally recognized leader in investing to pursue positive impact and profit. HIP (Human Impact + Profit) Investor licenses 140,000 impact investment ratings of stocks, bonds, and funds to investors, investment advisers, wealth advisers, fund managers, hedge funds, fiduciaries, and retirement plans, including 401(k)s. HIP’s Ratings have helped drive the Newsweek Green Rankings and the Peter Drucker Index. HIP’s Strategies focus on “great places to work,” sustainable real estate, global dividends, and sustainability leaders.
Herman’s 2010 text-book, e-book, and audio-book The HIP Investor: Make Bigger Profits by Building a Better World is published by John Wiley & Sons), and is included in 28 university, MBA and MPA curricula worldwide on finance, capital markets and impact investing.
Herman is a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, advised Boards and executives while with McKinsey and Company, found and funded social entrepreneurs at Ashoka.org, and shaped and measured impact investments at eBay founder Pierre Omidyar’s Network. Herman is an adviser to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Net Impact and Sustainable Brands.
*R. Paul Herman is CEO and a registered representative of HIP Investor Inc., an investment adviser registered in California, Washington, and Illinois.
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Nick Gower, FSA
President, HIP Investor Ratings LLC
Through Climate & ESG product development and deployment, Nick manages HIP’s portfolio of clients and drives growth through strategic partnerships. Finding alignment and interoperability between frameworks (CSRD, SFDR, CDP, SBTi, ISSB/SASB, TCFD), he identifies KPIs and leading indicators to use data for social and environmental good. Nick and his team architect, build, and deploy HIP’s corporate, municipal, fund, and portfolio ratings of impact and profit potential. They build custom ratings frameworks and toolkits for investors, foundations, international consortia, and sustainable development networks. Leveraging that experience, Nick engages with industry-wide awareness-building and storytelling, and participates in several social venture accelerators as a business startup mentor, panelist and pitch coach. Nick works with local governments to derive funding and financing strategies for climate action. Nick studied Economics and Psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill, and brings that cross-pollinated approach to impact investing.
Onindo Khan, M. Sci.
Executive Vice President, Impact Ratings and Research
Onindo designs, improves, and deploys financial technologies and intelligence into HIP’s corporate, muni, fund, and portfolio ratings. Onindo ensures that the HIP Ratings continuously represent our latest analysis of corporate results relating to human impact and profit potential. Onindo earned his M.Sci. in Logic from the University of Amsterdam and holds a B.Sci. in Mathematics from the Ruhr Universität Bochum. Before joining HIP, Onindo worked as an analyst in the governance team at As You Sow, focusing on compensation issues, like overpaid CEOs. Out of the office, Onindo enjoys being outdoors while sailing, biking or hiking.
Amir Khaleghi, M.A.
Vice President, Impact Ratings and Product Development
Amir Khaleghi analyzes, innovates, and integrates impact data for HIP’s municipal bond ratings. Additionally, his work also pertains to improving high-level workflow systems and efficiencies in team collaboration. Amir has received a Master of Arts in Economics and is a PhD Candidate at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is deeply interested in the intersection of ESG and sociology to better understand how the transition to a greener economy can maximize societally beneficial outcomes. In his spare time, you can find Amir on a mat practicing Jiu Jitsu or at home playing with his cats.
Zachary Worthington, MBA
Executive Vice President, Operations, Talent, and Finance
Zach leads operations, talent, and finance at HIP Investor. Zach manages client reporting and is active in client development. Prior to starting at HIP, Zach was a food-related entrepreneur, from designing a commercial aquaponics system to opening a wine bar. Zach earned an MBA from Presidio Graduate School where his interest in social change was converted into a lifelong personal integration. When not fighting for increased transparency in capital markets, Zach can often be found in the kitchen or on a basketball court.
RATINGS & ANALYTICS TEAM
Anna Rautenberg, MPA
ESG Impact Investing Analyst
Anna graduated with a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from Columbia University with a concentration in international finance and specialization in data analysis. She has lived in seven different countries for work and study, such as Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Belgium, and Germany. Her previous experience includes working in international development at the European Commission. More recently Anna has explored impact investing and sustainable finance while consulting on projects for an impact investing fund and the World Bank. She is interested in helping to engage the financial sector to tackle challenges around energy transition, biodiversity protection and climate change through a data driven approach. At HIP, Anna helps to prepare, analyze and display municipal bonds data, and builds ESG ratings.
Cole Gleeson
ESG Impact Investing Analyst
Cole builds, analyzes, and evolves HIP Investor’s ESG Strategies and Portfolios with the Chief Investment Officer. Cole led the strategy construction of HIP’s Science Based Targets for Climate Action, prioritizing greenhouse gas reductions (GHGs), launch in August 2019. Cole recently graduated from Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in Finance. In his spare time you will find Cole doing anything and everything involving sports, from basketball to golf.
Liana Lan, MPP
ESG Impact Investing Analyst
Liana graduated with a Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree from the University of Chicago with specialization in Finance and Statistics. Prior to HIP, she delved into computational social sciences through various research assistantships at esteemed institutes like Energy Policy Institute, Center for Spatial Data Science, and Harris International Policy Action Lab. At HIP, Liana leverages her coding and statistical modeling skills to quantify impact and innovatively enhance rating frameworks. With a B.S. degree in Human Geography, Liana also integrates her GIS expertise via spatial analyses and compelling map visualizations. Beyond work, Liana is a classically trained pianist. She enjoys performing enchanting pieces for local communities, fueled by a passion for creating positive impacts through both responsible investing and the universal language of music.
SENIOR ADVISORS TO HIP INVESTOR
Chander Balakumar, M.Sci, CAIA, CFA Level 1 Candidate
Senior Advisor
Chander completed his Masters of Science in Financial Analytics from the University of Michigan, where he also earned his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Chander was a member of the University of Michigan’s Development Summer Internship Program (D-SIP), where he worked alongside top fundraising professionals and began his career in philanthropy. He then set about exploring the different facets of philanthropy, from fundraising within the alumni office at the University, to consulting at a fundraising consulting firm, and eventually worked at the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, where he explored impact investing, as well as serving clients and building platforms at HIP Investor.
Logan Yonavjak, MBA, MF
Senior Advisor
Logan is an investment professional with almost two decades solving systems-level challenges to advance a resilient relationship between tech, people, and ecosystems, serving endowments, private wealth firms, and family offices. Logan’s work in financial services has involved connecting high net worth individuals and other investors to impact investment opportunities. Logan’s experience includes Head of Sustainability at International Farming, co-founding sell side advisory firm Provenance Capital Group, World Resources Institute, Morgan Stanley, the Yale Investments Office, and CREO Syndicate. Logan has also developed new financial models and tools, particularly focused on land conservation and restoration. Logan holds an MBA in Asset Management and Master of Forestry from Yale University and a B.A. with Distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Logan has participated in numerous fellowships in the conservation and climate tech space (PERC, 2012; Kinship, 2013; OnDeck, 2021) and is part of several impact investing angel groups (Pipeline Angels, Blue Angels, and Angels.VC)
Megan Morrice, MBA
Senior Advisor
Megan is the Program Director of the Sustainable and Impact Finance Initiative at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. She also is the co-founder of ValuesAdvisor, a matchmaking platform for clients to find advisors who specialize in sustainable investing. Megan previously worked as the ESG specialist for EQIS Capital Management and led client and partnership development at HIP Investor, a global leader in impact investing. She holds an MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School, where she later taught courses on sustainable capital markets and multi-sectoral finance.
Megan is passionate about helping students, investors, and organizations understand their financial options, align their money with their desire for social and environmental impact, and creating financial products that best serve the needs of people.
Yelena Danziger, JD
Senior Advisor
Yelena advises HIP Investor on strategic pathways to growth. Prior to HIP, she worked 10 years as a corporate and licensing attorney with significant experience providing advice on legal and business strategy to senior technology and life sciences executives. Her background in corporate law equips her with strong analytical skills and extensive knowledge of corporate structure and finance, while her passion for social responsibility and impact investment is deepened through coursework towards a Certificate in Sustainable Management at Presidio Graduate School with a focus on sustainable strategy, finance, and capital management. Yelena was a Chancellor’s Scholar at UC Berkeley, and earned her J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law.
