Eddie Welch is an alternative asset specialist at Nuveen, a role he has held since April 2021.  He previously worked as an Associate at CIM Group, focused on real estate investing, and prior to that and his degree at Ohio State University worked in a wide variety of roles and played college football.

Between Series 1 and series 2 of 2023, we kicked off a brand new focus series – the Love Series – in celebration of love in February 2023.  This had a great response – reminding us of what made people human.  It sent one listener back to his old photo album to remind himself of his showjumping days, and others felt motivated to take up hobbies again.  

Now we are back to our main series focused on investment professionals but love runs through it like a golden thread.  Love, discipline, lessons from parents.  Our guests include a former college football player, who spent time working as a prison guard before returning to university and ultimately entering the investment industry, an expert on music valuation, multiple ESG and pensions specialists and founders of fund companies – large and small.  

Darren Johnson is Chief Operating Officer in Listed Equities and Executive Director at Impax Asset Management, where he is responsible for Global Operations, including Portfolio Services, Technology, Change/Project Management and Client Onboarding. He previously worked in a series of accounting and operations roles. Our conversation starts with his upbringing in South London and why he was born with a “silver spoon in his mouth”. We talk about the unlikely role model that emerged for him even at a very young age and how that character sowed the seeds for a career in the corporate world.

An inspiring discussion of how humble beginnings were the silver spoon needed to build a career and inspire change and impact.