Teresa Mary "Tessa" Tennant ( Cormack; 29 May 1959 – 7 July 2018) was a British advocate of sustainable investment. She co-founded one of the UK's first green investment funds. She was a pioneer in the field of responsible investment and was described by ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' in its obituary notice as "a giant of green finance."

Life and career

Tennant was born in

Bletchingley Bletchingley (historically "Blechingley") is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill and to the west of Godstone, has a conservation area with medieval buildings and is mostly on a wide escarpment of the Gre ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, the youngest daughter and third of four children of Hon. Gwendoline Rita Jean Davis Cormack (née Davies) and John MacRae Cormack, an oil company engineer. Her mother was the daughter of David Davies, first Baron Davies, a Welsh Liberal politician and philanthropist. After attending Prior's Field School, Godalming, Tennant studied for a degree in human environmental studies at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. Following her graduation, she worked for the Green Alliance in the early 1980s. Subsequently, Tennant co-founded the UK's first green investment fund, the Merlin (now Jupiter) Ecology Fund, in 1988. During her career, Tennant helped lead and found several influential organisations for green and responsible investors including UKSIF, AsRIA and the

Carbon Disclosure Project The CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) is an international non-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom, Japan, India, China, Germany, Brazil and the United States that helps companies, cities, states, regions and public authoriti ...

. Among other roles, she served as a director of the Green Investment Bank. During her career, Tennant was a pioneer in the field of responsible investment. She led the creation and was first Chair of the Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia based in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

(ASrIA), and The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), which works with over 18,700 of the largest corporations and 1,100 local governments in the world to reduce their environmental impact.

Awards and honours

In June 2018, the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

''/IFC Transformational Business Awards presented Tennant with its inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award and announced that this award would be named after her in future. In 2018, she was awarded an OBE in recognition of her services to sustainable investment. She received her OBE at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has s ...

Marriage and family

Tennant met her husband-to-be, Henry Lovell Tennant, in South America during her

gap year A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is a period of time when students take a break from their studies, usually after completing high school or before beginning graduate school. During this time, students engage in a variety of educatio ...

. He was the second son of Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner and Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner,

lady in waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but ...

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. ...

. The couple married in 1983, and she became The Hon. Mrs. Henry Tennant. They separated after two years but did not divorce, remaining close friends. Henry Tennant died from

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

in 1990. The couple's son, Euan (born 1983), manages The Glen, the Tennant family estate in the Scottish borders. In 2007, she married Bill Staempfli, a New York-born architect.

Death

On 7 July 2018, Tennant died of

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...

aged 59. She spent her last months at The Glen with her family. A testimonial in ''

'' paid tribute to her networking skills and ability to work with and influence diverse groups by describing her as "A rainmaker who cajoled the religious and made them greener."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennant, Tessa 1959 births 2018 deaths Alumni of King's College London English environmentalists Deaths from ovarian cancer in Scotland English women in business Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Prior's Field School Tennant family 20th-century English businesspeople People from Tandridge (district)