WaterEquity has appointed Lauren Ferstandig as president, effective 1 Oct 2026. Paul O’Connell, who has served as WaterEquity’s president and chief executive officer since 2019, will continue as chief executive officer.
As president, Ferstandig will be responsible for the general and active management of the company and will report to the council of directors, WaterEquity’s primary governance and oversight body.
Since joining WaterEquity in Apr 2025 as managing director and chief strategy officer, Ferstandig has worked with the firm’s investment teams to strengthen its investment process, pipeline origination and execution, and team capacity, including appointing new leadership for its private equity strategy.
She has also led the development of new capital structures aimed at expanding WaterEquity’s investor base and responding to changing market demand. Her appointment as president follows these contributions and will see her take on a broader leadership role as the organisation expands.
“It has been a pleasure to work with Lauren since she joined WaterEquity 18 months ago,” said Paul O’Connell, chief executive officer of WaterEquity. “In that time, she has had a measurable impact on how we operate and how we position ourselves for growth. Her know-how, creativity and energy have already produced strong results for us in creating new product lines and in adapting to the challenging external environment.”
As chief executive officer, O’Connell will continue to serve on the council of directors and remain on WaterEquity’s private debt and private equity investment committees.
“Lauren’s appointment acknowledges all she has built at WaterEquity and our confidence in her ability to lead the firm through its next stage of growth,” said Amy Bell, director, council of directors, WaterEquity, and chief financial officer, MCE Social Capital. “The council is glad to formalise what is already clear: she is the right person to help WaterEquity navigate all that comes next.”
Before joining WaterEquity, Ferstandig spent 11 years at The Nature Conservancy’s NatureVest, the organisation’s impact investment unit. She joined the organisation in 2014 as director of product development, focusing on water and agricultural investments and leading the structuring and execution of NatureVest’s involvement in investment funds across Australia, Chile, the US and Mexico.
She presented this work at World Water Week in Stockholm and was published through the Global Water Forum. In 2022, she became managing director and head of NatureVest, overseeing the sourcing, structuring and impact management of approximately $3.5bn in committed conservation capital across four continents.
Prior to The Nature Conservancy, Ferstandig spent more than a decade at Ares Management, a global alternative asset manager, working across private credit strategies in the US and Europe.
She holds a master of science with distinction in international relations from the London School of Economics, where her research focused on transboundary water resource agreements in East Africa. She also holds a bachelor of arts with honours in American literature and civilisation from Middlebury College and a certificate in business and finance from Columbia University.
“Water is beginning to gain recognition from people, companies and governments as an area of real value, and we believe WaterEquity is well placed to help meet that need,” said Ferstandig. “We have spent a decade investing in water and sanitation with a focus on SDG 6, and we benefit from the technical support of Water.org, which has worked to advance water and sanitation lending across the global south for decades.
“As president, my focus is to deepen our investment capabilities, develop new products that bring more institutional capital into this space, and keep proving that water and sanitation is a credible, high-impact place to put capital to work. I am glad to be doing it alongside this team.”
Ferstandig will assume the role of president on 1 Oct 2026.
