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Lena Horvath McAtee
Investment Manager
Lena is an investment manager and our head of sustainability based in our San Francisco office.
She began her career in investment advisory services at a multi-family office in Beverly Hills, and later worked for a mission-driven financial services firm.
Lena holds a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.
Lena’s interest in sustainable finance and impact investing led her to the Berkeley Haas MBA program, where classwork and internships ignited her interest in the food system and especially regenerative agriculture. She joined Re:food to apply her degree to the intersection of these interests.
Outside work, you might find her running or cycling in the Berkeley hills, hunting down fresh California produce at the farmers market, or visiting family and friends across the US and Europe.
“I am exploring the ways that our investment industry can use capital to enable a sustainable and regenerative food system.”
Stories
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September 4, 2023
Segment Scoring Methodology
We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about innovations in the food system and their potential to both drive transformative shifts within our four investment themes and generate returns. Following the guidelines laid out in the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, we developed a methodology to rank these innovations, which we call segments, so we can focus on those with the greatest potential.
August 28, 2023
Sustainable Supply Chains
Modern food supply chains are long, linear, and wasteful. They depend on numerous stakeholders and middlemen, with little transparency or ability to track the flow of goods, emissions, and financial returns through the system. These supply chains have enabled urbanization and introduced new foods and flavors to our palates. But they have also decreased visibility into where our food comes from, increased food, nutrient, and plastic waste, and yet fail to ensure that nutritious foods are available to all people around the world. And the growth of these depletive supply chains is unsustainable. The alternative is short, circular supply chains that help us stay within our planetary boundaries while still moving food and resources to where they need to be, even as our population and economy continue to grow. Investing in this alternative is a key focus for us.
August 28, 2023
Healthy Soils
At the root of the food system is soil health, but modern agricultural practices are disrupting the soil food web and destroying precious topsoil. We believe that the Fourth Agricultural Revolution is happening now — a revolution that prioritizes soil health, that relies on biological processes, and that celebrates biodiversity above and below ground. We are investing in innovations that will help us preserve and build topsoil, the cornerstone of our food system, and will ensure that we can produce food in the future without sacrificing yields today.
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