WaterEquity Appoints Lauren Ferstandig as President

Lauren brings institutional private credit and large-scale impact investment experience to the role; Paul O'Connell continues as CEO.

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- WaterEquity today announced that Lauren Ferstandig has been appointed President, effective October 1, 2026. Paul O'Connell, who has served as WaterEquity's President and CEO since 2019, will continue as CEO. As President, Lauren will have responsibility for the general and active management of the business of the company and will report to the Council of Directors, WaterEquity's primary governance and oversight body.

Since joining WaterEquity in April 2025 as Managing Director and Chief Strategy Officer, Lauren has worked closely with the firm's investment teams to sharpen how deals move through the investment process, strengthen pipeline origination and execution, and build out team capacity, including bringing in new leadership for its private equity strategy. She has also led the development of new capital structures designed to grow WaterEquity's investor base and respond to evolving market demand. Her appointment as President reflects these contributions and positions her to take a broader leadership role as WaterEquity continues to scale.

Paul O'Connell, Chief Executive Officer, WaterEquity said, "It has been a pleasure to work with Lauren since she joined WaterEquity 18 months ago. 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 CEO, Paul will continue to serve on the Council of Directors and will 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. The Council is glad to formalize what is already clear: she is the right person to help WaterEquity navigate all that comes next." said Amy Bell, Director, Council of Directors, WaterEquity; CFO, MCE Social Capital.

Before joining WaterEquity, Lauren spent eleven years at The Nature Conservancy's NatureVest, the organization's impact investment unit. She joined TNC in 2014 as Director of Product Development, where she focused on water and agricultural investments and led the structuring and execution of NatureVest's engagement in investment funds with footprints across Australia, Chile, the United States and Mexico.  She presented that work at World Water Week in Stockholm and was published through the Global Water Forum. In 2022 she was elevated to Managing Director and head of NatureVest, overseeing sourcing, structuring, and impact management of approximately $3.5 billion in committed conservation capital across four continents.

Prior to The Nature Conservancy, Lauren spent over a decade at Ares Management, a global alternative asset manager. She worked across private credit strategies in the United States and Europe. Lauren 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, a Bachelor of Arts with honors in American Literature and Civilization from Middlebury College, and a Certificate in Business and Finance from Columbia University. 

Lauren Ferstandig said, "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. 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".

Lauren's appointment as President is effective October 1, 2026.

About WaterEquity

WaterEquity is an asset manager directing private investment to the water and sanitation sector in emerging markets, exclusively focused on solving the global water and sanitation crisis. WaterEquity invests directly in financial institutions, businesses, and infrastructure that help deliver safe water and sanitation solutions to low-income communities across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, while seeking financial returns for investors. Since 2016, WaterEquity has invested more than $563 million in capital and has improved access to safe water or sanitation for more than 10 million people.

Founded by entrepreneurs Gary White and Matt Damon of Water.org, the success of WaterEquity is built on decades of collective experience investing in water and sanitation in emerging markets.

Learn more at WaterEquity.com

Contact Information:

Faizneen Bharmal,
Senior Associate, Marketing
[email protected]
+1 (816) 877-8400

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SOURCE WaterEquity