Christine Wang

“I could have played it safe and stayed on a respected, stable, well-worn path. I wanted to want that. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to take a leap and solve a problem that I care deeply about.”

As an investment research analyst, Christine Wang could not shed a nagging frustration about the state of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) reporting. Although she and her colleagues were required to incorporate ESG considerations into their investment recommendations, ESG data quality was severely lacking. This experience, coupled with her belief in the power of data and transparency to advance corporate and societal outcomes, ultimately inspired Christine to make the difficult decision to leave a stable, lucrative career to found Keenly, which enables companies to track and report on the highest-impact ESG metrics specific to their industry.

Christine began her investment research career at the investment management firm PIMCO. It wasn’t long before she was acutely aware of the severe lack of consistency and quality in the ESG reports that companies produced, which made it very difficult to evaluate their ESG performance. Beyond reporting requirements, she couldn’t help but feel that most of the data was of little use when it came to impacting ESG outcomes, something she felt very passionate about. However, she wasn’t sure if these issues were specific to her current firm or an industry-wide phenomenon. The answer would become clear a couple of years later when she accepted a role at Oaktree Capital Management as a High Yield Research Analyst. She quickly observed that while there was more internal scrutiny on ESG performance at Oaktree, the same data quality issues persisted.

Christine had validated that a problem -- and an opportunity -- existed. As an investor, she needed better data, but companies had no idea what to report or how to report it. A solution was needed to bridge the gap between companies and investors, and to give companies more actionable insights to affect ESG outcomes. Christine could not help but think that she was optimally suited to solve this problem, given her passion and professional background. She also knew that she was not alone: her former colleague at PIMCO, Tulsi May Caughell, had expressed similar frustrations and passions and was also motivated to do something about it. After discussing it, they decided the time was now or never. They began to work on Keenly and before long, they had both quit their jobs. They were all-in.

Since officially launching Keenly in June 2023, Christine and Tulsi have made extraordinary progress. They latched onto the insight that just a sliver of the Fortune 500 companies have the resources to produce and maintain custom, high-quality ESG reporting. It is simply not feasible for the other 4000 publicly-traded companies. And with the EU and SEC continuing to expand ESG reporting and compliance requirements, a solution was desperately needed. In addition to producing software to democratize high-quality ESG reporting, Christine and Tulsi tapped into their professional experience to differentiate Keenly as a investor-focused, pragmatic platform that offered its customers, many of whom don’t have deep budgets for ESG activities, the most bang for their buck. Keenly offers the market’s first right-sized solution, one that is tailored to meet individual companies’ needs. The market validation came quickly as they signed their first customer within a month or two and continue to gain momentum by the day.

It’s impossible to walk away from a conversation with Christine without feeling extraordinarily impressed. Being bored or complacent is not an option. Rather, she thrives on feeling uncomfortable and on learning, with grit and determination fueling her. Early in her career, she was promoted to lead key account sales for a new financial products business line at AQR Capital. She threw her hat in the ring for the opportunity precisely because, as a 27 year old woman of color, the idea of cold-calling and selling terrified her. The moment she got the job, she locked herself in a room to experiment with as many different sales tactics as she could think of. She learned what worked, developed a process, and ultimately brought in $400 million of business for the firm. This experience instilled in her the belief that she could accomplish any goal if she brought that same determination to the table.

When asked what she’s learned from entrepreneurs who have inspired her, Christine reflected, “all things are possible when smart people take the right risks.” While she wasn’t talking about herself, it’s impossible to deny that she and Tulsi are doing exactly that with Keenly.

Contact Christine

LinkedIn Website Email: christine (at) keenlyco (dot) com
Email hello@trovecommunity.com or contact us for an introduction.