2026 Finalists & Winners
Ambienta
Abenex
Argos Fund
Clean Growth Fund
ETF Partners: The Environmental Technologies Fund
Initiative & Finance
Nordic Alpha Partners
Summa Equity
Blume Equity
Clean Growth Fund
T2Y Capital
Tower Peak Partners
Palatine
Abenex
Andera Partners
Ardian
Clessidra Group
Eurazeo
Foresight Group
ICG
Lightrock
MML Capital Partners
Renaissance Partners for SICIT Group
APEM Group/WestBridge
BGF
Kelvion
MasterGrid
Milarex
Sensorfact
Triton Partners for Ramudden Global
GHO Capital
Graphite Capital
Infobric
Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC)
AIP Management
GHO Capital
Keensight Capital
Nordic Capital
Resource Partners
Triton Partners
Weight Partners Capital
Adams Street Partners
AG2R LA MONDIALE
Federated Hermes Private Equity
Bregal Anthos
AltamarCAM Partners
DECALIA
HarbourVest Partners
Qualitas Funds
Re:Co Insights
Anthesis
AXA Altitude
Danesmead Advisory
Groundswell Sustainability
Orbis Advisory
Seismic
Turbo Net Zero
Rede Partners
Jasmin Capital
Reach Capital
LYFE Capital
Gilde Healthcare
NorthEdge
Holtara.
Auquan
AXA Altitude
Carbometrix
Flotilla
GIST Impact
Re:Co Insights
Unwritten
ERM
AFRY Management Consulting
Anthesis
Auquan
AXA Altitude
Carbometrix
Paul Hastings (Europe)
Proskauer
Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Unwritten
AXA Altitude
Carbometrix
Flotilla
Greenscope
NatWest
OakNorth
Kartesia
Ares Management
BRIGHT CAPITAL
Colesco Capital
CVC Credit
Eurazeo
Houlihan Lokey
Summa Equity
Hamilton Lane
Eiffel Investment Group for Eiffel Energy Transition III
Ambienta
Astorg
Cinven
ICG
Investindustrial
PAI Partners
Triton Partners
Renaissance Partners
Ambienta
APHEON
Bregal Investments
FSN Capital Partners
Inflexion
Keensight Capital
Synova
Argos Fund
Abenex
Ambienta
EMK Capital
Graphite Capital
Innova Capital
Trill Impact
BGF
Initiative & Finance
LDC
NorthEdge
Resource Partners
WestBridge
Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC)
Clean Growth Fund
T2Y Capital
Hall of Fame
Michele Giddens
CEO & Co-Founder
Michele co-founded Bridges alongside Philip Newborough and Sir Ronald Cohen in 2002 and was Co-CEO alongside Philip Newborough from 2019-2024. Michele became CEO in summer 2024 and oversees all Bridges’ investment activity across our platform of funds, as well as strategy, operations, people and all other aspects of the business.
Michele has played a leading role in the growth of the sustainable and impact investing sectors in the UK and worldwide. She was an adviser to the UK Treasury’s Social Investment Task Force in 2000 and chaired the Community Development Finance Association from 2003-2005. She chaired the UK National Advisory Board on Impact Investing (part of the Global Social Impact Investment Steering Group) from 2016-18, chaired a Global Working Group on Policy for the G7 Impact Investment Taskforce, and sat on the BVCA Council. She served as a Non-Executive Director on the board of CDC (now BII), the UK Government’s Development Finance Institution, from 2014-2022. Michele was also a Trustee for the Bridges Impact Foundation from 2018-2024. She is currently on the Board of GSG Impact.
Michele has over 30 years’ experience in sustainable and impact investing and international development finance, having previously worked with International Finance Corporation, the private sector financing arm of the World Bank Group, and with Shorebank Corporation, one of the leading community development banks in the USA, where she ran small business lending programmes in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, and advised on microfinance in Bangladesh, the Middle East and Mongolia.
Michele has a BA Honours in Politics, Philosophy & Economics from Oxford University and an MBA from Georgetown University, Washington, DC. She was awarded an OBE for services to international development and social finance in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.