HACE: Data Changing Child Labour has appointed Eric Solomons as chair of the board ahead of its next stage of growth and the launch of its proprietary Child Labour Index.
Solomons will lead the Tech for Good company’s board as it assembles a team of industry experts to oversee the development of its one-of-a-kind specialist rating system.
HACE – which featured on our sister publication TechBlast’s Manchester Startups 2.0 list last year – is developing the only quantitative metric available on the market to report on child labour in real-time alongside a Stewardship Toolkit, to facilitate effective engagement between asset managers, wealth managers & institutional investors and organisations.
Solomons will develop company governance structures for the early-stage business to fulfil its huge growth potential following the completion of its £450,000 pre-seed funding round. He will also support HACE’s CEO, Eleanor Harry with strategy development, execution and business operations as the business scales.
The financial industry stalwart recently retired as the Manchester office managing partner at RSM, a leading provider of audit, tax and consulting services after seven years in the role.
“Welcoming Eric to our board brings a considerable level of professional services experience and financial sector wisdom to the business,” said Harry. “His appointment will help us scale sustainably following our recent funding round and add a new perspective to our senior team.
“Eric’s oversight of the business will help us reach the next level of growth as we take our product to market and work with the financial sector, and portfolio managers, to identify child labour risk in their investments.”
Solomons added: “HACE has huge potential to change the financial industry and bring genuine change to how the world’s largest businesses operate. Its AI-powered technology will help fast-track progress and transparency on working conditions in the supply chain across the world.
“I am looking forward to supporting Eleanor and the team on their mission to sustainably eradicate child labour from the supply chain for good.
“Using my almost four decades of experience in the professional services industry, I will help guide the business through its early stages and help develop it into a leading force in its market, creating value for the shareholders along the way.”
Joining Eric Solomons on the newly formed board of directors is Paul Inella, CEO of Washington-based Tetrid Digital Integrity, and John Freeman, senior director at Johnson & Johnson.
HACE’s specialist ESG rating generates three distinct risk scores on companies and portfolios in the specific area of child labour – company disclosure, public perception, and supply chain alongside a Stewardship Toolkit to enable investors to meaningfully engage with portfolio companies.
With 160 million children in child labour globally, HACE is leveraging the power of data and technology to aid the eradication of an increasing and emerging stand-alone risk, to both human rights and ESG more broadly.