Chris DeSa is a managing director in the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Advisory practice, based in Los Angeles. Chris serves as a trusted advisor to clients on ESG and sustainability-related matters, including with climate-related risks and opportunities, ESG materiality assessments and benchmarking, KPI selection, sustainability accounting and reporting, and internal controls.
Chris DeSa is a managing director in the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Advisory practice, based in Los Angeles. Chris serves as a trusted advisor to clients on ESG and sustainability-related matters, including with climate-related risks and opportunities, ESG materiality assessments and benchmarking, KPI selection, sustainability accounting and reporting, and internal controls.
He also assists private equity funds and companies with pre-acquisition ESG screening, due diligence and risk assessments as well as post-acquisition remediation plans.
Prior to Kroll, Chris was a managing director in the Risks & Investigations practice at FTI Consulting, where he assisted clients with identifying, investigating and managing complex environmental, political, social, labor and compliance risks. Chris also assisted external counsel with expert witness and advisory services on complex securities class actions and enforcement actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ).
Chris also previously served as an associate director at Control Risks, where he advised multinational clients on matters related to regulatory compliance, reputational risks and corporate intelligence. He began his career as an associate in the São Paulo office of White & Case, where he advised clients as a U.S. securities and capital markets lawyer.
Chris offers particular expertise helping clients to ensure the integrity, consistency and transparency of their ESG data and climate-related disclosures under evolving U.S. and international ESG regulations and norms. He has significant experience on energy transition issues, environmental standards and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting, having assisted NYSE-listed public companies preparing for attestation and assurance on their ESG disclosures, including around their GHG emissions inventories and disclosures (Scopes 1, 2 & 3) and the related internal controls and systems.
Chris received a Master of Philosophy with distinction from the University of Oxford, a J.D. with honors from the University of Texas at Austin (where he was a member of the Texas Law Review) and a Bachelor of Arts from UCLA. He holds a certificate in Sustainable Capitalism & ESG from UC Berkeley School of Law and a certificate of proficiency in Organizational GHG Accounting from the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute.
Chris is fluent in Portuguese, having lived and worked extensively throughout Brazil.
2023 Fraud and Financial Crime Report
2023 Fraud and Financial Crime Report
Kroll analyzed global data from 400 senior leaders across three continents to gain insights into the current financial crime landscape and learn how technology might stop the threat of economic, crypto and ESG crimes.
Key findings from the report include:
- 69% of global respondents expect financial crime risks to increase over the next 12 months.
- 61% of respondents agree that ESG factors should be a consideration for all businesses and part of every financial crime compliance program.
- Less than half of respondents are confident in calculating greenhouse gas emissions.
- Almost two-thirds of respondents are concerned about ESG as it relates to their supply chains.
New California Legislation Adds to Growing Global Climate Disclosure Requirements for Public and Private Enterprises
New California Legislation Adds to Growing Global Climate Disclosure Requirements for Public and Private Enterprises
On October 7, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two landmark climate-related bills—SB 253 and SB 261—that significantly expand environmental and climate-related disclosure requirements for public and private entities that do business with the State of California.
Environmental, Social and Governance Advisory Services (ESG)
Advisory and technology solutions, including policies and procedures, screening and due diligence, disclosures and reporting, investigations, value creation, and monitoring.
