Asset4 data director joins SAM while SAM research head departs

Christopher Greenwald, Director of Data Content at ASSET4, the Swiss ESG research business that was acquired by Thomson Reuters in 2009, has left the company to join Swiss sustainability manager, SAM, as Head Sustainability Applications & Operations. Greenwald started his new role at SAM on February 1. Responsible-investor.com can also reveal that SAM’s former Head of Research, Pierin Menzli, has left the company following a major recent senior staff reshuffle. Earlier this week, RI reported that SAM, the $15.8bn Zurich-based sustainable investment subsidiary of Dutch fund manager, Robeco, had parted company with Stephanie Feigt, its Chief Investment Officer (CIO), and promoted three of its key division heads up to positions on its executive committee. Daniel Wild, former senior analyst at SAM has been promoted to the Head of Research position at the manager.
Link to previous story The changes at SAM follow the appointment of former Credit Suisse Asset Management executive, Michael Baldinger, as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the end of 2010.Jeff Wild, Head of Communications at Asset4, said it had not yet named a replacement for Greenwald: “Chris has been an important part of ASSET4 for a number of years and we’re looking at the right kind of profile for his replacement.” Thomson Reuters bought ASSET4 in November, 2009 for an undisclosed amount amidst a wave of consolidation in the ESG research sector. Last year, it also acquired Oslo-based environmental market data and analytics provider Point Carbon. The firm recently signed up to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. In December 2010, Eija Hietavuo, head of business management, CEMA, investment management & research at Thomson Reuters, who was closely involved in the deal to acquire ASSET4, left Thomson Reuters to pursue further academic studies. Since the acquisition of ASSET4, Thomson Reuters has announced it will push out environmental social and governance (ESG) data to about 45,000 buy & sell side investment analyst clients via its Datastream service.