People & Appointments: NNIP loses bulk of sustainable equities team to Neuberger

Neuberger Berman has reportedly poached seven of NN Investment Partners’ sustainable equities team, in a second wave of ESG-related departures from the Dutch manager in the past year. The news that head of sustainable and impact equities, Hendrik-Jan Boer, had left NN IP alongside portfolio managers Jeroen Brand and Alex Zuiderwijk and analysts Mark van der Geest, Aleksander Kushev, Camiel Mulders and Philip Chau, was disclosed in a Morningstar research note last week. Morningstar described Hendrik-Jan Boer as “instrumental to our conviction in this team given his vast experience in sustainable investing”. The specialists will be replaced temporarily by Jeroen Bos, Head of Specialised Equity and Responsible Investing; Ivo Luiten, who runs NN’s impact portfolios; Pieter Schop, a portfolio manager for global high dividend strategy; and Hans Slob and Oskar Tijs, both analysts for sustainable equities. Last year, NN IP saw an exodus of emerging markets debt specialists in a row over the integration of ESG.  

Michael Marshall has joined RPMI Railpen as Head of Sustainable Ownership. He joins the UK pension fund from Local Government Pension Scheme Central, where he worked as Director of Responsible Investment & Engagement from March 2018.

Real estate investor Savills Investment Management has hired Emily Hamilton as its head of ESG. Based in London, she will be responsible for the firm’s global sustainability strategy approach to ESG. She joins from Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, part of Grosvenor Group, where she had been since 2013, most recently as Associate Director for Sustainability.

Eaton Vance Management has appointed Eric Stein as Chief Investment Officer for Fixed Income, effective November 1. As part of the role, he will oversee the fixed-income investment strategies of the firm’s responsible investment affiliate Calvert Research and Management. He joins from Global Income Investments, where he has served as Co-Director since 2012 and  will replace Payson Swaffield, who previously announced his intention to retire. 

Susanne Stormer and Mark Vaessen will join the SASB Foundation’s Standards Board from January 2021. Stormer is Chief Sustainability Advisor at Novo Nordisk, headquartered in Denmark; and a member of the European Lab Steering Group’s newly-established Project Task Force, as well as the International Integrated Reporting Council and the International Corporate Governance Network board. Vaessen has been a partner in KPMG’s audit practice since 1999 and chairs its Better Business Reporting Network that is accountable for the due process, outcomes, and ratification of the SASB Standards. 

Robeco has expanded its SI Center of Expertise team by appointing Lucian Peppelenbos as Climate Strategist. Peppelenbos joins from APG Asset Management, where he served as Senior Responsible Investment and Governance Specialist.

The PRI is looking for three new members for its Private Equity Advisory Committee. Applicants should be relatively senior within their organisation and have a record of leadership on responsible investment in private equity. The three outgoing members who have completed their three-year terms are Tammy Bodnar from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board; James Holley from Bridgepoint; and Nicole Wilson from PSP.

2° Investing Initiative is hiring for several positions in their Paris, Berlin and London offices, including: Investor Relations Manager for a new programme focused on long-term risk management and a Senior Research Analyst to help lead the think tank’s partnerships with central banks and financial supervisors.

Investcorp has appointed Habib Abdur-Rahman, Principal of Corporate Development, as its internal ESG lead. Within this new role, Habib will be responsible for overseeing the accelerated adoption of a standardised ESG framework, including implementing and enhancing ESG alignment across all business lines and geographies at investment manager, according to a statement. Abdur-Rahman has been working at Investcorp since 2016.