People & Appointments: Berg steps up to CEO at Climate Asset Management

Christof Kutscher has stepped down as CEO of Climate Asset Management after two years. His replacement Martin Berg has been promoted to CEO following more than two years as chief investment officer leading the company’s nature-based carbon strategy. He was formerly a partner at the global climate change advisory and investment firm, Pollination, which launched Climate Asset Management as a joint venture with HSBC Asset Management in 2020. Berg also spent more than nine years as head of environmental funds and climate policy unity at the European Investment Bank.

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) is seeking a low-carbon and net-zero investment specialist to work in its sustainable investment and stewardship strategies unit. The candidate will provide climate change expertise in support of CalSTRS net-zero-related investment strategies.

Staying in California, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) is recruiting a sustainable investing investment officer to identify the impacts of ESG, policy and climate risks. The candidate will also support a range of ESG, policy and climate-related activities across the fund.

Helen Price has joined the Church of England Pensions Board as governance director. She leaves Brunel Pension Partnership where she worked for more than five years, most recently as head of stewardship.

Vaishnavi Ravishankar is reportedly replacing Price as Brunel’s new head of stewardship. Ravishankar joins from the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) worked at the PRI for more than seven years in several governance roles, most recently as director of governance. Brunel had not replied to a request for comment at the time of writing.

Staying with the PRI, Scott Connolly has also stepped down from its board, where he has served as director since January 2022. His term was due to expire in 2024, however he has resigned to join the Australian Fair Work Commission as a commissioner. The PRI said the elections process to fill the vacant position will be announced soon.

LGPS Central has appointed Sheila Stefani as head of stewardship within its responsible investment team. She joins from TPT Retirement Solutions where she was responsible investment manager for more than one year. She has also worked at the Church Commissioners for England on its investment stewardship team.

Kara Succoso Mangone has been promoted to head of the sustainable finance group at Goldman Sachs. Mangone has worked at the bank for more than 14 years, previously holding roles including global head of climate strategy and chief operating officer of the sustainable finance group.

Christine Shaw has been named senior adviser for stewardship and sustainability at Franklin Templeton. She leaves her role as principal investment officer of corporate governance and sustainable investment at the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds. Shaw has worked at the State of Connecticut’s Office of the Treasurer for more than 20 years in various roles.

Former UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) executive secretary Yvo de Boer has been appointed as special ESG adviser at Nexta Investment Management. Boer is the president of Gold Standard and has held several sustainability roles across his career including deputy director general at the Netherlands Environment Ministry, global chairman of climate change and sustainability services at KPMG Advisory, and director general of the Global Green Growth Institute.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has named Melissa Campbell Duru deputy director for legal and regulatory policy in the division of corporation finance. Duru was most recently special counsel at Covington and Burling. She has held several roles at the SEC over 16 years, including senior special counsel at the office of the chief counsel.

AXA Investment Managers has appointed Marie Luchet as head of ESG and Sustainability of its private markets platform AXA IM Prime. She leaves ACA Group where she worked as head of ESG UK and Europe for one year. Luchet formerly worked at the Principles for Responsible Investment for more than five years where she designed and implemented the PRI’s European strategy as director of continental Europe.

Jessica Smith and Romie Goedicke have been promoted to co-lead the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative’s (UNEP FI) nature team. The team is responsible for efforts to improve the financial sector’s awareness and action on nature following the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and work on market-led developments such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Disclosures (TNFD). Both have worked at UNEP FI for more than two years, with Smith previously leading UNEP FI’s nature programme and Goedicke previously working as associate lead of partnerships and development.

Ernesto Infante Barbosa has joined The World Bank as a sustainable finance specialist. He leaves the International Finance Corporation (IFC) where he was a climate and sustainable finance senior consultant for one year. He is also the founder and CEO of Greenanlytics, a company which advises on sustainable finance and green construction.

Kristina Church has been appointed as global head of commercial sustainable solutions at BNY Mellon. She previously worked as head of responsible strategy at the investment arm of BNY Mellon. Church is also an audit, risk and finance board member at Future Academies. She was formerly a member of global responsible investment committee at the Alternative Investment Management Association and head of sustainable solutions at Lombard Odier Investment Managers.

Amanda Latham has left Barnett Waddingham to join IFM Investors as director of sustainable investment. She was previously policy and strategy lead at Barnett Waddingham for more than three years and also spent more than eight years as policy lead at The Pensions Regulator.

Karel Krticka has been appointed as private equity engagement senior manager at ShareAction. He leaves the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) where he worked as stakeholder relations manager at four years.

The Australian Sustainable Finance Institute (ASFI) is recruiting a natural capital project manager to help shape and lead the natural capital partnership and support ASFI’s policy input on the Australian Government’s nature positive policy agenda.

Mary Spink has been hired as an ESG analyst at the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors. She joins from Deloitte where she spent five years, most recently working as senior analyst of sustainability climate change.

La Banque Postale is recruiting researchers to work on the just transition and stranded assets. The project is due to start in September and will look to provide a definition of stranded assets, identify the different categories of stranded assets in the real estate sector, and propose a methodology for the financial measurement of stranded assets in the real estate sector. Applications are open until 30 June.

Patricia Keiko Hamzahee has joined as a board member of Big Society Capital’s investment committee. She is the founder of Integriti Capital which provides financial communications support to social entrepreneurs who need financing. She is also a director at Extend Ventures and co-founder of the Black Funding Network.