People & Appointments: BlackRock poaches Christopher Kaminker from Lombard Odier

BlackRock has poached Christopher Kaminker from Lombard Odier to become deputy head of BlackRock Sustainable Investing. Kaminker, who was group head of sustainable investment research, strategy and stewardship at the Swiss investor, was previously head of sustainable investment research at Swedish bank SEB and has held roles at Goldman Sachs and SocGen. He spent seven years as the lead economist and policy adviser for sustainable finance at the OECD.

Chris van der Merwe has joined Brunel Pension Partnership as a responsible investment officer. He has previously interned with the Transition Pathway Initiative and leaves his role as a graduate management consultant at Atkins.

The German central bank is looking for someone to head up its new sustainability hub. The successful applicant will be responsible for leading the Bundesbank’s sustainability team and developing its climate and sustainability agenda. They will advise executive board member Sabine Mauderer in her work as vice-chair of the Network for Greening the Financial Sector.

Nicole Yazbek-Martin will lead the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute’s work on developing a green taxonomy. She has held a number of government and regulatory roles – most recently as director of financing solutions for nature in Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Fiona Reynolds, former CEO of the Principles for Responsible Investment, has also joined the Institute’s board.

The German arm of think tank 2 Degrees Investing Initiative has appointed Lea Siering as its new CEO, replacing Jakob Thomä, who will become the organisation’s principal for strategy and investment. Siering, who will take up the role from October, does not have a background in climate finance. Instead, she specialises in fintech and retail investing. She is currently chief risk officer at finleap.

Ashley Alder will step down as CEO of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission and chair of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions to chair the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. Alder, who has been vocal about the need for regulators and disclosure bodies to address climate risk, will take up the role in January 2023 for a five-year term. He will replace interim chair Richard Lloyd, who will return to his role as senior independent director.

Lorenz Stör has left his role as head of global climate analytics at ISS ESG to join the sustainability team at Munich Re. Stör joined ISS ESG in 2016 as responsible investment adviser from the Vienna University of Economics and Business, where he worked as a graduate research and teaching assistant.