People & Appointments: Danske Bank recruiting for head of climate and nature

Danske Bank is recruiting a head of climate and nature for its responsible investment team. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing and implementing climate and nature commitments across the Nordic manager’s investment process. They will also co-ordinate any climate or nature-related initiatives and support regulatory implementation.

Paul LaCoursiere has joined global boutique ESG strategy and due diligence advisory Close Group Consulting as a managing director. It comes after he left Janus Henderson Investors, where he spent more than two years as global head of ESG investments, in June. When asked about his replacement, a spokesperson for Janus Henderson said Michelle Dunstan, who joined the firm in January as chief responsibility officer, will “in this role” lead the investor’s corporate responsibility and responsible investing strategy and investments. LaCoursiere was formerly global head of ESG research at Aviva Investors and also spent several years working as a fixed income portfolio manager at Chicago Equity Partners, Aviva Investors, Barclays Global Investors and Munder Capital Management. 

The Principles for Responsible Investment has announced two appointments to its C-suite. Tamsin Ballard has been named chief initiatives officer, having been climate and environment director for the past year. She previously served as an international nature, climate and development deputy director at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Prior to this, she spent seven years at the Department for International Development where she held several roles, including deputy head of the climate and environment department. She was also head of climate finance policy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change between 2009-11.

Rose Easton has been promoted to interim chief responsible investment ecosystems officer at PRI. She joined the organisation in 2022 and was most recently senior director of global signatory relations. She previously worked in the banking and asset management sectors, holding roles at Ninety One, AllianceBernstein, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs. PRI is still recruiting a permanent chief responsible investment ecosystems officer.

Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System has appointed Lila Han as director of sustainable investing. She joins from Bridgewater Associates where she was director of innovation for more than one year. She has also held roles at Aon, Russell Investments and Northern Trust Global Advisors.

Jeroen Bos has been hired as global head of equity at AXA investment management. He left his role as global head of sustainable investing at Credit Suisse Asset Management last month, having joined the manager at the start of 2022. Bos previously spent more than 13 years as head of equities and responsible investing at NN Investment Partners. He will continue serving as a member on Adopt Rainforest’s board.

Canadian sovereign wealth fund Alberta Investment Management Corporation is hiring a climate innovation manager to work on the fund’s carbon footprint, climate scenario analysis and additional metrics to track client exposures to climate-related opportunities. The successful candidate will also calculate the financed carbon emissions associated with any potential investment during the due diligence process to advise the investment team, contribute to climate-related reporting and manage the ongoing climate taxonomy project.

Waleed Elgohary has joined Apollo as a partner in its climate equity team based in London where he will be responsible for leading climate equity investment opportunities in the EMEA region. He joins from CPP Investments where he was sustainable energies managing director.

Morgan Stanley is recruiting a climate and net zero implementation specialist to help drive the enactment of workstreams in support of achieving its net-zero commitment. The successful candidate will also contribute to external climate and carbon accounting initiatives, including the net-zero banking alliance.

Julia Haake has been elected as chair of the European Association of Sustainability Rating Agencies (EASRA), an association launched in June which aims to become the representative body of a new generation of sustainable finance service providers. Haake is the founder of Bhumi Consulting, a corporate sustainability advisory firm. She was also managing director of Moody’s ESG Solutions, having previously worked at ISS as global head of stewardship and engagement. She has been a member of the German government’s sustainable finance advisory council since June last year.

UK workplace pension scheme Nest is seeking a senior responsible investment manager. The successful candidate will lead the scheme’s stewardship and reporting activities, focusing initially on social factors. They will also support Nest’s reporting and engagement activities. The deadline for applications is 19 September.

Matt Jones has been promoted to chief impact officer at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC). He joined the organisation more than 13 years ago, having previously been head of nature economy. He is also co-chair of business and biodiversity assessment at the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and a board member at Mistra BIOPATH, a biodiversity research programme.

Julia Jasinska has joined JPMorgan Chase as sustainability vice-president. She joins from the Confederation of British Industry where she spent more than two years in sustainable finance policy roles. She previously worked as a financial services and climate senior executive at Hanbury Strategy.

Laura Abels has joined Pensioenfonds Metaal en Technie as a responsible investment adviser. She leaves Sociaal-Economische Raad after spending one year as policy supporter for the IMVO, the Dutch human rights partnership between NGOs and pension funds.

Neuberger Berman is hiring an ESG associate for its investment and stewardship team. The successful candidate will develop and implement the manager’s proxy voting guidelines, as well as analyse key proposals.

Danielle Vrublevskis has been promoted to research manager of investor standards at ShareAction. She joined the organisation more than a year ago as senior financial sector research officer.

CEO of 100 Women in Finance Amanda Pullinger is stepping down after nearly 10 years in the role. Chief operating officer and chief development officer, Nicole Wiley will act as interim CEO. Pullinger will act as a senior adviser to the organisation and said she will pursue opportunities on corporate and private boards.