People & Appointments: John Kerry to advise TPG’s $2bn impact fund on renewables

US-based asset manager TPG has appointed former US Secretary of State John Kerry as a Senior Advisor to its $2bn private equity impact investment vehicle, the Rise Fund. In the role, Kerry said he will focus on renewable energy opportunities, identifying investments and advising portfolio companies. TPG Growth Managing Partner Bill McGlashan said: “[Kerry] understands the kind of collaboration we need to solve the pressing social and economic issues that we’re directing Rise towards. He can bring government leaders together to help craft agreements and build consensus where they might not otherwise agree.”
Calvert Research and Management has named former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Small Business, Community Development and Housing Policy at US Department of the Treasury as Director of ESG Research. Jessica Milano will take on the newly-created role, based in Washington DC, where she will oversee the firm’s ESG research on global securities to determine which ESG factors are most significant in terms of company performance and societal impact. In addition to her most recent position at the US Treasury Department, which she left last year, was a also Senior Policy Advisor with the Treasury Department and the US Small Business Administration.
Pelle Pedersen, Head of Responsible Investments at PKA, has joined Denmark’s 2030 Panel, as one of eight recent appointments. Established by the Parliamentary Intergovernmental Network for UN World Objectives last summer, the 2030 Panel supports the 2030 Network, which promotes and monitors the implementation of the UN SDGs. According to the Chair of the 2030 Network, Kirsten Brosbøl, the appointments will bring important skills to the panel and as well as making it representative of more sectors. More information about the panel and a list of all panel members can be found here.
Dutch development bank FMO has appointed Peter van Mierlo as CEO, replacing Jürgen Rigterink, who left in April to continue his career at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Van Mierlo joins FMO from PwC, where he was Chairman of the Board of Management of PwC Netherlands and Managing Partner of PwC Europe. The appointment is approved by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to informing FMO’s shareholders.Unilever CEO Paul Polman and Standard Chartered Bank CEO Bola Adesola are now Vice Chairs of the UN’s Global Compact Board. UN Secretary-General António Guterres made the two appointments to replace outgoing Mark Moody-Stuart. The Global Compact describes itself as “the entry point for business within the broader United Nations system and the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world”.
Martina Macpherson has started a new position as GLC – ESG Risk Management at IHS Towers, a company which owns and operates telephone infrastructure. According to her LinkedIn, she will oversee governance, best practice and reporting activities. In March, Macpherson stepped down as Partner and Director of low-carbon investment advisory Sustineri, where she had worked for around six months. She was previously in ESG roles at S&P Global Ratings and S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Lynn Stout, the Cornell law professor who advocated the idea that boards have obligations to all stakeholders and not just shareholders, has passed away aged 61, according reports. She was suffering from cancer. Stout’s 2012 book The Shareholder Value Myth: How Putting Shareholders First Harms Investors, Corporations, and the Public, fed into public debate about how to better run corporations.
Bodo Winkler has had his role expanded at Germany’s BerlinHyp. The Head of Investor Relations at the bank – who is a familiar face on the green bond circuit – will now also manage its long-term funding. He will retain his existing role, and will continue to be active in the green bond market, he said. The move was part of a wider reshuffle of BerlinHyp’s activities and departments.