People & Appointments: Paul Simpson to step down as CEO of CDP

Paul Simpson, co-founder and CEO of the Carbon Disclosure Project, is to step down after 21 years at the organisation. Since Simpson became CEO in 2010, the organisation has tripled in size, with 13,000 companies representing 64 percent of global market capitalisation now disclosing through CDP, as well as 1,200 municipalities. He is due to leave at the end of June and CDP is searching for his replacement.

UBS has made two senior appointments to its European ESG advisory team, which is due to be headed by EQT’s current head of sustainability, Therese Lennehag. Lennehag will be joined by Josiane Fanguinovény and Viv Sedov, who respectively leave their roles at Sustainalytics’ ESG stewardship service and at EY’s global strategy consulting arm EY-Parthenon to become executive directors.

In other UBS news, Phyllis Kurlander Costanza has announced she is stepping down from her role as head of social impact and CEO at the UBS Optimus Foundation to help launch a market for social outcome credits. Kurlander Costanza joined UBS in 2011 from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, where she was an executive director. She will be replaced as head of social impact by Tom Hall and as CEO by Maya Ziswiler, currently deputy CEO.

The Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment is looking to hire an executive director to help scale its activities.

Ayako Kageyama has joined MUFG as head of sustainable finance strategy and transactions. Kageyama, who left her role as sustainable investing analyst at Fidelity International in February, was previously head of sustainable finance at Singapore renewables firm Vena Energy and director of sustainability finance at Standard Chartered.

Katie Beith has been appointed deputy chair of New Zealand’s National Advisory Board for Impact Investing. Beith, currently head of ESG at Forsyth Barr, joined the board in October 2020 and also sits on the External Reporting Board’s stakeholder advisory panel. She will hold the role for six months.

Sophie Lawrence has been promoted to stewardship and engagement lead at Rathbone Greenbank Investments. She joined the firm in January 2020 as senior ethical, sustainable and impact researcher from KKS Advisors, where she was a senior associate.