People & Appointments: Standard Chartered loses global head of sustainable finance

Daniel Hanna, global head of sustainable finance at Standard Chartered, has announced he is leaving his role. Hanna, who is on gardening leave before taking up an undisclosed new position in the sustainable finance space, was responsible for setting up the sustainable finance business within the bank during his 13-year tenure. His other roles include head of corporate lending product and chief of staff to the bank’s group CEO.

Credit Suisse has poached James Purcell, group head of sustainable, thematic and impact investments at Quintet, to become its new head of sustainability frameworks. According to an internal memo seen by Responsible Investor and confirmed by a spokesperson, Purcell will report directly to CSO Emma Crystal and will work on the bank’s sustainable investment framework and sustainable activities framework. Before joining Quintet, Purcell was also global head of sustainable and impact investments at UBS Asset Management.

Abrdn has appointed Fionna Ross as head of its new sustainability institute in the Americas. Previously senior ESG analyst for US equities, Ross has spent 14 years at the firm and is already co-head of its Americas ESG network. Abrdn’s newly announced institute is modelled on a similar one developed by the Edinburgh-based manager in the Asia Pacific region last year. 

Jennifer Bell, who RI reported left her role as manager for climate and nature risk at the Bank of England last week, has announced she will be joining Barclays as VP of climate change.

Imran Ustad has been promoted to director, sustainable finance solutions at Sustainalytics. Ustad joined the firm in March last year from Arabesque, where he was head of ESG research, and has previously held ESG roles at MSCI and EY.

The Swedish government agency established to run the country’s new premium pension platform has hired two senior figures from AP1 to be part of its management team. Majdi Chammas and Tina Rönnholm, who are currently responsible for external managers and ESG at the fund, will become head of procurement and product offering and head of manager research at the new agency, respectively.

Ellen Pedersen has joined Velliv as an active ownership specialist. She leaves her role as an ESG analyst at AP Pension, where she has worked since 2020.