People & Appointments: Transition Pathway Initiative poaches Nuzzo from PRI

The Transition Pathway Initiative has appointed Carmen Nuzzo as executive director of the Global Climate Transition Centre. The centre was established as part of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics in June last year, and formally launched in October. Nuzzo – whose career includes stints at Morgan Stanley and ShareAction – will take up the role in May, leaving her current position as head of fixed income at the Principles for Responsible Investment after five years of service.

Also leaving the PRI is Lorenzo Saa, who has been tapped by Clarity AI to take up the role of chief sustainability officer. Saa has spent 13 years at the PRI, most recently as chief signatory relations officer.

The Science Based Targets initiative has named CDP co-founder and former CEO Paul Simpson as a strategic adviser. He previously served on the organisation’s board for eight years until June last year. Simpson headed up non-profit CDP for more than 20 years and still works as a special adviser to the CEO. In his new role, he will develop strategies for the SBTi’s next phase of development, including work with financial institutions and on scope 3 targets.

AXA Investment Managers has appointed four members to its investment institute advisory committee. Olivier Blanchard, economics professor at MIT and former economic counsellor at the research department for the International Monetary Fund, will serve as economics adviser, while Nigel Topping, policy adviser and former climate champion for COP26, will advise on climate. Two nature and biodiversity advisers have been sourced from the WWF in France: director of corporate engagement Marie-Christine Korniloff and head of sustainable business practices Nicolas Loz De Coëtgourhant.

JPMorgan’s ESG research vice-president Rupert Rink has been named chair of UKSIF’s analyst committee, which advises on sustainable finance issues and solutions between organisations. Rink has held several ESG roles across Citi, Impax Asset Management and S&P Global’s Trucost. He has served as a UKSIF analyst committee member since 2021. Jessica Henry, ESG senior analyst at Man Group, and Euan Ker, senior responsible investment associate at Aegon Asset Management, have both been re-elected to the committee for a second term. New responsible investment and stewardship appointees include Miriam Benarey from Impax Asset Management, EdenTree Investment Management’s Carlota Esguevillas, Philipp Kloucek from USS Investment Management, and Federated Hermes’ Pauline Lecoursonnois.

Swedish asset manager Öhman Fonder has appointed Erik Durhan as head of corporate governance and sustainability. He will join the firm from Nordea, where he has worked for more than 12 years.

Nordea Life and Pensions is seeking a head of sustainability and responsible investments to progress its ESG agenda. The candidate will develop and implement a sustainability roadmap alongside senior management and the company’s board. Applications close on 31 March.

Vai Patel has been hired as head of ESG Europe at Alcentra following 10 years of service at Lloyds Banking Group. He led Lloyds’ ESG advisory and financing team, structuring sustainable financing solutions and implementing ESG ratings processes.

Sycomore Asset Management has appointed Denis Panel as CEO, replacing co-founder Emeric Préaubert. Préaubert will remain a member of the supervisory board once Panel takes over at the start of April. Panel joins from BNP Paribas, where he served as chief investment officer of its multi-asset, quantitative and solutions investment group for more than five years.

Duncan Paterson has joined the Investor Group on Climate Change as director of investor practice, a newly created position at the organisation. Paterson has been a member of the IGCC since 2020, when he joined the policy and advocacy working group. He spent 16 years as chief executive of ISS ESG Australia and led its ESG programmes across the APAC region after stepping down as CEO.

Rathbone Greenbank Investment has hired David Cox as head of investments. He joins from Brunel Pension Partnership, where he served as deputy chief investment officer for five years. Cox has also held roles at JPMorgan Asset Management and Fidelity International.

The Environmental Defense Fund is seeking a sustainable finance managing director in its EDF+Business. The appointee will lead the sustainable finance team’s strategy and priorities, as well as engaging with the corporate finance sphere to advise them with science-based information for decarbonising portfolios.

James Smith has been appointed as a director at Swiss green finance advisory and investment firm Posaidon Capital. He joins from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, where he worked on nature climate solutions. He was formerly a carbon technical lead for several climate and biodiversity investment funds at Mirova.

ING Bank‘s Dutch office is recruiting a planetary health consultant to advise and support the company’s executive committee on directing its sustainability strategy.