PRI makes top-level hire of NYC Pensions Director for US signatory push

The UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Initiative has hired Diane Bratcher, the Director of the Mayor’s Pension Unit in the New York City Department of Finance, to lead its push to increase signatory numbers in the US. The high-level hire of Bratcher to the position of US Network Manager could help the PRI make a further breakthrough in the US where the number of signatories, notably amongst asset owners, is considered by many to be small relative to the size of the market, despite recent growth in interest. The PRI said Bratcher, who will be based in New York, would have a particular focus on recruiting pension funds and endowments to the initiative as well as supporting existing signatories with PRI implementation. Bratcher’s hire is a coup for the PRI. Prior to joining, she represented the New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, and the city’s Finance Commissioner on the trustee boards of its major pension funds and deferred compensation plan.Bratcher was also chair of the boards of the New York City Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) and Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS). She chaired the New York City Banking Commission and was a former Director of Communications & Strategic Planning for the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), an association of 250 North American religious institutional investors with combined portfolios worth over $100 billion. She is also a member of Amnesty International USA’s Investment Committee. James Gifford, Executive Director of the PRI, said: “We are delighted to welcome Diane Bratcher to the PRI. Her deep understanding of the US market and the relevance of responsible investment issues, combined with a strong track record working with local pension funds, will be instrumental in driving the initiative forward in the world’s largest capital market.”
 The PRI has 149 signatories in its US network and says the US is one of the fastest growing PRI networks globally.