People & Appointments: LGIM, IFRS, AllianceBernstein and SUSI Partners

Shuen Chan has been appointed Head of ESG at LGIM Real Assets, a subsidiary of UK asset manager Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM). She will focus on incorporating sustainability in the division’s real estate equity platform and private credit portfolio in addition to other areas of the business. Shuen, formerly at Deutsche Bank and HSBC, most recently co-founded sustainability consultancy Sustineri, which wound down operations last year.

Robert Main, the former Vanguard Head of Investment Steward for the Americas and Asia, has established a governance advisory firm with three former colleagues from the Vanguard stewardship team, according to Reuters. Main has partnered with Jessica Strine and Marc Lindsay, former Vanguard senior directors, and Amy Hernandez, a senior analyst, to establish Sustainable Governance Partners.

Sacha Romanovitch has been appointed by London-based impact investment specialists Leapfrog Investments as a Non-Executive Director. Romanovitch was previously CEO of Grant Thornton – the first woman to lead a City accountancy firm – and was ousted after being accused of pursuing “a socialist agenda” which included capping her salary and introducing an employee profit-sharing scheme. She is currently CEO of Fair4All Finance, a UK government-funded body addressing financial inclusion.

Michelle Dunstan and Sharon Fay have been named AllianceBernstein’s Global Head of Responsible Investing and Chief Responsibility Officer, respectively. Both will oversee the firm’s responsible investing strategy – including research and stewardship functions. Dunstan is a currently a manager for the AB Global ESG Improvers portfolio and Senior Research Analyst for Value portfolios, while Fay is Co-Head of Equities.

Delphine Queniart has been appointed BNP Paribas’s Global Head of Sustainable Finance & Solutions for Global Markets, reporting to Olivier Osty, Head of Global Markets. In this role, Queniart will leverage the company’s carbon trading capabilities, research and risk management solutions for investors.

Bill Coen has been appointed Chair of the IFRS Advisory Council, which supports trustees of the IFRS Foundation – the independent standards setting body of the IFRS accounting body. The appointment is for a period of 12 months, with an option for one renewal. Coen has served on the Council since 2016 and was formerly Secretary General of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

Kristian Narvesen Nammack has left his role as Strategic Advisor to US non-profit the Sustainable Investments Institute, to take up a position as Head of Manager Research and Sustainability Strategies at Swedish consulting firm House of Reach, which advises asset managers. He will work between Stockholm and New York. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has also become a Senior Advisor to family office Familjen Dahlgren Invest, which has a focus on tech and real estate as well as sustainability-focused companies.

Former Head of Asia (ex-Japan) for the PRI, Jessica Robinson, has become an Associate Director for International Affairs at the Abu Dhabi Global Market. Robinson left the PRI in 2017, having set up Moxie Future – a women-focused investment network – earlier that year. She has written a book titled Woman’s Guide to Investing for a Sustainable Future. Her new role will be based in the United Arab Emirates.

Mark Thompson, who led HSBC pension scheme’s ground-breaking move over to climate investment strategies in 2016, has become a Member of Lloyds Banking Group’s Pensions Trustees Investment & Funding and DC committees. Since January, he has also been Executive Chairman of UBS’s UK Pension & Life Assurance Scheme Investment Committee. Both roles are part time. Since stepping down as CIO for HSBC’s pension scheme, Thompson had a very brief stint as CIO of the Collective Investment Vehicle for London Local Authorities last year, leaving after just a few weeks citing a desire to spend more time with his family.

Richard Braakenburg is to join Swiss renewables investment specialists SUSI Partners as a Managing Director focusing on energy storage and energy transition investment opportunities more broadly. A complete list of recent new hires at SUSI Partners can be found here.

Angela Maria Quiroga Manrique has moved from Allianz, where she was a Junior ESG Business Analyst, to Union Investment, where she is now an ESG Analyst for Capital Markets and Stewardship.

Doug Henderson and Liz Lempres have joined the Board of Directors of Social Finance, a non-profit advisory supporting the creation of financing solutions to improve social outcomes. Henderson is a Senior Advisor at alternative investment management firm Oak Hill Investors, while Lempres is a Senior Partner Emeritus at McKinsey.

Alok Sharma has been appointed COP26 President, ahead of November's crucial UN climate talks, due to be held in Glasgow. He replaces Claire Perry O’Neil who was recently removed from the role for reportedly “lacking the gravitas” required for such a high-profile position. The surprise appointment of Sharma, formerly the International Development Secretary, comes amid tensions between the UK and Scottish governments over the event’s costs.