RI People & Appointments, April 24: Ex-IMF executive becomes chair at Dutch inclusive finance platform

Former IMF Executive Director Menno Snel has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Board of NpM, the Netherlands Platform for Inclusive Finance. Snel, who was a member of the IMF Ethics Committee and the Committee on Liaison with World Bank and Other International Organizations, is currently chairman of NWB Bank, the Dutch government-owned promotional bank, arranging short- and long-term loans for the Dutch public sector. Formed in 2003, NpM brings together Dutch development organisations, social investors and commercial banks active in the inclusive finance sector.

Carole Wamuyu Wainaina has been named Chief Operating Officer for Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform capitalized by the African Development Bank and 23 African countries. A Kenyan national most recently Assistant Secretary General for Human Resources of the United Nations, she will oversee Investor Relations, Strategy, Communications, HR and Administration, and Environmental and Social Governance. In the private sector she held senior roles at Philips and Coca-Cola and started her career at Price Waterhouse Coopers in Kenya.

Jad Ariss has been appointed
Head of Public Affairs & Corporate Responsibility at the AXA Group. Currently CEO of AXA Middle East & Africa, he will report to Group General Secretary George Stansfield. Ariss started his career at McKinsey, before joining the AXA Group in 1995 as Chief Financial Officer of AXA Global Risks.

Jim Craig, former Chair of Sydney-based financial services firm Macquarie Capital, has been appointed
both Independent Director and Chair of the A$100bn (€69.7bn) Australian superannuation fund AustralianSuper. Craig, who has been on AustralianSuper’s investment committee since June last year, is also a director at listed equities specialist Australian United Investment Company.

Bijan Foroodian, the former Chief Investment Officer for Inflection Point Capital Management, the sustainability boutique founded by Matthew Kiernan, has joined
quant house Markov Processes International, as Managing Director for Europe the Middle East and Africa. He was formerly with Kiernan’s Innovest Strategic Value Advisors as CIO and Managing Director.

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo will serve as Co-Chair of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Advocates Group, replacing former President of Ghana John Mahama in the role. Akufo-Addo will serve alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg until the end of 2018.The group is tasked with supporting the UN Secretary-General in generating momentum and commitment toward achieving the SDGs.

Arun Sinha has joined
MSCI, the index and ESG firm, as Chief Marketing Officer. He will report to Laurent Seyer, Chief Client Officer, and will oversee all marketing and communications functions globally. He was most recently Chief Marketing Officer of J.P. Morgan Global Wealth Management, having had stints with Zurich Insurance Group and Pitney Bowes.Hermes Investment Management, the fund manager owned by the BT Pension Scheme, has appointed Andrew Jackson as Head of Fixed Income, reporting to Eoin Murray, Head of Investment. He joins from Cairn Capital where he was Chief Investment Officer.

Anna Nilsson, Chief Sustainability Officer at Sweden’s Swedbank Robur funds house, has reportedly
been appointed Head of Swedish municipality Uppsala’s Environmental Department. Nilsson, who has previously been nominated for the best sustainability manager in Sweden and has also been included in Sweden’s 100 most powerful people on environmental issues, will start her new role in public service from August 2017.

Joanne Segars, Chief Executive of the UK’s Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), has announced her decision to step down from her role with the association that represents over 1,300 pension schemes (representing £1tn in assets) after 12 years ‘to pursue a portfolio career’. Segars, who is also a Board Member of European pension fund association Pensions Europe, will be temporarily replaced by Julian Mund whilst the PLSA identify a permanent successor. Segars will remain in post until the end of June 2017.

Mark Glazener will be stepping down as lead portfolio manager of the €2.8bn Robeco Global Stars Equities Fund as of May 1 as it pursues a more concentrated investment policy. Jan Keuppens, currently co-portfolio manager, will take over his tasks and responsibilities. Robeco said that Glazener considers this is the right time to take up a new challenge at Robeco; he will join the board of directors of Robeco Luxembourg. Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Briones, Senior Vice President at US investment giant Pimco, has been named
as Robeco’s new Consultant Relations Director.

John Connor, former Chief Executive at Australian think-tank The Climate Institute (TCI), has been appointed Executive Director of the newly established Fijian Government’s COP 23 Secretariat. The appointment comes as Fiji prepares to host the 23rd Convention of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Bonn, Germany. Connor will be temporarily replaced by Olivia Kember at The Climate Institute, which is set to cease its operations from June 30.

South Pole Group, the global provider of climate change services and data, is looking to make several hires, including: Portfolio Manager South America (based in Medellín or Bogotá) to oversee and develop the sale of its carbon credits and renewable energy solutions; Managing Director Asia Energy Transition Fund (based in Bangkok or Jakarta) to build a SRI compatible highly diversified infrastructure portfolio; and, Engagement Manager Climate Policy and Carbon Markets (based in London or Stockholm) to advise governments, development banks, and cities on tackling the challenge of climate change mitigation.