RI People & Appointments, August 4: CDP names ex-HSBC and Nomura analyst as Head of Research

James Magness has joined CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), the corporate environmental data disclosure body, as Head of Research within its investor team. He is a former global equity analyst at HSBC where he helped to set up its global cleantech research business. Most recently he was with Nomura for two years in European cleantech equity sales. He will work with James Hulse, Head of Investor Initiatives, on new research and analysis to demonstrate the exposure of companies and investor portfolios to carbon risk and drive shareholder engagement and corporate change.

Sue Thompson, Head of BlackRock’s Asset Manager and RIA (registered investment advisor) Channels, and Joanne Hill, ProShares’ Head of Institutional Investment Strategy, have been named co-presidents of Women in ETFs, the new women’s group for the exchange traded funds industry. The group, founded in January, aims to create opportunities for professional advancement by expanding connections among women in the sector. Other board members include Linda Zhang (Windhaven Investment Management), Deborah Fuhr (ETFGI), Laura Morrison (Intercontinental Exchange/NYSE), Susan Ciccarone (Emerging Global Advisors), Michelle Mikos (Invesco PowerShares), Kathleen Moriarty (Katten Muchin Rosenman), Martha King (Vanguard).

Environmental investment specialist Impax Asset Management has made three hires for its private equity infrastructure team. They are Babaola Omiyale, Investment Manager, who joins from the Energy and Power team at Rothschild; Lewis Haffey, Investment Analyst, who joins from Clean World Capital, and Aaron Donoghue, Engineering and Project Operations Consultant.

Frank Curtiss, Head of Corporate Governance at Railpen, has been named as an honorary vice president of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA), the membership and qualifying body for people working in governance, risk and compliance in the UK. Lorraine Young, who runs her own company secretarial services business, becomes president. Other vice presidents are named as Victoria Penrice and John Heaton. Link

Penny Shepherd, the former chief executive of the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF), has become a member of the External Sustainability Panel at construction materials firm Lafarge Tarmac.Arti Prasad-Naidu, Senior Analyst, Responsible Investment at the New Zealand Superannuation Fund is moving to the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), Brisbane, Australia. Prasad-Naidu has been at NZ Super for five and half years and is moving to QIC to lead Responsible Investment Strategy, having previously been seconded to QIC to assist with ESG policy development. She starts at QIC on September 1.

Jamie Nulph has joined MSCI ESG Research as an ESG Consultant in MSCI’s San Francisco offices. Prior to joining MSCI, she worked for several years with EIRIS as a Client Relationship Manager.

Helen Mahy, chairman of the Renewables Infrastructure Group Ltd., the UK fund which invests in onshore wind farms and solar parks, has joined the board of SVG Capital as a non-executive director with immediate effect. She takes over from Caroline Goodall, who is stepping down from the listed private equity house.

Bernard Icard, former head of proprietary equities at France’s Caisse des Dépôts sovereign wealth fund, which has a clear responsible investment policy, has been promoted to a position akin to group deputy chief risk officer at the organisation. Icard is replaced in his former role by Gilles Hayem, who takes over as head of propriety equities.

Bart Le Blanc has joined the Supervisory Board of APG Groep, the €374bn Dutch asset manager. He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of Dutch civil service pension fund ABP and is currently non-executive director (investments) of the KPN pension fund, member of the Supervisory Board of ETC Nederland BV and member of the Board of Stichting Instituut GAK, a Dutch endowment fund.

Fauna & Flora International, the international conservation group, is seeking an investment manager and an SME development manager to join its impact investment fund, Oryx Impact Investment (OII). OII invests in business models that protect and enhance ecosystems instead of degrading them. Link

The Prince’s Trust, the UK charity founded by Prince Charles, is seeking a new Finance Director. The role, which reports to the charity’s CEO, includes responsibility for the overall performance and management of the finances and investments, compliance with all statutory, tax and data requirements and that financial reporting and systems comply with industry standards. The closing date is August 8. Link