RI People & Appointments, December 22: Georg Kell retires from UN Global Compact

Georg Kell is to retire as Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, the 12,000-signatory responsible business network, in September 2015. The Global Compact Board will identify potential successors through a “rigorous review” process to appoint a new Executive Director by June 2015. Kell has led the initiative since it was founded in 2000, overseeing the conception and launch of sister initiatives, the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). He started his career as a research fellow in engineering at Berlin’s Fraunhofer Institute, before joining the UN in 1987.

Separately, the Global Compact has launched a programme to support Boards of Directors to effectively oversee and drive a strategic approach to corporate sustainability, and to respond to the interests of all their key stakeholders while protecting and creating financial value. The Board Programme was developed by Global Compact LEAD and the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). Announcement

Lise Lachapelle has resigned from the board of Canada-based Innergex Renewable Energy, a developer, owner and operator of hydroelectric facilities, wind energy, and solar farms in North America, due to “scheduling conflicts”. She is also a director of Toronto Stock Exchange owner TMX and construction firm SNC-Lavalin. She was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Forest Products Association of Canada from 1994 until 2002.

Ilmarinen, the €30bn Finnish pensions provider, has hired Mikko Mursula as its new Chief Investment Officer, Investment and Pensions Europe (IPE) reports. IPE said Mursula would replace Ilmarinen’s current CIO Timo Ritakallio by June 2015, or four months after Ritakallio is to succeed Harri Sailas as Ilmarinen’s Chief Executive. Mursula joins from Helsinki-based FIM Asset Management, where he is CEO. IPE also said that before joining FIM in 2010, Mursula worked at Ilmarinen for a decade.Ruud Hagendijk, Chairman of MN Services, the €92bn Dutch pension fund manager, has announced that he will step down next year. Speaking at the company’s annual Christmas party, Hagendijk said he would remain in his post until a successor was found. Hagendijk (62) joined MN Services as a board director in 1997. He was named Chair of that board in 2004.

Mark Gough has been appointed the new Executive Director of the Natural Capital Coalition, the not-for-profit body formed in 2012 to oversee the Natural Capital Protocol. He will take over from Pieter van der Gaag, who has been serving in an interim capacity, next March. Van der Gaag stepped in when CEO Dorothy Maxwell left in May 2014. Gough is currently Head of Sustainability at the Crown Estate, which manages the British Royal Family’s property portfolio. Announcement

Hope Brown has been named as Chief Compliance Officer for the Calvert Funds at SRI fund specialist Calvert Investments. In former roles, she served as Chief Compliance Officer for the Wilmington Funds and Vice President at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors.

Nancy Rosenzweig has been named as the new Director of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) at mission-driven fund managers Big Path Capital (formerly Watershed Capital). Rosenzweig has held governance positions at a number of firms including Root Capital and Trillium Asset Management.

A Group Senior Coordinator is being recruited by the Natural Resources Group at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the think tank founded in 1971. The group promotes sustainable governance of natural resources; interviews will take place in London on January 23. Link

Canada’s Responsible Investment Association is seeking an Executive Assistant to the CEO. The position reports to the CEO, and receives guidance and supervision from the Director, Research and Communications. The Executive Assistant will be based at the association’s Toronto office. “We hope to find a candidate who is passionate about sustainability and responsible business,” it says.