RI People & Appointments, Dec. 4: Amundi governance head Lavérie joins ISS as head of French research

Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), the corporate governance and ESG house that is looking to go public within three years, has hired Cédric Lavérie, Head of Corporate Governance at Amundi, to be Head of French Research based in Paris. Lavérie, who joined Amundi in 2011 and has had roles at Credit Agricole Asset Management and AXA Investment Managers, will lead the ISS French research team and have a client-facing and public role, reporting to Catherine Salmon, Executive Director, Head of Research for U.K., France, Middle East and Africa.

Christophe Itier has been named as High Commissioner for the social and solidarity economy in France after advising French president Emmanuel Macron on the subject during his election campaign. Working for Nicolas Hulot, Minister of State for Ecology, Itier, who was formerly Director General of La Sauvegard du Nord, which helped people in employment and social difficulty, has been charged with moving forward French government policy on the social economy, which represents 165,000 companies and 2.4 million employees.

The European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) has appointed five new fellows. They are: Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance and Academic Director of Centre for Corporate Governance, London Business School; Francesca Cornelli, Professor of Finance and Director of Private Equity, London Business School; Renee Adams, Professor of Finance, Commonwealth Bank Chair in Finance, Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales; John Coates, Professor of Law and Economics, Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School; and Eilis Ferran, Professor of Company and Securities Law, University of Cambridge Law Faculty and Centre for Corporate and Commercial Law. Fellows are elected by existing Fellows of ECGI for their achievements in corporate governance. Previously appointed Fellows include Nobel Laureates Jean Tirole, Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmström. 

Alan Milburn, the former cabinet minister and chair of the UK government’s Social Mobility Commission, which was set up to promote social mobility has reportedly resigned along with his team, saying Prime Minister Theresa May is failing to build a “fairer Britain” due to distraction from Brexit. Just four days before the resignations the Commission released a report saying a stark mobility postcode lottery exists in Britain.

Bonny Landers, Head of Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing at Sandaire, the London-based multi-family investment firm, has been appointed to the Board of Trustees at UK think-tank, Tomorrow’s Company. Landers is the founder of Hong Kong-based investment consultants Bay Street.Deloitte has added the Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (ACCSR), the Melbourne-based boutique corporate social responsibility and sustainability organisation founded by Leeora Black in 2003, to its sustainability services practice. Black told RI that the “ACCSR has ceased operations but our team and all our services including advisory, short courses and the Annual Review of the State of CSR are continuing under the Deloitte brand”. Black now becomes Risk Advisory Specialist Leader at the professional services firm. The moves come as the Deloitte seeks to address the increasing focus that Australian businesses have on “sustainability, resilience, and social licence”. Link

Martina Macpherson, Head of ESG Research at S&P Global Ratings, has joined newly launched low carbon advisory firm, Sustineri, IPE reports. Macpherson joined S&P in 2016 as Head of ESG Indices before being promoted to Head of ESG Research and Analysis at the index provider in the Summer. She is also the founder and Managing Partner of independent ESG consulting firm, SI Partners; she sits on the Board of the Network for Sustainable Financial Markets, and is on the analyst committee board at UKSIF.

James Thomas, CEO at AMIST Super, has retired from the Australian meat industry superannuation fund after six years. He is succeeded by Murray Rutherford, who is promoted from the dual roles of Head of Investment and Head of Governance at the fund.

Bob Lette, Chair of the A$4.5bn Australian superannuation fund for the construction industry, BUSSQ, is stepping down after 27 years in the role. He will step down from the Queensland based fund, which has over 90,000 members, in December 2017. BUSSQ has reportedly confirmed that a new Chair will be appointed following its AGM in December.

James Kroeker, the former Chief Accountant at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has been re-appointed as Vice Chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the US standards-setting body. Gary Buesser—a long-time portfolio manager and financial analyst at Lazard — has also appointed to the FASB by the body’s supervisory body, the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF).

The Church of England Pensions Board is recruiting a trustee with significant investment experience to serve at the body which administers pensions for over 38,000 people, managing in excess of £2.3bn.

LGPS Central Limited, the company set up to manage £40bn of assets being pooled by nine Midlands-based UK public pension funds, is looking for a Head of Investment Operations. The successful candidate will have responsibility to ensure the effective and efficient workings of all aspects of investment operations support.