RI People & Appointments, July 8: German sustainable development council chief re-elected

Germany’s Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) has re-elected Marlehn Thieme as its chair for a three-year term. One of Thieme’s achievements since first being elected as RNE chair in February 2012 has been the take-up of the German Sustainability Code. Since launch in October 2011, 51 firms, including 14 traded on the blue-chip Dax index, have signed up to it. Thieme also sits on the advisory board of Germany’s Protestant Church and on the supervisory board of Deutsche Bank. Since 2005, she has also been in charge of Deutsche’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts.

Xolisa Dhlamini has joined the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) as South Africa Network Manager. The PRI said he has more than eight years’ experience in the investment sector and extensive knowledge of financial markets, investment instruments and economic and financial regulatory frameworks.

The PRI is calling for applications from signatories interested in filling the vacant seat on the PRI Association Board, the legal entity which runs the PRI and oversees its Secretariat. Board members are appointed by a majority vote of the asset owner representatives serving on the Council and the Council chair (the ‘Appointing Group’). Board terms are for three years and subject to an annual performance review. The application deadline is July 19.

Piet van Schijndel has resigned as Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Dutch asset manager Robeco. He had been in the role since 2009; he retired from the Executive Board of Robeco’s former parent Rabobank in December 2012. Former PricewaterhouseCoopers partner Gilles Izeboud has also stepped down. Their seats on the board have been taken by two senior executives of new owners ORIX Group: CEO Yoshihiko Miyauchi and Chief Operating Officer Makoto Inoue. Announcement

Sally Uren has been named as the new chief executive of Forum for the Future, the sustainability advocacy group set up in 1996 by environmentalists Jonathan Porritt, Paul Ekins and Sara Parkin. Uren joined the Forum in 2002 and was formerly its Deputy CEO. The Forum is also seeking a Director for its Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI). Link*The International Corporate Governance Network* has granted a Lifetime Achiever award to Ralph Whitworth, founder of US activist fund manager Relational Investors. Whitworth chairs Hewlett Packard and Co. and founded Relational in 1996. Jon Lukomnik, Managing Partner of Sinclair Capital, won the award for Excellence in Corporate Governance in recognition of “30 years of thought leadership and action in the world of corporate governance”. A special posthumous award went to the late Michael O’Sullivan, former President of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI).

The ICGN also named seven individuals for its 2013 Scholarship Programme. They are: Lamia El Bouanani, Moroccan Institute of Directors; Jadi Manurung, Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Indonesia); Ayodeji Olatoye, Lodt Law Offices (Nigeria); Stefanus Handoyo, IFC (Indonesia); Pierina Villanueva Vega, PCR Pacific Credit Rating (Peru); Danielle Melis, Nyenrode Business University (Netherlands); and Muhammad Asif Paryani, Securities and Exchange Commission (Pakistan).

Marjolein Baghuis, Director, Marketing and Communications at the Amsterdam-based Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has left the organisation. RI understands that Baghuis is looking at new opportunities in the CSR/RI space before taking up a new post. An experienced communications professional, Baghuis’ responsibilities at the GRI included developing the organisation’s annual Global Conference. Baghuis started her career in brand management with Procter & Gamble, followed by a role in communications and fundraising for Greenpeace. Before joining GRI, she led the global client program for market researcher Synovate.

Hermes, the asset manager owned by the BT Pension Scheme, will be hiring a head of Asia business development based in Singapore, according to a report in Asian Investor citing Hermes Global head of Business Development, Harriet Steel. Steel joined.

E3G, the non-profit sustainable development organisation with offices in London, Brussels, Berlin and Washington DC, is seeking a part-time Finance Manager. The role will be responsible for day-to-day accounting and financial processes, reporting to the Chief Operating Officer.

UK social investor the Social Investment Business Group has advertised a vacancy for a Head of Finance. The group was also seeking an Investment Analyst.