RI People & Appointments, July 9: CDP’s investor initiatives head Rick Stathers joins Aviva Investors

Rick Stathers, Global Director, Investor Initiatives at environmental data body CDP, is leaving the organisation to join Aviva Investors as a Senior Analyst in its Global Responsible Investment team. He told RI he would be moving back to work on investment analysis and developing investment policy. He will start with Aviva in August. Stathers joined CDP in July 2016 as its Head of Investor Research before taking on new roles. He had previously been Head of Responsible Investment at Schroders, the UK fund management house. In this new role at Aviva, Stathers will support the integration of ESG issues across asset classes, with an initial focus on Aviva’s climate change strategy ahead of the UN climate conference in Poland later this year.

In addition to Stathers, Aviva Investors has announced a number of new hires to its Global Responsible Investment team. Sora Utzinger recently joined as ESG Analyst, also from CDP where she was was Supply Chain Account Manager. Utzinger will work on the Aviva Stewardship Funds, responsible for screening investments, engaging with companies and reporting on the funds’ ESG performance.

In addition, Nathan Leclerc is returning to Aviva Investors from ISS, as Senior Analyst, succeeding Anita Skipper, who recently retired. Leclerc’s role will focus on responsible ownership including proxy voting, company engagement and integrating ESG into investment. The new hires complement further additional recruits over recent months including two from within Aviva: Marte Borhaug as Head of Strategic Projects and Richard Butters as SRI Fund Analyst.

Other recent external hires include: Eugenie Mathieu as Senior SRI Fund Analyst, who joined from Greenpeace; Rebecca Vine as Senior Corporate Governance Analyst, who joined from Fidelity; Sophie Rahm as ESG analyst, who joined from Standard Life Aberdeen; Stanley Kwong as ESG Analyst, who joined from the National Audit Office; Natalia Rajewska as ESG analyst, who joined from Corporate Citzenship; and Louise Piffaut as ESG analyst, who joined from Sycomore Asset Management.

Joel Kenrick has left the European Climate Foundation to take a role at the UK government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), working on setting up a new independent environmental watchdog as the UK prepares to leave the EU. Kenrick had joined the ECF, a ‘foundation of foundations’, from The Boston Consulting Group. He previously served as Special Adviser to the UK Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change from 2010-12 and as Head of Public Affairs at WWF-UK.

Catherine McCall has been named Executive Director of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG), the 49-member body, moving from her role as Director of Policy Development. Having joined in 2012, she takes over from Stephen Erlichman, Partner at Fasken, who stepped down on as of June 30. She has had stints at Hugessen Consulting and ISS Canada Corporation (formerly Fairvest Corporation).

Mary Schapiro, the first woman to chair the US Securities and Exchange Commission, has been elected to Morgan Stanley’s Board of Directors. Schapiro has been prominent in the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and is also Vice Chair of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).

CalSTRS has hired Julie Underwood as Chief Financial Officer, replacing Robin Madsen, who retired in March. Underwood comes to CalSTRS, the California State Teachers Retirement System, from the $9.9bn San Bernardino County Employees’ Retirement Association, a multiple-employer defined benefit pension plan.

The Church Pension Fund (CPF), the $13bn fund for the US Episcopal Church, has announced the election of Reverend Thomas J Brown as Chair of its Board of Trustees. Having served on the board since 2009, Brown succeeds Barbara B Creed, who took up the role as Chair in 2015.Leapfrog’s Vaughan Lindsay has been named Chair of the fund management investment advisory committee of Big Issue Invest, the Big Issue’s social investment arm. Prior to becoming Executive Director at impact investor Leapfrog, Lindsay had over ten years’ experience in the UK social enterprise sector.

Andrew Bester has been named CEO of the UK’s Co-operative Bank, taking over from Liam Coleman, who, as previously announced, has decided to step down. He was most recently Group Director and Chief Executive of the Commercial Banking division of Lloyds Banking Group. The Co-operative Bank, which operates in line with the ethics of the co-operative movement, has faced a number of scandals over recent years. Announcement

Catholic Super Fund, the A$9bn (€5.7bn) Australian super fund governed by Christian values with a strong commitment to Responsible Investment, has appointed Anna Shelley as Chief Investment Officer, taking over from Garrie Lette who is retiring. Most recently Shelley was General Manager, Product & Strategy at Perpetual Investments.

Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, has been appointed Chair of the Carbon Trust, taking over from former Shell UK Chair James Smith. King serves as Deputy Chair of the Committee on Climate Change, the independent body that advises the UK government and devolved administrations on climate change, and also acts as the UK’s Low Carbon Business Ambassador.

Ed Siegel is stepping down as managing director of Big Issue Invest. After ten years with the social merchant bank, Siegel is moving onto become Chief Executive of Charity Bank, the UK ethical bank.

Impact investing stalwart Lisa Green Hall has been named Senior Fellow at the Case Foundation, where she will lead the foundation’s Impact Investing work. Hall’s former positions include serving as Managing Director at Anthos Asset Management, as CEO and President of the Calvert Foundation, and as National Economic Council policy advisor for the Clinton Administration. She currently also serves on several boards, including City First Bank and Habitat for Humanity International.

The Financial Reporting Council, the UK watchdog, has named Mike Suffield as acting Executive Director of Audit and Actuarial Regulation, effective from August. Current Director of Audit Quality, Suffield moves from the role he has held since June 2016 to replace the outgoing Melanie Hind. Hind, who joined the FRC in 2012 as Executive Director, Codes and Standards, is stepping down to take up a family opportunity overseas.

Cristina Gallach has been appointed High Commissioner for the observance of the 2030 Agenda in Spain. The position will monitor the progress made by the country to implement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Gallach will rank as Undersecretary of State and will report to the Spanish Prime Minister. Gallach, a journalist by trade, has previously served as the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information under Ban Ki-moon’s tenure. Before that she was spokesperson for Javier Solana in his capacity as Secretary General of NATO and EU’s High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy.

The Board of Trustees of RSF Social Finance – a financial services organisation dedicated to changing the way the world works with money – has elected Ron Alston as Chair. Having served on the board since 2009, Alston takes over from founder Mark Finser, who will maintain a position on the board.

WWF Switzerland is recruiting a Head of Impact Ventures, to be based in Switzerland and report to an international governance board. The successful applicant will manage the foundation’s entire impact venture initiative, heading up an international and interdisciplinary team, and foster connections with the WWF network, strategic partners and investors.