RI People & Appointments, June 6: Ceres, S&P Dow Jones Indices, KKR, GRESB, Paul Watchman

The latest ESG movers and shakers

Tracey Rembert has left her role as senior manager of investment engagement at Ceres and joined Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS), the US-based Catholic socially responsible investing firm, as assistant director of catholic responsible investing. She will report to Julie Tanner, director of catholic responsible investing at the organisation.

Martina MacPherson, the former Head of Global ESG Research Marketing at MSCI, has joined S&P Dow Jones Indices as its new ESG/Sustainability lead. MacPherson, who left MSCI in 2014 to set up SI Partners, was Associate Director, Engagement, at Hermes EOS from 2015-2016. She sits on the board of the Network for Sustainable Financial Markets, and on the analyst committee board at UKSIF. RI understands that Julia Kochetygova, Head of Sustainability Indices, is no longer with the S&P Dow Jones Indices business.

Antti Savilaakso has joined Auriel Capital, the UK-based institutional asset management firm specializing in equity market neutral. He joins from MSCI where he was head of ESG research for EMEA. He joins Auriel as a Partner at the firm’s London office in an ESG role. He was previously with Nordea Asset Management in Helsinki, Responsible Research in Singapore, Dexia Asset Management in Brussels and ABN AMRO Asset Management in Amsterdam. He is a past Chairman of FinSIF, the Finnish Sustainable Investment Forum.

Ken Mehlman, Global Head of Public Affairs at KKR, the US-based private equity firm, has joined the board of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the US not-for-profit body. Mehlman, who leads KKR’s environmental, social and governance programs for the firm and its portfolio companies, managed George W Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign and was Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2005–07. Also joining the SASB is Alan Beller, the former Director of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission who helped implement the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Currently senior counsel at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Beller is also a Trustee of the IFRS Foundation. Last month, SASB announced the Michael Kinstlick would join as Head of the Standards Setting Organization.

Bevis Watts has joined Triodos Bank UK, the ethical bank, as its new managing director. He was head of its business banking arm from 2008 to 2012 and re-joins from the Avon Wildlife Trust, where he was CEO. He takes over from Charles Middleton, who was with the bank for 13 years. It comes as the bank is planning to launch personal current account in early 2017. “I’m now starting to look forward to being on the other side of the table as a customer of the bank,” Middleton said.

Christine Brosewitz, Chief Sustainability Officer at Swedish bank SBAB has told RI she is leaving to take “one of those ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunities to enjoy the summer and spend some time with the family”.Lonneke Löwik has been appointed Head of Operations at GRESB [Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark], the ESG data provider for real assets. She will oversee GRESB’s business operations and manage its growing Amsterdam headquarters. Before joining GRESB, Löwik organized the launch of the Global Infrastructure Investor Association (GIIA), a lobbying organization for the infrastructure asset class. Prior to GIIA, Löwik was the Director of Research and Market Information, and later the Director of Professional Standards at INREV, the European Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles. GRESB also has vacancies for General Counsel and Managing Director, ESG & Real Estate Debt – GRESB. Link

Professor Paul Watchman has been appointed as Director of Sustainable Finance of the CCP Research Foundation, the UK-based social enterprise focused on research on sustainable ‘non-financial’ performance. It owes its origins to the LSE Conduct Costs Project, although CCP also stands for Conduct, Culture and People. Watchman, a former partner at city law firm Freshfields, has been a member of its Advisory Board since inception. He has wide-ranging experience of areas including business and human rights, sustainable finance (including the Equator Principles), corporate responsibility, climate change law and policy & environmental law.

Henrik Gade Jepsen, Chief Investment Officer at Danish labour market pension fund ATP, has been named as the new Head of Asset Management in Danske Bank’s Wealth Management business unit. ATP has named Kasper Arndt Lorenzen, Senior Vice President, and Head of Liquid Markets, to replace him.

Doug Pearce, founding CEO and CIO of British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, has been appointed to the Board of the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, the manager of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. “A proponent of good governance and responsible investment, Mr Pearce has over 35 years of experience in the capital markets,” NZ Super said. Pearce is a former chair of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, the Pacific Pension Institute and the Pension Investment Association of Canada. Also joining the Guardians is John Williamson, former CEO at Auckland-based investment firm Hellaby Holdings.

Matthew Moore will no longer serve as a portfolio manager for Calvert Global Water Fund and the Calvert Developed Markets Ex-U.S. Responsible Index Fund as of June 24, according to a filing from Calvert Investments. A spokesperson confirmed that Moore is leaving the firm and that Calvert is “actively hiring a replacement”. Laurie Webster, Lise Bernhard, Christopher Madden and Jade Huang will remain on the portfolio management team for the fund, to be joined by Dale Stout, who has been at Calvert for 13 years.

Tracy Kern has been named Chief Financial Officer of Clean Diesel Technologies, the Nasdaq-listed advanced emission control technology firm. She was most recently CFO at Interlink Electronics Corporation and takes over from Dave Shea who resigned on May 31. On May 27 the firm was granted an extension of time to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum stockholders’ equity rule.