Former Global Head of Rating Operations in Asset Management at Fitch Ratings, Arnaud de Batz, has become the first CEO of Vigeo Eiris. He will be responsible for managing business model changes, executing the agency’s business plan and advancing operational efficiency, the ESG research house said in a statement. De Batz most recently worked as Head of Asset Management Consulting Services at Accenture. He has also worked as Head of Development Strategy at Dexia AM. Vigeo’s founder Nicole Notat will remain President of Vigeo Eiris, where she will oversee CEO activity and focus on “strategic development”, a spokesperson told RI.
Legal & General Investment Management, the $1.3tn London based asset manager, is recruiting for a Head of US Stewardship and Sustainable Investments. Meryam Omi, Head of Sustainability and Responsible Investment Strategy, told RI that it is a newly-created role that will expand the firm’s stewardship and sustainability capabilities in the US.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has asked Allianz Global Investors Vice-Chair Elizabeth Corley to lead an industry task force on social impact investment. The task force will work to foster innovation in the financial services sector to produce products allowing savers and investors to make a social impact. The taskforce will action the recommendations in ‘Growing a Culture of Social Impact Investing in the UK’, a report published by a government-endorsed advisory group which Corley also chaired. Corley said: “With research showing that more than half of people in the UK are interested in purchasing social impact investment products but that only 9% have done so, this is a market with enormous potential, waiting to be unlocked by the type of focus and commitment announced today.”
South Korea’s President has appointed founder and CEO of ESG research firm SUSTINVEST to the country’s National Economic Advisory Council. Youngjae Ryu, who founded the Seoul-based firm in 2006, was selected by Mr Moon Jaein to help provide advice on economic matters to the President. One insider said the move was important for the industry, because it meant “a credible voice [was] keeping critical issues on the agenda at the very highest level of government in an important market”.
The African Development Bank has appointed Raza Hasnani as Head of Infrastructure Investments for Africa 50 Project Finance, part of its the pan-African investment platform. Previously Managing Director at The Abraaj Group, Hasnani will focus on projects with development and impact potential across Africa, with a view to mobilising private capital.Chief Customer Officer of Asda, Andy Murray has been appointed as chair of the Natural Capital Impact Group (NCIG), a global collaboration of companies seeking to determine how business can sustain the natural world and its resources. As Chair, Andy will contribute to the group’s long-term strategic thinking and support members developing and implementing new approaches to protecting soil, water and biodiversity.
The German Government has named Svenja Schulze as the country’s new Environment Minister. The Social Democrat will be responsible for climate change and nuclear safety, among other things, in her new role. Schulze previously served as a state-level science minister in Germany, between 2010 and 2017.
The Omidyar Network, the impact investment firm started by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, has announced the appointment of Mike Kubzansky as Managing Partner. Kubzansky’s role will include overseeing the launch of several of the network’s initiatives as autonomous organisations. The firm also announced that former Managing Partner Matt Bannick is stepping down from the role and will serve on the board of directors.
US investor body the Council of Institutional Investors (CII) has named Florida State Board of Administration (SBA) Executive Director and CIO Ashbel ‘Ash’ Williams as Board Chairman, following his election by the CII’s public fund members. CII also appointed a new board of directors, with Scott Zdrazil, LA County Employees Retirement Association Senior Investment Officer – Corporate Governance, as Treasurer; UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust Corporate Governance Director Cambria Allen as Secretary; and Chevron Corp Corporate Secretary and Chief Governance Officer Mary Francis as Co-Chair, alongside AFSCME Employees Pension Plan Corporate Governance Analyst John Keenan. As well as Francis and Zdrazil, other new members to the board are: Teacher Retirement System of Texas CIO Jerry Albright; Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association Interim Executive Director Ron Baker; Service Employees International Union (SEIU) of Strategic initiatives Department Deputy Director Renaye Manley; International Representative of International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Thomas McIntyre; Regions Financial Chief Governance Officer and Assistant Corporate Secretary Hope Mehlman; and Office of the Oregon Treasurer and Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Corporate Governance Director Jennifer Peet.
If you do not receive this within five minutes, please try to sign in again. If the problem persists, please email: