RI People & Appointments, March 31: Global Reporting Initiative taps PwC exec for US role

Eric Israel has been appointed to the role of Director of the Global Reporting Initiative’s North American office, Focal Point USA and Canada. Israel, most recently Managing Director of US Sustainable Business Solutions at consulting firm PwC, succeeds Marjella Alma, who took over as Interim Director in January when former Director Mike Wallace left the sustainability standards body. Announcement

Katherine Burstein, a former Associate with Mercer’s Responsible Investment Team in New York has joined Pell Wealth Partners, the private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, as lead of its new research team for environmental, social and governance investing. Ameriprise is one of the US’ largest financial planning companies with more than $650bn in assets under management and administration.

Tau Investment Management, the new venture investment firm that aims to remedy global supply chain problems by investing directly in “unsustainable” suppliers to turn them around, has announced the addition of two new Operating Partners. They are Dr. Jean Baderschneider, former Vice-President, Global Procurement at ExxonMobil and M. Osman Yousuf, President and CEO of SYF Group. Tau recently hired James Gifford, the former Executive Director at the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), as a part-time Senior Strategic Advisor.

Barney Rhys Jones has been named as infrastructure Investment Director at Oxford Capital, the UK-based specialist investor, which runs assets for institutions, family offices, and private investors. He will manage Oxford Capital’s renewable energy and infrastructure asset portfolio and operational aspects of the investment management process. He was previously Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at Good Energy PLC, the UK’s first dedicated 100% renewable electricity supplier.Tom McDonagh has been named as Acting Senior Investment Officer, Real Assets at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). He takes over the position vacated by Ted Eliopoulos, who has been named Interim Chief Investment Officer upon the passing of Joe Dear, CalPERS Chief Investment Officer. McDonagh is currently a Senior Portfolio Manager in the Global Fixed Income asset class. Link

Helen Boothroyd has left her role as Church and Membership Relations Officer at the UK-based Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility (ECCR), the church-based investor coalition, to become Social Justice/Inter Faith Development Officer for Churches Together in Lancashire, northern England. She will combine this with her existing part-time post as Social Responsibility Development Officer for Churches Together in Cumbria.

Wenze Wang has resigned as an independent director at China Sunergy, the China-based, Nasdaq-listed solar cell and module manufacturer. The company is now in the process of identifying candidates for replacement independent director. Announcement

Ian Enslin has joined the Charities team at Waverton Investment Management, the UK boutique with around £4.5bn (€5.4bn) in assets under management. He joins from Newton Investment Management.

Karsten Junius has been named chief economist of Swiss private bank J. Safra Sarasin. He replaces Jan Amrit Poser, who will now focus completely on his other role of leading Sarasin’s asset management business. Poser had been Sarasin’s chief economist until the departure last autumn of Burkhard Varnholt, who was the bank’s Head of Asset Management, Product and Sales. Junius joins from the International Monetary Fund where he was an economist.

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