RI People & Appointments, May 13: Blackstone hires ex Goldman MD for new impact investing platform

Tanya Barnes has joined the private equity firm Blackstone as Managing Director to spearhead the launch of a new impact investing platform under its Strategic Partners group. Barnes is formerly a Managing Director in Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division, where she focused on private equity investments and running a co-investment business
Dr Jean Rogers, founder of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), has been appointed to the board of Terra Alpha Investments, an independent asset manager with an ESG focus. She joins the board together with Harvard sustainable finance expert, Professor George Serafeim, and Charlie Boden, a former NASA astronaut and US Marine. Dr Rogers resigned as chair of the SASB board last year before it embarked on a major organisational reshuffle that has resulted in a smaller research team as the body pivots toward global outreach and adoption of its standards.
PIMCO has recruited Nobel Laureate Dr Richard Thaler as Senior Advisor on Retirement and Behavioural Economics. PIMCO hopes to improve its understanding of how retirees make spending and saving decisions to develop investor solutions which better serve client needs. To this end, the fixed-income manager has also announced a long-term partnership with the Center for Decision Research (CDR) at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Teresa Polley has announced that she is stepping down as CEO of the Financial Accounting Foundation, the non-profit she has led for 11 years. The Foundation oversees the administration, financing and appointment of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and their advisory councils. She will be replaced by the Foundation’s Vice President John Auchincloss in the interim.
Kara Stein – a former SEC Commissioner – has been appointed to the board of the independent stock exchange IEX Group, bringing a “powerful regulatory expertise and focus on the public interest” according to the group. Stein served on the SEC from 2013 until earlier this year and was previously a staff director of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment.Cindy Rose has been appointed as Head of Responsible Capital at UK equity specialist Majedie Asset Management. Rose was previously Head of ESF, Clients and Products at Aberdeen Standard Investments. Her role at Majedie – which was founded by staff from the now-defunct Mercury Asset Management – is a newly-created position.
Chandru Badrinarayanan, former head of MSCI India, has been named Managing Partner of ECube, an ESG investment platform set up by a group of ex-Tata executives. Ecube reportedly announced a partnership with Indian asset manager, Quantum Advisors, to launch a $1bn ESG-listed equity fund earlier this year.
Karine Hirn has been appointed Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) of East Capital, a specialist investor in emerging and frontier markets she co-founded. She was formerly East Capital’s Chief Representative in China, based in Shanghai. Aside from CSO, Hirn is a French trade counsellor, Vice Chairman of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and board member of the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.
Mick Sweeney has been appointed CEO of US fund manager PineBridge Investments’ recently MiFID-licensed Irish subsidiary. Sweeney was formerly CEO of the Bank of Ireland’s Wealth Management arm as well as its Asset Management business.
SHARE, a Canadian RI network, is looking for a Project Lead to coordinate an initiative supporting indigenous reconciliation through investment and stewardship practices. The Reconciliation and Responsible Investment Initiative (RRII) – a joint project of SHARE and the National Aboriginal Trust Officers Association (NATOA) – aims to promote Indigenous employment and improve available economic opportunities. Candidates with investment experience and/or indigenous ancestry will be given priority.
The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), has given notice of the impending resignation of its trustee board Chair, Rebeca Grynspan, in mid-2020. The social and environmental justice think-tank is inviting applicants knowledgeable in development issues to lead its “impressive, influential and expert” board.
Bill Hartnett, the former Head of Responsible Investment at Local Government Super, has been named ESG Investment Director at Aberdeen Standard Investment. He will be responsible for supporting the firm’s investments in Emerging Markets and Asia Pacific. RI reported the move last week but the Edinburgh-based investment manager has now released the details of the appointment. Hartnett will be based out of London and will report to Euan Stirling, Global Head of Stewardship and ESG Investment.