RI People & Appointments, May 18: Global ethical banking alliance names inaugural executive director

Marcos Eguiguren has been named as the inaugural Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), as the alliance ramps up its push to partner with values-based banks, credit unions, microfinance and community banks as a “viable alternative to the current financial system”. Barcelona-native Eguiguren is a Professor of Business Administration at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain) and Supervisory Board member of Triodos Bank, whose CEO Peter Blom chairs GABV, which was set up in 2009. Announcement

Philippe Bélanger has joined Desjardins, the Montreal-based co-operative financial group, as an advisor on responsible investment. Bélanger was previously with the French Canadian CSR association Regroupement pour la responsabilité sociale des entreprises (RRSE) and before that an analyst with Groupe Investissment Responsable (GIR), the ESG research firm.

Tom Butler has been named as the new President and CEO of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), the body set up in 2001 to drive improvement in the mining and metals industry. Since 2011, he has been Global Head of Mining at the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. The CEO search was led by Mark Cutifani, the chief executive of Anglo American who chairs the ICMM’s Council of CEOs. Butler succeeds Anthony Hodge, who is stepping down after seven years. Announcement

Teresa Fogelberg, Deputy Chief Executive of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) in Amsterdam has joined VBDO, the Dutch SIF, as a Member of the Advisory Board

Robert Burger has been elected to the board at Ocean Power Technologies, the Nasdaq-listed wave-energy firm. He was most recently President and CEO of MAN Diesel & Turbo North America. A former US Navy officer, he was also President of the Service Americas business of LM Wind Power.

Suma Chakrabarti, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), has been named as a commissioner to the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, the international initiative chaired by former Mexican President Felipe Calderón. Other new commissioners include: Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairman, HSBC India and Director, HSBC Asia Pacific; Kristin Skogen Lund, Director-General of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise; and Statkraft CEO Christian Rynning-Tønnesen.

Greg Barker, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change in the last UK government, has joined the trustee board at the Climate Group, the international non-profit which supports government and business leadership on climate change and the low carbon economy.
Natica von Althann has joined the board at FuelCell Energy, the Connecticut-based clean energy firm. Currently a director at TD Bank US Holding Company and director of utilities firm PPL Corporation, she formerly held senior executive roles at Bank of America and Citigroup. Announcement

Irene Rummelhoff has been appointed Executive Vice President for a new arm focused on renewable energy and other low-carbon energy solutions at Statoil called New Energy Solutions. Rummelhoff was formerly senior vice president for Exploration Norway at the Norwegian energy firm; the move was part of a wider management revamp. Announcement*Chad Spitler is now Chief Operating Officer* & Head of Sustainable Business Practices at CamberView Partners in San Francisco. Spitler was previously Global Chief Operating Officer (COO) for BlackRock’s Corporate Governance & Responsible Investment Team before leaving the post in March after just over six years. At CamberView, Spitler will lead business development, human capital management, administration and infrastructure and working with clients on shareholder engagement on sustainable business practices.

Amalgamated Bank has confirmed that Scott Zdrazil, who was its Director of Governance, has left. “Mr Zdrazil has left Amalgamated Bank for an extraordinary opportunity and we wish him continued success,” a spokesman for the bank said. Further detail was not provided. The spokesman also said the bank was currently seeking a replacement for Zdrazil. New York-based Amalgamated Bank is majority owned by an affiliate of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents almost 2m workers in North America.

Mamadou-Abou Sarr, global head of Environmental, Social and Governance investing at Northern Trust, has been selected to join the Listed Equity Steering Committee and Chair the Outreach Sub-Committee for the Principles for Responsible Investment. Senior fixed income portfolio manager at Northern Trust, Geeta Sharma, has joined the Fixed Income Outreach Committee.

Poul Kobberup and Jesper Langmack, joint managing directors of the asset management arm of Danish commercial pensions provider PFA, are to join rival Danica Pension, according to a report in IPE.com. It said their appointment was part of a new strategy under CFO Jacob Aarup-Andersen. PFA has named Anders Damgaard to take over day-to-day management of PFA Asset Management, the report added.

Daniel Gallagher, whose comments have been him a thorn in the side of the US corporate governance sector, is to leave the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to reports. Gallagher, a Republican member of the SEC, is to leave after almost four years at the agency. Gallagher has in the past attacked shareholder rights campaigns, proxy advisors and corporate governance “gadflies”.

John Brothers has been named president of the T. Rowe Price Foundation and its Program for Charitable Giving – taking over from Ann Allston Boyce, who is retiring after 14 years at the two nonprofit organizations founded by the US asset management giant. Brothers, who founded Quidoo Consulting in 2003, is chair of the Board for the Alliance for Nonprofit Management.

The Finance Innovation Lab is looking for a Communications and Events Manager to join its London-based team. The Lab was founded by WWF-UK and ICAEW in 2009 in order to change the financial system so it serves people and planet. The link to the position is here.

The Latin SIF is extending full scholarships to take the ‘RI Fundamentals’ course of the PRI Academy, with the aim of furthering responsible investment in Latin America. Scholarships have already been offered to key institutions in Chile, Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina. The RI course explores key aspects of incorporating ESG factors into investment decision making, uses case studies to illustrate the materiality of ESG factors, presents strategies for identifying and managing ESG factors and identifies the use of ESG information in financial modeling. A certificate will be issued at the end of the course by the PRI Academy. Link