RI People & Appointments, May 31: First State, Castellum, Church of Scotland, Daniel Godfrey, Mainstream

Denise Saber has left her role as Head of Institutional Business Development, Europe at First State Investments, the Australia-based manager with a strong ESG focus. Saber is the former Head of Institutional European Business Development at Insight Investment who had spells with Craigmore Sustainables and Osmosis Investment Management. First State told RI: “Denise Saber has left First State Investments and has been succeeded by Frank Glennon, who has been appointed to the role of Head of Institutional Business Development Europe, having joined the business in 2014. We wish Denise well for the future.”

Filip Elland has been named Sustainability Manager at Castellum, the Swedish listed real estate firm. Elland – a production and plant management specialist – graduated as a civil engineer from Lund University, in 2011. In 2012, he was employed at Fastighets AB Briggen, a Castellum subsidiary, as Sustainability Coordinator. Announcement

Hiske Boerma, Responsible Investment Officer at Delta Lloyd, the Dutch insurance group, is leaving for a role outside the responsible investing arena.

George Serafeim, Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and one of the world’s leading academics covering sustainability issues, is currently the top ranked author on accounting issues on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN), the website where academics share draft papers that haven’t yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. Serafeim currently has 129 downloads and 4,100 citations, according to SSRN, which has more than 2m users and is one of the world’s most popular repositories of research in economics, law and social sciences. His work with his Harvard colleague Bob Eccles and the London Business School’s Ioannis Ioannou (Impact of a Corporate Culture of Sustainability on Corporate Behaviour and Performance) found that there’s a financial premium for ‘high sustainability’ companies. He has also worked on the materiality of corporate sustainability.

Johan Nystedt has been appointed as the new head of Nordea Life & Pensions Sweden. He was previously CFO of the Nordic Nordea Life & Pensions group and succeeds Britta Burreau who has been appointed new CEO of the Swedish KPA Pension. Nystedt has been with Nordea since 2006. Link

Alistair Gibb is standing down as Chair of the Church of Scotland’s Investors Trust. “He has brought humour and clarity to the communication of sometimes complex investment matters during times when markets have been on a rollercoaster ride,” the Church said. Vice chair Miss C. Y. Alexander takes over as chair.

Daniel Godfrey, former chief executive of the UK’s Investment Association who was ousted last year, has joined UK financial regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on a short-term consultancy contract, according to reports. An FCA spokesman told Chief Investment Officer he would contribute to asset management policy, but wouldn’t confirm the exact nature of Godfrey’s role.Eddie O’Connor, CEO of Mainstream Renewable Power, the Ireland-based renewable energy developer, has been named as the Global Wind Energy Council’s (GWEC) new Global Ambassador. He will work with the trade body to ensure that the wind sector’s voice is heard, and that “more and more countries understand the benefits that the industry can bring for their economic and social development”.

TIAA–CREF Trust Company, a US provider of banking, lending and fiduciary products that is part of the TIAA group, has named three new board members. They are: Kathie Andrade, CEO of Retail Financial Services at TIAA, as board chair; Andrew Armishaw, CEO at Armishaw Consulting; and Rohan Williamson, professor of finance at Georgetown University. Andrade replaces former board chair Doug Chittenden, who currently serves as president of Institutional Retirement at TIAA.

Dr. Karen Horn has been named as the new chair of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), the US boardroom practices body. Horn, a former director at Eli Lilly, Norfolk Southern and T. Rowe Price Mutual Funds, succeeds Dr. Reatha Clark King. King, chair since 2013, will now serve as chair emerita.

Frank Armstrong has been appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Church Pension Group, which provides employee benefits, property and casualty insurance to the Episcopal Church in the US. He is being promoted from Senior Vice President, Benefits Policy, and Chief Actuary and will report to CEO and President Mary Kate Wold; he replaces former COO Jim Morrison, who recently retired after 15 years service.

The Elders Foundation, a group of global leaders, including Kofi Annan and Jimmy Carter, working together for peace and human rights, has appointed a new chief executive. David Nussbaum will join the organisation from his role as chief executive of environmental NGO WWF-UK. David succeeds Lesley-Anne Knight who retired in March.

A Senior Manager, US Network is being sought by the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The New York-based role will be interacting with asset owners and investors in the US “to build and sustain a strong presence for the PRI”. Other PRI vacancies include: Manager – Investment Practice (Infrastructure); Manager, France and Southern Europe Networks; and Officer, Global Networks and Outreach.

A Non-Executive Committee Chair and Management Board Member is being sought for the Investment Committee of the Pensions Trust, the 240,000-member £7bn ‘industry-wide’ occupational pension scheme for the charity sector in the UK. The Board is implementing a new governance structure, which has led to the establishment of a two-tier governance structure, with a senior, representative, Trustee Board which appoints and holds to account an empowered Management Board. It said: “As Investment Committee (IC) Chair you will chair the quarterly IC meetings and provide independent challenge, support, guidance and oversight on all investment related matters to the Senior Management Team.”