RI People & Appointments, October 8: CDP’s Dickinson named chair of ShareAction

Paul Dickinson, co-founder and executive director of environmental data body CDP (the former Climate Disclosure Project) has become Chair of UK campaign group ShareAction. He joins at a time when the group is looking to expand its work further into Europe and other parts of the world. He replaces the Environment Agency’s Emma Howard Boyd, who stays on the board. ShareAction is also set to begin a search for two new trustees to join its board, and is expected to advertise the positions in the coming months. Interested candidates can send direct enquiries here.

Thomas Kjærgaard has joined Danish pension firm Velliv as Head of Investment Governance & Affairs, moving from Nordea where he was also Head of Investment Governance & Affairs. Kjærgaard’s career so far has included various roles in the responsible investment field, including being Head of Responsible Investment at Danske Bank, Chairman of the board as Dansif (Denmark’s SRI investment forum), as well as being responsible for SRI at the Danske Bank Group. Link

Broadridge Financial Solutions has appointed Les Turner as Vice President, Investor Communication Solutions International – a management role focused on operations and client service within the firm’s global proxy business. With 30 years of experience in the industry, Turner joins from ISS, where he was Head of Global Proxy Distribution, and has also held senior leadership roles at Deutsche Bank.

M&G Prudential has appointed Mike Evans as Chair, a step in preparation for the firm’s planned demerger from Prudential plc. Evans has over three decades of experience in the savings and investment sector, and was formerly Chief Operating Officer of Skandia UK, Non-Executive Director of esure Group plc and Senior Independent Director of Chesnara plc. He has also chaired Hargreaves Lansdown plc and ZPG plc. Further appointments to the board of M&G Prudential are expected to follow. Announcement

The World Resources Institute (WRI), the Washington-based think tank, has named Lori Bird as US Director, Energy and the second Polsky Chair for Renewable Energy. Bird most recently served as a Principal Analyst in the Markets and Policy Group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).Jane Goodland, the former Towers Watson co-head of sustainable investment who joined Old Mutual in 2015 as head of responsible business, has been promoted at the firm now known as Quilter. She becomes Corporate Affairs Director and a member of the Executive Committee. She will oversee external communications and PR, stakeholder engagement, government relations, public policy, industry lobbying and Quilter plc’s Responsible Business agenda.

Michael Liebreich, Chairman and CEO of advisory firm Liebreich Associates, has joined UK environmental investment manager Sustainable Development Capital LLP (SDCL) as a Senior Advisor. Liebreich is Senior Contributor to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which he founded in 2004 and sold to Bloomberg LP in 2009. He serves on the UK Department for International Trade’s Capital Investment Advisory Board, and until recently was a board member of Transport for London.

Philip Foo has been named Director of Research at CGI Glass Lewis, the Australian subsidiary of governance and engagement advisory firm Glass Lewis. In his new role, Philip will work closely with CGI Glass Lewis General Manager Daniel J Smith in leading the 20-strong research team in Sydney. Foo was formerly a forensic accountant in the Disputes and International Arbitration practice at Berkeley Research Group, before which he was with KPMG’s forensic accounting and audit practices.

Emmanuel Faber, Chairman and CEO of Danone, has joined the B Team, the not-for-profit initiative co-founded by Richard Branson that aims to “drive business action toward a sustainable and inclusive future”. Under Faber’s leadership, Danone has set itself the mission of becoming the first multinational covered globally by B Corp certification – the US accreditation for companies that demonstrate high standards of social and environmental performance.

At JPM Asset Management, Alex Stanic has joined Hugo Alexander as co-lead of the firm’s SRI fund. Alexander has led the Luxembourg-domiciled JPM Global Socially Responsible fund since 2002. Stanic takes on the role alongside his position running the JPM Global Unconstrained Equity fund with Sam Witherow.

Christopher Hirst has taken over as new CEO of international development consultancy Palladium, as Kim Bredhauer steps down after 18 years at the helm. Hirst, who moves up from his previous role as Head of Strategy and Corporate Development, was formerly CEO of Abu Dhabi Farmers’ Services Centre.