RI People & Appointments, Sept. 28: World Bank’s Rachel Kyte to head UN Sustainable Energy initiative

Rachel Kyte has been named as the new CEO of the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative to SE4All, as of January 1 2016. Kandeh Yumkella, who has served as SE4All CEO and Special Representative since the launch of the initiative in 2011 is returning to his native Sierra Leone. Kyte is currently the World Bank Group’s Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change. The SE4All initiative was launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a bid to show how governments, business and civil society can make sustainable energy for all a reality by 2030. Link

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the former Nigerian Minister of Finance, has been appointed chair-elect of the board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. She will take up the position from January 2016, having served twice as Finance Minister in Nigeria, most recently between 2011 and 2015 with the expanded portfolio of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy. She has also held several key positions at the World Bank, most recently as Managing Director. Okonjo-Iweala currently serves on the board of the Rockefeller Foundation and ONE, among others. She takes over from Dagfinn Høybråten, a former Norwegian Minister of Health.

Kelly O’Dwyer has been appointed Australia’s Assistant Treasurer, bringing with it the new portfolio for superannuation and financial services. Josh Frydenberg has been appointed Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia. The new appointments follow Malcolm Turnbull becoming the new Prime Minister of Australia. Tom Garcia, chief executive of the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) said he welcomed the return of superannuation and the financial services portfolio to the cabinet.

Environmental investment specialist Impax Asset Management has appointed ex-Sarasin & Partners fund manager David Winbourne as a senior portfolio manager. He will work on Impax’s existing equity strategies and contribute to the development of new funds – reporting to listed equities chief Bruce Jenkyn-Jones. He joins the firm from retailer Tesco’s in-house asset management team.

Maria McCaffery is stepping down after 10 years as CEO of RenewableUK, the trade association. She joined what was then known as the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) when the renewables sector was much smaller and less mature. The body said
it would start the process of seeking a replacement in the coming weeks.

Jonathan Stearns and Rob Wallace will join i2 Capital, a US impact investment firm, as partners. Stearns, formerly Managing Director of Pine Bridge Investments will be Chief Investment Officer. A former Manager of Government Relations for GE Energy, Wallace will be Chief Government Affairs Officer. Announcement*David Ellis, formerly Head of Projects* at governance advisory firm PIRC, is joining CCLA, the UK-based charity and faith investment specialist as Manager: Corporate Governance and Stewardship. He will lead CCLA’s voting and help develop corporate governance- related engagement activity.

Social Finance, the US social finance intermediary, has hired two new ex-government staff who worked under former governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick, who implemented the state’s first social impact bond. Navjeet Bal, Patrick’s revenue commissioner, is now its vice president and general counsel, and Alex Zaroulis, Patrick’s former communications director at the Executive Office for Administration and Finance, is director of communications. Patrick is now developing a social impact investment business at private equity giant Bain Capital.

Susannah Haan is stepping down as Secretary General of EuropeanIssuers, which represents publicly quoted companies in Europe, to pursue “other career opportunities”, after with years with the body. Florence Bindelle takes over the role from November 1, joining from FERMA, the Federation of European Risk Management Associations.

Lord Turner has joined the board of Prudential Plc, the London-based finance giant, as a non-executive director. He is an ex-chair Chairman of the UK’s Financial Services Authority and former non-executive director of the Bank of England as well as being a former head of the Confederation of British Industry.

Jay Willoughby has been named as the new Chief Investment Officer of the Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF), which serves the investment needs of the US not-for-profit sector. He was most recently CIO of the Alaska Permanent Fund, the $50 billion state sovereign wealth fund. He also spent nine years with Merrill Lynch as CIO, Private Investors Group; Head of Research for Equity Funds; and Senior Portfolio Manager, Merrill Lynch Real Estate Fund. He takes over from Larry Lebowitz, who resigned in March. Link

Ian Duncan of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group at the European Parliament has been chosen to shepherd a major piece of climate law through the parliament, according to Reuters. It quoted analysts as saying the British MEP was preferable to rivals from Poland’s Law and Justice party, which has threatened to pull Poland from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).

Generation Investment Management, the sustainable investment boutique co-founded by Al Gore, is hiring two associates to join its Climate Solutions Fund which invests in listed and private equities of growth stage climate solutions businesses. Link

British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC) is seeking an ESG integration manager. The manager will be a member of the public equities team, and will be accountable for bcIMC’s corporate engagement on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues that have the potential to impact client assets under management.