RI People & Appointments, Sept. 29: ACTIAM’s ESG research head Adamini steps down

Manuel Adamini is stepping down as Head of ESG-research at ACTIAM (the former SNS Asset Management) around year-end. “After almost seven years in my present role, I have recently informed my board of my intention to step down as Head of ESG-research,” he said. Adamini, who is an Alternate Member of the Investor Board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and who has helped develop the market for green bonds, added: “While supporting my board in finding a suitable successor, I will also make my own plans for a new exciting challenge in the ‘responsible’ space.”

Michele Giddens, founding partner of social investment firm Bridges Ventures, and Wim Borgdorff, founder of ABP Investments’ alternative investments unit, are joining the board of CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution. Also named as a non-executive director is Keki Mistry, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Housing Development Finance Corporation in India.

Craig Metrick will be Director, Manager Due Diligence and Thematic Research in his new role at Cornerstone Capital, the firm has said. He will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s manager and fund outreach and review process across asset classes. Cornerstone, the sustainable finance boutique founded by former senior UBS figure Erika Karp, hired the former US Head of Responsible Investment at Consulting firm Mercer last week.

Chris Anker, currently Acting Secretary and Ethical Screening and Stewardship Manager at the Church of England Ethical Investment Advisory Group, is to join RPMI Railpen Corporate Governance Analyst on November 24, said Frank Curtiss, Railpen’s Head of Corporate Governance. Curtiss said Anker, who is working out his notice and leaving eaving on amicable terms, will add to the team currently comprising himself and Deborah Gilshan.

Guy Lemoine, a former vice-chair and commissioner of the Quebec securities commission, has been elected as a director of the Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights (FAIR Canada). Long-time director Neil de Gelder, on the board since 2008, did not stand for re-election but will continue to be involved as an emeritus advisor.

Mark Donohue, vice president of investor relations and corporate communications for Nasdaq-listed pharma firm Impax Laboratories, has been elected chairman of the National Investor Relations Institute, the US trade body. He will succeed John Chevalier, director, global investor relations for Procter & Gamble.

Hamed Hassan Merah has been named as the new secretary-general of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), the Bahrain-based Islamic finance standard-setting body, according to a Reuters report. It said the Saudi Arabian national takes over from Khaled Al Fakih, who left AAOIFI in May after two and a half years at the helm.Klaus Tischhauser, chief executive of Swiss microfinance fund specialist responsAbility, has been named chairman of Swiss Sustainable Finance (SSF), the new Swiss membership body. He has been elected by the SSF’s more than 80 members. An 11-member board has been appointed, including: Philipp Aeby, chief executive of RepRisk; Eric Borremans, Sustainability Specialist at Pictet; Beatrice Zwicky, Board Member at the pension fund Nest; and Daniel Wild, Head of Sustainability Investing at RobecoSAM. SSF is headed by CEO Sabine Döbeli. Announcement

Diego D’Argenio has reportedly left RobecoSAM, where he had been Senior Portfolio Manager and lead manager on the firm’s €46m Sustainable Global Equity fund since January 2006. Citywire quoted a spokesperson for RobecoSAM as saying a search for his replacement is under way. The fund will now be managed on an interim basis by Rainer Baumann and Kai Fachinger.

Janine Guillot, the former Chief Operating Investment Officer at CalPERS, the $293.1bn (€230.3bn) pension fund for public employees in California, has joined the board of Equilibrium Capital Group, which specialises in sustainability-driven real assets for institutional investors. Link

Mike Weston has been appointed CEO of Pensions Infrastructure Platform Ltd., the not-for-profit infrastructure fund run by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), the UK trade body. Weston is a former Chief Investment Officer for the Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) pension schemes. He has worked as an Investment Director for Hermes and Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. Chris Hitchen, CEO of founding investor Railpen, said the move would help PIP “fulfil our vision as a place where pension funds can gain access to the infrastructure investments they need on their own terms”.

Timo Ritakallio has been appointed as the new President and CEO of Ilmarinen, the €33.5bn Finnish pensions mutual. Ritakallio, long-standing chief investment officer, will succeed Harri Sailas, who will to retire in May 2015 after more than eight years as president. Ilmarinen said: “The recruitment process to find a new Chief Investment Officer for Ilmarinen will start immediately.

Mildred Callear has been named Vice President for Financial and Portfolio Management at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the US government’s development finance institution which is involved in impact investing and funding renewables projects amongst others. She returns to OPIC, where she previously served as Vice President and Treasurer as well as acting President and CEO, from the nonprofit Small Enterprise Assistance Funds, where she was Executive Vice President.