RI People & Appointments: AXA IM’s global head of RI moves to HSBC

Melissa McDonald, Global Head of Responsible Investment at AXA Investment Managers, has left to join HSBC Global Asset Management as Business Manager – Equities and Responsible Investment. McDonald had been in the AXA role since July 2009, when she took over from Raj Thamotheram.

Jonathan Davis, the founder of the Independent Investor website, has been named Director of Investment Affairs at the Association of British Insurers. He takes over the role vacated by Peter Montagnon, who has joined the Financial Reporting Council. Announcement
Tim Walkley has become Deputy Finance Director at Governance For Owners LLP, the governance partnership that has institutional investor backing. He was formerly with Hermes Focus Asset Management Ltd. GO has also recently taken on Patrick Basiewicz from UniCredit CAIB Securities and Kalina Lazarova from Fidelity International.

Mike Ramsay, former global head of leveraged finance at private equity firm Carlyle, has become a partner at Generation Investment Management, the sustainable funds house set up by former US Vice President Al Gore and former Goldman Sachs Asset Management CEO David Blood. Link
Don Blankenship, chairman and chief executive of US mining firm Massey Energy, is to retire as of December 30. He will be succedded by Baxter Phillips as CEO and Bobby Inman as non-executive chairman. Massey had been the focus of investor pressure in the wake of a fatal explosion at its Upper Big Branch mine. Announcement
Christopher Roper has taken over from Paul Druckman as executive chairman of Trucost plc, the environmental data firm. Roper has been a Trucost director since 2006 and is the founder of Landmark Information Group. Link*Paris-based CDC Climat*, the environmental investing subsidiary of the Caisse des Dépôts, has appointed Michel Laffitte, a former investment banker with Lazard and CDC Ixis, as managing director of market services and a member of the management committee.

Richard Gröttheim has been named as the new Chief Executive of Swedish premium pension fund AP7. He takes over from Peter Norman, who has joined the government as financial markets minister. Link (Swedish)

Keith Poore is joining the NZ$18bn (€10.2bn) New Zealand Superannuation Fund as head of asset allocation. He joins from AXA Global Investors, according to a report in Pensions & Investments.
Richard Watts will head the new Investment Soultions business of F&C investments as it looks to boost its offering in fiduciary managment. The firm has also recruited Ernst Hagen from the Netherlands’ Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering to work alongside him. Announcement

Errol Frank Stoové, chairman of the Netherlands’ Social Insurance Bank, has been elected president of the International Social Security Association. He takes over from Corazon de la Paz-Bernardo of the Philippines, who had been in the post since 2004. Site

SustainAbility, the think tank and consultancy, is looking for a new Director in London. The expected start date for the c.£80,000 (€95,600) role is early 2011. Contact Chairman Geoff Lye

Governance consultancy PIRC is seeking corporate governance researchers ahead of the 2011 Proxy Season. “We are looking add to our team of researchers and analysts,” PIRC says. Please contact Paul Marsland