ESG Investor’s weekly round-up of new hires in the sustainable investing sector, including Franklin Templeton, Ninety One, Robeco, Mirova, Adam Street Partners, ThomasLloyd and NGFS.
Franklin Templeton has hired Anne Simpson as Global Head of Sustainability, a newly-created role that will oversee the US-based asset manager’s strategic direction on stewardship, sustainability and ESG investment strategy. She will report to President and CEO Jenny Johnson and join the firm on February 22, 2022, based in California. Simpson joins from the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), where she served as Managing Investment Director for Board Governance & Sustainability, leading the development of CalPERS’ Sustainable Investment Strategy. “A hire of this prominence demonstrates our commitment to being a leader in stewardship and sustainability, which acknowledges that our choices as responsible investors have a profound effect on the world and its future,” said Johnson. “We are confident that Anne’s expertise will take our efforts on sustainable investing to the next level.” At CalPERS, Simpson served as a member of its Investment Management Committee, which determines asset liability management, capital allocation, risk management and operations across global public equity, fixed income, private equity, private credit, real assets and infrastructure. In addition, she served as the inaugural Chair of Climate Action 100+ and its Asia Advisory Group, a global investor alliance of $60 trillion which CalPERS convened and co-founded. Simpson also has led the CalPERS investment office diversity, equity and inclusion business initiative, including the founding of 3D (Diverse Director DataSource). Before joining CalPERS, Simpson was a Senior Faculty Fellow and Lecturer at the Yale School of Management, Head of the Global Corporate Governance Forum at the World Bank, Executive Director of the International Corporate Governance Network and Joint Managing Director of Pensions and Investment Research Consultants (PIRC). Simpson commented, “2021 was a year in which the asset management industry reckoned with sustainability challenges and the opportunities these bring across global markets. There is new momentum in finance, driven by policymakers in leading European markets, net zero commitments from COP 26 and broad recognition of investors’ role in driving progress on sustainable investing, including areas like diversity, equity and inclusion, to foster shared prosperity.”
Investment manager Ninety One has appointed Juliana Hansveden, CFA, as Portfolio Manager, Emerging Markets Sustainable Equity. In this newly created role, Hansveden will develop strategy on sustainable capabilities, inclusive of Global Environment, Global Sustainable Equity, UK Sustainable Equity and Global Multi Asset Sustainable Growth. She will be based in London. Hansveden has fifteen years of experience and is recognised as a triple AAA-rated Citywire Portfolio Manager. She joins Ninety One from Nordea Asset Management. In her role at Nordea, she was responsible for managing the €6 billion Emerging Stars Equity and Asian Stars Equity strategies. Additionally, she has held roles with First Swedish National Pension Fund (AP1) and BlackRock.
Natalie Falkman has been hired as Senior Portfolio Manager of the RobecoSAM Circular Economy Equities strategy at asset manager Robeco. The RobecoSAM Circular Economy Equities strategy is an actively managed strategy that invests in companies at the forefront of the circular economy. In particular, the strategy is focused on investing in solution providers around redesign inputs, circular use, enabling technologies and loop resources. Falkman will be based in Zurich and joins Robeco from Swedbank Robur, where she was Senior Portfolio Manager for the global fund Kapitalinvest equity strategy. Falkman held several positions at Carnegie Investment Bank in Stockholm, including equity research analyst focused on Nordic capital goods, sales analyst and institutional equity sales for the Nordic region, and head of emerging markets equity research focused on Russia, CIS, and Africa. “Natalie has a deep understanding of the circular economy concept, strong analytical skills across all sectors relevant to the strategy, and experience in managing an active strategy,” said Mark van der Kroft, CIO Fundamental and Quant Equity, Robeco.
Mathilde Dufour, Director of Research for listed equities, will take over as Head of Sustainability Research on 1 February 2022 at French asset manager Mirova. She succeeds Ladislas Smia, Director of Research since 2020, who is leaving Mirova after 11 years. Dufour joined Natixis affiliate Ostrum Asset Management in 2009 and participated in the creation of Mirova, which came to fruition in 2012. Within the sustainability research team, she held several positions, including that of co-head of the team from 2013 to 2020. In particular, Dufour worked on Mirova’s extra-financial analysis and reporting processes methodologies, including ESG analysis and the methodology for calculating carbon footprint. She has been involved in the creation of the Mirova Global Green Bond and Women Leaders strategies and plays a key role in the firm’s engagement and voting policy. Dufour will report to Philippe Zaouati, CEO of Mirova, and will be a member of the Management Committee.
London-based private markets investment firm Adams Street Partners announced the promotions of Benjamin Wallwork to Partner and Yohan Hill to Principal. Wallwork is part of the Co-Investments team with a focus on leveraged buyout and growth equity. Before joining the firm, he was an Investment Associate on the UK deal team with Bridgepoint Advisers and has also worked as a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group. Hill is Director of ESG and Responsible Investing. Prior to this, he was a Manager at S&P Global Trucost. He joined Adams Street in May 2021 and is Chair of the ESG Committee.
ThomasLloyd, an impact investor in sustainable energy infrastructure in high growth and emerging markets in Asia, has appointed Gianluca Cerami to the newly created role of Executive Director, Wholesale and Institutional Clients Nordics. Based in Copenhagen, Cerami bringing two decades of experience in investment management including 12 years working directly with institutional investors and intermediaries in the region. He was most recently GAM’s Client Director for institutions and intermediaries in Northern Europe. Prior to his position at GAM, Gianluca worked in New York, Amsterdam and Stockholm for Deutsche Asset and Wealth Management. He also worked at Morgan Stanley after starting his career with Oppenheimer & Co in New York. At ThomasLloyd, Cerami‘s new remit will focus on introducing the firm and its offering to investors in the Nordic region and build partnerships with institutional investors and wholesale clients including pension funds, endowments, banks, wealth managers, family offices and investment platforms across Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.
The central banks and securities supervisors’ Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) announced Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, as the new Chair of the NGFS, with Sabine Mauderer, Member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, named Vice-Chair. Both for a two-year term starting in January 2022. Thereafter, Mauderer will take over as Chair for the subsequent two years. These appointments were made at the recommendation of the Steering Committee, with inputs from a Nomination Committee. Menon succeeds Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, who served as Chair since the establishment of the NGFS. The NGFS has also announced the expansion of its Steering Committee to include Banca d’Italia and Banco Central do Brasil. These institutions are appointed for a two-year term commencing in January 2022.
