Global investment firm Franklin Templeton has appointed James Andrus in the newly created leadership role of VP of Sustainability Global Markets. The role sits within the firm’s global sustainability strategy team (GSST), which implements its sustainable investment strategy and consists of professionals located across Europe, Asia and the US, with additional recruitment underway for data, content, stewardship and product roles. In his new role, Andrus will be responsible for leading, managing, and developing the GSST, overseeing the execution of Franklin Templeton’s sustainability and stewardship initiatives, as well as serving as an advocate and spokesperson with clients, external organisations, policymakers, regulators and internal stakeholders. He joins from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), where he served as the Interim Managing Investment Director for Sustainable Investing and led its sustainable investment strategy across its US$443 billion investment portfolio. He has previous experience advocating for asset owners as a member of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor Advisory Committee, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, Investor Advisory Group, Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council and the International Financial Reporting Standards Advisory Council, as well as being co-Chair of the Financial Capital Committee of the International Corporate Governance Network. He will report to Anne Simpson, Global Head of Sustainability at Franklin Templeton, who is responsible for the firm’s overall strategic direction on stewardship and sustainable investment. Simpson said: “James is deeply experienced in corporate governance and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the effective management of financial, human and natural capital to Franklin Templeton. We are committed to building dedicated resources as the profound evolution and increasing complexities related to sustainable investing continue in the industry globally.” Under Andrus’ leadership, the GSST will continue its work building a sustainability centre within the firm, focused on “moving ‘Beyond ESG’ towards an economic model based on stewardship of financial, human and natural capital”. In addition to the ongoing work of providing support on a wide range of Sustainability topics to key stakeholders across the firm, the team will also be developing sustainability learning and training materials and a data governance framework this year.
We’re delighted that James Andrus has been appointed as Vice President of Sustainability Global Markets. In this newly created role, he will oversee the execution of Franklin Templeton’s sustainability and stewardship initiatives. Read more: https://t.co/sWCJOiKNpx pic.twitter.com/TjROQyVNUy
— Franklin Templeton (@FTI_Global) March 23, 2023
