ESG Investor’s weekly round-up of new hires in the sustainable investing sector.
JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) has appointed Yo Takatsuki as Head of Investment Stewardship for EMEA. Takatsuki will be responsible for leading JPMAM’s investment stewardship efforts in EMEA, including proxy voting, corporate engagement and stewardship reporting. Based in London, Takatsuki will report to Jennifer Wu, Global Head of Sustainable Investing. Prior to JPMAM, Takatsuki worked for AXA Investment Managers, where he headed up the firm’s global Investment Stewardship and Active Ownership programme. Prior to this role, he spent seven years at BMO Global Asset Management, where he also focused on governance and sustainable investing. “Yo’s extensive expertise as a sustainable investing specialist and track record in leading investor stewardship programmes positions him incredibly well for his new role, particularly as we continue to intensify our focus across our five global stewardship priorities,” said Wu.
Former HSBC Global Head of Sustainable Finance Dr Daniel Klier will join Arabesque Group as President in June, also serving as the new CEO of Arabesque S-Ray. Arabesque said Klier’s appointment is a key part of the firm’s growth strategy to meet increasing demand for sustainability and AI technology solutions in financial markets. Klier will lead the expansion of Arabesque S-Ray’s ESG data, advisory and research services worldwide, alongside bringing to market new tools for capturing, analysing and reporting sustainability data. “Arabesque is uniquely positioned to lead this major transition, combining cutting-edge AI applications, market-leading data assets and ESG investment propositions. I am excited to be joining an incredible team that is supported by a world-class board of sustainability experts, together with some of Europe’s largest financial institutions as shareholders, and look forward to driving Arabesque forward as a pioneer in sustainability,” said Klier.
Vanguard has hired Fong Yee Chan as Head of ESG strategy for UK and Europe. In this newly created role, Chan will be responsible for evolving Vanguard’s approach to ESG in Europe, to ensure it meets the long-term needs of its clients. Based in London, she will report to Matthew Piro, Head of the Portfolio Review Department in Europe. Chan sits on the Board of Directors for the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association. Previously, she was Director of FTSE Russell’s Sustainable Investment Products team, responsible for its EMEA sustainable investment ETF strategy. “Vanguard approaches ESG through our thoughtful offering of investment products, integrating ESG considerations throughout our investment processes, and our investment stewardship activities across our fund range,” said Sean Hagerty, Head of Vanguard, Europe.
Chelverton Asset Management, a specialist investor in sub-FTSE 100 listed equities, AIM-traded companies and unquoted SMEs, has appointed Sally Clifton as Responsible Investing Manager. In her newly created position, Clifton will work to increase the transparency of Chelverton’s responsible investing activities. Clifton joins from Quilter Investors, where she was Head of Responsible Investing, and has held roles in investment management, business advisory and incubation in a career spanning 25 years. She commented: “The challenge is to increase communication around our active stewardship activities and build out the ESG integration lens for our stock universe, for whom materiality is highly company specific and metric data much less available.”
Regnan, the responsible investment management business affiliated with JO Hambro Capital Management (JOHCM), has hired Bertrand Lecourt, Senior Fund Manager, and Saurabh Sharma, Fund Manager, ahead of the launch of a global equities sustainable water and waste investment strategy later this year. Lecourt and Sharma will join in April from Fidelity International and will be based in JOHCM’s London head office. They currently manage US$2.5 billion of assets within a sustainable water and waste strategy, including the US$2.4 billion Luxembourg-domiciled Fidelity Funds – Sustainable Water & Waste Fund and US$88 million UK-domiciled OEIC Fund. Both funds invest in companies involved in the design, manufacture or sale of products and services used in the water and waste management sectors.
River and Mercantile has made a series of hires to support the recent recruitment of Ian Berry, former Head of Infrastructure Equity at Aviva Investors, who is establishing an infrastructure investment business at the UK investment services firm. Allan Vlah, Fergus Helliwell, Anne Sophie Eveno and Dan Wilcockson will join over the coming months as they complete their contractual obligations to Aviva. The first infrastructure investment initiative at River and Mercantile will be the launch of an Infrastructure Equity Income Fund, which will focus on delivering long term, stable cash flows to institutional clients through investing in long-life infrastructure.
