ESG Investor’s weekly round-up of new hires in the sustainable investing sector.
Franklin Templeton has appointed a Stewardship and Sustainability Council to guide its specialist investment managers on ESG infrastructure and best practices. The Council will be co-chaired by David Zahn, Head of European Fixed Income, and Head of Sustainable Fixed Income at Franklin Templeton Fixed Income Group, and David Sheasby, Head of Stewardship and ESG at Martin Currie, a specialist investment manager within the Franklin Templeton Group. In addition to setting a common research agenda for stewardship and sustainability, the Council will discuss topics such as data requirements, transparency and reporting. It will also provide insights and guidance on key sustainability topics and serve as forum to monitor and provide feedback on related policy and regulation. After eight years with the firm, Julie Moret, Global Head of ESG, has decided to leave to pursue another opportunity. Franklin Templeton, which completed its acquisition of Legg Mason last year, is currently recruiting for a replacement.
Specialist impact investor ThomasLloyd, has promoted Miriam Plater to the position of Chief People Officer and member of the Board of Directors of the ThomasLloyd Group. The announcement follows the appointment of CFO Vivienne Maclachlan to the board in 2020, taking the female executive board quota to 50%. Plater is responsible for leading and developing the firm’s human resource capabilities including: talent acquisition and development, reward and recognition, learning and development and employee engagement. She is also responsible for the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion agenda which aims to create a fair and inclusive working environment.
Moody’s ESG Solutions Group (MESG) has appointed Rahul Ghosh as Managing Director of ESG Outreach and Research. In this role, Ghosh will oversee MESG’s outreach activities with the global sustainability stakeholder community and manage the group’s thought leadership. He will lead the production of market-leading research focused on ESG trends and issues relating to dual materiality and multi-stakeholder performance, as well as themes ranging from social equality and biodiversity to sustainable supply chains. Ghosh was active in various roles, including on the Principles for Responsible Investment’s advisory committee on credit ratings and working groups of the Green Bond Principles. Prior to the appointment, Ghosh worked in Moody’s Credit Strategy and Standards Group.
International equity manager Comgest has hired Petra Daroczi as ESG analyst. Daroczi is responsible for Comgest’s proprietary ESG analysis of developed market companies, in particular US stocks. She previously worked at Aberdeen Standard Investments in Singapore as an ESG Analyst. Comgest’s enlarged ESG team is headed by Sébastien Thévoux-Chabuel. “Ensuring ESG considerations are embedded within our investment decisions is both a natural consequence of our quality growth investment style and of our commitment to responsible stewardship of our clients’ assets,” said Thévoux-Chabuel.
