St. James’s Place appoints new Head of Responsible Investment

St. James’s Place has appointed Andy Ford as Head of Responsible Investment. He joins from Aviva Investors where he was Head of ESG Investment Directors. Sam Turner, who previously led the St James’s Place team, has taken on a broader role in the investment products team and will continue to lead the implementation of the FCA’s Sustainable Disclosure Regulation, sustainable product strategy and wider policy engagement in the industry. Prior to Aviva Investors, Ford held roles at firms including Abrdn, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, JPMorgan Cazenove and Standard Life Investments.

Let’s stay with Aviva Investors, Andrea Carzana has left his role as co-portfolio manager of the £722 million ($922 million; €844 million) Climate Transition Global Equity Fund after more than two years. He was previously deputy fund manager for three institutional ESG European equity mandates at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. A spokesperson for the manager said: “The strategy will continue to be managed by co-manager Max Burns and deputy portfolio manager Joshua French. We plan to hire a replacement co-manager in due course.”

The World Bank is hiring an Executive Director for the Fund to Combat Loss and Damage. At COP28, 198 countries agreed to advance a fund to provide financial support to vulnerable countries most affected by the impacts of climate change. The World Bank’s role is to host the Fund’s Secretariat and provide fiduciary services for the Fund. Key responsibilities include supporting the Board in providing strategic thought leadership, implementing the Fund’s goals and purposes, and aligning its activities to scale and maturity. The application deadline is August 30.

The Swiss Federal Council has Christopher BaumannDeputy Head of the Strategy Division and Envoy for Sustainable Finance at the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF), as Switzerland’s representative on the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC. The four-year term of office begins on November 1. He will initially serve as Deputy Executive Director for two years and then Executive Director.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has Erdem Kolcuoglu And Constance Kane as Chair and Vice Chair of the Stakeholder Council, along with eight other new members. Kolcuoğlu is a senior advisor and Vice Chair of a sustainability consultancy in Turkey and has over 15 years of experience in corporate sustainability. Kane is the Executive Director at Women Changemakers for Education in the US and brings expertise in social justice and human rights. Vanessa GomesExecutive Director at Standard Chartered Bank USA, is one of eight new Council members. The Council’s primary function is to provide advice and recommendations to GRI Management, the Oversight Board and the Global Sustainability Standards Board. Appointments to the Council are voluntary and members serve three-year terms.

PGGM promotes Colin Tissen as investment strategist after spending two years in the asset owner team focusing on the oil and gas and transport sectors. Tissen joined the Dutch manager in 2022 as responsible investment advisor after previously working at the School of Business and Economics at Maastricht University.

Global Advisor to State Street is hiring a VP of Sustainability Stewardship Service as the company continues to grow its engagement team. The candidate will report to the Head of Sustainability Stewardship, lead corporate engagements, and support the development and implementation of a client proxy voting policy aligned with the new stewardship service. The role is based in London or Boston and reports to the Head of Sustainability Stewardship.

US SIF has named Siren Hajj as Director of Investor Relations. She leaves her role as Associate Director at Morningstar Sustainalytics, where she was part of the global client relations team and led client experience and business development. Prior to joining Sustainalytics, Hajj worked in the research and strategy department of Mizuho Securities and as a Senior Research Associate for Crédit Agricole CIB.

Desiree Lucchese has joined S&P Global as a sustainability solutions specialist in market intelligence. Her previous roles include Sustainability Manager at MLC Life Insurance, Head of Ethics and Impact at U Ethical Investors and ESG Advisor at MSCI ESG Research. She is also an advisor to the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia and has been a member of the Policy and Advocacy Technical Expert Group since 2022.

M&G Investments is looking for a Sustainable Investment Framework Manager. The successful candidate will ensure regulatory compliance, support the development of sustainability frameworks and policies and engage with the investment team on sustainability. The closing date for applications is 21 August.

Morningstar Sustainalytics is hiring an Engagement Manager with a focus on Human Capital Management. The role involves leading dialogues with organizations to promote proactive strategies to maximize performance with a healthy, engaged, innovative and productive workforce.

Agnieszka Smolenska has started as a Senior Policy Fellow for Money and Financial Markets at the newly established CETEx (Centre for Economic Transition Expertise) at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics.

NN is hiring an active ownership specialist to support the implementation of its strategy and identify key engagement themes for its investment portfolio. The successful candidate will also bring expertise on new and emerging ESG and stewardship trends and monitor the progress of external asset managers’ engagement and proxy voting activities.

ANZ is hiring a Director of Climate Scenario Analysis to use scenario analysis to assess potential climate-related risks, opportunities and impacts to support risk management and strategy across the bank. The application deadline for the Melbourne-based role is 21 August.