Credit Suisse Asset Management has expanded its sustainable investing team with the appointment of a head of active ownership.

Christine Chow will join Credit Suisse AM on 1 April 2023 as head of active ownership and managing director.

Chow, who has extensive experience in sustainability, will join from HSBC Asset Management.

In her new role Chow will focus on further accelerating Credit Suisse AM’s efforts in the area of voting and engagement across all asset classes, an important pillar of its sustainability strategy. 

Credit Suisse AM, in a statement announcing the appointment, said it considers it its responsibility to exercise its ownership rights in the best interest of its clients and in accordance with its sustainability criteria, to generate sustainable added value. 

Chow will work alongside the head of ESG integration, Dominik Scheck, and the head of sustainability research, Nisha Long, who joined in January 2023. The team has also made further key hires in recent months to strengthen its efforts.

She will be based in London and will report to Jeroen Bos, global head of sustainable investing. 

Bos said: “Sustainability is of key importance to our clients and society, so I am very excited by the wealth of experience and talent that is joining our team. 

“This will enable us to further accelerate our active ownership efforts under the leadership of Christine, and build up our sustainability research capabilities under the leadership of Nisha, further strengthening the integration of sustainability and ESG considerations into the service we deliver to clients.”

Sustainable investing experience

Chow was formerly HSBC Asset Management’s head of stewardship, a role she assumed in September 2021. 

During her time at HSBC, Chow implemented a comprehensive stewardship programme and won the Sustainable and ESG Investment Woman of the Year (large firms) award in 2022. 

Earlier in her career, she held roles at Schroders, Aon (Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow), Federated Hermes and IHS Markit. 

Chow was an adjunct professor in finance at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and is an Emeritus Governor of the London School of Economics and Political Science. 

Currently, she is an appointed adviser to the Hong Kong Accounting and Financial Reporting Council, the independent regulator of the accounting profession.