People Moves

Global sustainability standards body appoints chair

Carol Adams takes over from Judy Kuszewski in heading up Global Sustainability Standards Board

The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) – the independent body that sets the GRI Standards – has appointed Carol Adams as chair.

Adams (pictured), who is professor of accounting at Durham University Business School, takes over from Judy Kuszewski on April 1. following the completion of her final term in the role in which she oversaw the introduction of the organization’s sector programme. Kuszewski has served as chair since 2017.

Adams is a researcher in sustainability accounting and reporting, its role in driving change and its implications for practice and policy. She advises the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy on sustainability reporting, and is a member of the Australian Accounting Standards Board’s Sustainability Reporting Advisory Panel. She is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and chairs its sustainability panel.

She recently advised the UNDP in creating Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) impact standards, and the UK government’s implementation taskforce on impact investing.

Adams said she is looking forward to working with GSSB expert members to “further widen usage of GRI’s multi-stakeholder standards, which are the global blueprint for quality and comprehensive impact reporting”.

She added: “Identifying and measuring impacts on the economy, environment and society is an essential step in managing an organization’s risks and opportunities, as well as assessing positive and negative impacts on achieving the SDGs.

“Beyond that, accountability for management approach, strategy, governance oversight and impacts through use of the GRI Standards is critical in driving change, ensuring sustainable development is not side-lined by a narrow focus on financial considerations.”

Eelco van der Enden, CEO of GRI, added: “I am delighted that Carol has accepted the position of GSSB chair, which is a crucially important role in ensuring the effective governance of the GRI Standards. I am confident that under her direction the GSSB’s influential position in the reporting landscape, including engagement with EFRAG and the ISSB, will continue to increase.

“I also want to put on record my enormous gratitude to Judy Kuszewski, who has provided myself and the organization with such excellent guidance and leadership during her period as chair.”

Anti-ESG Strive AM chair Ramaswamy resigns to run for president

Outspoken critic of ESG investing plans to leverage that message on the campaign trail

Strive Asset Management co-founder Vivek Ramaswamy is taking his “anti-woke” message to the next level by campaigning to be nominated as the Republican candidate for president of the United States in 2024.

Ramaswamy made his official announcement on Tuesday evening on Fox News, and detailed his plans in a Wednesday opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal entitled Why I’m Running for President.

Ramaswamy was not available for comment ESG Clarity‘s sister title Investment News put in a request, but Strive co-founder and president Anson Frericks confirmed that Ramaswamy has resigned from his role as chairman of Strive, a $650m asset management firm.

Strive, which was founded a year ago in Columbus, Ohio, has launched eight exchange-traded funds and has three more in filings, all of which directly or indirectly shun the trend toward ESG and sustainable investing trends as a means of building investment portfolios.

“We ask companies to focus unapologetically on the mission of building shareholder value,” Frericks said. “We want to depoliticize corporate America.”

Frericks, who has known Ramaswamy for 20 years, said the presidential campaign is completely separate from the asset management business.

But it would be impossible not to notice a common theme.

Frericks described the ESG movement as “starting to impact democracy,” adding that “companies are using capital positions to have political influence.”

Specifically, he cited BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink, who has pressured public companies to fall in line with a variety of ESG and sustainability mandates.

“We think people like Larry Fink and [JPMorgan CEO] Jamie Dimon, if they want to impart their views from bully pulpits, should step down and run for office,” Frericks said.

Strive not only doesn’t tout its asset management as anti-ESG, but its founders resist the tagline as missing the point.

Last summer when discussing the flagship Strive US Energy ETF (DRLL), Matt Cole, head of Strive’s product and investing, said debuting with a straightforward, passive energy-sector strategy was designed to “unlock shareholder value through shareholder advocacy, voice and votes.”

“We see what’s happening in the industry through ESG-friendly asset managers,” he added.

Cole cited a 2021 Chevron shareholder vote as an example of the way the largest ETF providers can influence corporate actions. The shareholder resolution required Chevron to monitor and reduce the carbon footprint of every company in its supply chain.

Though Chevron’s board of directors described the proposal as overly burdensome and didn’t support the proposal, it passed after all the major ETF providers managing funds that include shares of Chevron stock voted in favor.

“We say US energy companies should evaluate all future and current investments as well as alternative energy projects exclusively based on a financially measurable return on investment, regardless of any other social, political, cultural or environmental goals,” Cole said. “They might be noble and important conversations, but the right place is through the political process, where everybody has one vote.”

Ramaswamy, who has become a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal’s opinion pages, described his campaign as an alternative to Republican slogans “they memorized in 1980.”

“I am launching not only a political campaign but a cultural movement to create a new American dream, one that is not only about money but about the unapologetic pursuit of excellence,” he wrote.

The son of immigrants, Ramaswamy lists securing the Mexican border among his priorities for the country, which include eliminating racial preferences for college admission, reducing the power of unelected bureaucrats, reclaiming global energy leadership and “publicly exposing every known instance in which bureaucrats have wrongfully pressured companies to take constitutionally prohibited actions.”

“As Elon Musk did at Twitter, I will release state action files from the federal government,” Ramaswamy wrote.

Anyone paying attention to Ramaswamy’s work should not be surprised by his campaign platform. His most recent published books include Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit and the Path Back to Excellence and Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam.

Frericks said Strive has grown to 40 employees, including several people qualified to represent the asset manager’s message in Ramaswamy’s absence.

“Until now, one person has been the face of the business, and one person was building the business, but I will be taking more of a forward role at Strive,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for everybody at Strive to step up and play a bigger role.”

Regardless of how far Ramaswamy’s political campaign goes, it’s already being spun as a win by one of his biggest targets.

“I think his involvement in the race will keep the ESG conversation in the presidential discussion and ironically that might be a good opportunity for more people to understand the opportunities that exist,” said Bryan McGannon, managing director at The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment.

“We have been clear all along that those taking an anti-ESG view are misinformed,” McGannon said. “That’s true whether someone is running for office or not.”

This article first appeared on ESG Clarity US sister publication InvestmentNews.

Photo creit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

BlackRock sustainability policy and engagement leader to depart

Paul Bodnar, who had advised former President Obama on climate, joined BlackRock in 2021

BlackRock is losing its head of sustainability policy and engagement, Paul Bodnar, who is leaving the asset manager in April for a role at the Bezos Earth Fund.

Bodnar, who announced his departure on LinkedIn, will have been at BlackRock for two years. In October, Bodnar switched roles from global head of sustainable investing to his most recent job as head of sustainability policy and engagement.

In his post, he acknowledged the difficult position the company has been in amid an anti-ESG push in many parts of the country.

“BlackRock has changed the way the financial sector thinks about sustainability. It was one of the first to recognize the potential for climate risk to reshape finance, and to help investors navigate and participate in that transformation,” Bodnar wrote. “It has also been steadfast about the difficult realities of the transition and the need to retain a laser focus on fiduciary duty, even amidst intense public debates about whether asset managers are doing too little, or too much, to address climate change.”

At the Bezos Earth Fund, Bodnar will “help lead its work on climate finance, industry and diplomacy,” he wrote.

Prior to joining BlackRock in April 2021, he was chief strategy officer at renewable energy nonprofit RMI. Before that, he was special assistant to former President Barack Obama and senior director for energy and climate change at the National Security Council.

BlackRock declined to comment on Bodnar’s departure. The Bezos Earth Fund did not respond to a request for comment.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect Bodnar’s most recent position at BlackRock.

U.S. Bank brings on sustainable finance leader

Guillaume Mascotto previously led ESG at Jennison and American Century

U.S. Bank has established a new head of sustainable finance role at the company, hiring former Jennison Associates head of ESG, Guillaume Mascotto, the company recently announced.

In the role, Mascotto is tasked with assembling a team that will be focused on sustainable finance business for U.S. Bank broadly, the firm stated.

Mascotto is based in New York and reports to U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corp. CEO Zack Boyers.

“Customers all across U.S. Bank are increasingly talking to us about sustainable finance products and services that can help them meet their social and environmental goals,” Boyers said in the announcement. “Under Guillaume’s leadership, this new team will engage all our business lines to help meet customers’ sustainable finance needs. It’s important work, not only for our customers but also for our communities and the environment.”

The sustainable finance business includes “lending and investment activities that empower communities, support inclusive growth, and help customers transition to a low-carbon economy,” the firm stated.

The new team will also help the bank meet its ESG commitments, including net-zero goals, the firm said.

Mascotto has previous experience overseeing ESG at other firms. He was head of ESG and investment stewardship at American Century Investments before working at Jennison Associates. He also served as a vice president at Pimco in ESG credit research and portfolio management.

Credit Suisse AM poaches from HSBC for chief of active ownership 

The hire will enable the firm to accelerate its active ownership efforts, it says

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

Christine Chow will join the firm in that role on April 1, the company recently announced.

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 Asset Management’s efforts in voting and engagement across all asset classes, an important pillar of its sustainability strategy. 

Chow will work alongside the head of ESG integration Dominik Scheck and the recently appointed head of sustainability research, Nisha Long. That team has also made other key hires in recent months.

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

“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,” Bos said in a statement.

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

There, Chow implemented a comprehensive stewardship program and won the Sustainable and ESG Investment Woman of the year (large firms) 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. 

Pollination welcomes back a former US Treasury climate adviser

John Morton previously worked at the investment firm for a year

Investment firm Pollination is regaining a former high-level employee who most recently was climate counselor to the US Treasury Department, the company announced today.

John Morton, who served in the role under Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, is now Pollination’s global head of advisory and is on firm’s executive committee. He had previously been at Pollination as a partner from March 2020 until April 2021, when he joined the Treasury.

“John’s unique breadth of experience spans the private sector, government, philanthropy and multi-lateral development banks,” the firm stated in its announcement. “John’s work has focused on expediting the transition to a low carbon economy, and he has been at the forefront of designing and structuring some of the most innovative platforms and investment vehicles to mobilize private capital flows into fast-growing global markets.”

Morton had also served as senior director for energy and climate change in the Obama White House. He was also chief of staff and chief operating officer at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and had worked for The Pew Charitable Trusts.

“The scale of the climate challenge is matched only by the size of the investment opportunity presented by the transition to net zero,” Morton said in the announcement. “All around the world, we are seeing policies and regulations align to incentivize and expedite the decarbonization of the global economy, while at the same time costs of underlying technologies continue to fall dramatically.”

Globally, Pollination has more than 200 workers. In the US, the firm’s work includes “structuring new blended finance climate investment vehicles for multilateral institutions, building a decarbonization platform for a major private equity house and developing net zero and nature positive strategies for several national commodity boards representing hundreds of US companies,” the firm stated.

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