People Moves 19 May: who is hiring who within the industry?
Several UK asset owners and managers have appointed new sustainability heads, including LGPS Central, Brunel, Franklin Templeton and AXA IM
An overview of this week's most important hires and departures within the net zero community.
LGPS Central names head of stewardship
LGPS Central, the investment management company responsible for the pooled assets of eight UK local government pension scheme funds, has appointed Sheila Stefani as head of stewardship within its responsible investment team.
Stefani joins LGPS Central from TPT Retirement Solutions, where she led on engagement strategies in areas such as net zero and the just transition, as well as advising trustees on responsible investment policies and ESG regulatory updates relevant to the pension industry.
Her previous roles included time spent with ICGN Global Stewardship Committee, the Church Commissioners of England Pensions Board, and Minerva Analytics.
Stefani will be joined by Sameed Afzal, who has been hired LGPS Central as a senior stewardship analyst from St James Place.
She will be participating in the Net Zero Investor Stewardship Roundtable on 29 June at the Gherkin, London.
UN PRI director joins Brunel as head of stewardship
Vaishnavi Ravishankar, formerly director of governance at the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI), has joined Brunel Pension Partnership as head of stewardship.
In her new role, Ravishankar will be overseeing the stewardship efforts for the £35 billion pension pool, which manages assets for Avon, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, the Environment Agency, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire.
Ravishankar will report directly to Faith Ward, the pool’s head of responsible investment. She replaces Helen Price, who has left the Brunel Pension Partnership for a new role.
AXA IM appoints head of sustainability
AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) has appointed Marie Luchet as head of ESG and sustainability at AXA IM Prime, a business unit which looks to enhance access to private market products.
Based in Paris, she will report to Pascal Christory, chief executive of AXA IM Prime.
Luchet will be responsible for overseeing AXA IM Prime’s sustainability strategy including the advancement of ESG integration in investment decision making, funds and asset managers selection, as well as in the reporting and product design.
Previous roles for Luchet include as head of ESG for the UK and Europe at financial consultants the ACA Group, and director for continental Europe at the UN PRI.
Franklin Templeton names senior sustainability advisor
US investment firm Franklin Templeton has appointed Christine Shaw as senior advisor for stewardship and sustainability.
Shaw was previously principal investment officer for corporate governance & sustainable investment for the state of Connecticut, overseeing $46bn worth of state retirement plans and trust funds. She has had various further roles within the Connecticut office of the treasurer for over two decades, with her first position dating back to 1999.
At Franklin Templeton, she will be responsible for overseeing the overall execution and efficacy of the firm’s sustainability strategy. She will report to James Andrus, vice-president of sustainability global markets. The team is led by Anne Simpson, global head of sustainability.
