With thanks to Miriam Heale, Allen & York - www.allen-york.com

The UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) has appointed Adrian Bertrand as head of Africa, networks & global outreach. Bertrand will take up the position, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 16 February. He joins PRI after four years as ESG manager for the Government Employees Pension Fund of South Africa (GEPF).

Bertrand, who started his career as a high school English teacher, went on to complete an MBA at the University of Stellenbosch Business School. “My research into corporate governance saw me introduced to the concept of responsible investment for the first time,” he says. He was drawn to the sector by the opportunity to make a “tangible contribution” to investment decision making. “As I was finishing up with the MBA, PRI was looking to appoint a network manager for its growing South African network of signatories,” he says. After 18 months in the PRI role, Bertrand was invited to join GEPF, a PRI founding signatory.

In his new role, Bertrand will be responsible for strategic initiatives such as engaging with and supporting pan-African signatories in the practice and implementation of their ESG risk management. He will also take a lead role in the growth of the PRI’s African Network.

Bertrand’s goals are clear: “To not only grow PRI's presence and influence on the African continent, but to also increase the depth and breadth of understanding of what responsible investment is really about – and why investors ought to be doing it.” 


APPOINTMENT OF THE MONTH

The UK Green Building Council has appointed Julie Hirigoyen as its new chief executive.

Hirigoyen, who will replace outgoing CEO Paul King in April 2015, is currently UK head of sustainability at international property consultants Jones Land LaSalle (JLL).

Hirigoyen was formerly managing director of Upstream, a leading sustainability strategy consultancy, of which she was a founding partner, which was acquired by JLL in 2007. She was promoted to international director in 2010 and joined the UK executive in 2011, before becoming JLL’s UK head of sustainability in 2013.

“We’ve come a long way over the past decade, with sustainability now a mainstream concern for many organisations involved in the built environment,” Hirigoyen says. “The next step requires mass uptake of sustainability solutions across the entire property lifecycle, breaking down silos and deploying systems-thinking to achieve radical change.”

King says: “It’s been a tremendous privilege to lead UK-GBC over the last eight years. In many ways, we are still at the beginning of delivering a built environment that will provide people everywhere with a high quality of life in ways the planet can afford. I’m delighted to hand on the baton to Julie, a hugely respected sustainability professional who has a brilliant track record of delivery.” 


The World Resources Institute (WRI) has appointed Sam Adams to lead its US Climate Initiative. The former mayor of Portland, Oregon, Adams will direct WRI’s strategy to analyse and develop new policies, build political will and support coalitions that will encourage the country’s transition to a strong, low carbon economy.

 

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has appointed Brian Perkins as regional director Americas, based in Washington, DC. Perkins is a former commercial fisherman and international seafood trade show executive. His appointment is part of a new strategy to continue to expand the MSC’s presence in the Americas and increase the availability of MSC-certified sustainable seafood across the region.

 

Daniel Cremin is the new global head of ESG marketing at MSCI. Previously, he was the marketing and communications head at sustainable investment firm Climate Change Capital.

The Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) has announced the appointment of Mie Holstad, chief administrative officer at Norges Bank Investment Management, and Steven A Wechsler, CEO and president of NAREIT, as non-executive directors on the board. Rick Fedrizzi, CEO of both the US Green Building Council and the Green Building Certification Institute, was appointed as chairman of the GRESB board.

Property consultant JLL UK has appointed two new sustainability directors, Alfonso Ponce-Alvarez and Darren Berman.

 

Ponce-Alvarez was previously head of sustainability at Deloitte France. Berman joins from CBRE, where he was director of energy and sustainability.

Amit Bouri is the new CEO of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), a non-profit organisation dedicated to increasing the scale and effectiveness of impact investing. Since co-founding GIIN in 2009, Bouri has served on the leadership team, most recently as managing director. He has helped develop many of GIIN’s programmes and has led the organisation’s research, communications and business development functions.

 

Mark Gough has been appointed as executive director of the Natural Capital Coalition. He will take up his post on 2 March 2015. Gough will join from the Crown Estate, where he held the role of head of sustainability.

Renewable energy company Ocean Power Technologies has designated George H Kirby as president and CEO. Kirby, who has more than two decades of experience in the global energy and infrastructure sector, was most recently senior vice-president for the energy business unit at AECOM Technology Corporation. 

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