(15 April 2021 – Asia) Top financial institutions are naming new sustainability chiefs in Asia, reaffirming their commitment to sustainable investment and funding.
BlackRock has appointed Geir Espeskog and Emily Woodland as Co-Heads of BlackRock Sustainable Investing (BSI) for Asia Pacific. “Geir’s proven track record as a strong business builder combined with Emily’s sophisticated command of sustainable strategies signals the high priority we place on this effort. This is a great pairing as we start to roll out our sustainable investing team in the region,” said BlackRock Head of Asia Susan Chan.
Amundi has named Sylvia Chen in the newly created role of senior sustainable officer. Based in Singapore, she will represent the firm’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) expertise and work with financial analysts and fund managers to better integrate ESG in their investment decision and processes. She reports to Eric Bramoullé, CEO for South Asia.
MUFG has appointed Colin Chen as head of ESG finance for Asia Pacific, a newly created position to support the development of the Bank’s green financing business in the region. Based in Singapore, Chen will report to Tatsuya Konishi, head of investment banking for Asia Pacific.
UOB has appointed Eric Lim to lead a newly formed sustainability unit. As chief sustainability officer, Lim will oversee UOB’s sustainability programmes, which include a plan to lower the bank’s carbon footprint, and green investment activity. Lim will also chair the Bank’s ESG committee, which assesses the risks and opportunities of ESG-related initiatives.
“Last year we announced our ambition to have USD 1 trillion in sustainable assets under management by 2030. Already, we are witnessing this phenomenal opportunity with accelerating flows into sustainable strategies. Asia is a keystone in advancing the growth of sustainable investing globally,” said BlackRock Global Head of Sustainable Investing Philipp Hildebrand.