Victoria Barron, the former head of sustainable investment at BT Pension Scheme (BTPS), has joined GIB Asset Management, the UK subsidiary of Gulf International Bank, as its new chief sustainability officer.
The UK-based sustainable asset manager said Barron would “drive the business’s sustainability agenda, sustainability frameworks and governance, as well as lead projects to enhance corporate sustainability while supporting the growing development and adoption of sustainability at the sector and regional levels”.
Barron has over 15 years’ experience in sustainable investment. She left BTPS, the UK’s largest corporate pension scheme, earlier this year to explore new opportunities in the industry. BTPS said it would not be replacing her as it implements an integrated approach to sustainability in its investments.
Operating out of London and New York, GIB is an institutional boutique asset manager with around $5bn (€4.6bn) of assets across active and passive strategies. In 2017 it named Katherine Garrett-Cox, the former CIO and CEO of Alliance Trust and the former CIO of Morley Fund Management, now Aviva Investors, as CEO.
Another industry name, Neil Brown, joined the firm in 2020 as head of equities; Brown’s past experience includes head of responsible investment at Threadneedle Asset Management, fund manager at Alliance Trust and lead fund manager at Aviva Investors.
Barron succeeds Venetia Bell as CSO. She said she was “delighted” to be joining GIB Asset Management given the firm’s “exceptional sustainability-led strategy and investment philosophy”.
“I look forward to drawing on my recent experiences and current role at ASCOR to further develop sustainable activities and initiatives within the business,” she added.
Barron co-chairs ASCOR – Assessing Sovereign Climate-related Opportunities and Risks – which is an asset-owner backed tool to assess the climate performance of sovereign bond issuers.
Garrett-Cox said: “This is an exciting time for us at GIB AM, as we continue to grow our sustainability footprints in the UK and the Middle East. At GIB AM, we’re focused on seeking out, investing in, and supporting sustainable businesses that share our ambition to shape a better future.
“Building on our strong foundations, we are delighted to welcome Victoria and look forward to her contributions across all our sustainability initiatives.”
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