Principles for Responsible Investment hires first chief operating officer

The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) has created the position of COO, appointing Peter de Graaf to the role.

A Dutch national, de Graaf joins from London-based management consultancy Carnstone Partners LLP, where he spent the last seven years as a senior partner.

This included leading the firm’s work on capital-market projects with clients and partners such as the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), Risk Metrics/MSCI and WHEB Asset Management. 

De Graaf will be based in London and report directly to Fiona Reynolds, PRI’s managing director.

He starts on 1 December.

Before Carnstone, De Graaf was managing director and a member of the board at environmental data provider Trucost.

He worked there for nearly two years, and before that spent five years at FTSE, first as managing director for the EMEA and then as managing director for public affairs.

As COO at the PRI, de Graaf will have overall operational responsibility for company-wide key projects and for implementing the strategic plan and annual business plans across the PRI, ensuring ongoing oversight and reporting against these plans.

He will also be the chief programme officer, which will include implementing new programmatic strategic initiatives.

He will work with the managing director and directors to implement the operational and “cross-organisational” aspects of a new 10-year Blueprint for Responsible Investment.

Fiona Reynolds said: “The PRI has grown enormously in recent years, which means that, to meet the ongoing needs of our members, and develop new capabilities in the future, we now need a very senior individual who can coordinate projects and deliverables across the whole of the PRI.”