Aegon Asset Management announced today that it has hired Lindsay Hudson, appointing her to the newly created role of Head of Inclusion and Diversity. In her new position, Hudson will be responsible for engaging internally on inclusion and diversity issues, and for advocating for change externally. Aegon stated that Hudson will become a member of the company’s Senior Management Group, working closely with Aegon AM’s Management Board.

Hudson joins Aegon after working for over 5 years at Invesco, where she most recently served as EMEA Head of Diversity & Inclusion. Prior to joining Invesco, she worked for ten years at discretionary management company Courtiers Investment Services, serving as Head of Acquisitions and Head of Sales & Operations. She is a steering committee member of the Diversity Project, a cross-company initiative the promoting diversity in the investment industry, and is an active participant in the Investment Association and the Women In Finance Charter.

Aegon AM is introducing this new role as investors and the investment industry are becoming increasingly aware and active on promoting boardroom and corporate diversity. In August, State Street Global Advisors informed the board chairs of its portfolio companies that it would begin asking companies to articulate their risks, goals and strategy relating to racial and ethnic diversity, and to make relevant disclosure available to shareholders. Late last year Nasdaq filed a proposal with the SEC, seeking to require companies listed on Nasdaq’s U.S. exchange to publicly disclose consistent, transparent diversity statistics regarding their board of directors.

Jane Daniel, Global Chief Risk & Compliance Officer & I&D Ambassador at Aegon AM, said:

“We are committed to embracing inclusion and diversity and affecting positive, enduring change. Becoming more inclusive and diverse is not only a key objective for our business but a duty to the societies in which we live and work.

“By establishing this new role, we ensure dedicated resource and co-ordination for our inclusion and diversity agenda, both internally and externally, and underscore the importance of inclusion and diversity to our organization. Ensuring we create a strategic and consistent approach to all inclusion and diversity initiatives will accelerate our efforts and also serve to boost and expand on the significant work of our inclusion and diversity teams to date. I would like to congratulate Lindsay on her appointment, and warmly welcome her to Aegon Asset Management.”