Leading asset manager DWS announced today that it has established a new ESG advisory board, consisting of six highly recognised international sustainability experts from diverse disciplines, including representatives of global corporations, academia and public institutions. The firm stated that the new board will actively advise the CEO and the Executive Board of DWS on the acceleration of its ESG strategy.

The new DWS ESG Advisory Board will be co-chaired by Georg Kell, founding director of the UN Global Compact, and Roelfien Kuijpers, DWS’ Global ESG Client Officer. Members include:

• Peter Damgaard-Jensen. Damgaard-Jensen is Chairman of the Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), the main European investor body focused on climate change. He represents the sustainability arena in the very relevant pension fund sector, namely as the former CEO of the Danish Pension Fund PKA, one of Denmark’s largest pension funds.

• Marie Haga. Haga serves as Associate Vice President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). In her former role as Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, Mari gained an international reputation in the field of biodiversity and food security.  She has also served as a member of Parliament in Norway and held three ministerial positions.

• Ioannis Ioannou. Ioannou is a Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School. He is an impactful and often cited academic in the fields of Corporate Sustainability, ESG integration and Responsible Business. He serves on the Advisory Board of Ethical Corporation – Reuters Events and is a member of the World Economic Forum Experts Network.

• Lisa P. Jackson. Jackson is Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives at Apple Inc. Leading the environmental, education policy and product accessibility strategy at Apple, she has a long track record of active engagement in all areas of ESG, including serving as Head of the US Environmental Protection Agency appointed by former President Barack Obama.

• Georg Kell. Kell is a Founding Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest and most important initiative for sustainable business management. Kell also serves as Chairman of Arabesque, the parent company of the two DWS partners Arabesque AI and Arabesque S-Ray, in which DWS holds minority stakes.

• Roelfien Kuijpers. Kuijpers is DWS’ Global ESG Client Officer, and also serves as a Board Member of the Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change.

Asoka Wöhrmann, CEO of DWS, said:

“We want to take a leading role in ESG in the asset management industry and are already making ESG the core of everything we do. It is thrilling to now be able to work with such an internationally renowned group of experts to help advance and further accelerate our ESG strategy. I look forward to being challenged and to receive valuable input from our new ESG Advisory Board.”

DWS ESG Advisory Board Co-Chair Georg Kell said:

“I have long been convinced of the power that sustainable management and sustainable investment can unfold together. The work of this very diverse and high-calibre ESG Advisory Board, in close cooperation with the entire DWS Executive Board, will be characterized by concrete and forward-looking contributions. Our aim is to make DWS even stronger as one of the leading global asset managers in its own sustainable transformation process and that of its clients.”