CalPERS Hires New Head of Sustainability Programme
CalPERS announced the appointment of Peter Cashion as managing investment director (MID) for Sustainable Investments.
Cashion's job will be to set the vision, strategy, and governance for CalPERS' sustainability work. He will also be in charge of leading all of the fund's efforts to develop and implement an economics-based ESG research and data framework to support the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into the investment decision-making process.
"CalPERS has been a leader in promoting climate solutions and sustainable investing," said CalPERS Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Nicole Musicco. "Our focus on this work has only grown stronger over the years. That makes this a critical position for us. Peter's long history of impact investing in markets around the world gave him an edge in our search and made him a great fit for the fund's mission. His experience as a hands-on investor in multiple asset classes, standing up complex sustainable investing strategies and leading diverse global teams, makes him the right person to take the reins of CalPERS’ sustainability efforts.”
Cashion comes to CalPERS from the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC), where he is now the global head of climate finance and chief investment officer in the Financial Institutions Group (FIG).
In this role, he oversaw the delivery of $3.7 billion in annual climate investment in financial institutions, accounting for 34% of FIG's investment volume, and established a global strategy to accelerate a just transition to a green economy by leveraging the financial sector, mobilising institutional investors, and developing the infrastructure to bring markets into line with the Paris Agreement.
Since 1995, he has had several important jobs at IFC, such as global equity head, principal investment officer, and principal financial officer.
“I am incredibly excited to join the CalPERS team and leverage my decades of ESG investing experience to further deepen sustainability integration throughout the CalPERS portfolio. CalPERS offers an unparalleled platform to capitalise on the ESG investment opportunity, and they are a recognised global leader in corporate engagement, advocacy, and stewardship. I look forward to working with the team to position the portfolio for the transition to a low-carbon economy, develop new investment strategies to tap into this opportunity, and advance on the Net Zero implementation plan – all as an integral part of meeting the fiduciary duty to plan beneficiaries”, said Cashion.
Cashion got a Bachelor of Arts in Administrative and Commercial Studies from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from Queen's University in Canada. He's also a Chartered Financial Analyst.
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Source: CalPERS
