Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo (GMO), an internal investment manager, announced that it appointed Deborah Ng as head of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and sustainability.

In her new role, Ng will be in charge of driving and accelerating the firm's ESG and sustainability initiatives. Focus areas will include working closely with the firm's investment teams to do innovative research and further integrate material ESG factors into their processes, partnering with members of GMO's Investment Stewardship Group to expand issuer engagement activities, and advancing the firm's own sustainability goals.

Chief Executive Officer Scott Hayward said:

"Stewardship has always been an important part of GMO’s DNA. I strongly believe that how we incorporate ESG and sustainability is integral in generating outstanding investment results, effectively serving our clients and their missions, and helping build a more resilient and sustainable planet. We are delighted to welcome Deborah to the firm to lead us in these efforts. Her experience will be immensely valuable to GMO and our clients."

"This is an exciting time to join a leading investment firm like GMO with so many individuals that are passionate about contributing to the firm’s ESG and sustainability efforts. I look forward to partnering with all areas of the firm to drive these initiatives forward," said Ng.

Ng comes to GMO from the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, where she most recently served as Head of Responsible Investing. She is on the Investment Committee of the United Church Pension Plan and was on the board of the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB BV) in the past.

GMO is committed to expanding its ESG and sustainability capabilities and building on the ground-breaking work that Co-Founder Jeremy Grantham has done in these areas. Grantham's significant climate change research is reflected in investment products like the GMO Climate Change Strategy, which was released in 2017.

In 2021, GMO released its first Sustainability and Responsible Investing Report. This report explained how the company is putting its core values to work in the face of many problems that exist today.

Source: Business Wire