Caroline Gilbert has taken the role with the Natixis Investment Managers’ affiliate firm, where she will lead its ESG strategy at both a company and portfolio level.
The new function will come in addition to her current role as head of investor relations and business development.
Ms Gilbert commented Flexstone had worked on implementing a “concrete approach” to reinforce its ESG engagement and thinking on how to use responsible investment to benefit its clients.
The group has set objectives including the production of dedicated ESG reports for each client and a global ESG report, for women to represent 40 per cent of its investment teams by 2030 and to become carbon-neutral by 2050.
“We will work actively and take part in initiatives in the investment industry to drive changes and find new ways of investing capital,” Ms Gilbert said.
Flexstone employees have also chosen four UN Sustainable Development Goals to guide the company as a “citizen firm”: contributing to the protection of the environment (goal 13), promoting social equality and opportunity (goals 4 and 5) and enhancing diversity and inclusion (goal 8).
Eric Deram, managing partner at Flexstone added: “The objective of ESG integration is to enrich our mission by making sure all portfolio managers and underlying companies are well-placed to develop a sustainable business model.”
