Rosemary Addis has been elected as one of 10 global trustees overseeing the leadership of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG). She will chair the board committee with responsibility for national advisory boards and governance.
Ms Addis will also be a senior adviser to the SDG Impact initiative of the United Nations Development Programme.
Meanwhile, Deakin finance professor Fabienne Michaux and Pendal Group Australia chief executive Richard Brandweiner will be taking over as interim co-chairs of the Australian Advisory Board on Impact Investing (AAB) while the board searches for a replacement.
The GSG is an independent group focused around impact investment and entrepreneurship. It was established as a successor to the UK’s Social Impact Investment Taskforce.
It has 23 countries in addition to the EU as members – the AAB represents Australia’s commitment to the initiative.
Ms Addis said the AAB had been working for some time to empower more distributed leadership in the impact sector.
“Pleasingly, we have seen strong federal government commitment through the recently announced Social Impact Investing Taskfoce,” she said.
“The AAB plays an important role in linking the domestic leadership to the international movement. I look forward to continuing to support Australia’s development in this space through a more global role.”
Mr Brandweiner commented that he had seen Australia’s impact investing landscape develop and deepen, largely due to Ms Addis’ contribution.
“However, there is still a significant challenge ahead to unlock institutional capital, in particular, to help deliver both financial returns and social outcomes,” he said.
“The opportunity to use finance to help shape a positive future is too great to ignore.”
Mr Brandweiner is a member of the NSW government’s Social Impact Investment Expert Advisory Group.
He also sits on the steering committee for the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative and is a member of the CFA Institute’s Global Future of Finance Content Council.
On the other hand, Ms Michaux has previously had 30 years of experience as an executive, having been Australian country head and head of developed markets (Asia Pacific). She is now a non-executive director of Housing Choices Australia.
Ms Michaux said she looked forward to working with Ms Addis in the new capacity and through the transition.
“We aim to build on the many accomplishments and ensure the AAB continues to play a leading role to scale and deepen impact investing in and from Australia,” she said.
