Professor Ioannis Ioannou joins new DWS ESG Advisory Board
London Business School’s Professor Ioannis Ioannou has joined the ESG Advisory Board of DWS Group (DWS), one of the world's leading asset managers.
Professor Ioannou is one of six highly recognised international sustainability experts from diverse disciplines who will actively advise CEO, Asoka Wöhrmann, and the Executive Board of DWS on the acceleration of its ESG strategy.
DWS states that it has established the board to further develop its “holistic ESG strategy”.
"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," says Asoka Wöhrmann, CEO of DWS.
Professor Ioannou is an Associate Professor in the Strategy and Entrepreneurship faculty at London Business School. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Ethical Corporation (Reuters Events), the Advisory Board of Solve.Earth, the Advisory Board of the Sustainable Risk Assessment Framework (SRAF), the Board of the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS) and serves as an Advisor to TreeApp. Furthermore, Prof. Ioannou is a member of the World Economic Forum Expert Network with expertise in the area of Sustainable Development and a member of the experts’ network of KKS Advisors, a leading sustainability advisory firm. He serves on the Stakeholder Working Group of the UK Treasury's Asset Management Taskforce,
Speaking about his appointment to the DWS ESG Advisory Board, Professor Ioannou said: “The asset management industry has an absolutely critical role to play on the path towards a more sustainable, equitable and inclusive future. Therefore, I look forward to working with an esteemed group of global sustainability leaders on the ESG Advisory Board, and the entire DWS Executive Board, to enrich and advance DWS’s efforts towards taking a leading role in ESG integration. My own objective is to represent a rigorous, evidence-based and data-driven approach to addressing ESG challenges and integrating them into the core of doing business.”
DWS ESG Advisory Board Co-Chair Georg Kell says: "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".
DWS continues to be recognised for its sustainability efforts, receiving an A+ rating for Strategy & Governance in the annual Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) assessment for the third year in a row. The A+ rating – which is the highest awarded – puts DWS above the median score for all PRI signatories, as well as participating investment managers.
Professor Ioannou regularly publishes in top-tier peer-reviewed academic journals, his work is widely cited, and he consistently ranks in the top 100 authors on the social science research network (SSRN). He is also active on social media, a frequent contributor to articles in the popular and managerial press and he has been recognized by various rankings as one of the top social media influencers globally for issues of responsible business and sustainability. He graduated magna cum laude from Yale University, majoring in Economics and Mathematics and holds a Ph.D. in Business Economics from Harvard University and the Harvard Business School. He has recently launched a pioneering, 6-week online course on Sustainability Leadership and Corporate Responsibility.
Other DWS ESG Advisory Board members are:
Peter Damgaard Jensen, Chairman of the Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change (IIGCC)
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, Associate Vice President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
In her former role as Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, Marie has gained 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.
Lisa P. Jackson, 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, having previously served as Head of the US Environmental Protection Agency appointed by former President Barack Obama.
Georg Kell, Co-Chair
As a Founding Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, the world's largest and most important initiative for sustainable business management, Georg Kell is also 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, Co-Chair
In her role as DWS’ Global ESG Client Officer, Roelfien co-chairs the new ESG Advisory Board together with Georg Kell. Roelfien is also a Board Member of the Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change.
