Responsible investment and stewardship search
Heads of responsible investment, stewardship and engagement leads for asset managers and asset owners. UK, US and Europe.
Request a callWho we place
We find the people who decide how a fund votes, engages and integrates sustainability into its investment process, and the people who lead them.
- Global and regional heads of responsible investment
- Heads of stewardship and investment stewardship directors
- Engagement and voting leads, including proxy voting and policy
- ESG integration specialists who sit inside investment teams
- Climate, nature and social research leads
- Interim heads of stewardship and responsible investment
Who we work for
Our clients range from global managers to boutiques and the pension schemes that hire them.
- Global and boutique asset managers
- Pension schemes, LGPS pools and other asset owners
- Sovereign wealth funds
- Wealth managers
- Responsible investment networks and investor initiatives
Why these hires are hard
Stewardship is moving inside investment teams. More firms want engagement led by people portfolio managers will listen to, which narrows the pool to those who can hold their own on a company’s financials as well as its governance.
The best candidates are rarely looking. Asset managers usually pay more than asset owners, so pension schemes often compete for the same people with less to offer, and need a clear case for why the role is worth moving for.
Job titles also mean different things from firm to firm. A head of stewardship at one manager runs a team of ten; at another it is one person with a voting platform. We look at what people actually do, not what they are called.
How we run the search
We start with forty-five minutes with the hiring manager on what the person will have to deliver: the voting record, the engagement programme, the reporting obligations and who they need to persuade. We then approach people directly, most of whom are not on the market, interview for motivation as much as experience, and send a shortlist within one to two weeks.
The full process is on our executive search page. Permanent search is what we do. Interim on request.
Roles we have filled
- Global Head of Responsible Investment Strategy, global investment manager, London
- EMEA Head of Stewardship, global investment manager, London
- SVP Responsible Investment, sovereign wealth fund, Abu Dhabi
- Head of ESG, global asset manager, Paris
- Stewardship Lead, sustainability advisory firm, Geneva
- Interim Head of Stewardship, responsible investment network, London
Questions we are asked
Do you work for asset owners as well as managers?
Yes. We work for pension schemes, LGPS pools and sovereign funds as well as asset managers, and we are open with both about where pay and expectations differ.
Can you find stewardship people who understand investment?
That is most of what we are asked for. We test for it at interview, by asking candidates to talk through an engagement in terms a portfolio manager would care about.
Do you cover the US?
Yes. We run stewardship and responsible investment searches in the US as well as the UK and Europe, and we follow the US policy changes that affect these roles.
Will you approach people at our competitors?
We approach the people best suited to the role, wherever they work, and we agree before the search starts which organisations are off limits.
How long does it take?
You will have a shortlist within one to two weeks of the kickoff. After that the timing depends on your interview process and notice periods, which are often three to six months at this level.
How do your fees work?
We agree fees and terms with you before a search starts and will talk you through them on a first call.