With thanks to Miriam Heale, Allen & York
Appointment of the month
Harriet Lamb has been appointed chief executive officer of Fairtrade International, having spent ten years as executive director of the UK Fairtrade Foundation. With her commitment to social justice deriving, she says, from a childhood experience in India, Lamb’s work has seen Fairtrade become a global name and the company’s sales growing from £30m in 2001 to £1.32bn billion in 2011.
Prior to joining Fairtrade, Lamb campaigned for better wages with the low pay unit in the north-east of England, and for an EU arms treaty and the untying of UK aid with the World Development Movement.
Tracing her career path, Lamb, says:“My first job was as a freelance writer and researcher, and then I became researcher at the Northern Region Low Pay Unit. One of our main campaigns was for a national minimum wage – now of course the law.”
She has always worked for NGOs in social justice, “with refugees in north-east England, and then at the World Development Movement”. In 1999, she started working for Fairtrade International – “with the great title of banana coordinator – and I got hooked on Fairtrade as a brilliant mechanism to empower producers. From 2001-12, I led the growth of Fairtrade in the UK and am now ready to return to the global work.”
Lamb highlights an interest in alleviating developing-world poverty as the factor that drove her to work in this sector. “I am now looking to help lead the next phase of Fairtrade, as we work ever more closely together as a global movement, and build our support and services to producers in the developing world. We must become world leaders in supporting smallholders, while developing further our work with trade unions on plantations.”
Richard Howells has been appointed to the newly created post of sustainable development manager at Bostik. He joins from steel producer Celsa Group.
Reflecting on his career, Howells comments:“My first job was a pre-university year in industry placement with Hyder Consulting, which gave me a grounding in civil engineering design that I took forward into my course at Cardiff University.”
After graduating, Howells continued at Cardiff and completed a PhD researching the time-dependent behaviour of major concrete bridges. On completion of his PhD in 2005, he joined the technical marketing department at Celsa UK, the second largest steel manufacturer in the UK.
“I was appointed Celsa’s market development manager in 2008 and gradually the role became more sustainability focused. With responsible sourcing a key issue for the reinforcing steel sector, I developed and implemented Celsa’s responsible sourcing strategy prior to joining Bostik.”
Howells believes that addressing the energy performance associated with the UK’s existing building stock is an essential part of reducing the country’s carbon emissions. He says: “The correct use of sealants and adhesives will be a key factor in making this happen. The opportunity to work for Bostik, a leading manufacturer in the construction sector, in helping to address this challenge is a truly exciting one, which I didn’t want to miss. I want to help Bostik become the most sustainable manufacturer of sealants and adhesives, recognised UK-wide for its efforts to provide products that improve our daily lives.”
Andy Jefferson has taken on the role of programme director UK at Sustainable Aviation. Jefferson was formerly head of environment at Stansted Airport.
Debbie Hobbs has been appointed as sustainability manager by Legal & General Property. Hobbs was formerly employed by Environ, where she supervised the sustainability and climate change practice.
Debbie Hobbs’s career started at UK housebuilder Wimpey Homes, monitoring “EU demonstration” projects on solar panels. She says: “Over the last 25 years I have worked in various areas across the property sector, including roles as energy manager at West Sussex County Council, controls contractor at Trend Controls, and sustainability consultant for 13 years at AECOM and Environ.” Most recently she was managing a team of 30 consultants across the UK and Europe, working in all aspects of sustainability.
Hobbs traces her career trajectory back to her undergraduate degree choice. “My career was really sparked out of a strong interest in protecting the environment and stemmed from a degree in physics and a BSc in renewable technology.”
Now, developing smarter business models is her focus. “At Legal & General Property, my main aim is to guide and support the business in delivering the ambitions of its sustainability strategy, which goes to the very heart of the business. I am very excited to have joined at such a key time, both in LGP’s own sustainability journey and the real estate market’s transformation into more sustainable working practices.
“With movement in both legislation and voluntary schemes potentially affecting asset values and rental income in the future, there is now real momentum behind the ‘greening property’ agenda,” Hobbs argues.
Thomas O’Flynn has joined AES Corporation, the US-based clean energy supplier, as executive vice-president and chief financial officer. O’Flynn’s previous roles include eight years as CFO of the Public Service Enterprise Group, the largest investor-owned utility in New Jersey. He also sits on the board of directors at Brightsource Energy.
The UK’s energy and climate change secretary Edward Davey has announced the appointment of Paul Johnson to the board of the Committee on Climate Change. Johnson is director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and his previous roles include periods as chief economist at the Department for Education and Skills, director of the Public Services and Growth Directorate and chief micro-economist at HM Treasury where he was also deputy head of the Government Economic Service.
Jim Robo is the new CEO of NextEra Energy Resources. Robo is also chairman and chief executive officer of NextEra’s rate-regulated electric utility subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Company.
Paul Gosling, one of the most experienced sustainability search consultants currently operating within the environmental, energy and sustainability field, has been promoted to managing director for Allen & York. Gosling was previously the firm’s operations director. The role of global CEO has been taken on by Mark Allen, founder of Allen & York.
SAM, an investment boutique that manages the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) line, has employed Guido Giese as head of indexes. Giese is in charge of the development of the DJSI range. His previous role was as head of research and development at STOXX.
James Owen is now head of energy and sustainability at Swindon Commercial Services Ltd. Past roles include account manager at Inazin Solar and renewable energy consultant at Smiths Gore.
E.ON has appointed Sara Vaughan as director of strategy and regulation, raising the proportion of its female board members to 40%.
Strategic Energy, one of the UK’s leading renewable energy contractors, has hired Rudie Humphrey as UK biomass operations manager. Humphrey will oversee the development of biomass energy. Prior to this, he was EU project leader at the Forestry Commission.
Dame Fiona Reynolds has joined Wessex Water as non-executive director, taking over from environmental writer and broadcaster Jonathon Porritt. Reynolds was previously a non-executive director on the independent forestry advisory panel, and has held similar roles at Defra, the Farming and Food Policy Commission and the Commission on the Future of Volunteering.
UK corporate affairs director for Tesco Dr David North is to be the next executive director of the Sustainable Consumption Institute. The SCI investigates how consumption can be made more sustainable, and North was instrumental to its formation in 2007. In his new role, North will be responsible for the ongoing strategic leadership and operational management of the SCI and will set out to reinforce its interaction with a broader range of businesses, its international reputation and its influence on public policy.
Dr Naoko Ishii, deputy vice-minister of finance of the government of Japan, has assumed office as CEO and chairperson of the Global Environment Facility, the world's largest public funder of environmental projects. As deputy vice-minister of finance, Ishii was responsible for Japan’s international financial and development policies and for its global strategies on environmental issues such as climate change and biodiversity.
With 35 years of expertise in the energy sector, Colin Hood is the new chairman of the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult centre. The new Catapult’s focuses lie with offshore wind, tidal and wave power technologies, as well as with uniting knowledge, expertise and innovation to help UK businesses. In his role, Hood will aid the growth of renewable energy in the UK. Past roles include power systems director for Scottish and Southern Energy and director of distribution for Southern Electric.