Jessica Cairns has been appointed to the newly created role of ESG and sustainability manager. Her most recent role was as senior sustainability adviser at Transurban, and spent four years as a case manager at the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia.
“Jessica is already playing an important role in assisting the Sustainable Share Fund Compliance Committee in refining the investment universe for the fund, which considers companies’ contribution towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG),” said Alphinity principal and portfolio manager Stephane Andre.
Ms Cairns holds a bachelor of environmental science and management from the University of Newcastle and a diploma in project management from the University of New England. Her appointment comes on the heels of that of Jacob Barnes and Andrey Mironenko, who joined Alphinity as research analysts earlier in the year. Mr Barnes joined from First State Super, where he was a senior investment analyst in its direct equities team, while Mr Mironenko joined from McKinsey.
“We’re excited about the future,” said Alphinity principal and CEO Johan Carlberg.
“Five years ago we added the global equity team which has demonstrated the strength of our investment process in international equity markets. With the recent additions to the team we are building on our traditional research strength, and evolving along with companies which are increasingly recognising that they need to succeed while demonstrating strong ESG and sustainability credentials.”
