As fall begins, sustainability professionals are on the move, many to some of the most recognizable names in corporate America, and others to impactful roles in government.
Big moves
Microsoft, known for its sustainability work, is losing Lucas Joppa, its chief environmental officer of 12 years, to private equity fund Haveli Investments, where he will be chief sustainability officer (CSO). But the tech company gained Morgan Collins from Starbucks as head of impact investments.
Shell — synonymous with fossil fuels — is promoting to CEO its head of integrated gas, renewables and energy solutions, Wael Sawan.
Fueling rumors about an autonomous electric vehicle product, Apple hired a 20-year veteran from Lamborghini, Luigi Taraborrelli, to head its EV design team. At jewelry company Pandora, Marissa Saretsky is vice president of global sustainability.
The Warner Bros.-Discovery merger brought a lot of uncertainty to the shows and movies from those studios, but sustainability still seems to be part of the programming with the hiring of Jessica Beatus as VP of social impact solutions.
In the world of food, Sophie Rouzeau moved into the global director of sustainable packaging role at Mars and Chastity McLeod became VP of sustainability for Nestle USA at Nestlé.
Deutsche Bank appointed Jörg Eigendorf as CSO. Darrell Brown began a new job as Ecolab’s president and chief operating officer.
Public planet service
More sustainability roles are emerging at the city and federal levels. At the White House, President Joe Biden created a new role to address a new concern for governments, biodiversity. The role of special envoy for biodiversity and water resources, aka a diplomat for animal and plants, was filled by Monica Medina. She is U.S. assistant secretary of state for oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs and will serve this role in addition.
On the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Smita Gupta, the New Buildings Institute’s director of building innovation, was appointed as director of federal facility decarbonization. Michael Forrester became principal deputy director for the Office of the State and Community Energy Programs at the Department of Energy, working to increase energy efficiency and grow renewables.
On the local level, Chandra Farely became CSO for the city of Atlanta.
First timers
Legacy companies adding first time sustainability or ESG roles to their executive teams has become an increasing trend over the past half a decade, and in these career moves from the third quarter. KPMG International appointed John McCalla-Leacy as head of global environment, social and governance — a first-time role. JBS added Jason Weller to the executive leadership team as the company’s first global CSO. And in Tokyo, Mizuhu created its first CSO role for Yasuhiko Ushikubo.
Other names
Michael Gulich became VP of ESG reporting for MGM Resorts International and at the Four Seasons hotel chain, Uzair Jaffer started as a manager of ESG. Nell Fry moved from Sodexo to sustainability and net zero transitions at Accenture Strategy.
At other consultancies, Gregg Demers became the new head of ClimatePartner USA. Ariel Russ started a new position as online sustainability manager for Estée Lauder. Nellie Cohen joined Anthesis as director of circular business models.
Howden, a provider of air and gas handling products and services, hired Mark Courtney to lead on the carbon capture.
Arcadis announced three senior sustainability advisory roles: Michelle Bachir as sustainability advisory practice lead in North America; Jane Boyle has joined in the same role in the UK and Ireland; and Kealy Herman as global technical director for net zero strategy. JLL hired Erin Meezan to be CSO. The design firm Perkins & Will brought on Jason McLennan as its new CSO. John Bello became director of operations at sustainable design firm THRIVE Collaborative.
Nonprofits
Grist, the climate and justice publication, announced a new CEO, former editor in chief Nikhil Swaminathan. Built by Nature announced Amanda Sturgeon as the inaugural CEO. At the World Wildlife Fund, Fernando Bellese is senior director of beef and leather supply chains, tasked with supporting the creation strategies for deforestation- and conversion-free beef.
