By Claire Manuel, with thanks to Miriam Heale, Allen & York
Appointment of the month
Nissan Americas has promoted Vicki Smith to the newly created role of senior manager, corporate social responsibility. In her new role, Smith will be responsible for leading Nissan Americas’ philanthropic and community outreach activities, which include Nissan Neighbors, a community giving programme focused on education, the environment and humanitarian aid. Smith has been with the company since 1986. Smith has also been made executive director, Nissan Foundation, with responsibility for overseeing activities related to the foundation’s support of educational programmes that celebrate and foster diversity.
“Vicki brings the perfect blend of global corporate knowledge, communication skill and strong community relationships to her new role,” says David Reuter, vice-president, corporate communications, Nissan Americas.
Riikka Timonen has joined global chemicals company Kemira Oyj as director, sustainability. Timonen was previously responsible for Kemira’s product portfolio management process and product safety, including REACH.
Tennis champion Rafael Nadal is Bacardi’s new global social responsibility ambassador. Nadal will be the new spokesman for the company’s Champions Drink Responsibly campaign.
Rob van der Meij has been appointed CEO of water security company BiAqua. A chemical engineer, van der Meij has worked in both the corporate (Akzo Nobel, Shell Chemicals, Gemini Consulting) and venture capital financed start-up world (KiOR, Hermes Catalyst, FluXXion).
The Solar Electric Light Fund (Self) has announced the appointment of Jonathan W Postal to its board of directors. Self, a Washington, DC‐based non-profit organisation, works to eliminate energy poverty and combat climate change through the use of solar power. Postal is a founder of Main Street Power and currently serves as the company’s senior vice-president of business development and government relations.
Andreas Gyllenhammar has been appointed as chief sustainability officer at Swedish sustainable engineering and design firm Sweco. Gyllenhammar, who is one of Sweden’s highly qualified sustainability consultants, has alternated his job as a consultant at Sweco in Östersund with a role as environmental and climate strategist at Sweco.
Silicon Valley-based cleantech venture capital firm Khosla Ventures has hired Andrew Chung as a partner. He will focus on developing companies in cleantech and information technology. Chung joins from Lightspeed Venture Partners, where he helped build the firm’s cleantech practice.
Tangent Energy Solutions, a developer of clean energy assets and technologies, has appointed Bruce Sher as vice-president of business development. Before joining Tangent, Sher was senior VP of business development at Viridity Energy, in Philadelphia, where he led the smart grid effort in the northeast US and worked closely with clients in New England and New York City developing virtual generation projects.
Sir David Manning has succeeded Dr John Hood as chairman of BG Group’s sustainability committee. Sir David was appointed a non-executive director of the company in July 2008 and joined the sustainability committee in November of the same year.
Chris Burgess has been appointed to the new role of head of sustainability consulting at sustainability strategy and communications consultancy Salterbaxter. Prior to joining, Burgess spent nine years developing sustainability programmes at Vodafone Group, most recently as the company’s group sustainability director.
AFC Energy, a developer of alkaline fuel cells, has appointed Ian Williamson as chief executive with effect from November 14 2011. He joins AFC Energy from Air Products, where he worked for 26 years, most recently holding the position of hydrogen and bio energy systems director. Williamson has significant experience within the industrial gas sector, particularly the manufacture, provision, distribution and commercial sale of hydrogen.
UK business secretary Vince Cable has announced the appointments to the Advisory Group for the Green Investment Bank (GIB). The bank’s aim is “to become a key component of the government’s green policies and accelerate the UK’s transition to a green economy”. The group, chaired by Sir Adrian Montague, will advise ministers on the establishment of the GIB and its strategic direction.
The nine members of the group are:
• Simon Brooks, UK vice-president, European Investment Bank;
• John Burnham, former managing director and global head of infrastructure, Citigroup;
• David Gregson, chairman, Phoenix Equity Partners;
• Melville Haggard, managing director, Quartermain Advisers Limited;
• Dima Rifai, managing partner, Paradigm Change Capital Partners LLP;
• Penny Shepherd, chief executive, UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association;
• James Smith, former chairman of Shell UK;
• Lord Stern of Brentford, professor of economics and government, London School of Economics and chairman of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment; and
• Bob Wigley, chairman, Yell Group, former chairman of Merrill Lynch Europe, Middle East and Africa and chair of the Green Investment Bank Commission, which reported in July 2010.
Framework:CR, a consulting firm that helps clients integrate sustainability principles into business strategy, has hired Sun McElderry as its new director of communications and content. McElderry joins from media agency Story Worldwide, where he worked on a number of high-profile accounts, including UPS and Bank of America. He will be based in a newly opened office in the Seattle area.