Franklin Templeton announced the appointment of James Andrus as Vice President of Sustainability Global Markets, a newly created leadership role within the firm’s Global Sustainability Strategy Team.
Andrus joins Franklin Templeton from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), where he served as the Interim Managing Investment Director for Sustainable Investing and led CalPERS’ sustainable investment strategy across its US$443 billion investment portfolio, according the firm information.
“James is deeply experienced in corporate governance and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the effective management of financial, human and natural capital to Franklin Templeton,” said Anne Simpson, Franklin Templeton’s Global Head of Sustainability. “We are committed to building dedicated resources as the profound evolution and increasing complexities related to sustainable investing continue in the industry globally. I am delighted for James to join our growing team as we accelerate our efforts in this important area.”
Based in California, Andrus will oversee execution of Franklin Templeton’s sustainability and stewardship initiatives and serve as an advocate and spokesperson with clients, external organizations, policymakers, regulators and internal stakeholders.
He will manage the firm’s Global Sustainability Strategy Team, which implements the firm’s sustainable investment strategy and consists of professionals located across Europe, Asia and the United States with additional recruitment underway for data, content, stewardship and product roles.
He will also work closely with the firm’s Global Public Policy team. Andrus will report to Simpson, who is responsible for the firm’s overall strategic direction on stewardship and sustainable investment in her role of Global Head of Sustainability. Simpson reports to Jenny Johnson, CEO and President of Franklin Templeton.
“I am excited by the opportunity to join Franklin Templeton, a world-renowned global investment firm with dynamic leaders, at an important point in time to focus on sustainability,” said Andrus. “I look forward to adding value by advancing the sustainable investment priorities and contributing directly to global regulation and policy initiatives while emphasizing enhanced financial information.”
Andrus brings deep industry and regulatory knowledge from his diverse background. Most recently, in serving as Interim Managing Investment Director for Sustainable Investing at CalPERS, he advocated for transparency in the financial markets at the national and international levels to ensure that investors like CalPERS have appropriate regulatory environments for investing their assets. Prior to CalPERS, he was a partner at K&L Gates, a global law firm.
Andrus is an experienced advocate for asset owners as a member of the SEC Investor Advisory Committee, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Investor Advisory Group, Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC) and the International Financial Reporting Standards Advisory Council.
He is also co-chair of the Financial Capital Committee of the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN), representing investors overseeing approximately US$70 trillion.
Andrus is a former U.S. Army officer and a graduate of West Point. He received his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.
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