BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) has appointed Gabriel Wilson-Otto as head of stewardship, Asia Pacific, within its Sustainability Centre, announced BNPP AM on March 20. Based in Hong Kong, Wilson-Otto reports to Helena Viñes Fiestas, BNPP AM’s global head of Stewardship and Policy.

In this newly-created role, Wilson-Otto will lead BNPP AM’s stewardship activities in the Asia-Pacific, including researching key corporate governance issues, undertaking direct and collaborative corporate engagement, and working with policymakers on issues relating to sustainable finance and investment.

Commenting on the appointment, Jane Ambachtsheer, global head of sustainability, BNPP AM, said: “Gabriel has over a decade of experience in corporate engagement and public policy research in Asia Pacific, and been involved in a broad range of ESG issues, including climate change, human rights and supply chain management. He is an active member across key ESG organizations in the region and has been instrumental in helping companies evolve their corporate practices in key areas.”

Wilson-Otto joined from Goldman Sachs, Asia, where he was executive director, head of GS SUSTAIN Asia Pacific. During his 12 years at Goldman Sachs, he was responsible for leading a team to identify long-term investment opportunities in companies, evaluate the performance of companies under a proprietary ESG scoring framework, and focused on improving the performance of major corporations based in the region by incorporating ESG factors into fundamental company valuations. He began his career as a research analyst at Deutsche Bank.

“The addition of the Head of Stewardship in Asia Pacific will be invaluable to the development of our sustainable capabilities in this region. It also cements our position as a leading sustainable asset manager, while we forge ahead to build on our broad range of investment solutions capabilities,” said Ligia Torres, Chief Executive Officer Asia Pacific, BNPP AM.

As a company involved in sustainable investment since 2002, BNPP AM sees this as a strategic enabler of growth. Apart from Wilson-Otto’s appointment, the firm also has a Hong Kong-based ESG investment specialist, Paul Milon, and green bond analyst, Xuan Sheng Ou Yong, who joined the team in early 2019, reflecting the growing importance of sustainability capabilities to BNPP AM.

In APAC, the firm recently became a member of the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change, a 27-member initiative of regional asset managers and financial market participants to create awareness among Asia’s asset owners and financial institutions about the risks and opportunities associated with climate change and low-carbon investing.