People Moves: Former DWS Chief Sustainability Officer appointed to Financial Conduct Authority’s new ESG advisory group

Press Release - The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed Desiree Fixler to a new advisory ESG committee that will support its board's strategic decisions.

The former chief sustainability officer at Deutsche Bank-owned asset manager DWS last year publicly spoke out against the firm for alleged greenwashing, leading to an ongoing probe by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

All the appointees to the new committee are external industry stakeholders. They will support the board in executing its ESG-related responsibilities, namely meeting the UK government's expectation that the financial services sector works towards a net-zero economy by 2050.

The committee will also provide guidance to the FCA board on emerging ESG issues and topics.

• Desiree Fixler was a recent guest on Mistakes Were Made, where she discussed how punishment rather than promises will drive the ESG agenda - Citywire

According to her LinkedIn profile, Fixler is also an ESG committee member at the CFA Institute and the chair of an ESG non-profit organisation.

The other appointees to the FCA's advisory ESG committee are:

• Tom Gosling, executive fellow in the department of finance at London Business School and executive fellow at the European Corporate Governance Institute;
• Catherine Howarth, CEO of ShareAction, a responsible investing non-profit organisation;
• Tim Mohin, former chief sustainability officer for Persefoni AI and formerly CEO of the Global Reporting Initiative;
• Sonali Siriwardena, partner and global head of ESG at law firm Simmons and Simmons; and
• Harald Walkate, senior fellow at the Center for Sustainable Finance & Private Wealth at the University of Zurich.

The committee will also include FCA chair Ashley Alder, the FCA's director of ESG and non-executive FCA directors. 

Source: Press Release