Janus Henderson has appointed Michelle Dunstan as chief responsible officer to oversee the firm's corporate responsibility and responsible investing efforts.
Effective from 9 January 2023, Dunstan will drive the integration of appropriate sustainable practices across the firm, working closely with the existing ESG teams to define its approach and frameworks. Based in the US, she will report to CEO Ali Dibadj.
Dunstan spent the last eighteen years in a variety of roles at AllianceBernstein, including global equities portfolio manager and senior research analyst, and most recently as chief responsibility officer.
In this role, she was responsible for the development and maintenance of the firm's corporate ESG strategy, and co-created and co-managed one of their ESG-focused equity portfolios.
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In one of her previous positions, she drew up AllianceBernstein's responsibility policies, which involved steering their ESG governance strategy, ESG integration process, engagement escalation and stewardship policies.
Dibadj said: "With Michelle's hire as Janus Henderson's chief responsibility officer, the firm is taking another big strategic step forward to deliver on behalf of our clients.
"I have known Michelle for many years, she is a hugely talented and dynamic figure. Michelle augments our existing capabilities with her experience and leadership skills and will further embed corporate responsibility and responsible investing capabilities across our company."
The move follows the recent appointments of John Cassaday as chair of the Janus Henderson board, Brian Baldwin of Trian Partners as independent non-executive director and Michael Schweitzer as its new head of retail distribution in North America.
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Dunstan added: "Janus Henderson's rich history of providing differentiated insights and disciplined investments places it well to lead in developing both the ESG thought leadership and the portfolio solutions that will help our clients achieve their goals.
"I look forward to working with Janus Henderson's existing talented teams to continue to advance and strengthen the organisation on its responsibility journey."
