Stockholm (NordSIP) – Finland’s Sustainable Investment Forum (Finsif) started the new year with a renewed and reinvigorated Board of Directors. At a general meeting just before the holidays in December last year, Finsif’s members voted for four new sustainability professionals to join the board.
- Karoliina Lindroos is the Head of Responsible Investment at Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company. Before that, she was a senior environmental and social adviser at Finnfund. Lindroos has held various positions in development finance and consulting, including working for the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.
- The Chief Investment Officer of S-Bank, Mika Leskinen, is one of the veterans of responsible investing in Finland. He was Head of Responsible Investment at the bank before becoming its CIO. His vast experience working with various ESG strategies makes him a popular speaker at responsible investment events, and he is frequently quoted in media and books. Leskinen is now re-joining the board of Finsif, having served as the organisation’s Chairman in 2018.
- Petra Hakamo, the Head of Sustainability at Evli Plc, oversees the development of responsible investing practices across asset classes. A strong advocate for responsible investing, she is an active member of the Nordic investment community and serves as vice-chair of the Finnish Venture Capital Association’s ESG committee.
- Teresa Platan is the Deputy CIO of the University of Helsinki, responsible for listed investments and external impact investments as well as ESG integration. Platan gained some valuable experience in responsible investing and ESG integration during her years working with manager selection at Aktia, where she was a member of the ESG committee and the Allocation committee.
“Various perspectives and ample knowledge are assets, adding extra value, taking responsible investing forward in Finland,” comments Jari Pussinen, the chair of Finsif’s nomination committee. He adds that the committee has taken into account many aspects when selecting the new board members. The ambition has been to represent all member categories, such as asset managers, asset owners and service providers. Diversity, in general, has been a priority for the nomination committee and assembling experts whose professional backgrounds truly complement each other. “The selected board members have shown proactivity in participating in Finsif´s work and being active players in the sustainability field,” adds Pussinen.
The new members are a welcome addition to the body of senior experts already serving on the board: Chairperson Merja Kivelä, Partner at Castrén & Snellman and a board member of Climate Leadership Coalition, Vice-Chair Markus Lindqvist, Aktia Bank’s Director of Sustainability, Antti Malava, Head of Sustainability Insights & Analytics at Danske Bank Asset Management, and Anna-Stina Wiklund, Sustainability Manager at Ålandsbanken Fund Management. As Finsif was one of the Nordic sustainable investment fora to join Eurosif as a full member in November last year, Wiklund, who has been instrumental in driving the membership question forward, will continue to lead the board work related to the cooperation between the two organisations.