Arabesque Partners, the London and Frankfurt-based asset management firm, has appointed Dr Robert G Eccles (pictured) as the company’s first Chairman with immediate effect.
Currently Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School, Eccles arrives at Arabesque with a reputation as a global leader in transparent reporting and sustainable value creation through environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.
An award-winning academic and author of twelve books including ‘The Integrated Reporting Movement: Meaning, Momentum, Motives and Materiality’, Eccles is the founding Chairman of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and a steering member of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC).
Arabesque Partners founder and CEO, Omar Selim, ays: “We are delighted with the appointment of Professor Eccles as our first Chairman. His arrival underlines our focus on research and sustainability as key drivers to generate value for our investors, shareholders and the capital markets more broadly.
“ESG information as a critical factor in the investment process is fast becoming a mega-trend across financial markets. With Bob´s background as a mathematician, an expert on sustainability and reporting and an academic from Harvard and MIT, he unites the three key building blocks of Arabesque's partnership”.
Eccles says: “I am honoured to be the first Chairman of Arabesque Partners. The investment world is now recognising that superior returns can be earned by investing in companies that are performing well on material sustainability factors. Likewise, the corporate community is increasingly asking for investors that recognise and reward superior ESG performance.
“This is at the core of Arabesque’s investment strategy. Here is an asset manager that combines advanced ESG analysis with a quantitative investment approach to drive better performance. The results are highly impressive.
“I have been an advocate of integrated reporting by companies and ESG integration by investors for many years. I believe Arabesque can be a positive force for driving the changes necessary to create capital markets which support a sustainable society.”
