ThomasLloyd has hired former Asian Development Bank principal results management specialist Smita Nakhooda to a newly-created role as head of impact and ESG.
Nakhooda will work across the group, focusing on both internal and external corporate initiatives, as well as further developing the firm’s investment framework. She will be based in Zurich and will report to chief executive Michael Sieg.
At Asia Development Bank, Nakhooda was responsible for leading the integration of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the bank’s policies and key performance indicators. During her time at the bank, she also worked on the development of impact measurement and management standards to mobilise the financing needed to deliver on the SDGs.
Before that she was a senior research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute in London, where she was responsible for leading a dedicated work stream examining the role of financial markets in addressing climate change.
Sieg said: “Smita not only brings to ThomasLloyd her international expertise in sustainable and climate finance, but she is also joining us with years of experience working in some of our core and target markets.
“As an Indian national and having worked in the Philippines for several years, Smita brings unique local insights and on-the-ground expertise that will be key in helping us tap into the most compelling sustainable infrastructure investment opportunities in the world’s fastest growing economies.
“We have always recognised the critical importance of building local teams with a genuine knowledge and understanding of the markets we operate in as part of our investment model so her joining the group is a great opportunity to further enhance this model.”
