Working alongside Comgest’s head of responsible investment Sebastien Thévoux-Chabuel, Russell will focus on collaborative engagements, industry initiatives, evolving RI policies and oversight of all ESG communications. She is already a member of the firm’s Sustainability Committee and DE&I Working Group.

With more than 23 years of industry experience gained in Australia, Ireland and France, Russell is joining the ESG team after working for the past 10 years as Comgest’s head of global consultant relations and UK investor relations, where she was instrumental in building Comgest’s UK client base as well as establishing the firm’s local presences in the US and the UK, the firm said in a statement.

Prior to joining Comgest, Russell spent over 10 years in investor relations, business development and finance roles at firms including Antin Infrastructure Partners, PIM Gestion France, Warakirri Asset Management and PricewaterhouseCoopers. She graduated from the University of Melbourne and is a chartered accountant.

Gemeda will focus on RI regulations as well as biodiversity strategy, engagement and policy development. She has over 13 years’ experience in the asset management industry and has been working at Comgest since 2017 as a compliance advisor, involved with regulatory project management and processes, and conducting internal training on the evolving ESG regulatory landscape, the firm said.

Prior to joining Comgest, Gemeda worked as a compliance officer at State Street Global Advisors and as an internal auditor and legal counsel at BNP Paribas Asset Management. Gemeda moved to France in 2004 where she gained a master’s in international business law as well as in international, European and comparative law.

Commenting on her new role, Russell said: “After the past decade working closely with Comgest's ESG professionals to deliver bespoke client solutions, I’m delighted to join this dedicated team to continue driving our active ESG strategy. With our broad employee-ownership structure enabling a real commitment to long-term investing, a key competitive edge at Comgest is time-horizon arbitrage. This edge is the very ingredient necessary for delivering an authentic ESG strategy with tangible results.”

Gemeda said: “Having worked on many responsible investment initiatives at Comgest, from a regulatory and compliance perspective, I am now looking forward to a broader remit and continuing our ongoing commitment to stewardship from within the ESG team.”

Comgest is an independent, global asset management group with headquarters in Paris and offices in Amsterdam, Boston, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, two branch offices in Milan and Brussels, and a representative office in London. Founded in 1985, Comgest serves a diverse global client base and manages assets of more than £24.5 billion ($3.02 billion), as of 31 December 2022 (unaudited data).