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CalPERS today announced that Anne Simpson has been selected as managing investment director (MID) of Board Governance and Sustainability, effective immediately.
As MID of Board Governance and Sustainability, Simpson will advise on board governance and strategy, along with strategies for specific programs within investments, such as the Sustainable Investment Strategic Plan, which includes Climate Action 100+, an alliance co-founded by CalPERS, financial markets advocacy, and human capital management focusing on diversity and inclusion.
Simpson currently is serving as the interim MID of Board Governance and Sustainability. She has been with CalPERS for more than 11 years and will report to CEO Marcie Frost.
“Anne has a deep understanding of how sustainability issues impact our investments, and her expertise will help us mitigate those risks so that we can generate the strong returns we need to pay benefits,” Frost said.
Simpson’s background includes work in academia and in investment roles in both the public and private sectors, including as senior faculty fellow and lecturer at the Yale School of Management, as joint managing director of Pensions & Investment Research Consultants, and as a senior manager at the World Bank.
She read philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University and was awarded a BA and later an MA. She serves on the Senior Advisory Board of the Center for Responsible Business, at Haas Business School, University of California, Berkeley, and the Institute for Business and Society. Among her publications is “The Financial Ecosystem: The Role of Finance in Advancing Sustainability” (Palgrave MacMillan), with Satyajit Bose and Dong Guo.
In 2019, Simpson was recognized by Time magazine as one of 15 women globally leading the fight on climate change. Earlier this year Barron’s named her one of the 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance, and the National Association of Corporate Directors has cited her as one of the 100 most influential leaders in the boardroom. She also is an editorial board member of the journal Directors & Boards.
