Australian Ethical appoints CIO

Ludovic Theau
LUDOVIC THEAU
Australian Ethical Investment Limited - Chief Investment Officer
APPOINTMENT
Australian Ethical Investment Limited
AUSTRALIAN ETHICAL INVESTMENT LIMITED
Date: 14 March 2023
Position: Chief Investment Officer
By Elizabeth Fry

Australian Ethical has announced three new hires - an investment chief, a deputy CIO and an impact & ethics head.

Ludovic Theau has been appointed chief investment officer, replacing David Macri, who left the fund late last year.

Theau joins from the $30 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation, where he also ran investments.

Previously, he served in executive roles at Hastings, Westpac, ABN Amro, Macquarie, UBS and BNP Paribas.

Australian Ethical's head of asset allocation, John Woods, has been promoted to deputy investment chief and head of multi assets.

Woods joined the firm in 2020 from MLC, where he spent four years as a portfolio manager.

Before that, he worked as a strategist at CLSA for almost five years and at Macquarie Group for about the same time.

The third recruit, Alison George, will lead Australian Ethical's ethics research team and be accountable for the ongoing development of its impact framework and delivery.

George has over 25 years of experience in impact investing, ESG, sustainability and accounting service.

She has held previous senior investment and leadership roles at Regnan, Monash Sustainability Enterprises, Essential Services Commission and EY.

Meantime, the head of ethics research, Stuart Palmer, will step into the new role of ethical futures lead. Palmer will focus on bespoke dedicated areas of research and analysis relating to the ethical investing landscape.

"Australian Ethical's significant leadership and global reputation enable it to attract and retain domestic and international candidates of the highest calibre," said managing director John McMurdo. "The appointments of Ludo, John and Alison reinforce this position and further enhance our leadership in ethical investing not only in Australia but globally."