Aviva has hired Phoenix Group’s Leah Ramoutar as its environmental sustainability director, bringing over 20 years of experience to the role.
Ramoutar has worked at Phoenix Group for more than 14 years, building her way from corporate finance manager to head of climate and nature risk. She previously held roles at Rianta Capital, European Capital Financial Services, KPMG, and Development Finance, Trinidad and Tobago since beginning her career in 2001.
At Aviva, Ramoutar will head the Climate Centre of Excellence and Environment Hub. Aviva announced in March 2021 its climate goals for the future, which include becoming net zero by 2040, a 25% reduction in carbon intensity of assets by 2025 and a net zero operations and supply chain by 2030.
“Aviva is well known for having a market leading approach to sustainability and a strong track record on climate action,” Ramoutar said. “This role is an exciting opportunity for me to contribute to the important work already underway to meet Aviva’s climate commitments and I look forward to joining later this year.”
In August, Aviva gave a £57m sustainable loan to the Urban Logistics Reit in a commitment to improving the sustainability of the 10 logistic assets as part of its Sustainable Transition Loans framework.
Claudine Blamey, group sustainability director of Aviva, said: “Leah is a brilliant addition to Aviva. As environmental sustainability director, she will be instrumental in delivering our ambitious climate agenda to be net zero by 2040.
“Sustainability is central to Aviva’s strategy, and with recent global weather events showing how urgently we all need to take action to be climate ready, it’s fantastic to bring Leah’s skills and experience to the business.”
This article first appeared on ESG Clarity’s sister title Portfolio Adviser.