TORONTO, Aug. 27, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sustainalytics, a leading provider of environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and analysis, announced today that the firm is making a new and significant investment in strengthening the corporate governance pillar of its ESG research and ratings solutions.
Gary Hewitt, former head of governance research at GMI Ratings, has joined the firm and will lead the development of an expanded suite of corporate governance research and data products designed to complement and integrate with Sustainalytics' existing market-leading ESG research solutions. Previously, Mr. Hewitt led a research team at Watson Wyatt (now Towers Watson) and spent almost a decade with a leading proxy advisory firm, Institutional Shareholder Services, with a focus on executive compensation analysis and ratings development.
"With the increasingly important role ESG research is playing in investment decision-making and risk management, combined with the recent consolidation of ESG research providers, we firmly believe that institutional investors and ESG professionals desperately need a stable, independent and focused provider of research and analytics across the entire Environmental, Social and Governance spectrum," said Michael Jantzi, CEO of Sustainalytics. "Gary Hewitt's extensive corporate governance knowledge will allow us to deepen our corporate offering, create new services for our clients and expand our governance thought leadership."
Celebrating its five year anniversary operating as Sustainalytics, a firm built on the bedrock of more than 20 years of previous ESG experience around the globe, the firm works with more than 250 asset owners, asset managers and related organizations globally to identify, analyze and assess the potential for material portfolio risk related to companies' ESG practices.
"The scope of corporate governance practices and behaviors impacting a company's long-term ability to create shareholder value continues to expand," said Hewitt. "This is an exciting time in the field of corporate governance and an exciting time at Sustainalytics. The firm already offers quality products and advisory services across the ESG continuum. I look forward to working with my colleagues and with our clients to expand the solution set and to provide even more meaningful governance insights into the investment process."
About Sustainalytics
Sustainalytics is an independent ESG research and analysis firm supporting investors around the world with the development and implementation of responsible investment strategies. The firm partners with institutional investors who integrate environmental, social and governance information and assessments into their investment decisions.
Headquartered in Amsterdam, Sustainalytics has offices in Boston, Bucharest, Frankfurt, London, New York, Paris, Singapore, Timisoara and Toronto, and representatives in Bogotá, Brussels, and Copenhagen. The firm has 175 staff members, including more than 100 analysts with varied multidisciplinary expertise and thorough understanding of more than 40 industries. In 2012 and 2013, Sustainalytics was voted best independent sustainable and responsible investment research firm in the Thomson Reuters Extel's IRRI survey.
www.sustainalytics.com