REYL Intesa Sanpaolo, the Swiss banking group majority-owned by Fideuram - Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, has appointed Jon Duncan to develop and implement its impact strategy, effective 1 March 2022, in Geneva. He will be responsible for leading the group’s impact activities and aligning the business with the global transition to a low carbon, resource-efficient and socially-inclusive growth path.

Jon has over 24 years of professional experience in sustainability research and engagement, eleven of which have been in financial services. He was involved in drafting the South African Code for Responsible Investment, is a senior associate of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and has served on the UN PRI global reporting and assessment committee. He has worked extensively across a range of global industrial sectors supporting organisations worldwide with strategic social, environmental and sustainability related issues.

He will be tasked with aligning and coordinating impact practices and tools across REYL Intesa Sanpaolo’s business lines, leveraging the approach to impact measurement developed by Asteria Obviam: a high-tech proprietary impact and financial research platform using big data and machine learning. He will also further develop REYL Intesa Sanpaolo’s external stakeholder relationships with entities such as the UN PRI, GIIN (Global Impact Investing Network), SFG (Sustainable Finance Geneva) and SSF (Swiss Sustainable Finance). 

François Reyl, Chief Executive Officer and Partner of REYL Intesa Sanpaolo, says: “We see increasing social and environmental risks as well as opportunities for our clients’ portfolios from the green economy transition. We are strengthening our existing impact capacity with the appointment of a professional of the calibre of Jon Duncan, which builds on our full spectrum impact investing capability initiated with the launch of Asteria Obviam, our dedicated impact investing affiliate.”

Pasha Bakhtiar, Partner of REYL Intesa Sanpaolo, adds: “Time is of the essence to move beyond popular catchwords towards meaningful impact in finance. Jon’s arrival enables us to actively align our strategies and teams to work towards one common goal: to contribute in every way possible to finance the transition to a more sustainable, inclusive and safer future.”

Jon Duncan, Chief Impact Officer, concludes: “I am delighted to embark on this new impact-focused journey with the great team at REYL. The bank has consistently demonstrated its innovation and commitment to supporting long-term sustainable growth and is well placed to play a meaningful role in scaling capital allocation on a risk, return and impact basis.”