The chief investment officers of Caisse des Dépôts (CDC) and the United Nations’ pension fund are to take the helm at the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA).
It was announced today that Josselin Kalifa from Caisse des Dépôts Asset Management Division, and Toru Shindo from the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund had been elected as co-chairs of the NZAOA steering group.
It is the first time the steering group has had more than one chair, suggesting a more concerted effort to reflect the perspectives of both North American and European asset owners.
Kalifa is based in Paris, while Shindo is based in New York. Both have also been located in Asia at various points in their careers.
NZAOA was founded in 2019 to convene asset owners with commitments to align their investment portfolios with the Paris Agreement’s goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
It currently has 86 signatories with $9.2trn of combined assets under management.
Shindo described it as “a pivotal moment for NZAOA and global climate action”.
In a statement, Kalida said: “As an institutional investor, my intention is very clear: maintaining our requirements for finance to be an effective and operational lever of the transition. We have the ability to push the market further, let’s do it.”
Previous chairs of NZAOA include Günther Thallinger, a board member at Allianz, who stepped down at the end of 2024.
