SWITZERLAND – Swiss sustainable asset management company SAM has appointed Eric Gelfgren as global head of marketing and sales.

Gelfgren, 49, is filling a new position in the organisation and the executive committee. The committee now also includes the heads of private equity, Switzerland, the chief investment officer and the chief financial officer.

He will be based in Stockholm and Zurich, and lead a team of between 55 and 60 people.

“It’s a great challenge and particularly interesting as SAM’s asset management approach is attracting greater interest among large international investors seeking new drivers of investment performance,” said Gelfgren in a statement released.

“I feel very fortunate to play a role in SAM’s future development.”

Gelfgren will be responsible for the marketing and sales of SAM’s asset management services and investment funds to institutional and retail investors.

He will also deal with the marketing and sales aspects of public equity products.

Since 2003, Gelfgren has been SAM’s head of international institutional clients in the Nordic countries.

Before joining SAM, he was head of institutional sales at Erstebank in Stockholm, and also head of financial services at Citibank for more than ten years.

SAM – founded in 1995 as an independent asset management company for sustainability investments and headed by chief executive Reto Ringger - has grown 100% in the last 18 months.

Apart from its home base in Switzerland, it also has a presence in six other markets including Germany, Austria, Italy and Australia.