BlackRock Announces Geir Espeskog & Emily Woodland as Sustainable Investing Co-Heads for Asia Pacific to Accelerate Regional Business
BlackRock announces the appointment of Head of iShares Asia Pacific Distribution Geir Espeskog and Emily Woodland as Co-Heads of BlackRock Sustainable Investing (BSI) for Asia Pacific.
Espeskog, currently Head of iShares Asia Pacific Distribution in Hong Kong, will co-head BSI for APAC, leveraging his extensive knowledge of BlackRock’s APAC client base and regional markets to spearhead opportunities. He joined BlackRock in 2010 with iShares in London where he was instrumental in building the firm’s the Nordic iShares franchise. Based in Hong Kong since 2015, he has driven iShares growth across APAC from assets under management of USD 50 billion to more than USD 160 billion, including several client-driven launches of sustainability investment products. Mr. Espeskog’s deep understanding of institutional, asset management, and wealth clients, will enhance BSI’s capabilities and drive growth.
Woodland, who will be based in Hong Kong, joins BlackRock from AMP Capital, where she served as Head of Sustainable Investment since 2018, leading the firm’s specialist ESG public markets fund range and investment stewardship efforts, as well as its in-depth research, analysis and thought leadership on key ESG and sustainability related considerations. She spent the year prior as the Investment Advisor for Asia Debt Management’s sustainable investment programs. Ms. Woodland’s expertise in sustainability are grounded in years of in-depth research and analysis on key ESG and sustainability related trends. This rests upon over 16 years of investment experience with UBS dating back to 2000, including work in equity and convertible bond trading, as a portfolio manager with the firm’s Fundamental Investment Group, and five years as a portfolio manager with the long/short absolute return hedge fund portfolio in UBS Asset Management.
Philipp Hildebrand, Global Head of Sustainable Investing at BlackRock said: “Last year we announced our ambition to have USD 1 trillion in sustainable assets under management by 2030. Already, we are witnessing this phenomenal opportunity with accelerating flows into sustainable strategies. Asia is a keystone in advancing the growth of sustainable investing globally.”
“We are thrilled to put this team in place and set the pace for our sustainable investment offerings in Asia,” said Susan Chan, Head of Asia at BlackRock. “Geir’s proven track record as a strong business builder combined with Emily’s sophisticated command of sustainable strategies signals the high priority we place on this effort. This is a great pairing as we start to roll out our sustainable investing team in the region.”
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