Denmark's AkademikerPension has announced the appointment of Rikke Berg Jacobsen as its new head of environmental, social, and governance (ESG).

Jacobsen joins from Nordea Asset Management, where she was head of sustainability research, leading a team in the development and implementation of sustainable investment strategies.

She has more than eight years of experience in the financial sector, with particular expertise in EU regulation, including the EU taxonomy, the sustainable finance disclosure regulation (SFDR) and the corporate sustainability reporting directive (CSRD).

In her new role, Jacobsen will be responsible for strengthening AkademikerPension’s ESG strategy, which aims to deliver both strong financial returns and sustainable investments on behalf of its more than 170,000 members.

It's the firm's second major appointment this week, after announcing Dan Wejse as its new head of global equities.

Commenting on her appointment, she said: “I am truly honoured and excited to step into the role of head of ESG at AkademikerPension - an organisation that invests responsibly with a long-term perspective and combines solid pension management with a strong commitment to the green transition.

"I look forward to working with Anders Schelde and the team to further strengthen this work,” she added.

AkademikerPension CIO, Anders Schelde, welcomed the appointment, stating: “We are incredibly happy to have Rikke on board as our new ESG manager.

"In all modesty, we have come a long way with our ESG work over the past few years, but the world does not stand still, and Rikke brings the skills needed for the next part of our journey.”

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