After serving as CEO of the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) for over 10 years, Simon O’Connor has informed the RIAA board of his decision to transition out of the role, with his departure scheduled for the end of this year.
Ross Piper, Chair of the RIAA board expressed his appreciation for Simon’s remarkable contribution and acknowledged the timing is right for both the organisation and Simon personally to begin a leadership transition.
“Simon has been a highly effective, influential and catalytic leader in our sector for over a decade. He has shaped and deeply embodied the mission of RIAA with a passion for driving a healthy and sustainable future through finance. The board expresses sincere thanks to Simon for his decade of service to RIAA, and also to the team and network of RIAA members. Simon’s time at RIAA has been highly impactful across the Australian and New Zealand financial services sectors. His leadership leaves a firm legacy and foundation from which we’re excited to now build upon for the next phase of RIAA’s growth,” said Piper.
Under Simon’s guidance, RIAA has experienced significant growth in size and impact. Today, RIAA represents over 500 investment organisations across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, that collectively manage over USD$29 trillion in assets. Supported by a highly skilled team of 20 staff, and an experienced leadership team, RIAA has established a strong presence in Australasia and has helped lift ever higher standards in responsible investment.
Reflecting on his decision, Simon O’Connor said, “I am incredibly proud of the position that RIAA is in today, and the influence and impact that we as an organisation have on a daily basis to drive a more sustainable future through finance. It’s been a privilege to hold this role and work with our brilliant team, our strong and committed board and our passionate and engaged community of members for the last decade.”
“The organisation has taken strong strides forward in recent years. It is in a fantastic position now for me to transition out and move to a new leader who - together with our strong team, leadership group and board - can continue to build on the significant momentum and lead RIAA through the next important phase of this organisation’s 23-year journey.”
Simon will work closely with the board and team throughout the remainder of the year to ensure a smooth transition to new leadership. Following his departure, Simon plans to take a break and looks forward to spending more time with his family who are rapidly growing up, and will take some time to consider his future endeavours.
The board will shortly begin a recruitment process to find a replacement, commencing a local and international search for RIAA’s next CEO.
RIAA today is going from strength to strength in supporting its members to navigate the fast evolving responsible investment landscape, and advocating successfully for the policy settings that will ensure a finance sector that aligns with a healthy and sustainable economy, environment and society, consistent with our mission.
Over the course of the last decade, RIAA has played a formative role in shaping the sustainable finance landscape in our region. Some significant achievements during Simon’s tenure include:
- Curated and developed the world’s leading RI education offering through the RI Academy, which was sold and transitioned to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2014.
- Leading the world’s longest running responsible investment product labelling scheme (Responsible Investment Certification Program) to now include over 330 investment products managing over AUD$128 billion FUM
- Established the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative (ASFI), which brought together over 90 finance organisations to develop the Sustainable Finance Roadmap, and incubated ASFI to drive implementation of the Roadmap
- Played a key role in the Aotearoa New Zealand Sustainable Finance Roadmap that has accelerated the sustainable finance agenda in New Zealand
- Led the establishment of an Aotearoa New Zealand Stewardship Code, through its development and now co-hosting the secretariat together with the Centre for Sustainable Finance
- Acted as secretariat and chair of the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA) for the past three years, which shaped and informed standards development at a global level
- Establishing a range of impactful collaboration platforms through our working groups that has resulted in elevated stewardship activity by RIAA members on issues such as First Nations Peoples’ rights, human rights and modern slavery, and nature
- Taking up the role as regional consultation group for the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures to ready the local markets for this future framework
For further information, please contact Ada Tso, Marketing and Communications Manager M: +61 481 308 718 E: ada@responsibleinvestment.org
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After serving as CEO of the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) for over 10 years, Simon O’Connor has informed the RIAA board of his decision to transition out of the role, with his departure scheduled for the end of this year.
Ross Piper, Chair of the RIAA board expressed his appreciation for Simon’s remarkable contribution and acknowledged the timing is right for both the organisation and Simon personally to begin a leadership transition.
“Simon has been a highly effective, influential and catalytic leader in our sector for over a decade. He has shaped and deeply embodied the mission of RIAA with a passion for driving a healthy and sustainable future through finance. The board expresses sincere thanks to Simon for his decade of service to RIAA, and also to the team and network of RIAA members. Simon’s time at RIAA has been highly impactful across the Australian and New Zealand financial services sectors. His leadership leaves a firm legacy and foundation from which we’re excited to now build upon for the next phase of RIAA’s growth,” said Piper.
Under Simon’s guidance, RIAA has experienced significant growth in size and impact. Today, RIAA represents over 500 investment organisations across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, that collectively manage over USD$29 trillion in assets. Supported by a highly skilled team of 20 staff, and an experienced leadership team, RIAA has established a strong presence in Australasia and has helped lift ever higher standards in responsible investment.
Reflecting on his decision, Simon O’Connor said, “I am incredibly proud of the position that RIAA is in today, and the influence and impact that we as an organisation have on a daily basis to drive a more sustainable future through finance. It’s been a privilege to hold this role and work with our brilliant team, our strong and committed board and our passionate and engaged community of members for the last decade.”
“The organisation has taken strong strides forward in recent years. It is in a fantastic position now for me to transition out and move to a new leader who - together with our strong team, leadership group and board - can continue to build on the significant momentum and lead RIAA through the next important phase of this organisation’s 23-year journey.”
Simon will work closely with the board and team throughout the remainder of the year to ensure a smooth transition to new leadership. Following his departure, Simon plans to take a break and looks forward to spending more time with his family who are rapidly growing up, and will take some time to consider his future endeavours.
The board will shortly begin a recruitment process to find a replacement, commencing a local and international search for RIAA’s next CEO.
RIAA today is going from strength to strength in supporting its members to navigate the fast evolving responsible investment landscape, and advocating successfully for the policy settings that will ensure a finance sector that aligns with a healthy and sustainable economy, environment and society, consistent with our mission.
Over the course of the last decade, RIAA has played a formative role in shaping the sustainable finance landscape in our region. Some significant achievements during Simon’s tenure include:
- Curated and developed the world’s leading RI education offering through the RI Academy, which was sold and transitioned to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2014.
- Leading the world’s longest running responsible investment product labelling scheme (Responsible Investment Certification Program) to now include over 330 investment products managing over AUD$128 billion FUM
- Established the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative (ASFI), which brought together over 90 finance organisations to develop the Sustainable Finance Roadmap, and incubated ASFI to drive implementation of the Roadmap
- Played a key role in the Aotearoa New Zealand Sustainable Finance Roadmap that has accelerated the sustainable finance agenda in New Zealand
- Led the establishment of an Aotearoa New Zealand Stewardship Code, through its development and now co-hosting the secretariat together with the Centre for Sustainable Finance
- Acted as secretariat and chair of the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA) for the past three years, which shaped and informed standards development at a global level
- Establishing a range of impactful collaboration platforms through our working groups that has resulted in elevated stewardship activity by RIAA members on issues such as First Nations Peoples’ rights, human rights and modern slavery, and nature
- Taking up the role as regional consultation group for the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures to ready the local markets for this future framework
For further information, please contact Ada Tso, Marketing and Communications Manager M: +61 481 308 718 E: ada@responsibleinvestment.org
