ANZ's carbon cuts
Nuno Matos' reshaping of ANZ continues with the exit of climate chief Gerard Brown and looming ESG cuts, adding to unease across the bank’s ranks.
This morning ANZ told staff what Capital Brief readers already knew: head of climate Gerard Brown is departing as a string of ESG and communications roles head for the chopping block.
“Since joining ANZ in 1999, Gerard has held key leadership roles in Climate, ESG and Government and regulatory affairs. Most recently he has led with Institutional and Risk, our climate change policy response and its implementation through lending,” group head of corporate affairs Tony Warren said in an email sighted by this publication.
With many institutional investors demanding ESG disclosures, ANZ says it remains committed to the work and still has the team to deliver it, but declined to comment on whether Brown will be directly replaced. Warren said head of ESG analytics and advisory Ben Walker will report to him for the foreseeable future.
But the departure of a veteran like Brown, along with the apparent removal of the job overseeing ANZ’s 100 largest emitters, signals a shift in the bank’s ESG and communications approach. It's also a reminder that nothing is off limits as Matos reshapes every arm of the organisation.
