Global communications firm Edelman announced that it has appointed ESG and sustainability veteran Heidi DuBois to the newly created role of Executive Vice President, Head of ESG U.S. The firm also announced that it has recently hired Chuka Umunna as Executive Director, Head of ESG for EMEA.

In a statement welcoming DuBois and Umunna, Edelman noted that the new executive appointments were made as investors are showing an increasing use of ESG integration and consideration in their investment choices, while companies face a growing set of ESG reporting requirements.

Lex Suvanto, Global Managing Director of Financial Communications at Edelman, said:

“Every CEO and Board in the U.S. is thinking about their ESG strategy and disclosure. Heidi and Chuka will advance Edelman’s leadership in ESG advisory and communications support for our clients. Heidi and Chuka bring decades of ESG and sustainability experience, technical knowledge and a passion for helping Boards and leadership teams develop ESG strategies that reinforce business objectives and drive long-term financial performance.”

Alex Heath, Executive Vice President, Purpose at Edelman, said:

“Edelman will now be a leader in both ESG advisory as well as helping companies define, develop and deploy their purpose, and this will be a powerful combination for clients. Heidi and Chuka’s expertise in serving Boards and their unique understanding of investors will be a clear differentiator for Edelman in this arena, and I look forward to working with them to further drive substantive change and long-lasting shared value.”

DuBois joined Edelman early this year, as EVP and Special ESG Advisor. Prior to joining Edelman, she served as ESG Director at the Society for Corporate Governance, working with general counsels, board members and sustainability leaders to provide education around best-in-class ESG programs. She has also held sustainability, corporate social responsibility and philanthropy roles at Fortune 500 companies BNY Mellon and PepsiCo. In her new role, she will be responsible for the development of Edelman’s ESG advisory practice with a focus on helping companies build and communicate ESG strategies to their investors and helping investment firms build and communicate their own ESG programs.

DuBois said:

“I am honored to join Edelman and help lead our ESG advisory practice. The need to integrate business-relevant environmental, social and governance factors into corporate decision making at every level is more urgent than ever. I look forward to working with Chuka, Alex and the entire Edelman team to develop comprehensive, global solutions for our clients that will deliver lasting benefits to all stakeholders and to society as a whole.”

Umunna joins Edelman after nearly 10 years as a Member of Parliament in the U.K., serving in roles including Shadow Business Secretary, and other senior posts leading on economic, business, trade and foreign policy issues on the Opposition benches. He has been a leading advocate of stakeholder capitalism and for boardroom diversity, and led the successful campaign against the hostile takeover of AstraZeneca by Pfizer. In his new role, he will lead efforts to provide counsel to Edelman’s clients on ESG factors, including measuring their ESG performance relative to peers, pinpointing the material risks and drivers of trust, value, and impact related to ESG issues, and devising and executing strategies to address them, as well as providing pre-transaction ESG due diligence and post transaction ESG integration services.