Annette Mosman, CEO of APG and Top Female Executive of the Year 2022, spoke last week at the first live event for the 'Top 50 Women in Sustainable Finance'. This list includes Dutch female role models who show the movement in the field of sustainability in the financial sector. "When I think about what new leadership should bring, it's genuinely listening to all stakeholders and then making a decision."
In front of an audience of women working at pension funds and administrators, banks and insurers, and in one of the most sustainable office building in Europe APG's Edge West office in Amsterdam, Annette talked about the value that APG attaches to responsible investment. "Obviously, returns are very important, but what good is a good pension in an unlivable world? APG wants to make a difference so that we, our parents and our children have a good income for today, tomorrow and beyond. That is why we also contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. We do this, among other things, by investing in energy transitions."
New leadership
The Top Female Executive of 2022 also spoke about the value of new leadership. "I stand for my own leadership style, one that is not feminine or masculine. When I think about what we bring as women, it's genuinely listening to all the stakeholders and then making a decision. In this world where there is a lot of uncertainty, there is actually no CEO who has a ready-made answer to everything." Listening within your own organization, to stakeholders or in society is therefore extremely important, according to Annette.
Genuine listening leads, among other things, to broad knowledge, which is important in a polarized world that faces challenging issues, such as climate change. "It is not always clear which investments have a positive impact on the climate and which do not. It is not always black or white, there is a large gray area. That is why we are now working on knowledge development to better determine to what extent investments contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. The great thing is that society is asking pension funds to do more to combat climate change. As APG, we can use the acquired knowledge and expertise in this area for our fund clients."
Annette also spoke about her commitment to making women more financially independent. "In the Netherlands, about 70 percent of women still work part-time. They usually start working part-time around the arrival of their first child. This not only costs them salary, it also leads to a large pension gap between men and women. For example, the pension of women per year is on average 10,000 euros gross lower than that of men."
APG touch
The goal of the 'Top 50 Women in Sustainable Finance' is to make visible female role models who are active in the field of sustainability in the financial sector. Two APG members are represented on the list: Anna Pot (Head of Global Responsible Investment Capital Markets & RI Communications) and Claudia Kruse (Managing Director Global Responsible Investment & Governance). The evening also had an APG touch with a presentation by Nina Peters (Sustainability Advisor), who gave a presentation about the eight 'energy givers' of Edge West.