On July 10, 2017, Mahesh Ramanujam, President and Chief Executive Officer at U.S. Green Building Council and Green Business Certification Inc., succeeded Rick Fedrizzi, Chairman, International WELL Building Institute, as chair of the GRESB Board of Directors.
“Since GRESB became part of the GBCI family in 2014, I’ve been proud to be part of its growing influence in the real estate financial sector,” said Fedrizzi. “I’m particularly excited about the inclusion of health and wellness as a material aspect of real estate valuation, and, coupled with the more traditional building performance metrics considered, feel that GRESB is well positioned to provide an important dimension to real estate reporting. I want to thank our existing board members for their service and I know GRESB will benefit tremendously from the engagement of the newly appointed directors.”
Two other changes will also be made to the GRESB Board of Directors. Michael Brooks, CEO of REALPAC, will be appointed non-executive director, succeeding Rick Fedrizzi, and Christine Phillips, Senior Investment Manager of AustralianSuper, will be appointed non-executive director, succeeding Mie Holstad, Chief Administrative Officer at Norges Bank Real Estate Management. Mie Holstad has served on the GRESB Board of Directors as a non-executive director since 2014. Her term expires in 2017.
“I want to thank Rick Fedrizzi and Mie Holstad for their contribution and dedication to the GRESB Board of Directors,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president & CEO, USGBC and GBCI and incoming GRESB board chair. “Rick and Mie have played an integral role in helping GRESB transform the way capital markets assess the environmental, social and governance performance of real asset investments and I am thrilled to join the Board to further the strong momentum that GRESB is driving.”
Commenting on his appointment, Michael Brooks said:
“As industry partner, REALPAC has had the privilege to be part of GRESB’s expanding impact on the Canadian market. I’m pleased to support the important work of GRESB, its executive team and Board, as it continues to grow its global franchise in support of sustainability, investability, and transparency in the global real estate community.”
Commenting on her appointment, Christine Phillips said:
“I’m honoured to be joining the Board and building on GRESB’s accomplishments in improving transparency of ESG performance by investment managers across global markets. I look forward to working with existing Board members and making a positive contribution to GRESB’s future.”
“Michael Brooks and Christine Phillips will be great assets to the GRESB Board,” added Ramanujam. “Our vision of sustainable real assets can only be reached with true market transformation; we are looking ahead to 2018 and beyond and we’ll see the continued advancement and transformation of the ESG performance of real estate portfolios and infrastructure assets globally.”
The GRESB Board of Directors
The GRESB Board of Directors oversees GRESB’s governance. It includes one executive director (the managing director of GRESB) and six non-executive directors. The managing director oversees GRESB’s day-to-day business. The non-executive directors oversee GRESB’s strategic direction. Three of the non-executive directors are representatives of GRESB’s Investor Members.
The Board tenure is three years, with a second tenure of a maximum of three years. All existing Board members have been on the GRESB Board of Directors since October 2014. The aim of the rotation schedule and the selection of candidates is to ensure that the Board has a good representation of GRESB’s members (by region/sector), can provide a global perspective and is able to support GRESB in its strategy.
The executive director (i.e. GRESB’s managing director) and the chairman (GBCI representative) are excluded from the rotation schedule.
See the Governance section for information on the current members of the Board of Directors.
About GRESB
GRESB is an industry-driven organization transforming the way capital markets assess the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of real asset investments. 850 property companies and funds, jointly representing more than USD 3.7 trillion in assets under management, participate in the GRESB Real Estate Assessment. The Infrastructure Assessment covers 64 funds and 160 assets, and 25 portfolios complete the Debt Assessment.
GRESB data and analytical tools are used by 67 institutional and retail investors, including pension funds and insurance companies, collectively representing over USD 17 trillion in institutional capital, to engage with investment managers to enhance and protect shareholder value.
Greater transparency on ESG issues has become the norm, with GRESB widely recognized as the global ESG benchmark for real assets.
About Mahesh Ramanujam
Mahesh has a clear vision for the continuing evolution of the green building and sustainability movement: True global market transformation for the built environment can be achieved through building healthier, more sustainable communities where buildings perform at a higher level and human health and wellness is prioritized and enhanced.
In his dual roles as president and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI), Mahesh leads and empowers hundreds of employees across the globe and thousands of volunteers across USGBC’s ever expanding community.
Mahesh Ramanujam serves on numerous boards and advisory committees, including Bank of America’s National Community Advisory Council and GRESB, an organization wholly owned by GBCI that is the leading sustainability standard for global real estate portfolios and infrastructure assets.
About Michael Brooks
Michael Brooks is the CEO of REALPAC and is responsible for the Association’s strategic planning, policy formulation, government relations, and international standards setting.. Michael has been the catalyst to REALPAC’s growth over the past 20 years. Michael is also an Adjunct Professor at Ryerson University.
Michael has led the market and regulatory transformation in Canada, with effective representation for the REIT vehicle on cross-border and domestic tax issues and capital market and regulatory issues nationally and internationally. He has been the driving force behind the development of the REALPAC sustainability platform, including its Green Lease, Green Lease Tenant Guide, Corporate Social Responsibility guidelines and industry outreach with various national and international organizations. Michael is the former Treasurer, Executive Committee and Board member of the Canada Green Building Council. Michael is a graduate member of the Institute of Corporate Directors Canada.
About Christine Phillips
Christine Phillips is a Senior Investment Manager with AustralianSuper, with responsibility for overseeing the investment management activities of AustralianSuper’s global direct portfolio of core retail, office and mixed use assets.
Christine has over 25 years’ experience in the global property market, spanning funds management, transactions, portfolio management, asset management and development across the retail, office, and industrial property sectors.
She sits on the Investor Advisory Committee of CIE, the Victorian Leadership Group and Global Investment Group of the Property Council of Australia, is an associate of the Australian Property Institute and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.