GIC names analyst-trained investor to head sustainability office

De Rui Wong, an economist and equity analyst by training, has been named head of the Sustainability Office at GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, according to ESG Today. The appointment puts an investor in charge of the unit that researches sustainability issues and devises investment strategies to address how they affect GIC's portfolio.

Wong first worked at GIC from 2010 to 2017, covering Japan and oil markets as a macro analyst and Asia Pacific telecoms on the equity side. He then worked at Hong Kong-based PAG as a senior analyst covering hardware technology, telecoms, energy, autos and education. He rejoined GIC in 2019 and has been in the Sustainability Office since it was set up in 2022. That background covers the sectors most exposed to the energy transition.

In the announcement, Wong set out three priorities: invest in the energy transition only where the economics are sound and the thesis holds across policy regimes; find profitable adaptation and resilience opportunities as demand for climate solutions accelerates; and manage physical risk before it turns into losses in assets and companies. He described climate change as a force reshaping economies, industries and asset values.

Wong pitches in terms of investment theses, policy-agnostic economics and loss avoidance, not reporting frameworks. Climate mandates will go to managers who argue in return-on-capital terms, not to those who make net-zero pledges. The Sustainability Office will be measured by the same yardstick as any other GIC investment unit.