HSBC announced the appointment of Julian Wentzel as its new Group Chief Sustainability Officer, according to an internal memo seen by ESG Today.

Wentzel takes on the role after serving as interim Group Chief Sustainability Officer at HSBC following the departure in late 2024 of the bank’s CSO Celine Herweijer. Herweijer left the bank shortly after a restructuring decision by HSBC in October to replace its 18-member Group Executive Committee with a leaner 12-member Group Operating Committee, with the Chief Sustainability Officer no longer included on the bank’s leading decision-making executive committee.

Wentzel joined HSBC in 2015, and has held a series of senior banking roles in the firm, most recently as Head of Global Banking, MENAT, as well as having served as Head of Global Banking UK and International Europe and Head of Banking for HSBC Africa. Prior to joining HSBC, he held several senior roles at Macquarie Group, including heading the Cash Equities Division for Macquarie in Europe.

In a post announcing his appointment, Wentzel said:

“Supporting the transition to net zero is a priority for HSBC and for the customers we serve. In my previous roles, I’ve worked at the forefront of supporting our customers – some of whom face the most ambitious and challenging transitions – to finance and deliver against their sustainability ambitions and to identify innovative solutions to enable their progress.

“I am looking forward to leveraging this experience at greater scale as we work with our customers to support them in continuing to advance their transition priorities, and to realise the benefits of a more resilient global economy for our businesses, our shareholders, and the markets we operate in.”