Mark Watson, the former head of sustainability for John Swire & Sons, has joined leadership consulting firm Teneo as head of environmental, social and governance (ESG) advisory for Asia Pacific.
Watson moved on from Swire earlier this month after 14 years with the conglomerate. He was replaced by Mark Harper.
His newly created role, based in Hong Kong, will involve advising chief executives, boards and management teams on ESG strategy. Teneo also has regional offices in Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Melbourne and Sydney.
Watson brings 25 years of experience in sustainability to the role, including as head of environmental affairs at Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific, head of corporate environmental affairs at Society of British Aerospace Companies and policy advisor at London-based Energy Retail Association.
He will work with Teneo’s New York-based chair of global ESG advisory Gabrielle Sulzberger, who was appointed last year.
Sulzberger said Watson’s appointment was a key development in building Teneo’s ESG advisory capabilities in Asia Pacific.
“Mark has extensive experience guiding one of Asia’s largest conglomerates on developing and executing against their ESG ambitions and stakeholder expectations, which will be invaluable to our client base in the region and globally,” she said.
Watson said he was excited by the opportunity “to support Teneo’s clients as they make and deliver on their ESG-related pledges, even as geopolitical, macroeconomic and climate factors pose unprecedented challenges to business models and operational approaches.”
