AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) has expanded its responsible investment team with the hiring of Olivier Eugène as head of climate and Liudmila Strakodonskaya as ESG analyst.

Mr Eugene has performed multiple roles at the investment firm for the past 14 years, initially joining in 2007 as an equity portfolio manager to work on European and global equities. His work specialised on the coverage of the energy, materials and industrial sectors. Most recently, Olivier was co-portfolio manager of the AXA WF Framlington Sustainable Europe fund.

In his new position, Mr Eugene will work on reinforcing AXA IM’s Research on Climate, with a focus on the transition to Net Zero ambitions. He will aim to increase the company’s involvement in various climate initiatives such as Climate Action 100+ and strengthen AXA IM’s expertise on climate-related topics across all sectors.

Ms Strakodonskaya joins AXA IM from Eleva Capital, where she worked as an ESG and SRI specialist in 2019, where she developed a sustainable strategy for the company and represented the company to the UN PRI.

As an ESG analyst, she will provide thematic research and analysis on ESG topics with a specific focus on biodiversity as well as on green & sustainable bonds.

Reporting to Virginie Derue, head of ESG research, they will both support AXA IM’s active engagement initiatives, further developing its relationships with companies and corporations.