HSBC’s chief sustainability officer, Celine Herweijer, will step down at year-end following a corporate reshuffle that downsized the bank’s executive committee, cutting out her position.

She will leave Dec. 31 to pursue new opportunities, the bank announced Monday. 

Julian Wentzel, HSBC’s head of global banking for the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, will assume the role of interim chief sustainability officer Jan. 1, the bank said. Wentzel joined HSBC in 2015 and previously served at Macquarie, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The bank is recruiting for a permanent CSO and will provide a further update “in due course,” it said.

Wentzel will report to CFO Pam Kaur, who until recently was the bank’s chief risk and compliance officer. 

The bank on Monday also named Richard Blackburn to serve as its interim risk and compliance chief, a position for which the bank is exploring internal and external candidates as a permanent replacement.

Blackburn, who has held various positions at HSBC since 2016, has been the bank’s global head of traded and treasury risk management and global analytics since June 2023, according to his LinkedIn.

Blackburn’s “recent experience of managing risks through the transformation of our European business will serve the Bank well as it progresses through the next stage of growth and development,” HSBC said.

HSBC did not respond to a request for comment.

Since 2021, Herweijer has overseen development of HSBC’s net zero strategy, including the establishment of science-based policies and decarbonization targets for HSBC’s financing portfolio.

In January, she launched HSBC’s first bankwide sustainability transformation plan.

“I am deeply proud of what we have achieved at HSBC to support the global sustainability agenda. I believe that HSBC - as one of the world’s largest banks - has a key role to play in financing the transition across the global economy and supporting our customers,” Herweijer said in a prepared statement. “I wish [HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery] and the team all the best on the critical journey ahead as they shape the next stage of executing on HSBC’s net zero ambition.”

Elhedery declined to comment to Reuters last month on the implications of her removal from HSBC’s decision making body, but said the bank “remains committed to supporting the transition to net zero.”