Susana Peñarrubia began her career in finance at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson as a multi-product fixed income sales specialist before joining a leading European asset management company in 2001. Since then, she has held several senior roles within the firm, including serving as Head of the Utilities Research Team. Over the course of her career, she has spent 14 years managing equity ESG portfolios and 20 years working as an equity analyst, consistently focusing on the integration of sustainability into investment decision-making.
She holds a Master’s degree in Economics (Licenciada en Económicas) from the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) and pursued further academic studies at Leeds Polytechnic (UK), Fachhochschule für Wirtschaft Pforzheim, and Hochschule für Bankwirtschaft Frankfurt. She is a CFA Charter holder and a Certified ESG Analyst (CESGA).
Since 2011, she has worked at the intersection of ESG integration, investment research, and active ownership. In her current role as Head of ESG Integration – Active Investment Management and Co-Chair of the Engagement Council, she develops and oversees frameworks that embed ESG considerations across all stages of the active investment process—including issuer analysis, valuation, portfolio construction, and engagement. She provides strategic direction to investment teams, ensures ESG risks and opportunities are systematically assessed, and contributes to aligning engagement outcomes with proxy voting practices.
In addition to her professional responsibilities, she is actively involved in ESG education and capacity building across the investment industry. She contributed to the development and dissemination of the CESGA program by EFFAS, which has become a leading ESG certification for financial professionals. She regularly leads training sessions, webinars, and conferences to support analysts and portfolio managers in integrating sustainability metrics into financial models, interpreting ESG disclosures, and applying ESG insights in engagement and voting activities.
