WTS Advisory acquires Georg Schürmann as Of Counsel for ESG advisory services

DEAL NEWS

WTS Advisory welcomes Georg Schürmann as new Of Counsel. The former Managing Director of Triodos Bank Germany is one of the pioneers in the field of sustainable finance and will support clients in the development of sustainability strategies and communication with investors.

“Driven by the EU Green Deal and EU climate policy, banks, funds and other capital providers are important factors in the sustainability transformation of the German economy. This can cause companies to worry about future financing. For companies, this means that they must have a solid ESG strategy in order to remain an attractive investment target on the capital market and for investors,” explains Nikolaus Färber, CEO of WTS Advisory.

Färber adds: “With Georg Schürmann, we have gained a pioneer in his field who will strategically support our clients in understanding which criteria investors consider important in their investment decisions from an ESG perspective.”

Georg Schürmann was Managing Director of the Dutch sustainability bank Triodos in Germany from 2009 to April 2024, before stepping down at his own request. Prior to that, he held various management positions at Deutsche Bank for 20 years. Schürmann is a member of the Sustainability Advisory Board of Barmenia Versicherung and the Diocesan Asset Management Board of the Diocese of Eichstätt and has been on the Supervisory Board of Oikocredit International, based in the Netherlands, since June 2024. He has also been a member of the German government's Sustainable Finance Advisory Board since 2019.

At WTS Advisory, Schürmann will work closely with ESG Lead Partner Michèle Färber on sustainability reporting in the context of the CSRD and on the implementation of the EU taxonomy. In addition, he will work with WTS Advisory Partner Harald von Heynitz in advising supervisory boards, in particular with regard to the expectations of investors on ESG issues and the due diligence obligations of management and supervisory boards.

“Many companies are already under considerable pressure today due to regulatory requirements such as the CSRD. In order to remain eligible for corporate financing in the future and to remain relevant within supply chains, an ESG strategy is essential. In WTS Advisory, I have found an ideal partner to pass on my knowledge in an advisory capacity in the future. I am very much looking forward to this,” explains Georg Schürmann.