Mr Umunna, whose political career nosedived when he walked out on Labour to help set up the ill-fated Change UK party before briefly joining the Lib Dems, will work on JP Morgan’s new sustainability-focused financing wing. The 42-year-old, who was an employment lawyer before becoming a Labour MP in 2010, joins the US bank from global communications firm Edelman.
He will also be standing down from a string of non-executive director roles to take the job at the Wall Street company.
His appointment was confirmed in an internal email to staff.
It says: “Chuka Umunna will join the firm in the newly created role of head of EMEA ESG.
“In this role, he will work closely with the firm’s regional and global ESG stakeholders and partner with teams across all lines of business to help our clients successfully navigate the evolving ESG landscape.”
Mr Umunna will advise JP Morgan’s corporate clients on how to make their investments, takeover deals and fundraising more sustainable and socially responsible.
Demand for ESG advisory services has grown in recent years as asset managers put pressure on companies that fail to address the climate crisis.
JP Morgan said it had established itself as a leader in the field of ESG by carefully co-ordinating a global strategy around its own policies and our offering to clients.
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The company said ESG considerations were now having an impact on everything from corporate finance strategies and investment flows to day-to-day operational decisions and capital allocation, forcing clients to examine how they may need to adapt their business models.
The bank’s latest big-name signing was Labour MP for Streatham in south London for nine years until 2019.
He briefly entered the race to become Labour leader when Ed Miliband quit in 2015 but pulled out over fears over the impact the increased level of attention would have on him and his family.
Former chancellor Sajid Javid was hired as a senior adviser to the bank last year although he still an MP.
Another former chancellor, George Osborne, took up a full-time role earlier this month as a partner at the London-based boutique investment bank Robey Warshaw.
