Chuka Umunna interview: ‘What helps move the needle is us having a very intense dialogue with our clients on their business from a carbon-emitting point of view’

A former rising star in Britain’s Labour Party, Chuka Umunna is now tasked with achieving sustainable targets and promoting diversity in JP Morgan Chase bank while at the same time continuing to deliver for shareholders

Chuka Umunna, head of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region for JP Morgan Chase. Picture: Getty

When Chuka Umunna arrived in Ireland for meetings in Cork and Dublin last month, he found a very different country to the one he’d known previously.

The former British Labour MP and shadow secretary for business, who is now JP Morgan Chase’s head of environmental, social and governance (ESG) across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region has Irish familial connections through his mother’s side.

“I’m a quarter Irish,” Umunna told the Business Post, ...