The European head of socially-responsible investing at pensions consultancy Mercer has jumped ship to rival Towers Watson, which is building its expertise in the field in response to political pressure on investors to do more to hold companies to account.

Emma Hunt will become a senior investment consultant at Towers, which is the firm's highest rank. She will work alongside Jane Goodland, Towers' existing SRI specialist, on assessing asset managers' commitment to good corporate governance and social responsibility.