FTX-Gisele Partnership Highlights Risks of Celebrity ESG Roles

When lawmakers and regulators who wrangle over environmental, social and governance issues traveled through Union Station in Washington this summer, they likely passed beneath a billboard showcasing the new ESG advisor for the cryptocurrency platform FTX: Gisele Bundchen.

After its catastrophic collapse in November, investors sued not only FTX but its supermodel backer as well, for endorsing the exchange in what they alleged to be a kind of star-studded Ponzi scheme.

The case stands as a stark reminder of how the rise of celebrity endorsers of corporate sustainability efforts has created risks for both the companies and the bold-faced names ...