(Top L-R) Nest’s April Clark and BESTrustees’ Alison Creasy. (Middle L-R) Muse Advisory’s Paul Armitage and the BT Pension Scheme’s Ricky Henderson and Pauline Rourke. (Bottom L-R) Sackers’ Emmijo Barwe, Susannah Hill, Will Dillon and Ciara Burke.
This week’s movers include those at Nest, Muse Advisory, Brunel, Sackers, and the BT Pension Scheme, among others.
Nest appoints April Clark as chief people officer
1 November
Nest Corporation has appointed April Clark as its chief people officer (CPO) of the Nest pension scheme.
The provider said the role is a new addition to Nest's executive team and underscored the importance it places on having the right capability, capacity, and culture within its organisation.
At Nest, Clark will focus on ensuring that the scheme can deliver on its purpose and thrive in an increasingly competitive and complex market.
Clark has previously held senior positions in several leading organisations including Saga Insurance, Aon, and Prudential.
Nest chief executive Ian Cornelius said: "With April on board, we are confident that we will continue to build a strong, vibrant culture that supports our strategic goals and enables us to serve our members effectively. Her leadership will be pivotal in ensuring that we have the right talent and culture to meet the challenges ahead.
"I'm looking forward to April joining us and taking up this key leadership role as we embark upon the next stage of our transformation journey."
Clark added: "Nest has a remarkable reputation for its commitment to providing financial security and peace of mind to its members.
"I look forward to working with the team at Nest to shape our people strategy and foster the culture we need to achieve our purpose, delivering on our promise to members. Together, we will continue to build on Nest's impressive achievements so far, harnessing the power of our unique purpose to drive forward our mission in an ever-evolving landscape."
By Jonathan Stapleton
Muse Advisory appoints Paul Armitage
1 November
Muse Advisory has appointed Paul Armitage to take the lead on its defined contribution (DC) and employee benefits support to clients.
The advisory firm said Armitage's role will include providing support to companies and trustees in the review and selection of workplace pension scheme providers, supporting the selection of DC consultants to own-trust schemes, and undertaking ongoing support for governance committees established to oversee DC arrangements.
Until recently Armitage was a partner at XPS Pensions Group, leading the National Pension Trust. He has previously held a senior role at Aegon and led the DC and employee benefits practice within HSBC Actuaries and Consultants and JLT Employee Benefits.
Muse Advisory chief executive Ian McQuade said "We have known Paul for many years, and he has a real depth of knowledge across the DC market. We are so pleased that he has chosen to work with the Muse team at this really exciting time in our growth. He will be able to help us support more companies and trustees across the DC and employee benefits space, bringing our independence to bear to ensure they find the right solutions and support."
Commenting on his appointment, Armitage said "This exciting new role complements my other commitments perfectly."
He said the Muse team had substantial expertise – having experience of running DC administration at both third-party administrators and insurers; as well as experience in leading DC consulting businesses and master trusts, both from a provider and trustee point of view.
Armitage noted: "We have a breadth of experience that is second to none in this space. I look forward to working with our clients and supporting more in the future."
By Jonathan Stapleton
Brunel CIO to depart after four years in the role
31 October
Brunel Pension Partnership chief investment officer David Vickers is set to leave the role in the Spring after four years.
Prior to joining the Local Government Pension Scheme pool, Vickers was managing director of multi assets at Russell Investments and was also a fund manager partner at Sarasin & Partners.
Brunel has begun its process of finding a successor.
The organisation said Vickers has been a "key player" in its net-zero journey and is "enormously grateful" for his commitment to the organisation.
By Holly Roach
Sackers appoints four associates
31 October
Sackers has appointed Emmijo Barwe, Susannah Hill, Will Dillon and Ciara Burke as associates, taking the total number of lawyers at the firm to 73.
Barwe joins from Burges Salmon; Hill trained at Slaughter and May and qualified in 2023; and Dillon and Burke are newly qualified and join from Linklaters and Pinsent Masons respectively.
At Sackers the four will be advising trustee and employer clients on a range of pension issues relating to their defined benefit and defined contribution arrangements.
Sackers partner David Saunders said: "Our latest arrivals demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that we have sufficient capacity both to deliver the high-quality advice and service that our existing clients expect, and resource the continuing stream of new appointments we have won.
"They also show that we continue to be the law firm of choice for lawyers wanting to pursue a career in pensions and retirement savings. We are delighted to welcome them all to Sackers."
By Holly Roach
BTPS appoints two trustee directors
29 October
The BT Pension Scheme (BTPS) has appointed Ricky Henderson and Pauline Rourke as trustee directors.
Henderson has been with BT Group for 45 years and was a Communication Workers Union (CWU) representative for a large portion of his career. He has also been a non-executive director at NHS Lothian and is currently a member of Employment Tribunals Scotland and chair of the CWU Edinburgh, Dundee and Borders branch.
Rourke joined BT in 1979 and has 45 years of service. She has worked at the CWU and is currently an assistant branch secretary for CWU and a general council member of the Scottish TUC.
Henderson succeeds Andy Kerr who died in August, and Rourke replaces Beryl Shepherd who retired earlier this year.
Commenting on the appointments, BTPS chair Jill Mackenzie said: "I am delighted to welcome Ricky and Pauline to the trustee board. Their extensive experience and dedication will be invaluable as we continue to serve our members. I look forward to working with both of them."
By Holly Roach
BESTrustees appoints professional trustee
28 October
BESTrustees has appointed Alison Creasy as a professional trustee.
Creasy joins from Capital Cranfield where she has worked as a professional trustee since 2012. Prior to this, she worked as a pension consultant and actuary for a variety of organisations including Skipton Building Society, KPMG and Barnett Waddingham.
As a professional trustee, she has worked with defined benefit (DB), defined contribution and hybrid schemes across a range of sectors and brings expertise in preparing DB schemes for the journey to buy-in and wind-up.
Creasy's appointment follows the appointments of Keith Burgess, Sue Hunter, Russell Baird and Peter Redhead.
BESTrustees chair Ann Rigby said: "This year has been a year of fantastic growth for us and Alison is now the fifth new trustee to join since the beginning of the year - and the first to join us from another trustee firm. We are excited to welcome her and are thrilled she chose BESTrustees to continue her work as a professional trustee, for which she has a terrific reputation."
Creasy added: "I am delighted to be joining BESTrustees. BESTrustees rightly has a great reputation in the industry and a fantastic team of professional trustees. I am really looking forward to representing them on my client schemes."
By Martin Richmond
