Border to Coast hires Jessie Wilson

3 February

Border to Coast Pensions Partnership (BCPP) has appointed Jessie Wilson as customer relationship manager.

Wilson joins from Dalriada Trustees where she was a professional trustee on several of the firm's sole trustee appointments as well as an investment specialist and member of its investment sub-committee.

She was also a spokesperson for ESG at the firm and held marketing responsibilities in the North East of England.

By Jonathan Stapleton

Richard Giles to take on trustee role at United Utilities Pension Scheme

3 February

Richard Giles is set to start a new role as member of the board of trustees and chair of the investment committee at the £4bn United Utilities Pension Scheme.

Giles - who will start his role at the United Utilities scheme on 1 July this year - is currently also vice-chairman of the board at The Scottish Public Pensions Agency; chairman and director of Ilkley Town Football Club; and a board member and chair of the finance and risk committee at Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust.

Prior to taking on his current roles, Giles held positions including head of the Teachers Pension Scheme at Capita; strategic partnerships director at TPT Retirement Solutions; and partner at PwC. He also worked for 17 years at Mercer, where he was an actuary and partner.

By Jonathan Stapleton

Royal Mail's Ian McKnight and Ben Piggott move to BlackRock

2 February

Royal Mail Pensions Trustees chief investment officer Ian McKnight and defined contribution (DC) plan secretary Ben Piggott have moved to BlackRock after the Royal Mail Pension Plan selected BlackRock to manage its £8.8bn assets as an outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO).

McKnight - who has been CIO of the Royal Mail Pension Trustees since 2009 - has become chief investment officer for clients at Black Rock.

Piggott - who was both secretary to the trustees of the DC plan at Royal Mail and also worked on the firm's defined benefit investment portfolio, leading its climate impact project - will become vice-president at BlackRock.

McKnight and Piggott are two of the three who have moved from Royal Mail to BlackRock as a result of the OCIO deal.

By Jonathan Stapleton

Redington appoints chief people officer

2 February

Redington has promoted Katherine FitzGerald to the new role of chief people officer, where she will join the firm's executive leadership team.

FitzGerald joined Redington as head of people in 2020. In her new role, the consultancy firm said she will focus on maintaining the company's inclusive culture in order to boost outcomes for both employees and clients.

Chief executive Sylvia Pozezanac said: "The most critical driver of our success at Redington is our talented team and we are thrilled to recognise this by creating a new executive role. We are proud to appoint Katherine as our chief people officer.

"Katherine has had a significant since joining Redington and this promotion reflects her many contributions and skills. I look forward to continuing to work with her in this new capacity."

FitzGerald added: "The opportunity to work as part of Redington's executive leadership team, transforming our people agenda excites me. Culture, our people and how we treat each other is paramount at Redington and we will continue to stive to create an environment which fosters integrity, diversity, inclusivity and open communication."

By Martin Richmond

Zedra appoints client director

2 February

Zedra has appointed Daniel Walsh as client director and head of governance advisory arrangement (GAA) research.

Walsh, who will be based at Zedra's Leeds office, will take a leading role in shaping the firm's GAA research to provide economical reporting on the value for money of defined contribution pensions.

He previously served as head of fiduciary management at Isio.

Zedra managing director Kim Nash said: "At Zedra, our people are a key differentiator, and when it comes to trusteeship the fit of the individual is crucial. There needs to be first-class technical experience, but what makes a great trustee is their people skills- supporting individuals with often difference focuses and agendas to work together; understanding and being adaptable to culture and tone; and being able to challenge effectively.

"We invest in a pool of diverse talent, recruiting energetic and pragmatic individuals with different styles and approaches. Daniel is an experienced strategic thinker with an outward-looking approach, and he will be an excellent addition to our team."

Walsh added: "The professional trustee market remains a real growth area and Zedra are at the forefront. Their forward-thinking approach to trusteeship, along with their diverse range of services, makes them a really appealing team to work with. I am looking forward to getting involved in new areas but ultimately my goal remains the same, to help clients to achieve their objectives in a straightforward manner."

By Martin Richmond

ECPA elects new chair

2 February

The Employer Covenant Practitioners Association (ECPA) has elected Guy Mander to the role of chair, from his vice-chair role, following the company's annual general meeting.

In his new role, Mander will focus on to expand the voices of covenant practitioners and drive debate on key topics such as the new defined benefit (DB) funding code. He currently serves as partner at RSM and has led the company's covenant advisory team since 2015.

He succeeds Karina Brooks as chair, while Lane Clark & Peacock partner Francesca Bailey will succeed Mander as ECPA vice-chair.

Mander said: "It is an honour to be invited to lead this organisation of industry peers and build on the tremendous progress made by Karina and her predecessors in championing the critical role that covenant assessment plays in ensuring DB schemes are properly funded and members' benefits protected. Over the years, ECPA has driven and promoted best practice in this complex and challenging area, and we are delighted to see that covenant is now being embedded in legislation for the first time.

"I take over during what promises to be an evolutionary first year for the industry following the issue of The Pensions Regulator's long-awaited second consultation on the new draft DB funding code and a new consultation on its proposed fast track and regulator approach late last year."

By Martin Richmond

Law Debenture Group hires corporate secretarial services director

1 February

The Law Debenture Group has appointed Patrick Davis as a director in its corporate secretarial services team.

Davis will focus on delivering board and committee governance to clients across the financial services industry, as well as other regulated sectors. He previously served as general counsel and company secretary for CMC Markets.

Head of corporate secretarial services Trish Houston said: "I am delighted to welcome Patrick to the Law Debenture team. His extensive legal and compliance experience will be of huge value to our clients from all sectors, but in particular those operating within regulated industries who are facing increasingly complex regulatory requirements.

"He brings a solutions-focused approach and a practical, operational understanding of strategy, which is perfectly aligned with our focus on delivering peace of mind for clients while developing leading-edge solutions."

By Martin Richmond

Aon appoints CCO for UK retirement

1 February

Trevor Brooks has become chief commercial officer for UK retirement at Aon.

Brooks, a partner at Aon, has worked in a variety of people leader and client relationship roles since he joined Aon in 2006. Prior to this, he was a trainee actuary at Mercer.

By Jonathan Stapleton

Broadstone hires two senior investment consultants

1 February

Broadstone has appointed Rosalind Scott-Douglas and Rachel Titchen as senior consultants in the firm's investment consulting team.

Scott-Douglas will lead the firm's investment consulting team in Scotland. She previously worked as the head of Schroders' fiduciary management advisory team.

Titchen will lead the Redditch-based investment consulting team, having previously worked as an investment consultant for Hymans Robertson.

Head of investment consulting Marc Devereux said: "I am delighted to welcome both Rachel and Rosalind to our team. Their experience and commitment to high quality and clear investment advice will be invaluable for our clients, especially as we navigate such uncertain times."

By Martin Richmond

Aimse Europe appoints new chair

31 January

Aimse Europe, the Association of Investment Management Sales Executives in Europe has announced the appointment of Columbia Threadneedle consultant relations director Ashley Manning-Brown (left) as its new chair.

Manning-Brown takes over from Loomis Sayles' Chris Yiannakou after his three year stint leading the not-for-profit organisation. Chris will remain on the board.

Commenting on his appointment, Manning-Brown said: "It is an honour to be appointed chair of Aimse Europe. I believe passionately in supporting investment sales executives and marketing professionals to develop the skills and knowledge that they need to be successful and professional in their roles. The work of Aimse supports this through our events and, recently launched, mentoring programme.

"I'd like to put on record Aimse's thanks for the work that Chris has done leading the Aimse board. His dedication and commitment to Aimse has been nothing short of immense, particularly in steering Aimse successfully through the pandemic."

Yiannakou added: "It has been a challenging few years overseeing Aimse with our events programme having to quickly pivot online temporarily because of the global pandemic. But the not-for-profit organisation has continued to go from strength to strength and I am proud of the role that Aimse volunteers have played in running events and developing new initiatives to support investment sales and marketing executives. I'm looking forward to continuing to support Ashley and wish him all the best going forward."

Aimse Europe is a not for profit organisation serving the professional needs of investment management sales and marketing professionals in Europe - running a series of conferences, roundtables and other events for its member organisations.

By Jonathan Stapleton

Standard Life appoints senior retirement lead

31 January

Standard Life has appointed Jeetesh Patel as head of reinsurance and structuring in the latest promotion within its retirement solutions division.

Patel previously worked as senior structurer at the insurer, which is part of Phoenix Group, and succeeds Kunal Sood in the role, who was also recently promoted.

In Patel's new role, he will grow the group's reinsurance partnerships, expand its reinsurance capabilities, and deliver its reinsurance strategy to support Standard Life's bulk purchase annuity (BPA) business.

Patel will report to Sood, who was recently promoted to managing director of defined benefit (DB) solutions and reinsurance.

Standard Life managing director of retirement solutions Tom Ground said: "Our retirement solutions business has undergone huge development over the last few years and Jeetesh's appointment reflects the rapid growth of this key area for Standard Life.

"We have continued to invest heavily in our DB solutions business, which resulted in completing £4.8bn of BPA premiums in 2022 and secured the benefits for around 40,000 DB scheme members.

"Jeetesh's well-deserved promotion forms part of the business' wider, long-term strategy to position retirement solutions as a market leader in the long-term savings space, ensuring good consumer outcomes in their journey to and through retirement.

"Jeetesh has been an instrumental part of our reinsurance efforts and his expertise and knowledge make him well placed to build on the successes seen by his predecessor, Kunal, as we continue to grow our reinsurer partnerships and support Standard Life's BPA business."

By Jasmine Urquhart

Cartwright appoints scheme actuary

30 January

Cartwright has appointed Stephen Carey as scheme actuary.

Carey, who has 13 years' pensions experience, joins from Premier Pensions Management, and previously worked at Aon. He is also a fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

Carey will take on a portfolio of small and medium-sized schemes at the firm and will be based out of its Godalming office.

Cartwright head of pensions strategy Jonathan Seed said: "In his previous roles Stephen has dealt with trustees across the spectrum of small to medium schemes so brings valuable knowledge and experience.

"He has also worked with corporate clients on liability management and year end accounting services giving him a real top-down view. We welcome him to the team."

Carey said: "What appealed to me most about Cartwright was the culture and ethos of the organisation, alongside their client focused approach. There are not many firms in the market that can claim to be truly independent and have such a mix of longevity and expertise among the team.

"This kind of diverse and creative environment gives a unique approach to thinking, ensuring client issues are tackled from all angles, giving a truly bespoke service."

By Jasmine Urquhart

L&G chief executive Nigel Wilson set to retire

30 January

Legal & General (L&G) chief executive (CEO) Nigel Wilson is set to retire, after more than a decade in the role.

Wilson joined L&G in 2009 as its chief financial officer and was appointed as CEO in 2012.

According to the firm, Wilson will remain in the role until a replacement has been found, a process that it expects to take around a year.

In a statement, Wilson said: "L&G has been a big part of my life and my decision to retire from the group has been taken with mixed emotions."

He said it had been an "honour and privilege" to be chief executive and he was "deeply proud of everything we have achieved".

During his tenure as CEO, L&G made a total return of 276.5%, according to FE fundinfo data, besting the FTSE 100 over the same period, which grew 107.2%.

Wilson was knighted for services to the Financial Services Industry and Regional Development in the 2022 New Year's Honours List.

L&G chair John Kingman thanked Wilson for his fourteen years at the company, and said he was a "world-class leader who has worked with great passion and energy, and we have been very fortunate to have had his vision, drive and commitment".

He said that in his tenure, Wilson had "steered the group into a position of strength" from which he said it will "continue developing on behalf of its shareholders, customers and people".

This story was written by Eve Maddock-Jones originally for PP's sister title Investment Week