ATP, Bfinance, PKS, Partners Group, Amundi, Aon Denmark, Cardano, Dufas, PSP Investment Board, Societe Generale

ATPKim Kehlet Johansen has been appointed as the new chief risk officer at Denmark’s largest pension fund ATP. He replaces Mads Smith Hansen who has decided to leave the fund in order to take a career break.

Kehlet Johansen has worked at SEB Pension – previously Codan Pension – for the last 21 years, most recently as mathematical director. SEB Pension in Denmark was sold to Danica Pension in June.

Smith Hansen has been working at ATP for just over two years, and his responsibilities have included the ATP’s Lifelong Pension product as well as risk management at the organisation.


Bfinance – The investment consultancy has hired Sweta Chattopadhyay to lead its private equity advice practice. Chattopadhyay was most recently a senior investment manager at RPMI Railpen, the in-house manager for the UK’s £27bn (€30bn) railways pension scheme, where she was responsible for leading private equity and debt investments and formulating investment strategy. She was also involved in building the scheme’s co-investment programme.

Before joining Railpen, Chattopadhyay worked at private equity firm Adveq, the Universities Superannuation Scheme, and ABN Amro.

Bfinance said its private markets advice arm had expanded significantly in recent years in response to “the increasing control and sophistication sought by investors in their private equity investment strategies, including greater use of co-investments and direct investments”.


Pensionskasse des Kantons Schwyz (PKS) – Viktor Reichmuth, head of the CHF2.2bn (€1.9bn) pension fund for the canton of Schwyz in central Switzerland, will retire at the beginning of October. Reichmuth joined PKS in 1989. The pension fund has initiated the process to appoint a successor, it said today.   


Partners Group  – The €67bn private markets manager has announced that David Layton will succeed Christoph Rubeli  as co-chief executive officer on 1 January 2019. Layton will join co-CEO André Frei, who has held the role alongside Rubeli since 2013. 

Layton is currently head of private equity at Partners Group, where he has worked since 2005. He helped develop Partners’ direct private equity business and established its regional headquarters for the Americas in Denver in the US.

Rubeli joined Partners in 1998 from UBS and helped build the Swiss company’s global investment business, particularly in Asia. Upon stepping down from the co-CEO role and the executive committee, he will continue at the company as a partner with the intention of growing the company’s global business.


Amundi – Europe’s biggest asset manager has appointed David Harte as CEO of its Irish business. His new role is in addition to his existing responsibilities as deputy head of Amundi’s operations, services and technology division.

Harte joined Amundi last year as part of its acquisition of Pioneer Investments, where he was global chief operating officer. Prior to joining Pioneer in 2003 he was COO at Bear Stearns in Dublin.


Aon Denmark – Jesper Ejsing has been hired by Aon Denmark as senior risk management consultant within the consultancy’s enterprise risk management business. Ejsing, who began his career at Aon Denmark in 1997, has since worked for various companies including Vestas, DHL Nordic and FLSmidth. Aon said the expansion of the specialist team was part of its strategy to “be a leader in insurance, risk management, retirement and health”.


Cardano – Advisory firm Cardano has appointed Roel Mehlkopf as a pension fund adviser in its client servicing and advice division, effective from October. He joins from pensions supervisor De Nederlandsche Bank where he is a senior policy adviser.

Prior to this, Mehlkopf was senior policy adviser at the Netherlands’ ministry of social affairs, advising former state secretary Jetta Klijnsma on updates to the financial assessment framework and legislation to introduce drawdown pensions.

Mehlkopf started his career at the Netherlands’ Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis as a project leader for the analysis of generational effects of previous pensions agreements. When he join Cardano he will remain affiliated with Tilburg University, where he is a part-time lecturer and a researcher for pensions think-tank Netspar.


DufasIris van de Looij is to take over as director at Dufas, the Dutch industry organisation for asset managers, investment institutions and custodians. She has been a co-director since April alongside from Hans Janssen Daalen, who is to leave later this year.

Van de Looij has more than 20 years of experience in investment, gained in management positions at Dutch banks MeesPierson and KBL European Private Bankers. As a consultant, she has supported several organisations in implementing the second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive.


Public Sector Pension Investment BoardEduard van Gelderen has started as chief investment officer at Canada’s CAD153bn (€101.2bn) Public Sector Pension Investment Board as of 1 August. He left his job as senior managing director of the €91bn investment management group of the University of California after less than a year in the role.

Until August last year, Van Gelderen was chief executive of the €470bn Dutch asset manager APG. His previous roles include deputy CIO at ING Investment Management, CIO at NIB Capital Asset Management, director of fixed income at M&G, managing director of fixed income at ABP Investments and marketing director at Cardano Risk Management.


Societe Generale – David Abitbol is to take over as the new head of Societe Generale Securities Services (SGSS) on 1 January 2019. He will succeed Bruno Prigent, who is to retire after 38 years with the French banking giant.

Abitbol is currently chief operating officer for Societe Generale’s Asian operations, based in Hong Kong. He will relocate to Paris for his new role. He has worked for SocGen since 1992.