Elena Manola-Bonthond, chief invesment officer of the CHF4.4bn (€4.1bn) CERN Pension Fund, has been chosen to chair a committee that the Standards Board for Alternative Investments (SBAI) has established to focus on its work in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
The SBAI said membership of the 11-strong committee would generally be split equally across asset owners and investors.
Representatives of the former on the new committee include Roy Kuo, team head, alternative strategies at Church Commissioners for England; Kai Rimpi, head of hedge funds at Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company; and Patrick Bronger, expert portfolio manager at APG Asset Management.
Doc Horn, head of total return equities at Pictet Asset Management, has been named deputy chair of the new EMEA committee.
It is the SBAI’s third regional committee. Managers from Europe, including the UK, account for 35% of the SBAI’s signatories and institutional investors in Europe account for 32% of its “Investor Chapter” members.
CERN’s Manola-Bonthond said: “I am honoured to chair the SBAI’s EMEA committee to help further the important work and growing adoption of the alternative investment standards in this region.
“As a global investor, having agreed standards facilitates our due diligence and raises the quality of manager practices for the benefit of all market participants.”
Mario Therrien, chair of the SBAI, said: “We are excited about the launch of the EMEA committee and are grateful for the support of the industry leaders who agreed to serve as its members.
“While the SBAI’s standards are universal in nature, it is important that we have industry leaders to address unique topics and facilitate the dialogue between regional asset owners, managers and regulators.”
Therrien is head of strategic partnerships for developed markets at Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, and was appointed SBAI chair in April, alongside Luke Ellis, CEO of Man Group as deputy chair.
