Border to Coast Pensions Partnership has named John Lister as its new chair of the board, succeeding Chris Hitchen from 1 October 2025, subject to regulatory approval.
The appointment, unanimously approved at the investment pool’s annual general meeting (AGM) on 16 July, was announced alongside its 2024/25 annual report and accounts, which highlighted £178.7m in (€207m) cumulative cost savings and £55.4bn in partner fund assets under management or oversight.
Lister brings more than 30 years of executive experience, largely at Aviva Group, and almost a decade in non-executive roles across major UK financial institutions. He previously served as chair of Phoenix Group Life Companies and held senior roles including chief risk officer at Aviva and chief financial officer at Aviva UK Life.
Lister will join Border to Coast on 1 September as chair-elect before formally taking over the role in October.
He will lead the Board through its next strategic phase and act as an ambassador to stakeholders and government amid anticipated reforms to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
George Jabbour, chair of the Border to Coast joint committee, said: “Chris Hitchen has been instrumental in establishing Border to Coast and overseeing its success to date […] Following a competitive search, we’re really pleased to have John joining Border to Coast. This is a critical appointment […] and he has a high calibre of skills and experience which will place us on excellent footing for the organisation’s next chapter.”
Commenting on his appointment, Lister said: “I’m arriving at Border to Coast at an exciting time of change in the LGPS […] I enjoy working for companies that make a positive impact on society and Border to Coast firmly fits that mould.”
Most recently, the pool launched its first index proposition, enabling partner funds to pool £2.6bn of assets into a customisable strategy and significantly reduce costs, and is now preparing to launch a green, social and sustainability bonds (GSS) fund.
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Venilia is editor of IPE.com.
She joined the IPE editorial team in November 2019 after freelancing for FT Adviser and LAPF Investments, while also being a publisher for market intelligence company Clear Path Analysis.
She started her career at Euromoney Institutional Investor where for 16 years was reporter and editor covering the asset management industry globally.View full Profile
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