Ärzteversorgung Westfalen-Lippe (ÄVWL), the pension fund for doctors in Germany’s Westphalia-Lippe region, has expanded its management team, creating three main business divisions, a strategic step necessary to face upcoming challenges, the scheme said.
The new management structure now includes three members – chief investment officer Markus Altenhoff, Ulrich Sonnemann and Christian Koopmann – compared to two members previously.
The pension scheme has reshuffled its management team following the departure of chief executive officer Christian Mosel, one of the two members of the team, alongside CIO Altenhoff.
It has decided to take the strategic step to build a “modern corporate management” structure taking into account growing legal, organisational, technical and supervisory requirements, and making “the pension fund fit for the future,” it said in a statement.
The three managing directors will closely cooperate going forward, in a bid to create more efficient processes and better bundle expertise to work on projects, the scheme added.
Going forward, Altenhoff, who has been at ÄVWL since 2004, will remain responsible for asset allocation, including securities and loans, as well as real estate portfolio management, technical real estate management and now also ESG coordination.
ÄVWL, with €14.86bn assets under management, returned 4.1% net in 2023, according to the latest financial statement available.
The scheme invests a large share of assets (65%) in securities and alternatives. It has also boosted fixed income by buying bonds worth €280m with a 4.49% coupon, it added.
Sonnemann, who has been at ÄVWL since 2009, most recently serving as head of the human resources and business development department, will be responsible for the internal administration division as the new managing director.
The internal administration division focuses on topics including actuarial science/risk controlling, human resources, law, including data protection and compliance, finance, communication and general administration, the scheme said.
Koopmann, who has been at ÄVWL since 2015, was previously head of the members and pensions department.
In his new role as managing director, Koopmann will lead the insurance operations and IT division, focusing on topics relating to statutory and benefit law, the support of pension fund members and of members who already receive a pension, digitalisation and further development of the pension fund’s IT infrastructure, it added.
The chair of the management committee, Peter Czeschinski, said: “By appointing the new management [team], we have created the basis for meeting the increasing expectations of the pension fund.”
He added: “The division into three business areas allows us to comprehensively cover the diverse tasks and to continue to make the pension fund sustainable both internally and externally. I am convinced that the many years of experience and specialist knowledge of the three managing directors will make a decisive contribution to developing innovative solutions and making processes more efficient in order to further improve the service for our members.”
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