People moves: Church Commissioners pick CEO

Church Commissioners for England – John Worth is being appointed chief executive officer of the Church Commissioners for England, responsible for managing one of the nation’s leading endowment funds, with a 320-year legacy.

Operating at the crossroads of capital markets, government, and the Church, the Commissioners’ mission is to steward the fund responsibly and sustainably in perpetuity.

“It is good to welcome John to this role as chief executive,” said Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell. “This appointment is a recognition of John’s significant abilities, and we are eager to see the positive impact he will bring.”

Alan Smith, the First Church Estates Commissioner said Worth “brings considerable commercial and financial expertise, and a depth and breadth as a leader which are an ideal match for the Church Commissioners in the next stage of our mission”.

Worth has worked extensively across financial services, particularly in the banking and insurance sectors, where he has held roles as chief financial officer, head of risk and head of IT. Most recently, he was CFO at insurer Hastings Group and has previously worked at Hiscox, Barclays, Prudential, EY, and PwC. He will assume his new role on 29 September.

Independent Governance Group (IGG) – The UK’s provider of professional pensions trusteeship and governance services has made two appointments to its growing business development team.

Charlie Stewart joins as client growth manager and brings with him nearly a decade of experience in investment consulting and portfolio strategy across the pensions sector. His expertise spans client advisory, technical strategy, and business development within leading pensions consultancies. A chartered financial analyst (CFA) with extensive experience advising trustees and pension scheme sponsors, Stewart was the day-to-day relationship manager for multiple defined benefit (DB) clients at Isio, delivering investment strategy, ESG training, TCFD compliance, and portfolio design.

Imran Rahim is IGG’s newly appointed business development manager, with over a decade of hands-on experience in business development and bid management across professional services, technology, and the public sector. Previously bid manager at First Actuarial, he is an expert in end-to-end business development strategy, stakeholder engagement, and the implementation of innovative tools and approaches.

Folketrygdfondet – Toril Eidesvik and Thale Kuvås Solberg have been appointed by the Norwegian Ministry of Finance as new members of the board of Folketrygdfondet, the manager of the Government Pension Fund Norway.

The appointments run from 16 May for four years. Eidesvik is board chair at the companies CFT Solutions, Zinus and Global Ocean Technology, and Kuvås Solberg is CEO of energy contractor EnergiPartner.

Meanwhile, Elisabeth Maråk Støle and Liselott Kilaas are stepping down from the Folketrygdfondet board, the ministry announced.

LGPS Central – Rajeev Mehta has been appointed as programme director.

Mehta is a multi-disciplinary senior change professional with a strong track record in delivering complex transformation and regulatory programmes in investment and asset management. He has led major programmes at Schroders, Deutsche Bank (DWS), HSBC Asset Management, Legal & General Investment Management, Aviva Investors, RBC BlueBay, and Barclays, covering sustainability operating model, IPO and transitions, large investment platform and systems implementations, and real assets transformation.

As LGPS Central continues to deliver on its strategic objectives and support the future of UK pooling, Mehta’s appointment will help drive forward the investment pool’s programme of innovation and development.

Versorgungsanstalt des Bundes und der Länder (VBL) – The €65bn German supplementary pension provider for public sector employees has appointed Christian Piwarz, the finance minister of the German state of Saxony, as the new alternating chair of the board of directors.

Piwarz succeeds Hartmut Vorjohann, who held the position for two years. Piwarz has been a board member since 18 April. He will lead the board with the chair of employee representatives, Detlef Raabe.

VBL’s board of directors consists of 38 members, half suggested by VBL’s sponsors and half recommended by trade unions.

Veritas – Seppo Kurki-Suonio has been appointed head of equities at Veritas, joining the Finnish pension insurance company from his previous job as head of equities at Finnish bank S-Pankki.

Before working at S-Pankki, Kurki-Suonio worked at mutual pension insurer Ilmarinen as senior portfolio manager.

Tikehau Capital – The global alternative asset management group has appointed Xavier Musca as chair of its supervisory board, succeeding Christian de Labriffe, who will continue to support the group in the role of special advisor.

This appointment, reviewed by the governance and sustainability committee, was approved by the members of the supervisory board at their meeting held on 16 May.

With a career spanning more than 40 years across the banking and broader financial sector, public administration and corporate governance, Musca brings to Tikehau Capital a wealth of strategic expertise and a deep understanding of global economic challenges. His leadership experience within major institutions will be instrumental in supporting Tikehau Capital’s long-term growth ambitions and global development.

In his new role, Musca will support Tikehau Capital in pursuing its strategic development in France and internationally, in the service of its clients and shareholders.

De Labriffe has played a key role in Tikehau Capital’s growth and transformation over the past 12 years. Drawing on his extensive experience in top-tier financial institutions and his longstanding support of Tikehau Capital, de Labriffe will continue to contribute as special advisor, providing valuable insight and expertise in the investment landscape.

HypoVereinsbank (HVB) – Markus Schmidt, director of asset management for the pension funds of Germany’s HypoVereinsbank, is leaving his post after 14 years.

Schmidt will leave HVB at the end of May. After a month-long vacation, he will embark on a “new adventure”, he said in a LinkedIn post.

“Fourteen years mark a milestone that naturally leads to a reflection on the future. For me, the next chapter means continuing to build robust and sustainable pension plans — something I have been passionate about throughout my time at HVB,” he said.

In the fourteen years spent as asset manager director of the HBV’s pension funds, Schmidt reshaped investment strategies, developed bespoke private market strategies, and implemented forward-looking risk management concepts.

TELA – Carl Pettersson, CEO of the Finnish mutual pensions insurance company Elo, has been elected as the new chair of the Finnish pensions alliance TELA. He is taking over from Risto Murto, CEO of Varma, who chaired the lobby group for two years.

Swedish Investment Fund Association (Fondbolagens förening) – Four new members of the board were elected at the industry body’s annual general meeting in May: Josefin Degerholm, the CEO of Nordea Funds; Jamal Abida Norling, CEO and CIO of Lannebo Kapitalförvaltning; Katarina Romberg, CEO of AMF Fonder, and Martin Öqvist, CEO of Cliens Kapitalförvaltning.

Temple Capital – The firm has announced the expansion of its senior team with three key hires, including a new partner, CFO and quant researcher.

Founded in 2018 with initial general partner backing from Bain Capital and Pantera Capital, Temple Capital has built a six-year track record of high alpha generation with almost zero correlation to either digital or traditional markets and currently manages $120m in assets.

The new appointments include:

• Richard Murray, formerly CEO of quant crypto hedge fund Hilbert Capital and Brevan Howard executive for seven years, has joined as partner;
• Guy Griffiths, formerly at Brevan Howard for 19 years as London deputy funds CFO and head of financial reporting, has joined as CFO;
• Cristian-Teodor Tudor, formerly lead quant developer at BlueCrest for seven years, has joined as quant researcher.

With these senior hires, Temple Capital is positioned to further scale its investor base and continue to enhance its operational excellence.

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