People moves: Denmark’s Velliv Foreningen picks new chief

Velliv Foreningen – Anne Kristine Axelsson has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of Velliv Foreningen, the association that owns Danish pensions firm Velliv, and that is in turn owned by Velliv customers.

Axelsson will take up her new role on 1 March, replacing Lars Wallberg, who is resigning at the end of February, having led the association, which supports mental health at work efforts and distributes Velliv’s profits to its members, since it was created in 2017.

Axelsson was most recently group director of pensions and labour market at ATP, and has previously been a department head at the Danish Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Church Affairs.

ATP announced back in August that Axelsson, along with colleague Kristine Stenhuus – who was group director of Udbetaling Danmark (Payment Denmark) – were leaving their jobs as part of a reorganisation of the statutory labour market pension fund.

People’s Partnership – The UK-based pension provider has appointed its first social purpose and sustainable business director, Nadia Al Yafai, reinforcing its commitment to building financial foundations for life and delivering better financial outcomes for its seven million members.

With purpose at its core, People’s Partnership, which provides People’s Pension to one fifth of the UK workforce, continues to drive meaningful impact through its responsible business activities, which remain central to its mission to create positive change and empower communities nationwide.

Al Yafal brings extensive expertise, having led the purpose, social impact and mutuality agenda at Royal London, and has held senior roles within numerous financial and professional services organisations. She has served on the board of the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability and has served on the board of charity Groundwork.

Sarasin & Partners – The firm has appointed Fiona O’Neill as head of investment, further strengthening its investment leadership and oversight.

O’Neill joins from Fidelity International where she spent 20 years in a range of senior investment roles. Most recently, she served as head of global equity research capabilities, leading critical strategic initiatives to enhance alpha generation across a team of more than 130 equity research analysts. During her tenure at Fidelity, she also held senior roles in equity research, cross-asset research and fund management.

In her new role, which begins on 2 February 2026, O’Neill will be responsible for overseeing Sarasin & Partners’ thematic equity investment process, including equity research and stewardship. Her appointment enhances the firm’s investment governance by streamlining management responsibilities within the equity team, allowing portfolio managers, Tom Wildgoose and Nikki Martin, to focus more fully on investment decision-making.

O’Neill will also assume responsibility for equity risk oversight and board-level investment reporting. In addition, she will join the investment strategy group, ensuring close alignment between the group’s thematic work and the equity research process, and that long-term themes are effectively translated into investable ideas.

Allspring Global Investments – The global asset management company has appointed Max Watson as consultant relations director for its international business.

Watson will report to Joseph Dore, head of international consultant relations, and will strengthen Allspring’s global and UK consultant relationships by adding expertise to this critical area.

Watson brings extensive experience, with more than 15 years working primarily with global consultants as well as institutional and wealth investors. In his new role, he will focus on advancing strategic engagement across the global and UK consultant community.

Before joining Allspring, Watson served at Capital Group, where he managed consultant relationships in the UK. His career also included client relationship roles at Neuberger Berman and Alcentra.

International Centre for Pensions Management (ICPM) – ICPM has announced the formation of an Academic Council, a group of academics from around the world that are dedicated to advancing pension research of practical relevance to the pension community. The Academic Council will strengthen the academic rigour and organizational resilience at ICPM by supporting the Research Council, moderating in-person and virtual events, and providing continuous updates on the latest research in the field.

The Academic Council is currently comprised of five members. In addition to Mike Simutin and Sebastien Betermier, who are already affiliated with the ICPM, the academics joining the Council are: Aleksandar Andonov, professor of finance at the Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam; Pedro Matos, Cooper Bicentennial chair professor of business administration (finance) at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business; and  Susan Thorp, finance professor at the University of Sydney Business School. 

Andonov will chair the Council.

Rebalance Earth – The UK-based natural capital asset manager investing in Nature as business-critical infrastructure has appointed Ryan Lewis as investment manager, strengthening its investment team as the firm scales nature-based solutions for institutional investors.

In his new role, Lewis will support the growth of Rebalance Earth’s investment platform, leading investment processes and structuring nature projects and companies into investible assets for UK pension funds. He will work closely with the wider investment team to help translate climate and biodiversity outcomes into resilient, long-term cashflows aligned with institutional mandates.

Lewis joins from Infranity SAS, where he spent three and a half years structuring debt financing for European infrastructure projects spanning renewable energy, digital and transport sectors. Prior to this, he spent four years at Santander CIB working across project and corporate finance with a focus on infrastructure.

Canada Life – The insurer has appointed Stuart Carroll as chief actuary, reporting to chief financial officer Stuart Robinson.

Carroll is an experienced financial services professional and actuary, and joined Canada Life UK in May 2024 as ALM and investments director. Prior to joining Canada Life, he was chief actuary at Prudential Hong Kong and has held actuarial roles at Just Group, Legal & General and Swiss Re.

Carroll succeeds Mark Pibworth, who is transitioning towards retirement and will continue to share his commercial expertise part-time within the actuarial function. Pibworth joined Canada Life in July 2020 as deputy chief actuary and has enjoyed over 25 years in financial services.