People moves: Former London CIV head joins JPES

JPES – The communications consultancy to the investment sector has announced that Rob Treich has joined the firm as a consultant, further strengthening its advisory capabilities.

Treich recently stepped down from his role as head of public markets at the investment pool London CIV (LCIV), where he was responsible for developing and overseeing public market investment strategy and product selection to meet the needs of local government pension scheme (LGPS) partner funds. He also served as interim chief investment officer during his time at LCIV. He was previously director of investment solutions at the Coal Pension Trustees Investment Limited.

Bringing more than 30 years of experience in the investment and retirement market, Treich has also held senior roles at Mercer and Mellon HR & Investor Solutions.

In his new consultancy roles at JPES, Treich will advise clients on a range of key issues relating to supporting their business development, including product positioning and audience engagement, as well as providing insights into the UK local authority and corporate pensions market, to support the firm’s clients in meeting their long-term commercial growth goals.

DWS – The firm announced that its chief investment officer, Vincenzo Vedda, will assume responsibility for the entire investment division with effect from 1 May 2026. This also includes responsibility for the illiquid assets business, which was previously headed by chief executive officer Stefan Hoops.

The move completes the transition initiated in August 2025 when Vedda joined the executive board as CIO with responsibility for the liquid assets business, and assumed joint leadership of the investment division.

With this change, DWS is placing overall responsibility for the investment division with one dedicated member of the executive board, reinforcing its commitment to clients, markets and investing.

Under the change, the illiquid asset class heads will report directly to Vedda and will become part of his leadership team.

Allianz Global Investors – Responsible investment veteran Matt Christensen is leaving the asset manager, where he was global head of sustainable and impact investing.

Writing on LinkedIn, Christensen said that after five years in this role at AllianzGI, “the time has come to turn the page”.

“Building and growing this platform has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career: working with a talented and committed team, partnering with clients who understand that where capital goes matters, and helping shape a field that continues to evolve in increasingly urgent ways,” he said. 

Christensen joined AllianzGI from AXA Investment Managers, which he had joined in 2011 after having been the founding executive director of Eurosif, the European sustainable investment forum, from 2002.  

Another responsible investment pioneer to have quit the asset management industry recently is Steve Waygood, who left Aviva Investors earlier this year to set up a think tank, The Finance Transition Centre. 

PensionDanmark – Bo Foged, the former CEO of Danish statutory pension fund ATP, has been appointed as a new member of PensionDanmark’s board.

On the labour-market pension fund’s board, Foged’s role is as one of the two “specially qualified members” that pension funds are obliged by the regulator to have.

Foged left Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners in January after three and a half years at the Danish investment firm, latterly as CEO of the fund management spin-off CIP Fund Solutions.

He said on LinkedIn earlier this year that he had now decided to “pursue a portfolio career and focus on my current and coming board positions”.

Foged is also chair of IT distributor EET Group, deputy chair of Danish broadcaster TV2, alongside other board roles in Denmark.

XPS Group – Callum Stewart has been appointed as a defined contribution (DC) investment partner, strengthening the firm’s DC consulting capabilities as demand from UK pension funds continues to grow.

Stewart brings extensive experience advising and supporting DC clients, both as a DC investment adviser and, more recently, as head of investment strategy and proposition at Standard Life. At XPS, he will work with trustees, employers and DC asset managers to help them navigate evolving regulation, market volatility and the increasing focus on value for money and good member outcomes.

Pædagogernes Pension (PBU) – Marie-Louise Jørgensen has been appointed as the new chair of the Danish pension fund’s board, taking the role on 1 April.

Jørgensen, who is the second deputy mayor of the Copenhagen municipality of Hvidovre, was appointed as the pension fund’s chair by the interest organisation Local Government Denmark (KL).

She is replacing Uffe Jensen, the former second deputy mayor of Odder Municipality, who chaired PBU since 2019.

Generali Investments – Ole Jorgensen has been appointed as chief AI officer, marking a significant step in the group’s strategy to accelerate growth and technological advancement through a responsible and coordinated adoption of artificial intelligence across its global investment platform.

In his role, Jorgensen will oversee the integration of AI across Generali Investments’ multi-affiliate asset management platform. He will be responsible for defining and driving a unified AI strategy, ensuring that productivity‑enhancing initiatives are developed collaboratively across affiliates, while maintaining robust risk management and governance standards.

Jorgensen brings deep AI expertise, having served for 12 years as director of research at Global Evolution Asset Management, a Generali Investments affiliate, where he contributed to the company’s growth and led the integration of AI techniques into the investment process.

He has also held senior roles at the World Bank and served as chair of the United Nations PRI Advisory Committee on ESG in credit ratings.

Future Growth Capital – The private markets firm formed by Standard Life and Schroders has appointed Gail Izat as a non-executive director to the board.

Izat brings a wealth of pensions industry expertise to the business. She is currently managing director of workplace and retail intermediary at Standard Life, having previously held senior roles including CEO of Standard Life Germany and Austria, and head of portfolio delivery.

Izat’s appointment to the board of Future Growth Capital is effective immediately. She succeeds Mike Eakins.

Aon – The firm has named Jenny Wiles as UK investment head of transitions within its investment team.

Wiles brings more than 15 years of experience across investment operations, trade management and pension transitions. She joins from WTW, where she led complex and time‑critical transition and onboarding projects for pension schemes and institutional investors across multiple asset classes.

In her new role, Wiles will lead Aon’s UK transitions capability, setting strategic direction and overseeing the delivery of complex transitions, including buy‑in and buyout-related activity. She will work closely with clients and internal investment teams to support high‑quality, well‑controlled outcomes at key points in the investment lifecycle.

ERAFP – Pierre Devichi is leaving the French pension fund, where he has been head of responsible investment since 2023. He joined ERAFP in 2020, having previously been at Man Group.

Speaking to IPE at last week’s Transition conference, Devichi said he was taking some time out to take stock of things.

Devichi played a key role in securing French support for an asset owner statement on climate stewardship that was brought to life earlier last year.

He has also been closely involved in a project about measuring and reporting the effectiveness of engagement, whose final conclusions are due to be presented in the coming months. 

WTW Scotland – Heather Wright, James Cassidy and Lindsay Cassidy have joined the WTW Scotland team in its retirement data and project manager specialism, based in Edinburgh.

Wright brings more than 25 years of pensions experience from her time working in-house as a global pensions and benefit manager for a multi-billion-pound global technology firm with a presence in Scotland.

James Cassidy and Lindsay Cassidy each bring more than 20 years of experience in the pensions industry, having held roles at Aptia.

Wright and James Cassidy will join WTW on 5 May, while Lindsay Cassidy has joined the firm earlier in 2026.

Additionally, Andrew Mills and Lynne Campbell have joined WTW’s governance and pensions solutions team in Glasgow, further strengthening WTW’s presence in the Scottish market. Both have joined from a major pensions consultancy where they held senior pensions advisory roles.

Mills is a seasoned pensions advisor known for delivering outsourced scheme management and trustee secretarial services for major defined benefit (DB) pension funds.

Campbell is an accomplished scheme secretary with nearly three decades of experience supporting trustees with governance and regulatory compliance.

Employer Covenant Practitioners Association (ECPA) – Helena Mules has been elected the new chair, succeeding Luke Hartley of Grant Thorton, following the association’s annual general meeting (AGM). She is succeeded as ECPA vice chair by Jonathan Wolff of LCP.

Mules is co-lead of the covenant team at WTW. She has more than 15 years of experience in providing support to trustee and corporate clients on a range of covenant issues, including funding, contingent assets, corporate activity and regulatory-related advice.

European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) – The Council of the European Union has awarded Petra Hielkema a new five-year term as chair of EIOPA, starting on 1 September 2026.

The appointment follows a positive assessment by EIOPA’s board of supervisors of Hielkema’s “conduct and performance during her first term” and a recommendation for her term to be prolonged.

Hielkema, a Dutch national, has been heading EIOPA since 2021. Before that, she was the director of insurance supervision at the Dutch financial regulator DNB.