People moves: Jupiter appoints CIO to start in February 2026

Jupiter Asset Management – Piers Hillier has been appointed chief investment officer to oversee the group’s investment management teams.

Hillier will join Jupiter in February 2026 from Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), where he served as CIO, responsible for managing and developing its investment teams and where he chaired the firm’s investment committee.

At Jupiter, Hillier will manage and oversee the group’s diverse range of investment capabilities, as well as lead efforts to develop new investment propositions and attract industry-leading talent. Additionally, and as required, he will further refine Jupiter’s investment processes as part of the strategic focus to broaden the group’s appeal to a wider range of clients.

Hillier joined RLAM in 2015 and has worked in investment management for more than 30 years. Before his last role, he was head of international equities at Kames Capital, CIO at LV= Asset Management and held senior European equities positions at WestLB, Deutsche Asset Management and Schroders.

Following the appointment of Hillier, and after an appropriate handover period, Kiran Nandra, head of equities, and Matthew Morgan, head of fixed income, will be leaving Jupiter.

Investment Association – Three new directors and two new deputy chairs have been appointed to the Investment Association (IA) board of directors following its annual general meeting (AGM) yesterday.

The board of directors oversees the IA’s activity and is made up of senior leaders from across the industry. Joining the board are: Eric Adler, chief executive officer, asset management, at Legal & General; Samantha Alexander, UK country officer and UK chief operating officer at DWS Group; and Sasha Wiggins, CEO of private bank and wealth management at Barclays.

Appointed as deputy chair are Joseph Pinto, CEO of M&G Investments, and Mark Versey, CEO of Aviva Investors.

The three new directors replace Patrick Thomson of JP Morgan Asset Management and former chair of the board, Catherine O’Reilly of Fiera Capital, and Karen Zachary of Lansdowne Partners.

The new deputy chairs are existing board members, replacing Nasreen Kasenally of UBS Asset Management, and Euan Munro, formerly of Newton Investment Management.

PensionsEurope – Andreea Lungu has been appointed as the pension fund association’s new policy adviser. She will have a focus on the most relevant sustainable finance issues of interest, among other topics.

Lungu’s background in public policy so far has had a focus on banking regulatory affairs. Her prior experience includes working for the banking industry sector as part of the European Savings and Retail Banking Group, the European Banking Authority in Paris, as well as an European affairs adviser for the Romanian Presidency to the Council of the European Union.

Lungu replaces Gabrielle Kolm, who left PensionsEurope to take up a regulatory policy adviser position at EFAMA, but is now taking up a position with the European Commission.

Aware Super UK – The London-based investment office of Aware Super, Australia’s third-largest superannuation fund, has appointed Helen Steers as a non-executive director to its board.

Steers brings more than 35 years of global investment experience to Aware Super UK, with deep expertise across private markets and a focus on private equity.

She is currently a partner at Pantheon, a global private markets firm managing over $76bn across private equity, private credit, infrastructure and real estate, where she has spent more than two decades building and leading European investment operations.

IFRS Foundation – Hans-Ulrich Engel, former vice chair and chief financial officer of BASF, has been named as a new trustee at the IFRS Foundation.

Engel brings extensive international business, finance and leadership expertise to the Foundation. The trustees are responsible for the strategy, governance and oversight of the Foundation, including the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).

Engel’s appointment is until the end of 2028, effective immediately, and renewable for a second term.

Engel has held several senior roles during his 35-year tenure with the German multinational company BASF, including vice chair of the board of directors, CFO and chief digital officer, working in both Germany and the US. He currently holds non-executive director roles with DHL Group and Harbour Energy and chairs the board of trustees of the Heinz Hermann Thiele Family Foundation.

Engel will succeed Erhard Schipporeit, who has decided to step down as a trustee.

Aviva Investors – The global asset management business of Aviva has appointed James Edwards as head of UK institutional, as it continues to build its dedicated resources and capabilities for institutional investor clients across global markets.

Edwards will be based in London and report to Steven Gardner, head of institutional, EMEA, who himself joined Aviva Investors in August 2024, where he is responsible for developing the asset manager’s institutional strategy across the UK and EMEA regions.

Edwards joins Aviva Investors after spending the last seven and a half years at Colombia Threadneedle where he was director of institutional business. Prior to that, he was a director at BlackRock as part of its fixed income product strategy team, covering unconstrained and absolute return fixed income strategies.

The new appointment follows several significant hires to expand Aviva Investors’ institutional team globally, most recently through the appointment to its Institutional capabilities in the Americas, with Julie Caron joining the business as head of institutional, Americas, and Dean Liotta as managing director, institutional, Americas.

In January,  the firm also announced it had appointed Heather Brown as head of EMEA institutional client relationship management, having previously led Aviva Investors’ UK institutional sales team. Brown’s appointment was followed in February by Duane Green being named CEO, Americas.

Pensions Management Institute (PMI) – Girish Menezes has been appointed as the Institute’s new president, alongside three new non-executive directors to its board.

Menezes brings more than two decades of experience in leadership in pensions governance and advocacy. He has a proven track record of driving professional standards, fostering collaboration and championing member outcomes across the sector.

At PMI, Menezes will work with the board and executive team to shape the Institute’s strategic priorities and elevate standards across the sector.

Joining the PMI’s board as non-executive directors are: Louise Davey, Duncan Buchanan and Mary Cahani.

The board also approved the reappointment of Rachika Cooray, reflecting her valued contribution to the Institute and ensuring continuity in governance and strategy.

In line with PMI’s constitution, which permits up to three ex-officio director positions, Helen Forrest Hall has been appointed as the third executive director, further strengthening the board’s expertise and sector insight.

These appointments reinforce PMI’s “commitment to representing members’ interests and upholding the highest professional standards”, it stated.

VBV Vorsorgekasse – The provident fund of the Austrian VBV group has appointed Christian Reiss as a new member of the executive board, effective 1 October.

VBV is expanding its executive board by one member to finalise the consolidation of all customer and sales-related responsibilities, started at the beginning of the year, under the responsibility of one management board.

From October, the executive board of VBV Vorsorgekasse will include Andreas Zakostelsky (CEO), Martin Vörös (CFO), Michaela Attermeyer (member of the board responsible for investments), and Reiss (member of the board responsible for customers and sales).

Reiss has been a member of the executive board of VBV Pensionskasse, the other pension fund under VBV group’s management, since 1 September 2024. Prior to joining VBV, he held management positions at Erste Group Bank.

Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) – The firm has appointed Davina Goodall-Smith as its new chief operating officer, succeeding Jonathan Kennedy, who will retire in early 2026.

Goodall-Smith brings extensive experience in the asset management and financial services industry, with an excellent track record of leading strategic change, delivering operational excellence, and driving digital transformation to accelerate business growth.

She has held senior roles internationally for Barclays and BNP Paribas, and most recently served as COO for Europe, Middle East & Africa at Nikko Asset Management.

Alongside her executive career, Goodall-Smith has held a range of independent advisory and governance roles across the financial services and charity sectors. Her commitment to sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and responsible innovation aligns closely with RLAM’s values, the firm stated.

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