People moves: LGPS Central picks head of fixed income

LGPS Central – The UK investment pool has appointed Samantha Lamb as head of fixed income, another important recruitment as the pool strengthens its investment capabilities to support partner funds in the delivery of their investment strategies.

Lamb brings more than 20 years of experience in fixed income investment and portfolio management across global credit markets. She joins from GIB Asset Management, where she was head of fixed income. She previously spent almost 15 years at Aberdeen Standard Investments, including as head of ESG, fixed income and investment director.

In her new role, Lamb will lead LGPS Central’s fixed income capability, working with colleagues across the investment team to support the long-term objectives and evolving requirements of partner funds.

Mercer – The firm has announced that Deborah Wardle has been appointed international chief investment officer, effective immediately. She will continue to be based in London and report to Niall O’Sullivan, Mercer’s global CIO.

Wardle succeeds Garvan McCarthy, who will continue in his role as global alternatives CIO.

As international CIO, Wardle will lead Mercer’s investment teams across hubs in the UK, Europe, India and Middle East, and Asia, helping drive strong portfolio outcomes for clients. She will also partner with regional commercial and investor segment leaders to strengthen Mercer’s client solutions, connecting its asset class expertise and investment platform capabilities, the firm stated.

Wardle has built her career at Mercer over the past 16 years. She brings deep experience across asset classes and portfolio management, with expertise in both traditional and alternative investments, to her new role. In her most recent role as head of portfolio management for Europe, India and the Middle East, she worked with multidisciplinary teams to translate client objectives into tailored investment solutions.

London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) – The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) administering authority and £8bn pension fund has appointed Andre Katz as a new member of the LPFA board.

Katz brings more than 25 years of experience in risk management, assurance, governance, and operational resilience. A chartered accountant and certified member of the Institute of Risk Management, he has held senior leadership roles across a range of sectors, working within large, complex and global organisations.

His experience spans both the public and private sectors, where he has supported organisations in strengthening governance frameworks and navigating evolving regulatory and operational challenges.

In addition to joining the LPFA board, Katz serves as a non-executive director at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. He is also a member of the Audit and Risk Committee at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), and the Chartered Insurance Institute.

IFM Investors – Derrick Hastie has been appointed as chief technology officer. He will lead IFM’s global technology function and strategy, with responsibility for building the scalable technology capabilities and platforms needed to support the firm’s next phase of growth.

Hastle will oversee technology across IFM’s regions and business units, with a focus on strengthening resilience, improving delivery, and aligning technology investment with the firm’s strategic priorities.

He brings more than 35 years of technology and financial services experience across asset management, insurance and retail banking. He joins from L&G Asset Management, where he has a similar role.

Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) – Caroline Eriksen has taken over from Wilhelm Mohn as global head of active ownership at the manager of the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG).

Eriksen has worked at NBIM for eight years, most recently as head of sustainability. Whereas Mohn was based in London, Eriksen will remain in Oslo in her new job.

Mohn told IPE that after 17 years working with the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund – nearly five at the Finance Ministry then almost 12 at NBIM – he was now “ready for something else.”

Asked about his plans, he said he had no new job yet, but was staying in London and planning to spend a couple of months seeing “what’s out there”.

Aptia – The firm has appointed Jyotsna Kaushik as head of modelling and monitoring within its investment consulting practice, further strengthening the firm’s capabilities in investment modelling, risk management and strategic pension scheme advisory services.

A fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (FIA), Kaushik brings 20 years of experience spanning asset-liability modelling (ALM), quantitative engineering, capital management, Solvency II, risk modelling and investment strategy.

Kaushik joins Aptia from Standard Life, where she held senior roles across quant engineering and ALM, leading major model transformation programmes and the development of advanced analytical capabilities supporting investment decision-making and hedging strategies.

Impact Investing Institute – Bella Landymore will step down as co-chief executive officer at the end of this year, after seven years with the Institute. Sarah Teacher will become CEO from January 2027.

Landymore has been at the heart of the Institute since its earliest days – from helping to found it through to leading it. Under her and Teacher’s leadership since 2024, the Institute has helped bring impact investing closer to the centre of UK economic policy, accelerated pension investment in regional growth, and spearheaded influential work on the role of capital in building a fairer, more resilient economy.

Landymore will remain in post until the end of December, working closely with Teacher on a full transition. The Institute’s strategy, priorities and programme commitments remain unchanged.

Hymans Robertson – The UK-based consultancy has promoted Linda Jardine to head of project management. The promotion comes at a time when pension schemes are facing an increasingly complex range of decisions, from evolving regulatory and compliance requirements to a growing number of endgame and consolidation options, highlighting the continual need for expert project management support.

As head of project management, Jardine will lead the team in helping clients turn strategy into successful delivery, guiding them through complex change programmes with confidence and a clear focus on member outcomes.

She has been at Hymans Robertson for 12 years, having joined in 2014 from Mercer. Over the years at the leading pensions and financial services consultancy, Jardine has been central to many projects including full-service transitions, end-game delivery, consolidation projects and large and complex scheme mergers. She brings extensive experience in helping trustees and sponsors successfully navigate periods of significant change.

In her new role, Jardine will work with clients across the pensions market to help them deliver strategies that are right for them and their members.

Fasanara Capital – The firm has hired James Hylands as head of AI, where he will lead the firm’s newly established Fasanara AI Lab. Hylands joins from Man Group, where he led generative AI strategy and delivery for the firm’s discretionary division.

The initiative marks a significant step in Fasanara’s long-term strategy to embed AI across every layer of the business – from investment decision-making and portfolio management to lending operations, risk management and enterprise productivity. The Fasanara AI Lab will focus on developing and deploying next-generation AI capabilities across the firm’s proprietary technology stack, leveraging one of the industry’s largest alternative credit datasets and Fasanara’s native global data infrastructure, the firm stated.

At Man Group, Hylands played a pivotal role in applying advanced technologies to the discretionary investment processes. At Fasanara, he will lead a multidisciplinary team focused on building proprietary AI systems that enhance investment performance while scaling the firm’s technology platform globally.

M&G – Matt Mansour has been named as chief technology and AI officer, subject to regulatory approval.

Mansour will join 16 September and lead the firm’s technology function, overseeing the delivery of the group’s technology, digital and AI strategy. As a member of the group executive committee, he will be responsible for driving innovation and cyber security, and ensuring technology continues to support M&G’s strategic growth ambitions, customer experience and regulatory requirements.

Mansour will report to group CEO, Andrea Rossi, replacing Chris Cochrane, who is stepping down from his role at the end of July after eight years with the firm.

Mansour brings more than 30 years of international experience leading large-scale technology, digital, operations and business transformation programmes across the financial services sector. Most recently, he’s been consulting at SMBC Group as chief operational officer for AI enablement and next gen technology. He was also part of the founding executive team for innovative AI start-up, kAIgentic, where he is now a strategic adviser.

Kyrkans Pension – The pension fund for employees of the Church of Sweden is advertising for a new CEO, saying its current CEO Carl Cederberg intends to retire.

Cederberg has led the SEK27.7bn (€2.5bn) pension fund for 12 years, having come to the Sundsvall-based institution in 2014 after five years as senior portfolio manager for global asset allocation at Storebrand Asset Management.

Before that, he spent 15 years at KP Pension och Försäkring, which managed the Swedish pension fund for cooperatives Konsumentkooperationens pensionsstiftelse, where he was chief investment officer for equities, according to his LinkedIn profile.