People moves: NEST creates chief technology, operating officer role

NEST Corporation – Femi Bamisaiye has been appointed as the UK pension scheme’s chief technology and operating officer, a new addition to NEST’s executive team. Bamisaiye was most recently chief information officer at Aviva’s UK General Insurance business.

NEST said the creation of the CTOO role underscores the importance it places on further evolving the service it delivers to its members through customer-centric technology. 

“Femi’s extensive experience in digital technology transformation and customer-centric strategies will be invaluable as we continue to evolve our services,” said Ian Cornelius, CEO of NEST. “His leadership will be instrumental in leveraging technology and data to enhance our operations and deliver the best possible financial outcomes for our members.” 

NEST is now the the largest workplace pension scheme in the UK with more than 13 million. One in three of the working population is expected to have a NEST pension pot by the late 2020s and by the end of the next decade it is projected that the pension fund will have close to £100bn assets under management.

M&G Investments  – The asset manager has added José Rivero Navarro to its structured credit research team as associate director.  He will be based in Madrid, which the firm said is in line with its strategy to extend its origination capabilities in Europe. Rivero Navarro rejoins M&G from Santander Group where he was responsible for originating, structuring and deploying capital across multiple securitised asset classes for different strategies. Before that he was part of M&G’s London based team covering Consumer ABS and RMBS.

M&G’s structured credit research team is currently responsible for structuring and analysing some €18bn of structured credit investments, alongside other investments.

ASIP – The Swiss pension funds association has elected new members of the executive board. The new executive board members are Carolina Baumann-de Wouters, chief executive officer of Pensionskasse Roche, Willy Guntern, CEO and CIO of Ascaro Vorsorgestiftung, Carina Kunz, managing director of Pensionskasse Swiss Re, Patrick Nasciuti, member of the management board of the pension fund for the hospitality industry GastroSocial Pensionskasse, Helga Portmann, chair of the management board of the Pensionskasse of the city of Zurich (PKZH), and Emmanuel Ullmann, chief executive officer of the pension fund for the canton of Solothurn (Pensionskasse Kanton Solothurn, PKSO). The new members succeed the former members of the executive board Beatrice Eichenberger, director of Mettler Toledo Pensionskasse, the CEO of Asga Pensionskasse Sergio Bortolin, CEO of Pensionskassen PwC  Mia Mendez, and Christoph Oeschger of Avadis.

Fondaereo – The Italian pension fund for pilots and flight attendants has named Marco Granone as the new president. Granone succeeds Giovanni Platania, who has been named vice president. The new board of directors of Fondaereo includes now Marco Granone, Giovanni Platania, Giovanna Bellezza, Stefano Di Cesare, Tiziana Pampanini, Marco Marazza, Mario Iannaccone, Stefano Bellomo, Paola Pignataro, Alessandro Zanatta, Carlo Amati, Tonino Muscolo, Monica Mascia, Giuseppe Pantile, Claudio Genovesi and Antonio Frigerio. 

Fondo Pensione Byblos – The Italian pension fund for workers in the papers has elected Gian Luca Antonelli as the new president. Antonelli represents the employers, while the new vice president Giustino Oggiano represents the employees. 

Stafford Capital Partners – The private markets investment and advisory firm has appointed Rosemary Jackson and Stephen Milburn-Pyle to the board of its holding company effective from May 2025. The appointments follow co-founder Geoff Norman stepping down from the board in March. He will remain the firm’s largest shareholder. Furthermore, Stafford’s general counsel, Jim Marsh, has also taken up the position of company secretary to the Board.

Jackson is currently a partner at GunnerCooke LLP and has been Stafford’s external legal counsel since 2006. Milburn-Pyle was formerly general manager of Superannuation at the Australian Postal Corporation and partnered with Stafford over 17 years as the firm’s foundation investor in its timberland business. He currently serves as a senior adviser to Stafford.

La Française  – The multi-specialist asset management division of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale has appointed Philippe Verdier as secretary general of the La Française group following Pascale Auclair’s retirement. He also retains his responsibilities as chief financial officer and member of the executive board of Groupe La Française.

“Philippe has played a key role in the recent development of our asset management division,” said Guillaume Cadiou, CEO of Groupe La Française. “He will be able to leverage his thirty-five years of experience in this sector and, more generally, in finance and organisational management. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Pascale for her significant contribution to the La Française group over these many years.”

Axyon AI – The Italian fintech has appointed Ivan Dexeus as head of business development EMEA, supporting asset managers, banks and official institutions in harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to unlock alpha and streamline operations in the region Previously, he held senior roles at TD Securities, Credit Suisse, and Goldman Sachs, where he built and led client franchises across Europe and the Middle East. 

Alter Domus – Charlotte Hogg has been named CEO of the  provider of tech-enabled fund services for the private equity, real assets and private debt sectors She succeeds Doug Hart who has served as CEO since 2019. Her appointment follows that of Mark Wiseman, the former global head of BlackRock’s active equities business and chairman of BlackRock’s Alternatives business.

“Alter Domus plays a vital role within the private markets’ community,” said Wiseman. “It is crucial the business continues to evolve to meet the ever-growing needs of our international client base. Charlotte’s appointment is a pivotal moment in the development of Alter Domus. The depth of her experience in financial services across both sides of the Atlantic will enable her to play a transformative role and galvanise our teams globally - we’re delighted to have her on board.”