People moves: UK’s Northern investment pool picks chair, CEO

Northern Local Government Pension Scheme (NLGPS) – The UK-based investment pool has appointed Elizabeth Renshaw-Ames as chair and Paras Anand as chief executive officer.

The appointments follow the pool’s next phase of development, which focuses on establishing a Financial Conduct Authority-authorised investment management company with a dedicated senior leadership team; strengthening governance and creating a clear operating model to support long-term investment outcomes.

The new team will be in charge of managing approximately £70bn (€80.1bn) in assets on behalf of 870,000 members across pension funds for Greater Manchester, Merseyside and West Yorkshire.

Renshaw-Ames brings substantial senior governance, asset management and large pension scheme experience to the role with a strong record of leading complex, large-scale organisations across professional services and financial sectors. Accomplished in both executive and non-executive roles, including within her position as senior independent non-executive director at Sarasin and Partners, her previous positions include chair of the Aviva Master Trust, non-executive chair of Barnett Waddingham and CEO of the HSBC Bank (UK) Pension Trust.

Anand brings extensive senior investment management experience, with his most recent position as chief investment officer at Artemis Investment Management, managing £30bn in client assets. Prior to this, he held multiple investment roles, including CIO for Asia Pacific at Fidelity International.

Mercer – Niall O’Sullivan, global solutions CIO, will become global CIO, effective 1 May 1 2026, the firm announced.

O’Sullivan succeeds Hooman Kaveh, who will assume the newly created role of executive chair for Mercer’s investment platform. O’Sullivan and Kaveh will report to Michael Dempsey, Mercer’s president for investments and retirement, and remain based in Dublin.

As global CIO, O’Sullivan will lead the full range of Mercer’s investment capabilities, from research to investment solutions and performance, across traditional and alternative asset classes. He will also enable Mercer’s investment colleagues to operate effectively across the continuum of tools, advice and implementation and play an active role in integrating the investment expertise and capabilities gained from recent acquisitions. Going forward, all asset class teams will report to O’Sullivan.

In his new capacity, Kaveh will lead several key strategic initiatives, including a focus on M&A, integrating AI into Mercer’s investment processes, and providing custom training and development resources to help colleagues optimise Mercer’s expanding range of investment capabilities. He will continue to chair the investment governance committee.

ICG – The global alternative asset manager has appointed Mathieu Paillat as head of France for its European corporate strategy.

Paillat will report to Hadj Djemai, head of Southern and Northern Europe, and be based in ICG’s Paris office, further strengthening the firm’s presence in one of its key European markets.

In this newly created role at ICG, Paillat will lead the firm’s European corporate activities in France, working closely with local management teams and the broader European platform to originate and execute investments, deepen relationships with corporate partners, and support the strategy’s continued growth.

Paillat brings extensive experience in the French market and a strong track record in corporate investing and stakeholder engagement. He joins ICG from PAI Partners, where he spent 23 years, most recently as a partner, investment committee member and head of its business services team.

Avida International – Sarah Smart will be re-joining the Avida team as a senior consultant. She is a highly experienced professional with deep expertise in pensions, financial services and regulation, and has previously been part of the Avida UK team from late 2017 to early 2020.

Throughout her career, Smart has worked with many pension schemes, including as independent chair of tpt (formerly known as The Pensions Trust), independent member of the investment and funding committee at Unilever UK pension scheme, non-executive director at The Pensions Regulator, culminating in her role as chair of TPR, a position she held for four years. Prior to this, Smart spent 10 years working in the investment management industry until 2008.

Smart currently sits as an independent member of the audit and risk assurance committee for the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

Universal Investment Group – Alva Devoy has been appointed as chief strategy and transformation officer, effective immediately, and Regina Bertram-Pfister as chief human resources officer, effective 1 May.

Both hires will report directly to group CEO Francesca McDonagh and join the group’s C-Suite, further strengthening the senior leadership team in support of the group’s continued growth trajectory, the firm stated.

In her new role, Devoy will be responsible for advancing Universal Investment’s strategy and transformation agenda and supporting the delivery of its value creation plan. She will also oversee commercial excellence initiatives, accelerate revenue growth, and drive business-led innovation, including the effective use of AI at scale. Devoy succeeds Jean-Philippe Talmon, who will conclude his 12-month secondment from Montagu at the end of May.

Devoy brings extensive experience in strategy, transformation, and scalable growth, joining from Carne Group, where she has served as strategic advisor for enterprise and commercial strategy, growth and transformation since 2024.

Bertram-Pfister joins from energy service provider GETEC Group Germany, where she has served in a similar role since 2023. She brings deep experience in leading people functions through periods of change and growth. At Universal Investment, she will lead the people strategy, with a focus on strengthening leadership, talent and organisational development. Bertram-Pfister succeeds Christina Huebschen, who has decided to step down from her role for family reasons.

Desmos – Jürgen Rigterink, who until 2025 was first vice president and head of client services at the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development, is joining the advisory firm co-founded by former UK energy minister Chris Skidmore. He will sit on the advisory board.

Rigterink was also previously CEO and chair of FMO, the Dutch development bank.

Announcing Rigterink’s appointment at IPE’s Transition conference in The Hague this week, Skidmore said Rigterink would be able to help Desmos fulfil its ambition to be the independent advisory bank of choice for projects and companies looking for a trusted partner to deliver on their sustainable growth plans.