Royal London, Candriam, Aviva Investors, M&G, Schroders, Aegon, BTPS, AMF, BSAF, Bewag, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Barnett Waddingham, Van Lanschot Kempen, NatureAlpha, KBI, Dalriada

Patrick Race at Van Lanschot Kempen

Patrick Race at Van Lanschot Kempen

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management UK – The firm has strengthened its UK fiduciary management team with the addition of Patrick Race as a managing director, effective 1 February 2025.

This appointment underscores the UK fiduciary management team’s continued drive towards committed client partnerships, emphasising expertise, excellent client service and long-term relationships with its expanding institutional client base, the firm said.

Race will mainly focus on serving large UK pension schemes with more than £1bn (€1.2bn) in assets. Working within the firm’s client director team, he will advise, develop and execute fully bespoke long-term investment strategies aimed at meeting each client’s unique circumstances combined with Van Lanschot Kempen’s client service.

Race brings significant experience and a strong network to Van Lanschot Kempen, built over 30 years of working in the investment consulting industry with large institutional investors. Prior to joining Van Lanschot Kempen, he spent two years as one of the founding partners at Isio, following the sale of KPMG’s pensions advisory practice where he also spent three years as a partner.

 

Steven Dickson at BTPS

Steven Dickson at BTPS

BT Pension Scheme (BTPS) – Steven Dickson has been appointed as the scheme’s member-nominated trustee director, selected by BT’s recognised trade unions and the National Federation of Occupational Pensioners (NFOP).

Dickson takes over from Ben Marshall, who retired as a trustee earlier this month after eight years of service.

BTPS is one of the UK’s largest company pension schemes with more than £35bn of assets and 258,000 members. Each year, the scheme pays out £2.8bn in pension payments to the 212,000 retired members and their beneficiaries.

Dickson had a 32-year career at BT, holding various senior positions, latterly leading BT’s global contract assurance programme focusing on major contracts in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. He was a member of the leadership team at BT Group business services before retiring in 2021.

He was previously a trustee on the BT Retirement Savings Scheme and was formerly part of the Prospect Trade Union National Executive Committee. He is chair of the Prospect Scotland regional branch and is a member of the NFOP.

 

Pension Fund of Commerce (Lífeyrissjóður verzlunarmanna, LV) – Brynja Kolbrún Pétursdóttir has been hired as the new chief financial officer at the Icelandic pension fund, and is already in post.

She joins LV from Reykjavík Energy (Orkuveita Reykjavíkur), where she worked for more than 16 years, latterly as head of treasury, planning and analysis.

Kolbrún Pétursdóttir has replaced Valgarður Sverrisson, LV’s outgoing CFO, who worked at the pension fund – Iceland’s second biggest – for nearly 40 years.

 

Fabrice Pellous at Aviva

Fabrice Pellous at Aviva

Aviva Investors – The global asset management business of Aviva has announced the appointment of Fabrice Pellous as co-head of global high yield.

Pellous will work alongside Sunita Kara, co-head of global high yield, to lead the firm’s high yield team, and will report directly to Fraser Lundie, global head of fixed income.

Based in London, his appointment represents a further addition to the firm’s fixed income team, following the announcement of Lundie’s hire back in May 2024, as well as the recent addition of Gita Bal as head of fixed income research earlier this month.

Pellous has more than 25 years of investment industry experience, most recently working as a high yield and emerging market portfolio manager at Invesco, where he spent over a decade of his career. He has also held various roles at Legal & General, AllianceBernstein and AXA Investment Management amongst others.

 

AegonAntonia Balaam has been named as the pension provider’s head of master trust, a newly created position within the company.

With 28 years of experience in actuarial and defined contribution (DC) pension consultancy and client management, Balaam leads the client relationship teams at Aegon. In her new role, she will continue to report to Nick Roy, workplace commercial director at Aegon.

Balaam said: “I look forward to bringing our employers and trustee board closer together, driving innovation to ensure we deliver the best possible outcomes for our members.”

 

KBI Global Investors – Geoff Blake has been appointed as CEO. Presently global head of business development and client services, Blake joined the firm in 1994, and was appointed deputy CEO in February last year.

Blake succeeds Sean Hawkshaw and will take up his new position at the end of March.

Hawkshaw, along with CIO Noel O’Halloran – both of whom joined KBI in 1992 – have announced their retirement from the industry following long and successful asset management careers.

 

Minal Patel at Schroders Capital

Minal Patel at Schroders Capital

Schroders Capital – The $97.3bn private markets business of Schroders has appointed Minal Patel as global head of infrastructure.

In this newly-created role, Patel will lead Schroders Capital’s global infrastructure business and, alongside the wider senior team, set the firm’s global strategy.

Patel joined what was previously Greencoat Capital in 2019 as a partner and has most recently led the oversight of its private institutional funds, the structuring of new investment opportunities and the widening of investor relationships. She has 18 years of renewable energy investment experience across a broad range of technologies and project lifecycles.

 

NatureAlpha – BlackRock’s former global head of sustainable product and portfolio research has joined the biodiversity and nature risk analytics firm as chief growth officer.

Laura Segafredo was at BlackRock for eight years, having previously worked at the French non-governmental organisation 2 Degrees Investment Initiative.

She maintains her role as an adjunct professor of international and public Affairs at Columbia University, New York, where she teaches students on the theory and practice of climate and sustainable investing.

 

AMF – Richard Eklund, head of the offerings department at the Swedish pension fund AMF, is to take on the temporary role of acting head of insurance on 1 March at the firm.

He will replace Marie Litezings in the role, with Litezings, as previously reported, having been hired by the larger Swedish occupational pension fund Alecta as head of customer relations, starting work there from 19 March.

 

Marcello Arona at M&G Investments.

Marcello Arona at M&G Investments

M&G Investments – Marcello Arona has been appointed as chief financial officer of M&G’s asset management business. He joined M&G on 13 January 2025.

With more than 20 years of experience in asset management, Arona brings a wealth of financial expertise and strategic leadership to M&G Investments. In his new role, he will be responsible for M&G Investments’ global financial operations, implementing its financial strategy and playing a pivotal role in the firm’s overall long-term growth objectives.

Arona joins from AXA and his most recent role was chief executive officer, AXA Investment Managers UK and AXA IM GS. He reports to M&G’s chief financial officer, Kathryn McLeland, and is working with the CEO of M&G Investments, Joseph Pinto, as a key leadership team member.

 

Royal LondonIsabel Hudson has been appointed as a non-executive director and as chair of The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Limited with effect from 10 February 2025. Lynne Peacock, current interim chair, will step down on 9 February 2025.

Hudson has extensive financial services experience spanning insurance, pensions and regulation, together with non-executive roles in the telecoms and housebuilding sectors. She is currently a non-executive director at AXA SA and chair of Guide Dogs. Among other roles, Hudson has served on the boards of RSA Insurance Group, Phoenix Group, BT, National House Building Council, The Pensions Regulator and Standard Life.

 

BASF Pensionskasse/Pensionskasse der Bewag – The pension fund for the German chemical company has appointed Beate Petry as the new CEO.

Petry succeeds Patrick Huber, who moved to the pension fund for the employees of energy company Vattenfall, Pensionskasse der Bewag.

Petry has spent her entire career at BASF Pensionskasse, most recently as head of pensions and other benefits. She will also become the chair of the German occupational pension association aba in May this year, succeeding Georg Thurnes.

Meanwhile at Bewag, Huber has been named as a new board member of the executive board responsible for asset allocation, finances and actuarial work.

While at BASF, Huber served as its CEO for the past two and half years. He was previously head of global pensions and other benefits at BASF Pensionskasse.

 

Cristina Lugaro at Candriam

Cristina Lugaro at Candriam

Candriam – Cristina Lugaro has been appointed as head of distribution – Nordics.

Reporting to Olivier Maes, head distribution BeNeLux and Nordics and member of the executive committee, and based in Stockholm, Lugaro will be responsible for leading the growth of Candriam’s market share within the Nordics as part of the business’ continued engagement in the region’s institutional and wholesale distribution markets. She takes the reigns from Alain Deflandre, head of distribution Luxembourg and Nordics, who was covering the Nordics as Candriam prepared the expansion in the region. Deflandre will continue in his role as head of distribution Luxembourg.

Lugaro has more than 19 years of extensive experience in asset management and international sales, largely through an institutional lens working for Nordic, European and US-based investment firms. She has a large investor network in the Nordic markets and extensive knowledge of alternative investments covering both private and public capital markets, including private equity, real estate, hedge funds, the maritime sector, and insurance-linked securities.

Prior to joining Candriam, Lugaro was head of sales, Sweden, at privately-owned Nordic investment firm Ness, Risan & Partners (NPR) Capital Advisory AS where she was responsible for developing and overseeing the firm’s sales and marketing strategy in the Swedish and Finnish markets.

 

Barnett Waddingham – Barry McKay has been appointed as the new head of public sector at the consultancy.

McKay takes the helm ahead of the retirement of long-standing head Graeme Muir, with the transition marking a new chapter for the firm’s highly regarded public sector team, ensuring it continues to provide a seamless and excellent service to its clients across the sphere of all local government services.

With a career spanning 40 years; nearly 20 at Barnett Waddingham, Muir was instrumental in establishing the team in 2002 before building the firm’s public sector practice into a trusted partner for a wide range of public sector clients.

McKay, who brings over 20 years of relevant experience in the public sector, has worked closely with Muir since he joined the firm in 2018 and is poised to lead the team into its next phase.

 

Fidelity International – The investment management company has appointed Susanna Wooders as its new country head for Germany.

In her new role, Wooders will strategically develop Fidelity International’s German business split in four business areas including wholesale, institutional, workplace investing and the FFB fund platform.

Wooders joined Fidelity as chief risk officer in 2016 and was appointed country head for Germany in April 2023 on a temporary basis. She also worked at Commerzbank, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays in Germany, Hong Kong, Great Britain and the US.

 

Kai Wottawah at Franklin Templeton

Kai Wottawah at Franklin Templeton

Franklin TempletonKai Wottawah has been hired as the firm’s institutional sales director for Germany. Reporting to Marie Keil-Mouy, head of institutional sales Germany, Wottawah will be based in Frankfurt, representing the firm’s full range of asset management capabilities.

In his new role, Wottawah will work in partnership with institutional clients to drive mutual success.

Prior to joining Franklin Templeton, Wottawah was a senior client solutions manager at BNP Paribas Asset Management in Frankfurt, advising German and Austrian clients on single asset and tailored multi-asset investment solutions. Before that he worked in various asset management positions, including roles in the design of fixed income products, derivatives, and strategic asset allocation at the Sparkassen Versicherung, a Solvency II regulated insurance company, in Stuttgart.

 

Dalriada Trustees – The independent professional trustee services firm has appointed Stephen Soper as managing director for business delivery and operations, effective 1 February.

Soper’s most recent role was at PwC as a partner in the pensions team. Before joining PwC, he spent six years at The Pensions Regulator working in several roles including executive director of defined benefit and concluding with a period as interim CEO.

Working alongside the other managing directors on the Dalriada executive team (Adrian Kennett, Charles Ward and Shehzad Ahmad) Soper will be responsible for business operations, the development of Dalriada’s operating model, key strategic projects and the effectiveness of change management.

The latest digital edition of IPE’s magazine is now available