AP2, Government Pension Investment Fund, PRI, BlackRock, Lombard Odier, Société Générale Securities Services, Kempen Capital Management 

AP2/GPIF/PRIEva Halvarsson, the chief executive of Sweden’s second national pensions buffer fund AP2, has been elected to the board of the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), taking one of two new positions for asset owners. Hiromichi Mizuno, executive managing director and CIO of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) has been elected to the other open asset owner seat. Meanwhile, Peter Webster, director of international affairs at Vigeo Eiris has been voted in as a service provider representative. All three new board directors will start their three-year terms on 1 January 2017.

BlackRock - Tony Stenning, head of retirement for EMEA, has decided to leave the asset manager for a career break. Stenning joined BlackRock in 2000 in the product management group, becoming head of the UK retail business in 2009. He held this position until 2015. Alex Hoctor-Duncan, head of EMEA retail, will take on Stenning’s responsibilities from the end of the year. In a memo, he said: “After a successful career spanning 16 years with the firm, Tony is planning to take a well-earned break in 2017 before deciding on the next chapter of his career.” Claire Finn will continue to lead BlackRock’s UK DC investments and strategic partnerships team. Stenning has also been chair of the Investment Association’s Investment Funds Committee and chair of The Savings and Investment Policy project (TSIP), a financial services initiative to help simplify savings and investment for savers in the UK.

Lombard Odier - Lombard Odier Private Bank has appointed Michael Le Garignon as head of the firm’s independent asset managers offering for the UK, which is being launched next year. Le Garignon joins from Société Générale Securities Services, where he was head of business development, sales, and relationship management for the UK and Ireland. He has previously worked in business development roles at JP Morgan and BNP Paribas Securities Services. 

Kempen Capital Management - Mili Parekh and Katya Nelyudova have been appointed to the Kempen UK business development team, in London. Parekh is responsible for institutional relationships in the UK pensions market. Nelyudova is responsible for building Kempen’s wholesale distribution business in the UK.