SPP, SSgA, Standard & Poor’s, GSAMAXA Investment ManagersAssociation of the Luxembourg Fund IndustryFranklin Templeton Investments, Mercer, Macquarie Investment Management, Ignis Asset Management, Amundi, Société Générale, Muzinich & Co, bfinance, Mirae, Aberdeen Asset Management, Insight Investment, MSCI, Manulife Asset Management, KNEIP

SPPSarah McPhee is to step down as chief executive after seven years at the Swedish pension insurer. McPhee, who joined in 2008 after four years as CIO at AMF Pension, is to be succeeded by the current chief executive of Storebrand Asset Management, Staffan Hansén, in July. Hansén was CIO at Storebrand Life for two years before assuming overall responsibility for its asset management division. Hansén’s promotion will not see McPhee depart SPP immediately. Instead, the American will stay on as a senior adviser before retiring in 2016.

State Street Global AdvisorsElliot Hentov has been appointed by State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) as head of policy and research for its official institutions group (OIG). He will be based in London and report to Louis de Montpellier, global head of OIG, which has been in operation for more than 10 years. Hentov comes to SSGA from Standard & Poor’s, where he was a director in the sovereign ratings team. Before that, he worked at the United Nations as a specialist in political and economic issues for the Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General. 

Goldman Sachs Asset Management Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) has named Hugh Lawson as leader of its ESG efforts for its Investment Management Division (IMD) globally. He will collaborate with the company’s portfolio management and client-facing teams across IMD in the development of its ESG strategy, capabilities and product offerings. Lawson will continue to lead GSAM’s Institutional Client Strategy team. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1997 and was named managing director in 2003 and partner in 2012. 

AXA Investment ManagersIan Smith and Paul Birchenough have been appointed by AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) as co-managers of the AXA Framlington Emerging Markets fund. They will work with Julian Thompson, head of the emerging markets team, as part of a core emerging markets portfolio management team. Thompson, previously manager of the AXA Framlington Emerging Markets Fund, will continue to manage the offshore equivalent of the fund and be responsible for segregated emerging market mandates. Alex Khosla is also joining the team as an emerging markets equities analyst, arriving from UBS Investment Bank

Association of the Luxembourg Fund IndustryDenise Voss has been appointed as chairman of the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) in a role that will initially run for two years. She is conducting officer of Franklin Templeton Investments and has worked in the financial industry in Luxembourg since 1990. She has worked at ALFI for many years, having been vice-chairman for international affairs at ALFI since 2011 and a member of association’s board of directors since 2007. Voss is also chairman of the European fund and asset management association’s (EFAMA) investor education working group. 

MercerWilli Thurnherr, head of retirement at Mercer in Switzerland, will be leaving the consultancy on 30 September, having been in the position since 2007. Mercer is looking within and outside the firm for a replacement, but in the meantime, Catherine Schoendorff, chief executive at Mercer Switzerland, will head the retirement business on an interim basis. 

AmundiVincent Mortier has been hired by French asset manager Amundi as deputy CIO. Mortimer has been a long-standing senior manager of Société Générale, having most recently been CFO of the global banking and investor solutions division at the bank. He will join Amundi’s executive committee. 

Macquarie Investment ManagementAustin McBride is joining Macquarie Investment Management (MIM) as head of UK wholesale, based in London. He was most recently head of UK wholesale at Ignis Asset Management, and before that worked at Lazard Asset Management, Janus International and Henderson Global Investors. 

Muzinich & CoSander van de Giesen has been hired by corporate debt firm Muzinich & Co as sales and marketing director. It is the firm’s first Netherlands appointment. Van de Giesen was most recently director of business development at bfinance in Amsterdam. 

Mirae Asset Global Investments GroupFredric Niamkey is joining Mirae Asset Global Investments Group as head of sales for French-speaking Europe. He comes to the firm from Aberdeen Asset Management, where he headed up the Aberdeen Geneva office, having been senior business development manager there since 2009. Before that, he worked at Credit Suisse Asset Management, UBS Wealth Management and OVB (Suisse). 

Insight InvestmentJoshua Kendall has been appointed by Insight Investment to the newly created role of ESG analyst. He previously worked for MSCI in a similar role, having joined in 2012, and before that, was communications manager for the UNPRI. Kendall joined Insight in May this year, and reports to David Averre, head of credit analysis. Rory Sullivan is also to join Insight, as a strategic adviser on a consultancy basis, giving advice on the integration of ESG issues into Insight’s investment processes, across asset classes. Sullivan was head of responsible investment at Insight until 2009, when he became an independent consultant.

Manulife Asset ManagementClaude Chene has been appointed by Manulife Asset Management in the new role of global distribution head. He will be based in London and report to Kai Sotorp, president and chief executive of Manulife Asset Management and global head of wealth and asset management for Manulife. Chene will join the firm’s executive committee.

KNEIPTony Buche has been appointed head of relationship management at KNEIP, based at the regulatory reporting and investor disclosure firm’s headquarters in Luxembourg. He will report to Renaud Oury, chief sales and marketing officer. Before taking on the new job, Buche worked at Société Générale Securities Services in Luxembourg for nearly a decade, heading the custodian services department, and as sales director.