RPMI Railpen, Standard Life Investments, Candriam, AP3, SEB Markets, GMO, QMA, Cambridge Associates, Aon Hewitt, Xerox, TISA, Robeco, HSBC Securities Services

RPMI Railpen Standard Life Investments has poached RPMI Railpen’s head of sustainable ownership. Deborah Gilshan will leave the UK’s £25bn (€29bn) pension fund for railway employers at the end of March. At Standard Life Investments, Gilshan will be governance and stewardship director.

Chris Hitchen, Railpen CEO, said Gilshan had “helped us evolve our thinking on sustainable ownership and what this means for us as a long-term asset owner”.

Gilshan said of her forthcoming role: “It is really exciting to be joining at a time when environmental, social, and governance [ESG] considerations continue to increase in significance for investors, companies, regulators, and wider society.”

Candriam Investors Group - The €100.1bn asset manager has appointed Isabelle Cabie as global head of responsible development and Wim Van Hyfte as global head of responsible investments and research. They will report to CIO of investment management at Candriam, Vincent Hamelink. Cabie will be in charge of developing Candriam’s active ownership strategy, leading its corporate social responsibility policy, and promoting socially responsible investing (SRI). She has over 20 years of experience in macroeconomics, institutional portfolio management, and sustainable and responsible investments. Van Hyfte transfers from the quantitative team at Candriam, where he was senior fund manager and SRI specialist, co-managing over $3bn (€2.79bn) in global SRI quant equity funds and segregated accounts. Together with his team of SRI research analysts he will create new ESG products and investment solutions. The asset manager is planning to hire two analysts in 2017 to grow its SRI team.

AP3Joakim Blomqvist has been hired by Sweden’s AP3 to the role of senior manager in its Alpha Management division. He started the job on 9 January. Blomqvist joined the pensions buffer fund from SEB Markets, where he was responsible for global sales of corporate bonds, among other things. He has also worked at Nordea Markets, insurance company If, Connecta, and JP Bank. At AP3, Blomqvist will have responsibility for a global bonds absolute return mandate. 

GlaxoSmithKline — Head of benefits at the British pharmaceutical giant, Moira Beckwith, has left to join Capital Cranfield, an independent trustee company. She is one of four new client directors, alongside John Nestor, Paul Black, and Andy Scott. Nestor serves on the trustee boards of several UK pension funds, including Prudential and the RAC. Black joins from consultancy firm Lane Clark & Peacock where he was an investment partner. Scott joins from Punter Southall where he had spent 20 years, and founded its independent trustee business.

AFGVirginie Buey has been appointed international development manager at the French asset management association. She will be responsible for promoting the French asset management industry in France and abroad. She previously worked at NN Investment Partners, where she was head of marketing and communication for France.

GMO – The US-based asset manager has named Scott Hayward as its next CEO, effective from 13 February. He replaces Peg McGetrick, interim CEO since July last year, who took the role following the resignation of Brad Hilsabeck. Hayward joins from Quantitative Management Associates, where he was chairman and CEO.

GMO has also hired Andy Martin from Cambridge Associates as head of investment teams, a newly created role. At Cambridge, where he spent 10 years, Martin was managing director in the non-profit practice and global head of hedge fund research. The asset manager plans to launch a series of products and strategies focused on climate change this year, GMO said in a statement.

Aon Hewitt – The consultancy giant has hired William Parry from Xerox, formerly Buck Consultants, as a senior consultant within its fiduciary management arm. At Xerox, Parry led its fiduciary management oversight operations, helping pension funds assess and appoint fiduciary managers. In his new role, he will focus on services for larger pension schemes of £1bn or more.

Tax-Incentivised Savings Association (TISA)Stephen Gay has been named policy team manager, and Renny Biggins has been appointed pensions technical officer for the UK lobby group. TISA said the new arrivals would form part of its “development plan”, aimed at extending and refocusing its policy reach. Gay has held senior roles at the Association of Independent Financial Advisers and the Association of British Insurers. Biggins has worked at mutual insurer Royal London, pension provider Suffolk Life, and fund administrator IFDS over a 25-year career.

RobecoGraham Elliot is to join the asset manager’s Hong Kong office in a new role as head of Asia Pacific and the Middle East distribution. He has worked at Robeco since 2011, most recently as country manager and head of sales for the Middle East and Africa. He will keep these responsibilities “on an interim basis”, Robeco said.

HSBC Securities ServicesTim Wood is to lead the banking giant’s custody business in the UK from 28 March. He joins from RBC Investor and Treasury Services, where he has worked since 2002.