CERN pension fund appoints CEO following Economou departure

The CERN Pension Fund has hired a new chief executive, nearly a year after Theodore Economou announced his departure from the CHF4bn scheme.

Matthew Eyton-Jones has previously worked in the area of pensions at UK retailer John Lewis Partnership, which earlier this year confirmed the closure of its defined benefit fund, and for consultancy Mercer, prior to joining the nuclear research facility’s pension fund in July. 

Additionally, he has worked for Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, studying at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge and at the London Business School.

Eyton-Jones told CERN’s staff bulletin that he would work to ensure its pension fund became “a benchmark in the world”.

He has previously acted as a trustee for the Villiers Park Educational Trust, based in Cambridge, and has spent a number of years as a Royal Navy reservist. 

Eyton-Jones’ appointment comes nearly a year after Theodore Economou announced he would not seek a further term as chief executive of CERN’s scheme, halfway through his second of two three-year terms as its CIO. 

Economou announced in January he would join Lombard Odier Investment Managers as its CIO of multi-asset, and more recently was named chairman of the manager’s three pension funds investment committees.