Friday people roundup

APG, UNOPS, ABP, Kempen Fiduciary Management, Alberta Investment Management Corporation, Achmea Investment Management, Willis Towers Watson, Mercer, Redington, ING Pension Fund, Allianz Global Investors, F&C Investments, Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, Standard Life Investments

UNOPS – Bart le Blanc, chairman of the supervisory board at Dutch asset manager APG, has been appointed as a member of the new investment committee of UNOPS, the Copenhagen-based UN organisation for humanitarian, peacekeeping and development missions. UNOPS has also named Knut Kjaer, an external member of the investment committee of the €356bn civil service scheme ABP, on its investment committee. Kjaer is the founding chief executive of the €400bn Norges Bank Investment Management, manager of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund. UNOPS has been managing its investment and treasury services in-house since 1 January. It took over these tasks from the United Nations Development Programme to increase flexibility and efficiency.

ABP – Jan van Zijl has been appointed vice-chairman of the €357bn Dutch civil service scheme, as of 1 April. He will succeed Cees de Veer, who is to retire. Van Zijl had been nominated by VSO, the industry organisation for employers in all government sectors. Currently, he is chairman of the MBO Council, the representative body for secondary occupational education and adult education. Previously, he chaired the Council for Work and Income. He has also been an MP for the PvdA party. Meanwhile, Jan Christiaan Hellendoorn as head of corporate communication as of 1 March. In this new position, he will be responsible for communication to participants, the public and the media. Heading a four-strong team, Hellendoorn is to advise the pension fund’s board on strategic matters. He will also be tasked with public affairs, in co-operation with APG, ABP’s asset manager and pensions provider. Hellendoorn has been head of communications at supermarkets chain Albert Heijn since 2005.

Kempen Fiduciary Management – Johan Cras has been appointed managing director, based in London. His appointment follows Remco van Eeuwijk’s decision to accept the role of chief risk officer at the Alberta Investment Management Corporation. He joins from Achmea Investment Management, where he was member of the executive committee with responsibility for the fiduciary management business. Before then, he held several positions at Russell Investments, latterly as chief executive for the EMEA region.

Willis Towers Watson – Marco Linders has been named senior consultant for business development at Willis Towers Watson Netherlands in Amstelveen. He joins from Mercer, where he has been a business developer for eight years. Before then, he was commercial leader at Dutch consultancy Akkermans & Partners.

Redington – The UK-based consultant has announced plans to appoint a dedicated chief executive. Since inception in 2006, co-founders Robert Gardner and Dawid Konotey-Ahulu have held the combined roles of client consultants, co-chief executives, board directors and shareholders. An internal selection process has begun, and a formal announcement will be made in due course, Redington said.

ING Pension Fund – Armin Becker has started as director of the pensions bureau of the ING CDC Pension Fund, established in 2014. Previously, he has served as director of the €1bn Arcadis Pensioenfonds, which adopted collective defined contribution arrangements in 2004.

Allianz Global Investors – Eugenia Jackson has been appointed as a senior governance specialist and ESG analyst. She joins from F&C Investments, where she was an associate director. Matthew Couzens has been appointed as a regional sales manager for London, joining from Canada Life Investments, where he held a similar role.

Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier – Claude Marx has been sworn in as director general of the Luxembourg financial services supervisory authority. He had been appointed to the post last year but took up his position this week. He replaces Jean Guill, who is retiring. Marx joins from Lombard International Assurance, where he was chief executive. He also previously worked at HSBC Private Bank (Luxembourg).

Standard Life Investments – Euan Stirling has been promoted to head of stewardship and ESG investment. Stirling joined SLI in 2001 from Schroder Investment Management. He has served as a senior fund manager and investment analyst in the UK equity team.