GLOBAL – Mercer, Schroders, AXA Investment Managers, Hagee Pensioenfonds, Unigestion, AMP Capital, Punter Southall Transaction Services, Rogge Global Partners, Finisterre Capital, HarbourVest Partners, Big Society Capital, AXA Private Equity

Mercer – Deb Clarke has been appointed global head of investment research. The role will include responsibility for manager research, oversight of strategic research and asset allocation. She succeeds Divyesh Hindocha (see following entry), who is resigning from Mercer effective 1 October to join Schroders. Clarke joined Mercer in 2005 and most recently has been global leader of the Equity Boutique, a unit within Mercer’s Investments business. Before joining Mercer, she was a senior investment consultant at Towers Watson.

Schroders – Divyesh Hindocha has been appointed global head of product and defined contribution, effective 1 November. He joins from Mercer’s investments business, where he was senior partner and global director of consulting. He succeeds Gavin Ralston, who has covered the role on an interim basis since his promotion to head of official institutions last year.

AXA Investment Managers – Jonathan Crowther has been appointed head of the UK liability-driven investment (LDI) team. He joins from Legal & General Investment Management, where he oversaw the delivery of risk management and hedging solutions. Before then, he worked at Watson Wyatt, where he was responsible for managing LDI projects.

Hagee Pensioenfonds – Gé Groot is to succeed Jan Janse as chair of the €302m Hagee Stichting Pensioenfonds. She has been a board member of the pension fund for many years, representing the employers. Groot is to take up her new role on 30 September.

Unigestion – The boutique institutional asset manager has appointed Jussi Louekoski as director of institutional clients for the Nordic region. He joins from Capital Dynamics, where he was head of sales for Northern Europe. Over the course of his career, he has also held senior development roles at Amundi, HEX, Northern Trust and Deutsche Bank.

AMP Capital – Judy Saunders, former CIO at the £8.9bn (€10.6bn) West Midlands Pension Fund, has joined the infrastructure manager as an adviser to its UK business. Saunders, who left the local government pension scheme amid a restructuring of its leadership structure last year, previously joined hedge fund investor Man Group as a senior consultant.

Punter Southall Transaction Services – Sankar Mahalingham has joined as a principal. He joins from RSA Insurance, where he was head of group pensions. He was previously a director at Towers Watson, where he performed the roles of corporate adviser, scheme actuary and investment consultant.

Rogge Global Partners – The institutional fixed income specialist has appointed Gerard-Jan van Berckel as head of insurance and Northern Europe distribution. Based in London, he will be responsible for growing the firm’s institutional investor base in the region. He joins from Conning Asset Management, where since 2008 he has been head of Continental European sales.

Finisterre Capital – Darren Walker has been named a partner at the long/short emerging market specialist. He left JP Morgan Chase in March 2012, where was managing director, and joined Finisterre in June last year as a portfolio manager on the Global Opportunity fund. Before joining JP Morgan Chase, he was a managing director at Credit Suisse.

HarbourVest Partners – The private markets investment firm has appointed Olav König as managing director and head of sales and client service for the EMEA region. Based in London, he will focus on providing private markets solutions to institutional investors. He joins from Eaton Partners, where he was a partner and head of Europe.

Big Society Capital – Harvey McGrath, a leading philanthropist and former chairman at Prudential and Man Group, has been appointed to the board and will assume the chair on 1 January 2014. He succeeds Sir Ronald Cohen in line with the founding plan of Big Society Capital that he would serve as chairman until the organisation was fully operational.

AXA Private Equity – Juan Angoitia has been appointed managing director in the Paris infrastructure office. He joins from Citi Infrastructure Investors, where he was an investment principal.

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