People moves: AP Funds appoint new chairs

AP2/AP6 – The Swedish government has appointed new chairs for the two national pension funds based in Gothenburg. Anna-Karin Jatko is the new chair for AP2, and Jan Sinclair is the new chair for AP6.

Both chairs took up their roles on 20 March. 

Jatko has been director general of the Export Credit Board (Exportkreditnämnden) since 2016, and a board member at AP2 since January 2024. She replaces Jan Roxendal, who leaves the AP2 board after eight years.

Sinclair, meanwhile, takes over from Catrina Ingelstam as AP6 chair. Ingelstam has chosen to leave the AP6 board and become a member of AP2’s board instead. She will take on that role from 30 April.

Sinclair is a board member of Swedish state-owned investment company Almi and chair of state-owned mortgage lender SBAB. 

JPES Partners – The specialist consultancy has appointed Joanna Stocks as an independent consultant, bringing expertise in both wealth management and private markets.

Stocks has many years of experience in portfolio management, institutional investment and senior leadership, with expertise in multi-asset, liquid alternatives, private markets and investment governance. Most recently, she was director of alternatives and private markets at St. James’s Place Wealth Management.

Previously, Stocks worked at Aberdeen and M&G and has held a number of senior portfolio management roles in alternative investment strategies and multi-manager teams. Her appointment enhances JPES Partners’s ability to support clients in articulating complex propositions and engaging effectively with wealth management audiences at a board level, as demand for senior-level counsel in asset management continues to grow.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) – The firm has hired Gerco Goote as chief investment officer for the Netherlands.

Goote is currently head of fiduciary advice at pension asset manager MN. The move comes as a surprise, as Goote had recently been appointed to MN’s board of directors following a reorganisation.

A spokesperson for MN said Goote, who is set to leave on 1 April and start at GSAM a month later, will be “absolutely missed”.

Commenting on his sudden departure, Goote said: “It’s not part of my character to step away from a new challenge so easily. I now take this chance that only rarely occurs.”

Vanguard – Pablo Bernal has been appointed as country head for Spain, underscoring the firm’s commitment to the Spanish market.

Bernal, who joined Vanguard in Mexico in 2017, and most recently held the position of head of intermediary sales for Latin America, has relocated to Vanguard’s European headquarters in London, from where he will initially serve the Spanish market.

Prior to his term at Vanguard, Bernal held roles with Sherpa Capital, BlackRock and Deloitte. He will report to Simone Rosti, head of Italy and Southern Europe.

Hymans Robertson – Richard Wellard has been appointed as head of alternative risk transfer solutions.

In this role, Wellard will lead the team to support trustees and sponsors that are considering newer risk transfer options, including superfunds, capital-backed solutions and alternative insurance products, which have undergone transformational change in recent years.

With Clara Pensions set to become an established solution, and the range of solutions for risk transfer increasing, Wellard’s role will support clients at a time of greater competition and continued growth in this space, the firm said.

Wellard has been a partner at Hymans Robertson since 2015 and has led some of the most innovative transactions in this space.

Ilmarinen – Jorma Rauhala, chief executive officer of Finnish retail giant Kesko, has been appointed chair of the Finnish mutual pensions insurance company’s board of directors.

Rauhala was appointed by Ilmarinen’s supervisory board – the top panel in the firm’s governance structure – and succeeds Pasi Laine, who has chaired Ilmarinen’s board since 2020.

Laine retired from his job as CEO of Finnish paper industry technology company Valmet last summer.

Legal & General – Paula Llewellyn has been appointed as CEO, DC and workplace savings, effective 1 April 2025, subject to regulatory approval.

In the newly created role, Llewellyn will be working across L&G’s retail and asset management businesses. She will be responsible for the combined growth of L&G’s DC and workplace savings business, ensuring the firm maximises its market leadership and continues to deliver for its defined contribution (DC) clients and members.

Llewellyn will be moving from her current role as chief customer and strategy officer, retail. She brings significant commercial leadership, having previously been managing director of L&G’s direct business, encompassing retirement and protection propositions, and CEO of financial advice.

Alongside her commercial track record, her experience is deeply rooted in customer engagement and insight, which will be instrumental in the continued growth of L&G’s DC and workplace savings business. Llewellyn will lead an end-to-end business to create a clear, strategic vision for DC and workplace savings, ensuring the business harnesses its distribution strengths, investment capabilities and customer focus.

Separately, L&G has appointed Andy Parsons and Lois Day as trustees of the L&G Mastertrust. Meera Venu will stand down from the board after a three-year term on 30 June 2025.

Parsons has more than 25 years of financial experience in the insurance industry. He was previously chief financial officer for Just Group, a specialist UK financial services company, until 2023, having served as CFO for LV= between 2017 and 2019. He has previously held senior finance positions at Lloyds Banking Group, as CFO of Scottish Widows and the Lloyds HBOS GI businesses, Friends Life, AXA and Zurich.

Day is an experienced venture capital professional with investing, fund management and startup fundraising expertise. She currently serves as a venture partner at IP Group, a FTSE 250-listed investment firm. Before moving to the venture capital space, Day had a career in investment banking, where she executed deals totalling over $22bn in buy-side and sell-side M&A, debt financing and equity advisory.

Parsons and Day join the trustee board with the L&G Mastertrust which recently surpassed £30bn in assets under management, growing by a third in under two years.

Independent Governance Group (IGG) – The UK’s provider of professional pensions trusteeship and governance services has announced several new senior-level appointments.

Mike Kirby assumes the role of non-executive chair. He will work closely with Andrew Bradshaw and the executive team to oversee IGG’s strategic direction and ensure that the group continues to evolve its offering. With more than three decades of experience in asset management and financial services, Kirby brings deep expertise in governance, compliance and risk management to IGG.

Chantel Garfield will join IGG as CFO, with an extensive background in financial operations. Prior to this, she was group CFO for several years at Charles Taylor, a claims and technology solutions provider to the global insurance market. In addition, Garfield spent a decade at LexisNexis, a global provider of legal, regulatory and business information, ultimately as head of financial planning and analysis.

Grant Suckling, previously IGG’s chief product officer, assumes the role of chief commercial officer. In this newly created role, he will be responsible for overseeing and driving commercial strategy, as well as the group’s commercial operations.

Phil Hinson, previously corporate development director, has been appointed to the role of chief corporate development officer. He will work with CEO Andrew Bradshaw on strategy, corporate development, corporate finance and stakeholder management.

The promotions follow last year’s investment in IGG by ECI Partners, a growth-focused mid-market private equity firm.

Invesco – Ryan McGowan has been appointed as DC associate director in the UK distribution team. He will be based in London, reporting to Mary Cahani, head of DC clients.

Before joining Invesco, McGowan held various roles at SEI Investments, most recently as sales and consultant relations manager, where he was responsible for business development, consultant accounts and relationships across DC.

Also joining the DC distribution team is Gabriel Misson as DC sales and client associate. He is an internal hire, having previously worked in the client onboarding team at Invesco.

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