People moves: Publica director moves to Swiss federal social insurance office

Publica/FSIO – The Swiss government (Federal Council) has appointed Doris Bianchi, the director of the Swiss pension fund Publica, as the new director of the Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO), the institution monitoring the functioning of the first and second-pillar pension systems, effective from 1 September.

Bianchi, who has served as director of Publica since 2020, succeeds Stéphane Rossini, who will leave the FSIO at the end of June.

Rossini steps down from his position following mistakes made in calculating the financial outlook of the first pillar fund AHV, causing a public outcry. The investigation conducted by the Swiss federal ministry of internal affairs found Rossini not responsible for the mistake.

Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM) – Philippe Descheemaeker has been named head of private assets distribution as part of the firm’s strategic growth ambitions in private assets.

Based in Geneva, Descheemaeker brings more than 20 years of experience in asset management. He joins LOIM from SKY Harbor Capital Management, where he spent 12 years as head of distribution and managing director.

Czech Pension Association (APS) – Aleš Pokl has been re-elected as president of the Czech Pension Association, and Radek Moc as vice president.

European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP) – Panayiotis Elia has left the AEIP to join the Permanent Representation of Cyprus to the European Union, where he will be working on employment and social affairs dossiers. He worked at AEIP as policy adviser for pension and financial affairs from September 2022 to March 2025.

Trex – Daniel Godfrey has been appointed to the board of Trex, a company providing non-linear climate and energy-transition scenarios for investors. He has also been appointed senior independent director.

Godfrey was CEO of the UK asset management association from 2012 to 2015, and is a keen proponent of leveraging investment to promote social justice and climate change and nature loss mitigation. He is a visiting fellow at the Global Systems Institute at Exeter University, which has produced climate scenarios intended to overcome perceived limitations with more mainstream approaches.

Godfrey also chairs the Financial Conduct Authority’s Advisers’ Sustainability Group as well as serving on the Financial Reporting Council’s Independent Advisory Panel.

National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) – UK-based NISTA has appointed Becky Wood as its new CEO. Formally launched at the beginning of this month, NISTA will look to fix the foundations of the UK’s infrastructure system by bringing strategy and delivery under one roof.

Wood is currently a partner at the consultancy firm EY. Before that, she was a commercial adviser at the Infrastructure and Projects Authority. For 10 years Wood oversaw major infrastructure developments at the Department for Transport, serving as the senior responsible officer for the Crossrail, Thameslink and Intercity Express programmes.

MiddleGround – The operationally focused private equity firm has hired Jonathan La as chief financial officer. He joins the firm with 25 years of experience in the private equity industry, including serving for 17 years at Monomoy Capital Partners as director of finance.

T. Rowe Price – The US asset manager has appointed Jenni Jackson as head of EMEA platforms, a newly created role within the T. Rowe Price EMEA distribution team. Jackson has been with T. Rowe Price since 2012.

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