People moves: SEI appoints DC client relationship director

SEI – Leila Samara has been appointed as client relationship director of defined contribution (DC). She will be responsible for managing client relationships within the SEI Master Trust, which offers customised solutions and a complete member journey to guide members to retirement and beyond.

With nearly 20 years of experience in the pensions industry, Samara brings significant expertise in client management, consultancy, and proposition development to SEI. She most recently served in senior product management and client relationship positions at Fidelity International. Prior to that, she held DC and consulting roles at Mercer, Barclays, Willis Towers Watson, and XPS Group.

ZEDRA – The firm has announced two senior appointments to support its corporate and global expansion team.

Paul Haynes joins as a commercial director based in London, having previously worked for several leading global providers in corporate services as the regional head of EMEA. With more than 15 years of industry experience, he helps companies navigate the ever-changing global regulatory landscape, and the intricacies of setting up and operating in new markets.

Joining as a commercial director in San Francisco, Adam Klooster has nearly a decade of experience facilitating inbound and outbound growth of companies in the US with his substantial network across EMEA, APAC, and LATAM.

European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) – The EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor has appointed Birgit Puck, Finanzmarktaufsicht (FMA), as a new chair of the Markets Standing Committee. The election took place at the board of supervisors meeting on 11 February 2025.

The list of Standing Committees’ chairs is available here.

The standing committees are expert groups drawn from ESMA staff and the National Competent Authorities (NCAs) for securities markets regulation in the member states and are responsible for the development of policy in their respective areas.

AIP Management – Four team members of the Copenhagen-headquartered alternatives management firm are being promoted to the position of partner, it has been announced.

Mads Lerche Holstein, Martin Vering Dalsager, Mikkel Barth-Højgaard and Daniel Noe Harboe are becoming partners at AIP Management, whose investors include PKA, PenSam, Storebrand Asset Management, AkademikerPension, Lærernes Pension, and a consortium of Swiss institutional investors.

Kasper Hansen, AIP’s managing partner and chief executive officer, said: “These promotions reflect the significant contributions Mads, Martin, Mikkel and Daniel have made to AIP and our continued efforts to grow and adapt to the demands of the market.”

Risk Advisory Group – Patrick Lord has been named as the group’s new CEO.

Lord has more than 20 years of experience, specialising in providing advice to multinational organisations in emerging markets. His most recent role was as European managing director of Horizon Engage, based in the UK.

Lord’s previous experience also included being an investor and partner of Diligencia, a leading entity data and analytics company that focuses on the Middle East and Africa. He is also a regular public speaker on geopolitics, risk management and corporate governance.

La Française – The multi-specialist asset management group of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale has created a client portfolio management team and appointed Alexandre Menendez as its head. Based in Paris, Menendez reports directly to Gerardo Duplat, head of business development.

In his new role, Menendez is responsible for supporting the group’s expertise in listed assets while acting as a bridge between the portfolio management team of Crédit Mutuel Asset Management and La Française’s business development team.

Menendez has 18 years of experience in asset management, having begun his career in 2006 as a global fixed income portfolio manager at AXA Investment Managers, specialising in global aggregate strategies. In 2020, he moved to ELEVA Capital, where he founded and led the fixed income division.

Ninety One – Samantha Cleyn has been appointed as head of institutional, Canada.

At this growing business in Canada, Cleyn will work closely with members of the Canadian team and be responsible for driving the commercial development of this key market. Her role will include building relationships and raising assets with public and corporate pension plans, foundations and endowments, insurance and wealth platforms coupled with global and local consultant engagement. She will be based in Montreal, Quebec.

An industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience, Cleyn joins Ninety One from BMO Global Asset Management, where she was managing director, head of institutional sales and service. In this role, she was responsible for driving the firm’s Canadian institutional business and led a 10-person institutional distribution team.

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