People moves: UK pensions trade body names policy board chair [updated]

PLSA, USS Joint Expert Panel, Bayerische Versorgungskammer, EZVK, Association of Consulting Actuaries, Aon, BlueBay Asset Management, Martin Currie, TISA, Newton

Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) – Emma Douglas, head of defined contribution (DC) at Legal & General Investment Management, has been appointed chair of the UK association’s new policy board.

Creating a policy board was one of the changes announced at the PLSA’s annual conference in October. It will start its work in the autumn, taking strategic oversight of the PLSA’s policy work programme. Douglas is already chair of the PLSA’s master trust Committee and sits on the PLSA’s DC Council. The association will begin searching for the remaining members of the policy board in the coming weeks. PLSA members will be asked to approve Douglas’ appointment and the other appointments. 

Robeco – The Dutch asset manager has appointed Bart Oldenkamp as head of investment solutions, effective from 1 July. He leaves NN Investment Partners where he has worked for three years as managing director of the integrated client solutions team. He was previously head of Cardano’s Netherlands office. 

At Robeco, Oldenkamp will be responsible for expanding the firm’s fiduciary management and multi-asset businesses. He replaces Martin Mlynár, who will step down to fully focus on his role as managing director or Robeco’s manager selection platform Corestone.

Jacka is professor of statistics at the University of Warwick and a Turing fellow at the Alan Turing Institute; Mabbett is professor of public policy at Birkbeck, and Donnelly is associate professor at Heriot-Watt University, where she heads up a unit focusing on pensions, investment and insurance research.

Their appointments followed the announcement of Joanne Segars, former CEO of the PLSA, as chair of the group.

Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK) – Axel Uttenreuther is replacing Reinhard Dehlinger on the board of the €72bn Bavarian multi-industry pension fund. Dehlinger, who had responsibility for the medical care profession, information processing and mathematics, is retiring. Uttenreuther has been at the Bayerischen Ärzteversorgung, the retirement scheme for medical professionals in Bavaria, since 1997. BVK is an amalgamation of more than 10 schemes providing first pillar pensions to professionals such as doctors, architects, chartered accountants and pharmacists.

Evangelische Zusatzversorgungskasse (EZVK) – Christina Jasmin Hofmann is to join the board of the €9.6bn pension and retirement welfare fund for parts of the Protestant church in Germany. Effective from September, she will be the board member with responsibility for finance – and in particular investments, accounting and IT. The position had been vacant since August 2017. She has many years’ experience within the Allianz group, where she is currently department head for finance for its private health insurance company, Allianz Private Krankenversicherungs-AG. 

Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) – Effective from 1 June, Jenny Condron will be the new chair of the UK actuarial trade body, succeeding LCP’s Bob Scott. She is the first woman to hold the role. Condron is currently chief actuarial officer at Mercer, where she has worked since 1991.

In a statement, Condron outlined several areas of focus for the ACA, including savings levels within defined contribution pensions, financial education, improved communications, and the retirement income gap between defined contribution and defined benefit savers.

At the ACA’s recent annual meeting, Phil Simpson (Milliman) was re-elected honorary secretary and Patrick Bloomfield of Hymans Robertson was elected honorary treasurer.

Aon – Vicky Kydoniefs has joined the consultancy as a partner in its EMEA fiduciary management team. She was previously at Charlemagne Capital for 11 years, where she was director and co-head for distribution. Before that she had senior roles at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, where she was head of UK and Irish institutional business development, and at Mercury Asset Management. 

BlueBay Asset Management – The specialist fixed income manager has appointed Stephen Thariyan to the newly created role of co-head of developed markets, working alongside Mark Dowding, the other co-head. Thariyan will take on responsibility for the corporate credit investment process and for growing related strategies across investment grade, leveraged finance and convertible bonds. He was previously global head of credit at Henderson Global Investors (now Janus Henderson), a role he held for 10 years. He has also worked at Rogge Global Partners, Natwest Markets and Chevron Corporation.

Martin Currie – The Edinburgh-based equity fund manager has hired Zehrid Osmani to lead its “global long-term unconstrained” investment team. He replaces Tom Walker, who has stepped down from the role as part of a leadership succession plan. Osmani joins from BlackRock where he worked for 10 years, mostly on European equity management and research. Walker has led various regional and global teams at Martin Currie since joining in 1996.

Tax-Incentivised Savings Association (TISA) – Gregg McClymont, head of retirement at Aberdeen Standard Investments, and Jane Goodland, responsible business director at Quilter, have joined the investments and savings membership organisation as non-executive directors.

McClymont is a former shadow pensions minister in the UK parliament. In addition to his role at Aberdeen Standard, he is chair of the board of directors for the PLSA’s Pension Quality Mark. Goodland has over 20 years’ experience in financial services, having worked in sustainable investment in roles for HSBC, Janus Henderson and Willis Towers Watson. Current TISA non-executive director Richard Freeman is retiring from Quilter but will stay involved with TISA.

Newton Investment Management – The UK investment manager – part of BNY Mellon Investment Management – has appointed Andy Warwick to its “real return” team, which manages the company’s flagship diversified growth strategy. Warwick is due to join at the end of July as co-manager alongside Suzanne Hutchins and Aron Pataki. He joins from BlackRock where he was a manager on diversified growth and multi-asset funds.