Pensions-Sicherungs-Verein, Deutsche Post DHL, KPA Pension, Almi Företagspartner, Folksam, Svensk Forsäkring, Tryg, ASR, Russell Investments, La Française, MEAG

Pensions-Sicherungs-Verein (PSV) – Benedikt Köster will be joining the German pension lifeboat fund’s executive board with effect from January 1, 2021 to take over from Hans Melchiors as head of the operations and finance department. Melchiors will be stepping down from the board at the end of April to enter retirement.

Köster is currently senior vice president for group pensions at Deutsche Post DHL Group in Bonn, having joined the company in 2006 from then Aon Jauch & Huebener Consulting, where he had been the international pension accounting chief. He is a member of the German actuarial association (DAV) and on the mathematical experts working group at aba, Germany’s main occupational pensions association.

PSV is the €7.5bn mutual insurance association for occupational pension schemes in Germany and Luxembourg. It insures around €345bn of liabilities, covering some 11.1 million beneficiaries.

KPA Pension — Britta Burreau, the chief executive officer of Sweden’s KPA Pension – a subsidiary of pensions and insurance group Folksam – is leaving to head up state-owned financing firm Almi Företagspartner. She is replacing the previous CEO Göran Lundwall, who decided to step down from the role at the end of this year. Burreau has led KPA Pension since 2016 and, prior to this, was CEO of Nordea Liv & Pension. Almi Företagspartner said she will start work in the new job by 15 November at the latest.

Folksam/Svensk Forsäkring — Swedish insurance industry association Svensk Forsäkring, which counts the country’s largest pension funds as its members, has appointed the head of pensions and insurance group Folksam, Ylva Wessén, as a new member of its supervisory board.

She has worked for the Folksam group since 2007, becoming its permanent chief executive officer in December 2019. Announcing a series of new appointments to the board as well as new tenures for existing members, Svensk Forsäkring also said its supervisory board chair Louise Sander, CEO of Handelsbanken Liv, had been re-elected, along with deputy chair Fredrik Bergström, the CEO of Swedish pensions and insurance group Länsförsäkringar.

Tryg — Nordic general insurance group Tryg has appointed Christina Bustrup as its new head of pensions. She confirmed in a post on LinkedIn that she would be starting work in the new role in June. Bustrup joins the firm from her current role as chief commercial officer for Danish pensions IT company Edlund. She is also a member of the supervisory board of the Bank of Greenland.

ASR – ASR Asset Management, part of Dutch insurance group ASR, has appointed Bas Kragten, Jules Koekkoek, Remco van Amelsfoort and Vincent Kroes as senior managers of its structured fixed income team. It said they will focus on investment grade debt instruments as well as ESG impact investments. All four joined from Dutch asset manager Actiam, the successor of SNS Asset Management.

Kragten, who will lead the team, has been co-head of fixed income at Actiam, head of asset-backed securities at ING IM as well as senior investment manager at NIB Capital AM. Koekkoek’s previous positions include executive director at USB Investment Bank and Nomura. Kroes has been associate director at KPMG Corporate Finance as well as supervisor at the European Central Bank.

Russell Investments – The asset manager has further strengthened its presence in the Dutch market with the addition of two experienced investment industry professionals. Jaap Hoek is joining as director of investment strategy and solutions for Northern Europe, and Marleen Barents-Jager as sales director retail for Benelux and the Nordics.

Hoek joins from Robeco, where he was most recently a director and portfolio strategist in the company’s investment solutions team.

Barents-Jager recently worked for Principal Global Investors, where she was responsible for business development activities, promoting and distributing the company’s range of mutual funds.

La Française Group – Following an internal consultation that began several months ago, chairman of the executive board Xavier Lépine is leaving the €69.3bn asset manager and being replaced by Patrick Rivière, who until now held the position of chief executive officer.

The group has also expanded the executive board with the addition of Marc Betrand and Philippe Lecomte, who have been with the group for many years already. The company said its reorganisation would help the group develop its multi-boutique model.

Eric Charpentier, CEO of owner Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe, said: “I would like to thank Xavier Lépine for his valuable cooperation over all these years as well as his outstanding contribution to the Group’s expansion and his enthusiasm as a developer.

“I welcome the appointment of Patrick Rivière and the new management team, who will be able to best respond to the current developments and successfully continue the expansion of La Française Group.”

MEAG – The Munich-based asset manager MEAG has named two new CIOs. Joining from JP Morgan Asset Management, Prashant Sharma will assume responsibility for the management of the liquid assets portfolio as CIO for public markets.

Separately, Michael Bös will become CIO, alternative assets, overseeing the division that will be created effective 1 July by bringing together under a single manager the illiquid assets and real estate businesses at MEAG Munich Ergo Asset Management. Bös has been heading up the investment strategy division at MEAG’s owner Munich Re.

Sharma and Bös will effectively be succeeding Thomas Kurtz and Wolfgang Wente, respectively.

MEAG manages the assets of reinsurance giant Munich Re and subsidiary ERGO, and currently manages €324bn, according to the company.

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