Altis IM – Martin Sanders and Kees Verbaas have been appointed as the new management team for Altis Investment Management, the €50bn fiduciary management subsidiary of NN Investment Partners.

Sanders is to start as managing director on 1 May. He joins from Univest Company, the provider for the pension funds of Unilever, where he was chief investment officer for several of the company’s European funds.

Verbaas is to join as director of investments on 1 June, heading the team of senior portfolio managers and analysts. Currently, he is head of fund management at the €20bn asset manager Blue Sky Group, responsible for multi-manager funds. Previously he has worked at Robeco, ABN AMRO Asset Management, and Hermes.

Last month, Kempen Capital Management poached four staff from Altis IM: Richard Jacobs, Sven Smeets, Edzard Potgieser, and Bram Bikker.

Hymans Robertson – Board chairman John Dickson is to become senior partner at the UK pension consultancy from 1 April. He takes on the position from Ronnie Bowie. Dickson joined Hymans Robertson in 2003, going on to lead its investment consulting business. He became chair of the company’s board at the start of 2014. Bowie will continue as a partner, working with several of Hymans Robertson’s major clients, the company said in a statement. Bowie joined Hymans Robertson in 1980.

Dickson said: “Ronnie’s incredible commitment and dedication to our firm has played a huge role getting us to where we are today. For almost 40 years he has been, and will continue to be, a universally respected leading figure both within our business and the wider industry. Over that time our markets have changed dramatically and have become vastly more complex. Ronnie has continually adapted to, and led us through, much of that change.”

Cindu – The Dutch company pension fund of Cindu International has appointed Jacco Heemskerk as its independent chairman. He succeeded Rob van Pernis, a former chief executive of Cindu, who had been at the helm of the scheme since 2007. Heemskerk was previously an executive trustee at the Dutch pension fund of Royal Bank of Scotland, which has merged with the general pension fund (APF) of insurer Centraal Beheer, part of Achmea Group.

NN IP – The Dutch asset manager NN Investment Partners has named Hester Borrie as head of strategic business development and integrated client solutions as of 1 April. This will be in addition to her position as head of the client group. She will replace Martin Nijkamp, who is to leave NN IP after 30 years. Nijkamp is to stay on until 1 November to assist with a smooth transition, the company said.

bfinance – The UK consultancy has hired Paul Doyle as a director in its client consulting team. He joins from Kempen Capital Management where he oversaw client relationships for the Dutch firm’s UK fiduciary clients. bfinance has also hired Chelsie Doyle as senior associate within the client consulting team. The pair will work with head of consulting Sam Gervaise-Jones to expand the group’s client base in the UK and Ireland.

De Nationale APF – Matthijs Swarts has been named secretary of De Nationale APF, the general pension fund (APF) of Nationale Nederlanden. Swarts joins from pensions provider and NN subsidiary AZL, where he was an adviser to the board. He is a certified pension executive.

GAM – The Swiss asset manager has appointed Ben Edwards as head of its institutional sales in the UK and Ireland. He previously held a similar role at PIMCO, leading institutional distribution for the US bond fund manager.

AXA IM – Julien Fourtou, global head of multi-asset client solutions and trading and securities finance at AXA Investment Managers, will leave the firm after 17 years. He plans to pursue a “new entrepreneurial project”, according to a statement from the France-headquartered asset manager. His responsibilities will be taken on by Laurence Boone, in addition to her role as global head of research and investment strategy, from 3 April.

Axioma – Jacqueline Gaillard has joined Axioma as managing director for people and talent, responsible for recruitment strategy at the portfolio software provider. She was previously senior vice president for human resources and talent management at International Securities Exchange.

FundRock Management Company – Louise Harris has joined the Luxembourg-based fund services company to lead its legal and compliance team in Ireland. She joins from Abbey Capital, an Irish alternative investment management firm, where she was general counsel. The company said the appointment would help grow its services for Dublin-domiciled funds.

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