Norges Bank, NBIM, Kyrkans, KENFO, ABP, EIOPA, Alecta, Saracen, BaFin, ATP, Neuberger Berman
Norges Bank/NBIM – Øystein Olsen, the governor of Norway’s central bank Norges Bank – which runs the Government Pension Fund Global through its subsidiary Norges Bank Investment Management – told the Ministry of Finance last week he wants to resign in February 2022.
Olsen, who became governor in January 2011, and is currently serving his second six-year term, said that as he was turning 70 in January, it was a natural time to round off a long professional career.
“I have decided to remain in my post to the end of February next year and finish off with my 12th annual address,” he said.
Kyrkans pension – David Lindenstrand has been appointed as the new risk manager at the Swedish church pension fund, Kyrkans pension. The role is a new one, and involves operational responsibility for the pension fund’s risk management system, Kyrkans pension said. Lindenstrand’s previous jobs include quantitative risk analyst at AFA Asset Management, and he has also worked at Swedish pensions and insurance group Folksam.
He will take up the post this month, Kyrkans pension said.
KENFO – The German nuclear waste management fund has appointed Immo Querner as member and chair of its investment committee based on a recommendation by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Querner succeeds Maximilian Zimmerer. He served previously as chief financial officer at Talanx and HDI, and since 2020 is chair of the audit committee for the supervisory board at Deutsche Bahn.
KENFO’s investment committee counts five members, who are experts in portfolio, risk management and investment, tasked to advise the board of trustees. The other four committee members are Martin Korbmacher, Elga Bartsch, Mats Andersson and Jochen Wermuth.
ABP – The firm has named its first of three full-time executive directors following the switch in governance model the Dutch civil service scheme announced in July. Harmen van Wijnen will become the president of the executive board on 1 January 2022. He joined ABP in May last year as the director of the pension fund’s executive office.
Van Wijnen, who started his career as an actuary for pension funds and insurance firms and later became a partner at EY, will be in charge of general management and become the main public spokesperson for the fund.
Commenting on the appointment, ABP’s president Corien Wortmann characterised Van Wijnen as “an inspiring and connecting leader”. The two remaining members of the executive committee, who will be in charge of investment policy and general pension policy respectively, will be named later this year.
EIOPA – Petra Hielkema started in her new position as chair of the EU pension fund supervisor on Wednesday. The EU Council adopted a decision on her appointment in late May, following recommendation by the European Parliament. The EIOPA chair is appointed for a term of five years, renewable once.
Hielkema was previously director for insurance supervision at DNB, the Dutch central bank.
She said it was “a great honour” to take up the role of EIOPA chair, “at such a challenging time”.
“Climate change, recovery from the pandemic and digitalisation are all huge challenges for society, but they are also all areas where insurance companies and pension fund providers can play a significant role in mitigating the risks and fostering a more resilient society,” she said. ”I am looking forward to working together with the members of the board of supervisors, consumer groups, industry, policymakers and the committed staff of this well-functioning organisation with a common goal – protection of European consumers and beneficiaries and financial stability.”
Alecta Fastigheter – Jenny Lindholm has been appointed chief investment officer of Alecta Fastigheter, the real estate subsidiary of Sweden’s largest pension fund. She is replacing Johanna Boltzius who left Alecta Fastigheter before the summer, for a new role as chief executive officer of Swedish property firm Nybrofast.
Lindholm will take up her new role in October and be responsible for transactions and analysis, initially in Sweden, but in future in other Nordic countries too, the pension fund said.
In line with the expansion plan for Alecta Fastigheter, the focus will be on real estate acquisition, a spokesman for Alecta said.
Alecta Fastigheter was formed at the beginning of this year, and is to manage SEK45bn (€4bn) of Alecta’s directly-held Swedish properties and Swedish joint ventures, and is aiming to double in size within a few years, he said.
Saracen Fund Managers – The Edinburgh-based asset manager, backed by AssetCo, has appointed Alasdair Birch as investment director on its global and UK equity strategies.
His responsibilities will include equity analysis and research and he will support the team in its search for high-quality companies trading at low valuations, in accord with Saracen’s ‘quality but not at any price’ investment philosophy.
Birch will work across both major Saracen products, the TB Saracen Global Income and Growth fund and the TB Saracen UK Alpha fund. His approach to investing, with a focus on valuation and bottom-up stock-picking, along with his keen interest in the use of new technologies and his experience across the all-cap European market make him an ideal fit for Saracen.
Before joining Saracen Birch was a deputy fund manager and investment analyst at SVM Asset Management. Prior to joining SVM in 2012, he worked at BNP Paribas Investment Partners.
BaFin – The German financial supervisory authority has promoted Thorsten Pötzsch to the position of executive director securities supervision and asset management division.
Pötzsch has been acting director of the division since Elisabeth Roegele left in the spring. Before joining BaFin, Pötzsch held management positions in the Federal Ministry of Finance, in the Federal Chancellery and in the Federal Agency for Financial Market Stabilization. He has been the executive director of the resolution division at BaFin since 2018.
Birgit Rodolphe will take over the lead at the resolution division, which also includes the anti-money laundering and financial system integrity departments, on 1 November. Rodolphe, who will also join BaFin’s board of directors, served previously as head of corporate clients non-financial risk at Commerzbank and at Dresdner Bank.
ATP Real Estate – Vibeke Bak Solok has been appointed as the new chief financial officer at ATP Real Estate (ATP Ejendomme), and is set to start work at the Danish pension fund subsidiary on 14 September.
Back in March, the firm had announced that the job would go to Maiken Moltke Olesen, who was due to start in June. However, Moltke Olsen was in fact poached by Nykredit before starting at ATP Real Estate.
Bak Solok has previously worked at Danske Bank as chief operating officer within group risk management as well as having been accounting director at the bank. At ATP Real Estate, she will take on managerial responsibility for the financial, accounting and IT areas, the property firm said.
She will also set the strategic agenda and strengthen the organisation at all levels, it said, in close collaboration with the chief executive officer, Martin Vang Hansen, and the rest of the executive board.
Vang Hansen said that in Bak Solok, his operation was getting “an experienced and strategically and visionary strong CFO, who will be a key player in the further transformation and development of ATP Real Estate.
“At the same time, with Vibeke, we want to create increased transparency and efficiency across the business through technology and data utilisation,” he said.
Neuberger Berman – The firm has appointed Sarah Peasey to the newly-created position of director of European ESG investing.
Based in London, Peasey will report to Jonathan Bailey, head of ESG investing at Neuberger Berman. Peasey will work directly with the firm’s investment teams to further incorporate ESG principles across asset classes and to enhance long-term value for Neuberger Berman’s clients.
Peasey joins from Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM), where she served as head of responsible investment strategy – investments. There she worked closely with the CIO to drive long-term responsible investment strategy, with a focus on research and portfolio management across all investment capabilities, whilst also providing the investment perspective to support product innovation and shape client solutions. Prior to this, Peasey was an investment strategist and head of fixed income investment specialists, also at LGIM.
No comments yet