Universities Superannuation Scheme, Lancashire County Pension Fund, London Pension Fund Authority, ABP, Financial Reporting Council, Hermes Investment Management, State Street, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Bfinance, Principal Global Investors

Universities Superannuation Scheme – Sir Martin Harris has stepped down as chair of the trustee board after nine years in the role.He officially stepped down at the end of March, with the scheme set to announce his successor in the coming days.Harris joined the UK’s largest scheme as a director in April 1991, when he served as vice-chancellor of the University of Essex.He became deputy-chair of the £41.6bn (€57bn) pension fund in 2004, taking over as chairman two years later.The university employers representative, Universities UK (UKK), initially appointed Harris to the trustee board in 1991, before he went on to lead the organisation in 1997.

LCCP/LPFA – William Bourne has been appointed chair of the Local Pension Boards (LPB) for both the Lancashire County Pension Fund and the London Pension Fund Authority. The local government pension schemes (LGPS) are currently creating an asset-liability partnership to run the funds jointly. However, Bourne will sit on two separate LPBs. The boards, which must be established at all LGPS by April, have independent oversight of the schemes and sponsoring councils, and must ensure compliance with LGPS regulations. Bourne has more than 30 years’ experience in pensions and also advises the Royal County of Berkshire and East Sussex local government funds.

ABP – Huub Hannen has been appointed chairman for the supervisory board (RvT) at the €344bn civil service pension fund. Hannen has had a 38-year career in the co-operative insurance sector. Over the last 13 years, he has been a member and vice-chairman of the executive board at Achmea, focusing on life and pensions, finance, investment, re-insurance and care insurance. Hannen was nominated by the pension fund’s accountability unit. ABP has had an RvT since 1 July 2014, as a consequence of new legislation for pension fund governance. The RvT also consists of independent experts Kitty Roozemond, Anneke van der Meer, Nicolette Loomen and Peter de Groot.

Financial Reporting Council – Jennifer Walmsley has been appointed director of investor engagement, joining from Hermes Investment Management. Walmsley will be responsible for communicating with investors and developing policy to support the FRC’s aims. At Hermes, Walmsley was director of engagement.

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) – Ronald O’Hanley has been appointed president and chief executive of the asset management arm of State Street. O’Hanley’s appointment comes after the announcement of current chief executive Scott Powers’ intention to retire later this year after seven years in the role. O’Hanley, who joins from Fidelity Investments, will take over the role in the coming days, working with Powers as part of a handover. He was president of asset management and corporate services at Fidelity, and has previous experience at BNY Mellon Asset Management.

Columbia Threadneedle Investments – Florian Uleer has joined the newly branded asset manager as its country head for Germany. Based in Frankfurt, Uleer will join in July from Schroders, where he was a senior sales manager. Prior to Schroders, he worked at Union Investment Institutional, where he was responsible for German institutional clients.

Bfinance – Witold Witkiewicz and John Amoasi have joined the investment consultancy as a director in private markets and a senior associate in the fixed income team, respectively. Witkiewicz was previously a portfolio manager at Aeriance Investments, a real estate debt investment platform. He has also been head of European credit at Woodbourne Investment Management, a hedge fund. Amoasi joins from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where he was a product manager for multi-sector and absolute return fixed income strategies.

Principal Global Investors – Helly Pilavachi has joined as director of European fund distribution for French-speaking Europe. She joined the firm’s London office in January and was previously director of European sales at JO Hambro Capital, responsible for Southern Europe.

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