People Moves: European Actuarial Body Hires New CEO From UK's FRC [updated]

Smart Pension, UWV, AAE, NIO Fondsmæglerselskab, Bank J. Safra Sarasin, B&CE, Clara Pensions, Swedish social security minister, Janus Henderson Investors, Invesco, BNP Paribas Asset Management, UK SIF, Swedbank Robur, Mediolanum International Funds

Actuarial Association of Europe (AAE) – Cecilia Thorn has replaced Ad Kok as chief executive of the European actuarial association. According to an announcement from the AAE, she has 16 years of experience in international and EU public affairs/policy, with her last position being head of international relations for the UK’s Financial Reporting Council .

Kok was chief executive of the association for five years until his retirement at the beginning of August. The AAE said it was grateful to him “for the way he fulfilled this position and thereby contributed to the further professionalisation of the association”.

Esko Kivisaari, chairperson of the AAE, said: “I am delighted that Cecilia has accepted the position of chief executive of the AAE. I look forward to continuing to build a strong and effective partnership between the executive and the AAE leadership that Cecilia draws on her experience to help deliver our strategy.”

UWV – Toine van der Stee is the new chairman of the board of the €7.9bn pension fund for Dutch employment and benefits agency UWV, succeeding Frank van Galen , who has retired. Van der Stee has been the chief executive of fiduciary manager Blue Sky Group since 2005. 

Smart Pension –  Ruston Smith has been appointed chair of the board of directors of the UK defined contribution master trust provider Smart Pension, replacing former Virgin CEO Stephen Murphy , who has stepped down. Smith is also chair of the firm’s international advisory board and has been a non-executive director at the provider since September 2018. He is the former chairman of the UK’s pension fund trade body and former Tesco group pensions director. 

Smart Pension said Smith’s appointment came as the company “extends its reach in the UK as a broader DC pension provider and moves into new global territories with its platform technology arm”.

Smith said: “This is an exciting time to be leading the Smart Board with the two strategic directions the company is moving in”. 

NIO Fondsmæglerselskab – Bjarne Graven Larsen , former CIO of both Canada’s Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Danish pension fund ATP, has taken on a new role at the alternatives-focused Danish investment fund company NIO Fondsmæglerselskab. He has become deputy chair of the firm’s board of directors and chair of its investment committee. Last year, Graven Larsen launched his new firm Qblue Capital , which is to offer a multi-strategy risk premia investment fund.

Bank J. Safra Sarasin – Sasja Beslik has left Nordea Asset Management to take up the position of head of sustainable finance development at the Swiss private bank. He had been at Nordea since 2009, and had been head of group sustainable finance since 2017.

Bank J. Safra Sarasin described him as an “internationally renowed ESG financial expert”, highlighting accolades such as his 2013 award from the king of Sweden for outstanding contributions to Swedish environmental and sustainability theory.

B&CE  – Jane Dunlop has joined the provider of multi-employer defined contribution scheme The People’s Pension as general counsel, and a member of the executive team. Previous roles include director of legal (life) for Aviva UK Insurance and head of legal for Friends Life UK.

Clara Pensions – Ashley Smith has been appointed general counsel at the defined benefit pension scheme consolidator. He joins from law firm CMS , having previously worked at Addleshaw Goddard and Clifford Chance. Clara Pensions said his addition to the team “reflects a growing pipeline of potential transactions as Clara works toward approval”.

Swedish ministry of health and social affairs – Annika Strandhäll , the Swedish minister for social security since October 2014, has resigned her post following a period of absence in the wake of the sudden death of her partner.

In a post of Facebook, Strandhäll said: “The background is that right now I need to focus on creating peace and security in everyday life for my children and for the whole family.” However, she said she would not leave politics, which was “part of what makes me who I am”.

On Tuesday Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven announced she was being replaced by Ardalan Shekarabi , who is moving into the role from his previous job as minister for public administration. In turn, Lena Micko has been appointed as the new minister for public administration.

Janus Henderson Investors – The €287bn global active aset manager has hired Norbert Fullerton from MJ Hudson Allenbridge as head of institutional client strategy for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA). Janus Henderson said Fullerton would be fulfilling a new role, “enhancing the way we engage with our institutional clients in EMA by leading our thought leadership, investment solutions and strategic initiatives for our institutional clients”.

At MJ Allenbridge Fullerton was a senior adviser. Previous roles include partner at Mercer, director of pension solutions at Russell Investments, and senior investment strategist and scheme actuary at then Towers Watson.

Invesco – Stephanie Butcher , European equity fund manager, has been named as the successor to Nick Mustoe , who has decided to step down after 10 years as chief investment officer, the €777bn asset manager announced this week.

Butcher is to work alongside Mustoe for a three-month transition period and assume the role of CIO from 1 January 2020.

Doug Sharp, senior managing director and head of EMEA, said: “I am delighted to announce Stephanie’s appointment to CIO. She is an investor of the highest calibre, combining strong leadership and investment skills, with an exceptional understanding of our clients’ needs, built up over her 17 years with Invesco.” 

BNP Paribas Asset Management – David Vaillant is switching roles within the BNP Paribas group, taking on the role of global head of finance, strategy and participations at the asset manager after having been head of banking for EMEA in the investment bank’s financial institutions coverage division.

At the asset manager he succeeds Pascal Biville , head of strategy and finance and head of affiliate network, who the company said had left to pursue other opportunities.

UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UK SIF) – Michael Meehan , the former CEO of the Global Reporting Initiative , has been appointed the new chair of the sustainable finance membership organisation. He replaces Lesley Alexander , who steps down after five years as chair of UKSIF.

According to UK SIF, Meehan has been a chief executive and board member in sustainability for almost 20 years and has worked with organisations and governments around the world including the World Economic Forum, California State Senate, the White House, and the United Nations. He sits on the boards of impact organisations such as London-based Natural Capital Coalition and TCR Innovations.  

Swedbank Robur — Catrin Jansson has been appointed as portfolio manager equity at Swedbank Robur, and began work in the new role at the Swedish bank’s mutual funds subsidiary on 1 October. Jansson previously worked at Swedish fund management firm Enter Fonder, where she was also equity portfolio manager. At Swedbank Robur, she is taking over management responsibility from Carl-Fredrik Lorenius , who remains at the firm as portfolio manager.

Mediolanum International Funds – The Irish asset management division of Italian banking group Mediolanum has hired Damian Barry as head of multi-asset multi-management, a newly created role. He joins from Seven Investment Management, and has also worked at Threadneedle and Russell Investments.