Appointments: LGPS Central names new CIO

LGPS Central, the local authority asset pool for the Midlands, has hired Jayne Atkinson as chief investment officer.

Atkinson is currently CIO at Unilever, where she oversees the firm’s £7.5bn UK pension investments. She also helps run cross-border pooled funds for Unilever’s pension schemes in other countries, and is responsible for assets of around £20bn overall.

Alongside this, she holds non-executive roles including on the investment committee for the Medical Research Council Pension Fund and as chair of the European Pension Fund Investment Forum.

Atkinson will join LGPS Central in April, the pool said in a statement. She succeeds Gordon Ross in the CIO role, whose departure was announced in May.

Mark Davies and Nadeem Hussain, who lead the pool’s public and private markets teams respectively, are acting as interim co-CIOs.

Prior to working at Unilever, Atkinson was pensions investment manager at Nestlé’s UK pension fund. She previously worked in consultancy and actuarial roles at Aon, Capita and Mercer.

LGPS Central CEO Richard Law-Deeks said Atkinson’s “impressive skillset will be pivotal in guiding the next chapter of our investment strategy and delivering strong returns for our partner funds”.

“Jayne joins us at a crucial time as we continue to refine our offering and with deep rooted experience from a fund perspective was the ideal choice to support LGPS Central in building upon the progress of the past six years,” he added.

The pool currently manages more than £32.5bn on behalf of eight local authority pension schemes.

Barnett Waddingham poaches Aon’s Murray for public sector team

Barnett Waddingham has hired Alison Murray as a principal and a senior consultant within its public sector team.

She joins from Aon where she worked for more than 12 years, most recently as head of public sector pensions, advising local authority funds on actuarial and funding issues.

The consultancy group said Murray would work with existing team members Melanie Durrant, Jeff Houston and Gavin Paul to “further expand their growing remit” including governance, cyber risks and local investments.

Murray said: “I am passionate about advising the LGPS and other public service pension schemes. Sharing the same definition of value as our clients allows us to secure the best possible outcomes together.”

Durrant, public sector consulting partner at Barnett Waddingham, added: “At a time when there is increased focus on the LGPS and its governance, Alison joins at a critical time to help funds navigate the legislative changes.”

People’s appoints chief finance officer

Kay Smith has joined People’s Partnership – provider of the People’s Pension master trust – as chief finance officer (CFO).

She was previously CFO at insurance broker Amwins Global Risks Group, and prior to this worked at companies including Finastra and Arthur J Gallagher.

In her new role, Smith will be responsible for overseeing the organisation’s financial strategy in support of future growth. It expects to reach £50bn in assets within the next four years.

CEO Patrick Heath-Lay said Smith would be “instrumental in supporting our drive for further growth in a consolidating market”.

Her appointment follows that of Phil Butler, who joined the organisation last week as deputy chief investment officer.