Movers and shakers w/e 01/09/2023

Aviva appoints a brace of new CEOs

Aviva has announced the appointments of Jason Storah as CEO of UK & Ireland General Insurance*, and Tracy Garrad as CEO of Aviva Canada**. 

Storah has almost 20 years of experience with the insurer and is currently CEO of Aviva Canada, a role he has held for four years during which gross written premiums have increased by 34%, and the company has become number two In general insurance in the Canadian market. 

Storah will continue to report to Aviva Group CEO Amanda Blanc, and will retain a seat on Aviva’s group executive committee.

Tracy Garrad will succeed Storah as CEO of Aviva Canada from 16 October 2023.

Garrad has held senior roles in financial services, insurance and healthcare sectors and was most recently CEO of AXA’s UK healthcare business (formerly AXA PPP). 

Before that, she was CEO of HSBC’s Channel Islands and Isle of Man business, following a four year tenure as the CEO of First Direct Bank. She is also a non-executive director of The London Stock Exchange Group.

Garrad will report to Aviva Group CEO Amanda Blanc, and become a member of Aviva’s Group Executive Committee when she joins. 

Barnett Waddingham appoints new finance director for growing Sipp business

Barnett Waddingham (BW), has appointed Neil Howitt as head of Sipp finance to its growing business. 

Howitt has 35 years of financial services experience, and underscores BW’s ambitious growth aspirations of its Sipp business, making key investments in its technology, service offering and senior leadership team. 

Howitt was latterly chief financial officer at Nucleus and spent 21 years at the St James Place Wealth Management Group, with senior roles in finance, change management, and administration platform development and oversight.

At BW, Howitt be responsible for a wide range of strategic responsibilities such as business profitability and commercial management, including leading the negotiation of contracts with key suppliers and institutional partners. He will also take up a pivotal role on BW Sipp’s management committee. 

Howard is the new CFO at Redington

Independent investment consultant, Redington, has appointed Gavin Howard as chief financial officer and executive director to its board.

Howard has more than 30 years’ experience in financial services, having been CFO at both IFG Group and Nucleus Financial, as well as having held senior executive positions at firms including Partnership Assurance and Octopus Lifestyle.

He joins on 1 September, when he will become a member of the leadership team alongside CEO Sylvia Pozezanac, deputy CEO Zoe Taylor and chief people officer Katherine FitzGerald. 

Head of international and private equity hired by AustralianSuper

AustralianSuper, the largest superannuation (pension) fund in Australia, has appointed Mark Hargraves as its head of international and private equity. 

He joins from Axa Investment Management, where he spent the last 23 years, with the last two as head of Axa IM Equity, with responsibility for €65 billion of assets and a team of around 60 fund managers. 

Hargraves will be responsible for leading the fund’s international equities and private equity teams, building internal capabilities, hiring new talent and leading the processes underpinning the growth and development of those portfolios. He will also play a core role in the fund’s investments and London office leadership team. 

AustralianSuper chief investment officer Mark Delaney said: “Mark’s appointment is an important leadership role within the Fund, bringing together the management, research and strategy for international equities and private equity investments. 

Chapman hired to manage growth in First Actuarial’s investment services

First Actuarial has appointed Kate Chapman as investment consultant with responsibility for managing the workload of the increasingly busy investment team. 

With more than two decades of actuarial and investment experience, Chapman joins from Aon, where she was a senior product specialist, having started as an actuarial analyst before moving across to investment consultancy.  

Chapman will support First Actuarial’s clients, and also support recruitment, deliver training and oversee professional development.

Chapman said of her appointment: “It’s a warm, personable business where everyone focuses on keeping clients happy. 

AllianzGI adds Vahid to London equity team

Global active asset manager Allianz Global Investors has appointed Kayvan Vahid as head of equity Europe core & value. 

Based in London, Vahid will report to Jörg De Vries-Hippen, head of investments equity Europe and will lead AllianzGI’s efforts to strengthen and expand its capabilities in the fundamentally-managed European core and value space.

Vahid spent more than 20 years at UBS Asset Management (UBS), most recently as deputy head of global value equity and head of European mid cap equities at UBS Asset Management in London, where he was responsible for managing a range of institutional and retail funds across global, European and UK equity mandates.

Bird takes charge of LGPS clients at HSBC AM

HSBC Asset Management (HSBC AM) has appointed Tim Bird as business development director. Based in London, Bird joined the firm in August and reports to Maria Ryan, head of institutional sales (UK and Nordics). He will be responsible for developing and aligning HSBC AM’s business with UK local government pension schemes as part of its renewed focus on the local authority market. 

Bird has more than 25 years’ experience and joins from Pictet Asset Management where he was a business development director covering the UK’s largest corporate and local authority pension schemes. 

He held previous roles at Goldman Sachs and Allianz Global Investors, also working with the Local Government Pension Scheme across the UK.