The latest hires, promotions and appointments for the week ending 8 August 2025.
The London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) has appointed Luke Webster to its board, a decade after he stepped down as the fund’s chief finance and risk officer.
Webster is currently the bursar at Corpus Christi college at the University of Oxford, and has held a number of senior finance roles in the public and private sectors.
He worked at LPFA – part of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) – from 2013 to 2015, before moving to the Greater London Authority (GLA) where he was chief investment officer. During his time there he founded London Treasury, GLA’s wholly owned investment subsidiary that oversees treasury assets. He remains a non-executive director at London Treasury.
John Preston, chair of the LPFA, said the appointment “further strengthens our governance and ability to meet our commitments”.
Luke Webster added: “I’m pleased to be joining the LPFA board at such a pivotal time for the LGPS. My focus will be on supporting the LPFA and helping ensure that we continue to serve the best interests of our members and employers as we navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
Ruston Smith to chair nature-focused investment manager
Rebalance Earth, an asset management firm specialising in nature-based investments, has appointed Ruston Smith as chair of its board.
Smith is the chair of the Tesco Pension Scheme, where he has worked in various roles since 2002. His other roles include non-executive positions at Smart Pension, JP Morgan Asset Management, Guiide and AMX. He is also a trustee for the BAE Systems Pension Fund.
“Investors are increasingly focused on managing physical climate risk – and nature-based infrastructure offers a practical, credible way to do that while delivering long-term, risk-adjusted returns,” Smith said.
“Rebalance Earth has built a thoughtful, scalable model that aligns with both fiduciary duty and investment discipline. I’m proud to join at this exciting moment.”
The asset manager’s chief executive and co-founder, Rob Gardner, praised Smith’s “clear thinking and commitment to long-term value creation for pension fund members”.
Ex-Royal Mail pension boss joins SEI master trust
Chris Hogg was most recently chief executive at the National Grid UK Pension Scheme, where he oversaw significant governance changes and a derisking programme. Read the full story
Scottish Widows strengthens master trust board
Mike Birch has been appointed to the board of the Scottish Widows Master Trust. He is currently a client director at professional trustee firm Vidett, and was previously director of supervision at the Pensions Regulator for more than five years.
He joins the trustee board alongside chair Jonathan Reynolds of Capital Cranfield, Joanne Fairbairn of Zedra, and independent trustees Cheryl Black and Gerald Wellesley.
Birch is an accredited professional trustee with the Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT) and a member of the APPT’s legislation and regulation sub-committee.
