The latest hires, promotions and appointments for the week ending 6 June 2025.
BESTrustees has appointed former Grant Thornton covenant advisory partner Paul Brice as a professional trustee.
Brice has also worked for KPMG and spent eight years on the executive team at Railpen, where he chaired the scheme’s risk management committee. He founded what is now the Employer Covenant Practitioner Association in 2012.
Ann Rigby, chair of BESTrustees, said this appointment reflected the company’s “strong sustainable growth”.
Brice added: “To be joining BESTrustees at a time of such strong growth for the company - and pensions trusteeship in general - is a great move for me and I am really excited to get started.”
BW names new partners and promotes 35 following acquisition
Following its acquisition by insurance broker Howden in March, Barnett Waddingham has appointed five new partners as well as promoting eight people to principal and 27 to associate positions across the business.
The five new partners are:
- Lewys Curteis, a senior consultant in the defined benefit pensions consulting team;
- Julien Masselot, head of capital and risk in the insurance and longevity consulting team;
- Nikhil Patel, senior risk transfer actuary;
- Harshil Shah, head of risk and resilience services; and
- Reena Tanna, a senior defined contribution investment consultant.
In addition, seven partners are retiring this year: Julia Bassett, Sue Foley, Paul Hamilton, John Hoskin, Colin Mayger, Graeme Muir and Zoe Smith.
Andrew Vaughan, senior partner at Barnett Waddingham, said: “Supporting career progression remains a core part of our culture, and these appointments are not only a celebration of individual achievement - they also reflect the depth of talent in our teams that continue to drive our business forward on its fantastic trajectory of success.”
North-Walker takes up member-focused role at LCP
Katie North-Walker has joined LCP’s pension risk transfer practice as a member experience specialist. In her new role, she will lead the team’s work on keeping members engaged and supported throughout the bulk annuity process, LCP said.
She has worked at LCP since 2021 in the trustee secretarial and governance team, having previously worked as an actuarial consultant and in an in-house pensions team.
North-Walker said: “Member experience is an exciting and evolving area, and I’m delighted to formally join the team to further build on the incredible work already being done. Every scheme’s members are unique, and I look forward to helping trustees actively consider what their members value most when selecting an insurer.”
Quantum boosts actuarial team
Quantum Advisory has appointed Karyn Cooke as a senior consultant and actuary. She joins from Hymans Robertson where she was a consultant and actuary, working with defined benefit pension scheme trustee boards.
Cooke said: “Quantum has a fantastic reputation in the industry as a trusted partner, known for providing first-class pensions and employee benefits services to small and medium sized schemes and employers.
“It was important to me to join a firm that has the vision and potential to drive meaningful change across the industry. I’m really looking forward to working with such a talented team across the UK to help clients and colleagues achieve their goals.”
Nest names tech and operations chief
Nest has hired Femi Bamisaiye as chief technology and operating officer (CTOO), a new addition to the master trust’s executive team.
Bamisaiye was most recently the chief information officer at Aviva’s UK general insurance business, and has also worked in senior positions for Royal Mail and the organising committee for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The master trust said the creation of the CTOO role “underscores the importance Nest places on further evolving the service it delivers to its members through customer-centric technology, while ensuring its systems remain robust and protect the pension pots for its millions of members”.
Ian Cornelius, Nest’s chief executive officer, praised Bamisaiye’s “extensive experience” and said his leadership would be “instrumental in leveraging technology and data to enhance our operations and deliver the best possible financial outcomes for our members”.
Bamisaiye added: “Nest’s belief in continual transformation for the benefit of their members and their ambitious strategy aligns perfectly with my commitment for leveraging technology to enhance customer experiences.”
