The latest hires, promotions and appointments for the week ending 14 August 2026.
First Actuarial has promoted several staff across its business, including four new partners and eight associate partners.
Marcos Abreu, Andrew Allsopp, Carl Fletcher and Scott Harrison are now partners. Allsopp leads First Actuarial’s Birmingham office, while Abreu helps run the firm’s Tonbridge office and leads its London team.
Fletcher is head of benefit corrections and data audit services, and Harrison is a senior member of the actuarial team, having worked at First Actuarial for 17 years.
David Joy, managing partner at First Actuarial, said: “Our four new partners embody what makes First Actuarial special – the client-first approach that drives our growth. We’re more than happy to recognise their efforts. We’re more dependent than ever on exceptional professionals who bring skills, achievement and a positive mindset to our business.”
All four progressed through associate partnership, an organisational layer created in 2024. Eight more staff have been promoted to this level: Emily Brown, Michael Davies, Mark Frost, Claire Fuller, Robert Hurst, Marcus Johansson, Stephen Kilgannon, and Rob Skelton.
Joy added: “Our eight new associate partners are committed professionals who deliver fantastic services, attract new business, and provide leadership to other talented individuals. As we become an integrated part of Gallagher, these appointments are important in strengthening leadership and our client services.”
Tollis moves to Dalriada Trustees
Professional trustee firm Dalriada has added Kate Tollis, a former pension professional with British Airways and BT, to its trustee roster. She was previously a trustee director at Independent Governance Group.
Tollis has significant experience in governance, management and operations across most aspects of running a pension scheme. She holds a pension trusteeship qualification through the Pensions Management Institute.
Tollis said: “[Dalriada] has an outstanding reputation for delivering high-quality independent trusteeship and governance services. I look forward to working with colleagues and clients to help schemes navigate increasingly complex challenges whilst maintaining the highest standards of governance and member outcomes.”
Zedra appoints head of risk transfer
Meanwhile, fellow professional trustee firm Zedra has appointed Payam Kazemian as head of risk transfer, reflecting increased demand for support in this area.
Kazemian joined Zedra in 2021. He said: “The risk transfer market is entering an exciting phase of development, with new opportunities emerging for pension schemes alongside increasingly complex decisions around timing, transaction structure and implementation.”
Kim Nash, managing director, added: “Remaining dynamic and continuing to develop our capabilities to anticipate and meet clients’ changing needs is a key priority for Zedra. Payam’s deep investment expertise, combined with his understanding of complex pension solutions and the challenges facing pension schemes, means he is exceptionally well placed to help trustees and sponsors navigate an increasingly sophisticated pension risk transfer landscape.”
M&G hires to support bulk annuity innovation
Joyeeta Kanungo has joined M&G as director of product and structuring within the insurance company’s Corporate Pension Solutions team. The newly created role reflects M&G’s recent launch of its “BPA Plus” and “Value Share” bulk annuity models, the firm said in a press release.
Kanungo joins from Standard Life where she was head of market risk and matching adjustment, and she has also worked at Legal & General and Swiss Re. In her new role, she will lead M&G’s products and structuring team to further develop its bulk annuity and risk transfer offering. The company aims to write £3bn to £4bn of bulk annuity new business by 2027.
Kerrigan Procter, managing director of Corporate Pension Solutions at M&G, said: “As pension schemes’ needs become increasingly varied, trustees are looking for insurers that can combine financial strength with the expertise and flexibility to support their long-term objectives.”
Kanungo added: “By building on BPA Plus and Value Share, we have a strong platform from which to develop propositions that reflect the changing needs of pension schemes and their members.”
New leadership at EQRS amid corporate restructure
Administration provider EQ Retirement Solutions (EQRS) has named Will Pritchett as its new chief executive officer, with effect from 1 September. He replaces Duncan Watson, who will transition to a board position.
Pritchett joins from Accenture, where he was managing director and global head of life, pensions and retirement, as well as overseeing the consultancy group’s insurance business across the UK, Ireland and Africa. EQRS said Pritchett had worked closely with the company and “developed a firsthand understanding of the business, its clients and the retirement solutions market”.
His previous roles include senior leadership positions at Royal London, KPMG and Royal & Sun Alliance.
Pritchett said: “As the entire industry is being reshaped by technology and rising member expectations, I am honoured to lead EQRS at such a pivotal moment and to build on what this team does best as we keep finding new ways to better serve our clients.”
Watson – who will act as an adviser to Pritchett for the rest of this year to support the leadership transition – said: “It has been a privilege to help build EQRS into the business it is today, supporting more than 10 million members and £10bn in annual payments for many of the UK’s largest public and private sector pension schemes, powered by our own technology and by people who care deeply about the members we serve.”
The leadership change follows the news that private equity firm Siris Capital Group has acquired EQRS and its sister companies EQ Customer Resolutions and Lenvi from Equiniti, as part of Equiniti’s sale to Bullish, a digital asset platform. The transaction is subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Pritchett will oversee the planned combination of EQRS and EQ Customer Resolutions, according to Siris.
