The latest hires, promotions and appointments for the week ending 25 September 2026.
Master trust provider Smart Pension has appointed Sue Khashouf as director of proposition to lead its retirement and pension wellbeing services.
She joins from Citi Bank where she worked in a variety of roles, most recently in Citi’s Payments business, where she oversaw digital services across commercial card products.
Khashouf said: “Smart Pension has built a strong reputation for putting its members and employers at the heart of retirement saving, and I’m excited to join at such a pivotal time for the business. There is an opportunity to continue building on strong foundations to develop our retirement and pension wellbeing offering that further strengthens member outcomes, supporting the financial wellbeing of savers and their employers.”
Jamie Fiveash, CEO at Smart UK, added that Khashouf’s experience made her “ideally placed to lead our proposition and change team, taking it to the next level, as we continue to grow”.
He continued: “It is vital we build personalised experiences and solutions for our two million customers. Sue’s customer-centric approach and deep product expertise developed in the global financial sector will be invaluable as we work to deliver even greater value for the employers and savers who rely on us.”
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Baker boosts Border to Coast’s local team
LGPS pool Border to Coast has appointed Luke Baker as a portfolio manager to lead the pool’s local investment programme on behalf of its partner funds.
He has more than 25 years of private markets investment experience from previous roles at the likes of Woodbourne Group, Tesco Pension Fund, Aviva Investors, and Grosvenor.
Baker will work closely with partner funds and strategic industry partners to deliver the ambition of a central local investment capability, supporting partner funds in implementing strategic local asset allocations.
He said: “The Border to Coast partnership has delivered remarkable outcomes to date and I am excited to be joining the team in another pivotal year. I look forward to working with partner funds to build a local investment capability that will support long-term investment returns and deliver meaningful impact in the communities in which LGPS members live and work.”
Chief investment officer Joe McDonnell added: “Building a dedicated local investment capability is an important evolution of our private markets team and complements our current UK Opportunities strategy. Our ambition is to enable constructive discussions and working partnerships to make regional investment ambitions a success. Luke’s appointment is a real step forward in making this happen across our partnership, with the aim of benefiting regions from the border to coast of England.”
Fox to head up Howden’s tech and comms platform
Howden Employee Benefits has hired Jeff Fox as executive director for platform and engagement solutions.
In his new role, Howden said Fox would lead the development of its platform and engagement strategy, combining technology, data, insight, artificial intelligence, automation and communications to support clients’ employee benefits propositions.
Fox joins from Lockton, where he was specialty services lead, heading up the company’s specialist employee benefits team. He has also worked at Aon, Benefex, Mercer and KPMG.
Cheryl Brennan, managing director for employee benefits at Howden, explained that her company aimed to “create something genuinely differentiated for our clients and their employees” to improve the communication and implementation of employee benefits.
“Jeff’s appointment is an important part of that ambition,” Brennan said. “We intend to lead this market rather than follow it, and to build an employee technology and engagement proposition that becomes a compelling choice for employers.”
Fox added: “The opportunity is much bigger than building a better benefits platform. The future is about connecting insight, advice, technology and engagement so employers can make better decisions and employees can get more value from the benefits available to them.
“Technology should remove complexity rather than create it. Too often, strong benefits strategies fall short at the point of delivery because employees do not understand or engage with what is available to them. Data and AI can help us better understand what employees need, automation can make benefits easier to manage, and great communications can turn a benefits programme into something employees genuinely understand and value.”
Hunnisett joins Dentons London office
Law firm Dentons has recruited Ed Hunnisett as a partner in its Employment and Pensions practice in London. He joins from Slaughter and May, where he was senior counsel for eight years
Hunnisett previously spent 15 years at Norton Rose Fulbright, and has more than 20 years’ experience advising employers and trustees across the full range of pensions matters. He specialises in complex corporate transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, Dentons said.
Eleanor Hart, head of Dentons’ UK pensions team, said: “This is a particularly interesting time for the pensions market. Many schemes and their sponsors are considering fundamental questions about their long-term strategy, requiring legal advisers to offer both deep pensions expertise and an understanding of the wider commercial objectives of employers and trustees.
“Ed brings that combination. His recruitment is an important investment, adding further senior capability as we continue to grow the practice.”
