Appointments: People’s Partnership, Railpen, PASA, Pinsent Masons

The People’s Partnership, provider of The People’s Pension, has appointed Jackie Leiper as a non-executive director of People’s Partnership Limited.

Leiper previously held senior roles at Lloyds Banking Group, including chief customer and digital officer, CEO of Embark Group, and managing director of workplace pensions, individual pensions and investments.

Her other board positions have included chairing the Association of British Insurers’ Long Term Savings Committee, and she has led several industry initiatives aimed at addressing the gender pensions gap and promoting women’s financial resilience.

Leiper said: “I am delighted to be joining the board of People’s Partnership at such a pivotal time for workplace pensions as the government review takes shape. I look forward to bringing my experience across both workplace savings and broader financial services sector to support the partnership’s strategic growth ambitions and its continued commitment to delivering value for its members.”

Jim Islam, chair of the board, added that Leiper’s experience would be “invaluable” as the master trust aims to reach £100bn in assets over the next 10 years.

Gray takes over as general counsel at Railpen

Railpen, the £34bn multi-employer pension scheme for the railways sector, has announced that Sarah Gray is its new general counsel. She joins from the Post Office, where she was most recently interim group general counsel, and has also previously worked at Santander and RSA.

Gray will join Railpen’s executive committee and report to chief executive officer Andy Bord. She replaces Sally-Ann James, who is retiring.

Bord said: “Sarah joins Railpen at a time of significant change in the pension and railway industries. She is an excellent addition to the team, and her vast wealth of experience will be invaluable in leading our legal, compliance and governance functions…

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Sally-Ann from all of us at Railpen for her exceptional work, and to wish her all the best on a well-earned retirement.”

PASA strengthens board

The Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) has appointed Clara Pensions’ Jayne Pocock as a board director.

Pocock is currently head of trustee services at Clara Pensions, where she works with third-party administrators and regulators. She has previously worked at Legal & General, Law Debenture, JLT and Mercer.

PASA chair David Fairs said: “At a time when the administration landscape is evolving rapidly, including the impact of AI, regulatory change and member-expectation shifts, Jayne’s insight will be invaluable in helping PASA maintain its relevance and continue raising standards across the industry.”

Pinsent Masons makes second hire from rival

Law firm Pinsent Masons has appointed pensions partner Susie Daykin to join its London office. The announcement follows the hire of Dan Naylor in September.

Both joined from rival law firm Travers Smith. Daykin was previously head of pensions at Travers Smith.

Head of Pinsent Masons’ pensions and long-term savings team, Stephen Scholefield, said the hire was a significant strategic move by the firm.

“Susie is a recognised industry leader and will bring great expertise to the pensions team,” he said. “She and Dan will play a key role in taking our pensions proposition to the next level and providing support to large clients and complex mandates.”