Appointments: People's Pension eyes growth with business development hire

People’s Partnership, provider of the People’s Pension master trust, has set its sights on growth with the appointment of Max Gist as head of business development.

In his new role, Gist will be responsible for attracting new corporate clients for the master trust and developing existing client relationships.

He joins from Aegon, where he was responsible for managing and growing relationships with employee benefit consultancies. He has previously worked at Scottish Widows and Lloyds Banking Group.

Stuart Reid, distribution director at People’s Partnership, said Gist’s appointment was “a significant milestone” for its leadership, with the new hire set to “play a central role in shaping and executing our long-term strategy for growth in the defined contribution (DC) and workplace pensions market”.

“We expect to continue attracting top-tier talent and major clients as the industry realigns under the new legislation outlined in the Pension Schemes Bill, including the consolidation of DC pension schemes,” Reid continued. “Max is a key part of the future of People’s Partnership, and it’s great he’s joining at a time when the Pension Schemes Bill will reshape the way the market works.”

LawDeb appoints exec for governance team

Professional trustee firm Law Debenture has hired Sofia Ghos as a pensions executive in its specialist governance service, Pegasus.

She was previously a trustee pension specialist at People’s Partnership, where she was responsible for managing portfolios, providing scheme management advice, and ensuring compliance. Ghos has previously worked at M&G Prudential.

In her new role, Ghos will work with trustees on legal requirements, risk mitigation, and portfolio sustainability.

Mark Williamson, head of Pegasus, said Ghos was “a valuable new addition to the Pegasus team at LawDeb, highlighting our growth and bolstering our offering”.

First Actuarial names quartet to associate partner roles

First Actuarial has promoted four to associate partners, a new position created last year.

The quartet are Lee French and David Parfett, from the firm’s new employee benefits consultancy team, Aaron Love from the actuarial team, and Ross Bennett, an investment consultant.

The company said the associate partner position was created “to recognise exceptional talent and foster retention amid ongoing business growth”.

David Joy, managing partner at First Actuarial, said: “We’ve reported bumper growth for several years now, and this has only been possible with the superb team we have here. It’s great to be able to recognise four more brilliant individuals by making them associate partners.”

GSAM names Bentley as LDI chief

Goldman Sachs Asset Management has appointed Simon Bentley as head of UK liability-driven investment and cashflow-driven investment, within its fixed income institutional team.

Bentley joins from Columbia Threadneedle Investments where he was most recently head of solutions client portfolio management.

He previously worked at BMO Global Asset Management, before it was acquired by Columbia Threadneedle in 2021, as well as UBS Global Asset Management and Insight Investment.

Reeves takes up finance role at LCP 

LCP has appointed James Reeves as its new chief financial officer. He joins from BES Group, which provides testing, inspection and certification services.

In his new role, LCP said Reeves would be responsible for overseeing the consultancy firm’s financial strategy and operations.

Reeves said: “LCP is a firm with a strong social purpose – a leader in its traditional markets and expanding into new and dynamic areas.  Innovation is at the heart of the firm’s collaborative culture, and I’m thrilled to be joining at such an exciting time in the firm’s growth journey.”

LCP chief executive officer Aaron Punwani added that Reeves’ “invaluable” experience made him “an excellent fit for our leadership team”.