Appointments: Zedra, Aptia, PASA, Cartwright, Hargreaves

Professional trustee firm Zedra has appointed Stuart Travers as a client director in its Bristol office. He joins from consultancy group Gallagher where he was head of wealth strategy.

Prior to Gallagher, Travers worked for as a professional trustee at Independent Governance Group and Vidett, advising a range of defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes.

Kim Nash, managing director at Zedra, said: “As the professional trustee market matures, we’re seeing strong demand from schemes across a wide range of governance models and pension arrangements, including sole trusteeships, trustee boards and DB, DC and master trust schemes.

“We’ve always believed that the best outcomes come from bringing together people with different experiences and perspectives. Our client directors have worked across a wide range of roles and organisations in the pensions industry, creating a depth and breadth of expertise that strengthens our team and benefits our clients. Stuart’s background across consultancy, strategic leadership and professional trusteeship is a great example of that, and we’re delighted to welcome him to the team.”

Travers added: “The opportunity to work across such a diverse range of clients and trustee appointments, while maintaining a clear commitment to independence, was one of the things that really attracted me to the role. I’m excited to be joining the team and look forward to supporting clients as they navigate the opportunities and challenges ahead.”

Burns to lead investment consulting at Aptia

Pension services company Aptia is expanding its offering with the appointment of Ian Burns as head of investment consulting. He joins from Gallagher where he was a principal in the investment team, and has previously worked at Mercer, JLT Employee Benefits, KPMG, and other consultancy groups over the course of a 30-year career.

In his new role, Aptia said Burns would lead the company’s new investment consulting proposition.

Stuart Heatley, Aptia’s consulting leader, said Burns’ appointment was “another positive step in the ongoing build of our consultancy business”.

“His deep investment expertise, commercial leadership experience and passion for delivering client-focused solutions make him an outstanding addition to the team,” Heatley continued. “We are delighted to welcome him to Aptia and look forward to the significant contribution he will make as we continue to grow our advisory capabilities.”

Chalkley takes over as PASA standards chair

The Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) has announced Louise Chalkley of Cosan Consulting as the new chair of its Standards Committee.

She takes over from Donna Maguire, chief transformation officer at the Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London. Maguire has held the role for “many years”, PASA said, and played a key role in shaping the association’s Standards and Accreditation framework.

Chalkley is a senior consultant at Cosan, having joined in 2023 from Hymans Robertson. She said: “PASA’s Standards and Accreditation framework has an important role to play in helping the industry evidence good practice, drive continuous improvement and build confidence in administration delivery.

“I’m looking forward to working with the committee to ensure our standards continue to reflect the realities of modern pensions administration and support the outcomes members rightly expect.”

PASA’s chair David Fairs thanked Maguire for her work and welcomed Chalkley, adding: “Strong, practical standards are essential if we’re to improve administration quality across the industry, and accreditation provides an important mechanism for recognising organisations which can evidence those standards in practice.”

Cartwright strengthens business development team

Consultancy group Cartwright has hired Trystan Davies as director of clients and market development, responsible for expanding its client base across all areas of its services.

Davies joins from Capita where he was an account director, and has also worked in a number of client and strategy roles for companies including Aon, PwC, Mercer, Hymans Robertson, and Aptia.

Cartwright director Robin Pearce said the appointment “reflects both the growth of our business and our ambitions for the future”.

“We continue to evolve as a multi-disciplinary advisory business, supporting organisations, trustees and employers as they navigate a rapidly changing financial, governance and regulatory landscape,” Pearce added. “Investing in experienced, high-calibre people is a key part of that strategy.” 

Hargreaves hires Meehan to lead workplace team

Danny Meehan will join savings and investment giant Hargreaves Lansdown next month as its new director of workplace. He will succeed Stephen Lefley, who is retiring after more than nine years with the company.

Hargreaves Lansdown said Meehan would be responsible for performance, strategy, and development of workplace pensions and savings proposition for employers and their employees. His appointment is part of a multi-year expansion of its workplace offering, first announced in December.

Meehan was previously growth leader at MUFG Pension & Market Services, and has also worked at master trust provider Cushon, Capita, and Tillit.

Doug Abbott, chief product officer at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Danny is a highly experienced leader in the workplace savings market, with a track record of building high-growth businesses which will be invaluable to Hargreaves Lansdown. Workplace is an exciting area for the company, and Danny’s appointment reflects our ambition to help more people in Britain build their wealth, with confidence, through their employer.”

Meehan added: “My ambition is to make Hargreaves Lansdown Workplace the standard for what workplace savings can do – helping members save, invest, and build real financial resilience across their whole working lives and into retirement. There is so much to build on here, and I can’t wait to get started.”