Senior Client Director

Aptia connects 200 pension schemes to Pensions Dashboard. 6 August 2026 Aptia Group has connected 200 pension schemes to the Pensions Dashboard ecosystem, marking a significant milestone as administration firms across the industry work towards the 31 October 2026 connection deadline. The pensions administration firm said the connections are helping schemes improve data quality, increase operational efficiency and enhance member outcomes, while also strengthening administration processes for the future. John Wilson, Head of Pensions Technical at Aptia, described the achievement as an important step in improving how savers engage with their retirement planning. "Connecting 200 pension schemes to the Pensions Dashboard is a significant milestone and an important step towards improving how people engage with their retirement savings. By helping schemes connect efficiently and effectively, Professional Paraplanner is supporting improvements in data quality, driving operational efficiencies, and ultimately enhancing outcomes for pension members." Wilson said pension dashboards have the potential to address a lack of understanding among some savers about their retirement prospects and could play a valuable role in helping people take control of their finances. "Aptia research has found that almost one-in-seven people in the UK approaching retirement are unsure how much monthly income their pension will provide once they retire. "Pension dashboards have the potential to change that by giving people a clearer picture of their savings, helping them locate lost pension pots, and empowering them to make more informed decisions about their financial future." Aptia said its work on dashboard connectivity is continuing, with further schemes expected to be connected as the industry moves towards key regulatory deadlines. While pleased to have reached the 200-scheme milestone, Wilson said the firm's focus is increasingly turning to ensuring schemes are operationally ready for dashboards to become available. "While we're proud to have reached 200 connected schemes, Aptia remains committed to supporting pension schemes throughout their dashboard journey and with the legal connection deadline approaching, our focus is now turning to the dashboards availability and operational readiness." The Pensions Dashboard programme is designed to allow individuals to access information about their pension entitlements from multiple providers and schemes in one place, helping improve engagement with retirement savings and supporting better-informed financial decision-making.

People moves: TPT Retirement Solutions picks business development manager. TPT Retirement Solutions, T Rowe Price, SuMi Trust AM, Pacific AM, Lazard, Aptia TPT Retirement Solutions - The UK-based workplace pensions provider has appointed Harry Bridger as business development manager. Reporting to Adam Tudor, TPT's head of distribution, Bridger will contribute to new business generation, helping prospective clients understand TPT's range of pension consolidation vehicles. Bridger brings a decade of experience across the UK pensions and financial services sectors. He joins from Brightwell, where he worked on launching the firm as a third-party provider, across administration, actuarial and investment. Earlier in his career, he worked in PwC's actuarial practice, advising pension schemes, insurers and other organisations to help mitigate financial risk. Aptia - The pension administration, consultancy and actuarial services firm has appointed James Burke as actuary director, strengthening Aptia's advisory capabilities as demand grows for specialist actuarial and pensions expertise. Burke joins from Aon, where he spent almost 25 years building a reputation as a trusted adviser to pension scheme trustees and sponsors. A fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, he brings extensive experience across trustee consulting, scheme funding, de-risking, GMP equalisation and endgame strategy. Throughout his career, Burke has worked closely with pension schemes of all sizes, developing long-term relationships with trustee boards and helping clients navigate increasingly complex pension challenges. Most recently, he successfully guided multiple schemes through significant de-risking milestones, including buy-ins and the transition towards buy-out and wind-up. T Rowe Price - Andrew Brickman has joined the company as head of ETF solutions, EMEA, in a newly created role within the firm's expanding exchange-traded fund (ETF) business. Based in London and reporting to Tim Coyne, head of ETFs at T Rowe Price, Brickman will be responsible for supporting T Rowe Price's ETF efforts across EMEA. He will work across distribution, product, marketing, capital markets and investments to advance the firm's ETF initiatives. He will also lead ETF education, training and client engagement activities, helping to build T. Rowe Price's ETF capabilities and support continued growth in the region. Brickman joins from BlackRock, where he most recently led ETF distribution efforts with central banks, sovereign wealth funds and family offices across EMEA. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management (SuMi Trust AM) - The Asian asset manager has appointed Shin Sawada as managing director of its London office, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust International Limited (SuMiTI). Sawada has succeeded Hiroki Moritani as managing director of the firm's London-based EMEA business. Moritani, who returned to Tokyo in July, will continue his role as executive officer responsible for global business development at SuMi Trust AM. Sawada has more than 20 years of experience in the asset management industry. He was based in London between 2013 and 2020, where he was responsible for promoting investment strategies across EMEA. Prior to his new appointment, he was responsible for overseas business development and strategic planning at SuMi TRUST AM in Tokyo. In his new role, Sawada will have overall responsibility for the firm's investment management business across the EMEA region, including both client relationships and the development of new investment products for EMEA investors. Pacific Asset Management (PAM) - Carlos Rodriguez has been appointed as partner and managing director, Americas business development. Based in New York, he will report to Seb Stewart, partner and head of US business development, who is based in London. Rodriguez brings two decades of distribution and client portfolio management experience across public and alternative markets, spanning institutional, intermediary, and private wealth channels. He joins from BlackRock, where he served as a director and senior investment strategist within multi-asset solutions, focusing on retirement solutions and the integration of private assets in defined contribution plans. In his new role, Rodriguez will leverage his deep expertise to further drive PAM's business development efforts across North and Latin America, with a particular focus on PAM's specialist equity, credit and liquid alternative strategies. Lazard Asset Management - The firm has made two senior appointments as it advances its long-term growth strategy: Chris Bricker joins as head of corporate development, and Theodore Enders joins as head of product. The appointments underscore Lazard's deliberate focus on expanding its investment capabilities, solutions and access that meet evolving client needs and support its next phase of growth, while preserving the active-management heritage that has long distinguished the firm. Bricker will lead Lazard's corporate development and strategic growth agenda. His focus will be on opportunities that build on the firm's investment strengths, broaden its client offering, and extend its reach in priority areas. He will report to Chris Hogbin, Lazard's CEO. Bricker joins from AllianceBernstein, where he spent more than three decades and most recently served as head of corporate development and a member of the operating committee. Enders will lead LAM's global product strategy, with responsibility for shaping the continued evolution of the firm's product platform across investment strategies, vehicles, client channels and markets. He will focus on strengthening Lazard's ability to translate investment expertise into focused, scalable and client-relevant solutions. He will report to Rosalie Berman, Lazard's chief operating officer. Enders joins from Goldman Sachs, where he spent more than two decades as a managing director in Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Most recently head of CIO portfolio strategy, he previously served as global head of public product development, leading a global team.

People moves: Alecta appoints chief legal officer. Alecta, SWEN, Sampension, Nordea, Zedra, William Blair, Tumelo, Aptia, Nomura Alecta - Anna Svensson has been appointed as chief legal officer at the Swedish occupational pension fund, it was announced on 6 July. Svensson, who has been legal counsel at Alecta since 2022, has also been acting chief legal officer at the SEK1.4trn (€127bn) pension fund since the sudden departure of Karin Cederbaum in April after two and a half years in the role. Last week Cederbaum said in a post on LinkedIn that she was "starting to grow" the next step after her garden leave. Aptia - Ian Burns has been hired as head of investment consulting as the firm continues to strengthen its range of strategic advisory services for pension scheme trustees and sponsors. Burns brings more than 30 years of experience in pensions and investment consulting, having advised trustee boards and corporate clients throughout his career. A qualified actuary, he has held senior leadership positions across some of the UK's largest professional services and employee benefits firms. In his new role, Burns will lead Aptia's investment consulting proposition, supporting its clients with investment strategy, governance and risk management. Prior to joining Aptia, Burns was a principal in investment solutions at Gallagher, and before that, he served as regional market leader for the North at Mercer, leading the firm's growth strategy across the region. Tumelo - Jennifer Walmsley has joined Tumelo as head of stewardship solutions. She brings more than 20 years of experience across investment management, issuer engagement, regulation and consultancy. Walmsley previously led the voting and engagement team at Hermes EOS and investor engagement at the Financial Reporting Council, which is responsible for the UK Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes. As a consultant she has advised major asset owners and managers around the world on stewardship strategy, policy and implementation. She also brings an asset owner's perspective as a member of the investment committee of the National Trust, the largest conservation charity in Europe. In her new role, Walmsley will work directly with asset managers and asset owners as they transition to fully customised proxy-voting policies and research, using ProxyBeacon, Tumelo's AI-powered stewardship platform. She will support clients to design their own voting policies, build tailored research reports, and embed the ProxyBeacon platform into their investment and stewardship processes. Nordea Pension Denmark - Søren Thorius Mølhave Andresen has been appointed CEO of Nordea's pensions business in Denmark, having worked for the bank for 27 years, including as head of integration management office in group finance for the last three years. He will take over the top role at Nordea Pension Denmark from Vivian Byrholt, who started in 2018 as CEO of Topdanmark Liv, which was acquired at the end of 2022 by Nordea. Byrholt said in a post on LinkedIn that with the firm's 2030 strategy in place "and a strong organisation to take it forward, now is the right time for me to pass on the baton". Sampension - Helene Bløcher has been promoted to the role of executive director at the Danish labour-market pension provider, becoming half of the firm's new two-person executive management team alongside the new CEO Mads Smith Hansen, who took over from Hasse Jørgensen in March. Bløcher worked for Nordea for 15 years, most recently in the role of head of business banking Denmark, and will start her new job at Sampension on 1 September. ZEDRA - Stuart Travers has been appointed as client director. Based in Bristol, he joined the firm in July. Travers brings several years of experience in the pensions industry. Before joining ZEDRA, he was head of wealth strategy at Gallagher, following trustee director roles at IGG and Vidett, where he advised pension schemes on governance, strategy and trustee decision-making. Nomura Asset Management (NAM) - Richard Hastings has been named client portfolio manager. He will report to Mari Nakamura, senior managing director, CEO Nomura Asset Management UK, and will be based in London. In this role, Hastings will provide client portfolio management coverage for the firm's global dynamic bond fund as well as broader NAM fixed income capabilities including corporate hybrid bonds, government fixed income, credit strategies, and the development and delivery of NAM's interest rate-related solutions. Hastings joins from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where he served as client portfolio manager for investment grade credit portfolios across the EMEA business for more than 12 years. SWEN Capital Partners - The sustainable investment manager has appointed Alice Sireyjol as director of sustainable finance. She joins from Amundi Asset Management, where she was deputy head of responsible investment development, and will become a member of SWEN CP's executive committee, leading an 11-strong team responsible for the firm's sustainable finance strategy and policy. With a background in agronomy, Sireyjol has spent more than 15 years working with financial institutions and corporates on the design and implementation of their climate, biodiversity and sustainable transformation strategies. Recognised for her pioneering approaches to the strategic integration of environmental challenges, she has built her career at the intersection of the economic world and the life sciences. William Blair Investment Management - Olga Bitel has been appointed as chief investment strategist, a newly established role. Bitel will help shape the firm's investment perspective across global markets and economies, drawing on its broad investment expertise to provide investors with insight into the forces influencing portfolio outcomes and long-term investment opportunities. As chief investment strategist, Bitel will help shape and articulate William Blair's investment perspectives on global economic conditions, monetary and fiscal policy, financial markets, public policy, and geopolitical developments. Working closely with investment teams across the firm, she will bring together expertise from across William Blair's global investment platform, connecting insights across asset classes, strategies, and market themes into a cohesive investment viewpoint. She will also engage regularly with clients and industry audiences to provide context on the developments shaping investment decisions and long-term portfolio outcomes.