Smart Pension hires new director

Smart Pension, a master trust provider, has named Sue Khashouf as its new director of proposition, tasked with overseeing retirement and pension wellbeing services. She previously held various roles at Citi Bank, most recently in Citi’s Payments division, where she managed digital services for commercial card products.

Khashouf stated that Smart Pension has earned a solid reputation for prioritising its members and employers in retirement saving, and she is thrilled to join at such a key moment for the business. There is a chance to continue building upon robust foundations to enhance Smart Pension’s retirement and pension wellbeing offering, which will further improve member results while supporting the financial wellness of savers and their employers.

Leadership at Smart Pension

Jamie Fiveash , CEO at Smart UK , noted that Khashouf’s background makes her perfectly suited to head Smart Pension’s proposition and change team, advancing it to the next stage as they continue to expand. He continued: It is essential that they build personalised experiences and solutions for their two million customers. Sue’s customer-centric approach and extensive product expertise gained in the global financial sector will be highly valuable as they strive to provide even greater value for the employers and savers who depend on them.

Smart Pension’s appointment of Khashouf is part of the company’s efforts to strengthen its services. The company has been focusing on providing better outcomes for its members and employers.

New Appointments in the Industry

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 collaborate closely with partner funds and strategic industry partners to realise the goal of a central local investment capability, helping partner funds execute strategic local asset allocations. He stated: The Border to Coast partnership has achieved impressive results so far and he is eager to join the team. He looks forward to working with partner funds to construct a local investment capability that will aid long-term investment returns and produce significant impact in the communities where LGPS members reside and work.

Expanding Services

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 their clients and their employees to improve the communication and implementation of employee benefits.

Meanwhile, 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.

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 they continue to grow the practice.