David has spent his 30+ year career working in pensions and investment.

The early years were spent in consulting, during which he qualified as an actuary before joining what is now Willis Towers Watson’s investment practice to advise UK and European clients on investment strategy.

He then spent six years as Chief Investment Officer for the Pensions Trust, before joining Lloyds Banking Group (Pensions Investment Team) as Head of Investment Strategy. In this role, David was responsible for all aspects of investment strategy including asset allocation, derisking ‘triggers’, longevity hedging, rebalancing policy and responsible investment policy. He became Lloyds’ Chief Investment Officer in February 2022.

Claire joined Standard Life in September 2021 to build Standard Life’s retirement income business, in response to a customer need for security as well as growth and flexibility in retirement.

Since then, she has launched the Standard Life Individual Annuity and more recently, the Standard Life Smoothed Return Pension Fund on the Fidelity platform. More is in the works!

Before joining Standard Life, Claire was Chief Corporate Officer at Smart Pension following a legal career.

Adolfo is a Managing Director at Cardano Advisory.

He leads Cardano’s growing Risk-solutions practice, which designs, executes and supports trustees, corporates and asset owners on a wide range of underwritten, risk transfer structures and run-on journey plans. The team is recognised as a market leader in counterparty analysis, having advised on the transfer of over £40bn of pensions liabilities since 2014.

Adolfo has experience working with insurers, reinsurers, banks and alternative de-risking providers on solvency, regulatory, and other corporate matters that drive the strategic decision making.

Prior to Cardano, Adolfo worked in New York in both corporate finance and capital market roles.

Adam Baker is Head of the UK Client Portfolio Management team in the EMEA Liability Driven Investment (LDI) business.

Adam leads the team responsible for the design, performance and ongoing development of LDI investment solutions for UK clients. The team provides solutions that encompass client specific requirements and capture market opportunities. This involves balancing risk management, liquidity provision and return considerations in order to establish optimal client solutions.

Prior to joining BlackRock, Adam spent 12 years at J.P. Morgan working across roles in EMEA Cross-Asset Structuring and UK Sales, where he led the Pensions and Insurance Sales team for 5 years, structuring and executing trades across rates, inflation, financing, equities, credit and FX. Before this, he spent two years at ABN AMRO, primarily on the Inflation Trading desk.

Ashu is a Senior Director in Retirement at Willis Towers Watson, focused on helping clients across the wide range of pensions risk management opportunities now available, including superfund transactions.

He rejoined Towers Watson in January 2025, having previously spent 16 years at the company until 2016, advising both trustees as scheme actuary and scheme sponsors across the full range of pension issues. Following his first stint at Towers Watson, Bhargava joined L&G as director of strategic transactions, before joining Clara Pensions in 2018.

At Clara Pensions, Ashu spent nearly seven years as Chief Origination Officer, where he led discussions with numerous trustees and sponsors around how superfunds can provide a more affordable way to improve member outcomes. These discussions initially took place whilst superfunds were just a concept and ultimately culminated in proof of concept through the UK’s first few superfund transactions.

At all three firms, Ashu has led projects that have focused on cost efficiency and improved member outcomes and have won industry awards for their innovation, including the Professional Pensions Pension Scheme Trustees of the Year Award and Pension Age Best Risk Management Exercise Award (which he won during his first time at WTW and at L&G).

Peter has been the Independent Chair of Trustees of the UKAS Pension Scheme since 2003.

Previously, he was CFO of The National Computing Centre Group and university lecturer in Accounting and Business Finance. He is an expert on corporate structure and taxation for scientific research associations.

Peter’s Involvement with pensions goes back to the mid-1980s as Secretary to Trustees, DB Scheme Administrator, and OPAS/TPAS/TPO volunteer advisor. He is a Member of the Trustee Sustainability Working Party, the SME DB Pensions Group and qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

Sammy joined Rothesay in 2011, and as Head of Business Development, is responsible for new business origination and marketing to defined benefit pension schemes and insurance companies.

At Rothesay, Sammy has played a lead role in transactions with the pension funds of National Grid, telent, Asda and Allied Domecq among others, as well as the reinsurance of the Prudential, Zurich Alliance and Aegon annuity portfolios.

Prior to joining Rothesay, Sammy was at Paternoster, which Rothesay acquired in 2011. His career originated at Prudential.

Adam has been a leading figure in the growth and development of the bulk annuity market since its expansion in 2007, leading over a hundred transactions both on the insurer and advisory side.

Adam joined Isio in February, when he sold K3 Advisory, the business he founded, to them.

Dr Deepa Driver lectures in the areas of financial regulation, accountability and governance at the University of Reading. Her research interests cover issues at the intersection of democracy, human rights and finance.

Deepa is a former chair of negotiators for the union side on the Joint Negotiating Committee of the USS pension scheme. Deepa’s career to date includes roles at Citigroup, Lloyds Banking Group, the FSA(UK) and in consulting, both in continental Europe and in the UK.

She currently serves as the vice-chair of the board of Finance Watch, Brussels; and as vice-chair of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers.
Deepa has served as an independent expert advisor to policymakers, regulators and regulated financial firms. She facilitates Board discussions on risk appetite; and the stakeholder implications of strategic choices.

Deepa’s contribution to this event is in a personal capacity.

James is a Client Director at Vidett, having joined the team in 2016. He is an accredited professional trustee and leads a range of sole trustee and Chair of Trustee appointments across a range of schemes.

James is a member of Vidett’s Endgame Solutions Team, who are specialists in the endgame space, ensuring they remain abreast of the latest updates and trends across the market, and building trusted relationships with key advisers, insursr and wider stakeholders.

Before joining Vidett, James started his pensions career as part of the Punter Southall actuarial team after graduating from the University of Southampton with a BSc in Mathematics with Actuarial Science.

Fiona is the Head of Policy at TPR, leading on changes to how TPR regulates areas such as value for money in DC schemes, funding for DB schemes and standards for trustees.

She has more than 20 year’s experience in developing private pension standards and leading regulatory change. She is passionate about delivering pragmatic solutions, which both protect members and workers for those implementing them.

Fiona recently returned to TPR from a loan as a Deputy Director at the UK Department for Work & Pensions (DWP), where she led on the Government response to effect of gilt rises on pension schemes, and a way to ensure that pension schemes, including DB schemes, invest more productively.

Will is Head of Risk Settlement for Railpen, responsible for supporting the Trustee in achieving its desired endgames across the Railways Pension Scheme’s closed sections.

Prior to that, Will was a Director in the Transaction team at Willis Towers Watson (WTW), working with a wide variety of the firm’s clients on buy-ins, buyouts, longevity swaps, superfund transactions and capital backed journey plans.

Steve is a passionate advocate that productive run-on strategies can deliver better outcomes for DB members, sponsors and the wider UK.

Over the past 5 years, Steve has led LCP’s proposals to reform DB pensions policy, working closely with the UK Government, regulators and establishing an industry-wide working group of advisors and trustees. His ideas fed directly into the previous Government’s “Mansion House” reforms, and the current Government’s 2025 announcements on new powers and guidance for DB scheme surpluses.

Steve has also advised a number of large schemes, through implementation of pioneering approaches, and is delighted at the growing level of innovation in our industry.

Pete has over 20 years’ experience, working in life insurance, the past 13 of which have been for bulk annuity provider Just Group.

As Head of Sales in the DB Risk Transfer team, Pete and his team are responsible for managing and executing all aspects of bulk annuity transactions, up to and including the point of inception.

Pete has personally led over a hundred successful bulk annuity transactions and had direct oversight of several hundred more.

In the seven years since retiring, Con has restricted his consultancy activities to projects for friends, former colleagues, and old clients.

He remains active in a number of pro bono roles, including chairing the Bond Commission of the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies.
He has taught courses as a visitor, at undergraduate and post-graduate levels, at universities in the UK, US, Asia and Europe, and continues to supervise two doctoral candidates. The subjects taught and researched have included international and development finance, financial economics, mathematical finance and actuarial science, risk management and pensions design and modelling.

After a 25-year career in investment banking and insurance, where he had worked as a financial analyst, risk manager, and investment manager, he began practising as an independent consultant in 1994 and continued with this until retirement. In this time, he undertook projects for finance ministries, central banks, and other official institutions as well as private sector institutions from all sectors of the financial markets.

He has worked extensively on both the overall and the detailed design of risk-based regulation for banks and insurance companies as well as on the pricing of new instruments, derivatives, and insurance policies.

Kerry is the Executive Director for Capital Markets & Fundraising at Accounting for Sustainability (A4S), where she is responsible for leading their Capital Markets programme to accelerate awareness and action towards a global sustainable financial system.

This includes running the A4S Asset Owners Network for pension fund chairs, supporting their commitments to embed sustainability into their strategic and investment decisions; convening senior finance to address specific challenges faced by the financial sector; and leading on guidance to scale up adoption of sustainable action by pension scheme trustees and finnace within the banking and insurance sectors.

Having worked on numerous sustainability initiatives of His Majesty King Charles III, Kerry first joined A4S in 2006 and returned in 2017, to drive support for and adoption across a global CFO community on the recommendations of the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Andrew has spent nearly 25 years working in pensions and is APMI qualified. He considers pensions to be all about engaging with people to improve their financial security. He has managed many types of pension arrangements for very different organisations with unique attributes.

Andrew’s work has included:
– Innovative pension solutions – with focus on digitisation, simplification and effective communication.
– DB Schemes – closures, de-risking liabilities, long term objectives, endgame S75 debt, New Fair Deal.
– DC arrangements – auto re-enrolment, pension freedoms, investment changes, Master Trusts, aim for better outcomes.
– HR teams – reward matters, group risk benefits, annual pay reviews, impact on high earners of Annual & Lifetime Allowance changes.

Russell joined M&G Investments in 2019 to head the Global Insurance Solutions team. The team brings together expertise from across the firm to meet the complex requirements of insurance clients.

Immediately prior to joining M&G, Russell worked at Legal & General, where he spent four years in the retirement division, executing large bulk annuity transactins and developing new products. He worked closely with the internal manager on cash-flow matching strategies, holistic portfolio maangement, and incorporating illiquid assets into portfolios.

Russell has a broad background in insurance and pension consulting, investing private capital, portfolio restructuring, corporate banking and quantitative finance. He holds a Doctorate from Queen’s University Belfast in Theoretical Physics.

Ian is the Head of Pensions at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).

At JLR, Ian is responsible for the Finance & Investment Risk Management of the UK & Overseas pensions arrangements on behalf of JLR. These arrangements include a Global Personal Pension Plan for over 7000 employees, for which he has recently completed an investment review and implemented updated investment options for members.

Ian joined JLR in June 2012. Before joining JLR, Ian worked for a large actuarial, benefits and investments consultancy as an investment consultant.

Will McGrath has a city background and was an executive director of Plcs for 25 years, latterly serving as Chief Executive of Aga Rangemaster, a group which set an innovative long-term framework for its DB scheme back in 2015. It has worked very well in practice.

Will founded C-Suite Pension Strategies, to encourage corporate engagement in DB pensions, and for schemes to “Run On 4 Good” on all stakeholders’ interests.

Charlotte Moore is an award-winning journalist and communications consultant, who has written about investments and pensions for 18 years.

She writes for a number of well-respected trade magazines. She examines how institutions like pension schemes and insurers allocate capital.

Investing to protect the planet and improve society is one of her areas of expertise and she holds regular salons, where panellists are invited to debate different sustainable institutional investment topics. She is often asked to moderate panel topics at external conferences.

Sofia is a Director of the UBS Pension Trustee Company. She also serves as an Executive Director at UBS Asset Management, where she works closely with portfolio managers and institutional investors to achieve their investment goals across a broad spectrum of asset classes ranging from passive equities and fixed income to active and alternative investments.

Before joining UBS, Sofia was the Managing Director for the LifeRisks business at RMS, the leading global catastrophe risk modelling firm. At RMS, Sofia led a team of actuaries and consultants helping global insurers manage their longevity and mortality risks.

Sofia graduated with a Masters in Finance & Banking from Strasbourg Business School, and a Masters in Management Reearch from the University of Strasbourg. She holds the Investment Management Certificate delivered by the UK CFA Society.

Terry was the Deputy General Secretary (Postal) of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) in the UK, a position he held from July 2015 to 2022. He started his career with a tool-making apprenticeship and worked various manual jobs before joining Royal Mail as a postman in 1985.

Over nearly four decades, he was a prominent figure in the CWU, serving as union representative at local, area, divisional and national levels. He was elected as a National Officer in 2001 and re-elected unopposed multiple times, representing workers in Royal Mail’s Parcelforce, Mail Centres, Network & Area Distribution, and other sectors, negotiating on operational changes, pay, and pensions. In 2015, he was elected to the position of Deputy General Secretary (Postal), responsible for over 100,000 postal workers.

Terry is known for his passionate advocacy for workers’ rights and pensions, particularly his push for Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) and Wage in Retirement pension schemes. In 2024, he delivered an inspiring speech at the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFOA), emphasizing the need for innovative pension solutions and open schemes to support past, current, and future workers. He was very vocal in disputes with Royal Mail, notably during strikes in 2022, where he criticized business leaders and defended workers’ employment, standard of living and retirement security, and the Great British Postal Service.

Pullinger has also appeared on media platforms like BBC Breakfast and Sky News to discuss labor issues.
He is active on social media, with an official Facebook page.

Bobby is a Senior Pensions Director, who has over 25 years of experience, advising both trustees and employers of Occupational Defined Benefit (DB) and Defined Contribution (DC) schemes.

Bobby is a qualified Actuary and a council member of AIMSE. His is a former Chair of the Association of Consulting Actuaries Investment Sub-Committee and has also served on the Finance and Investment Board of the Institute of Actuaries.
He is a past winner of the MallowStreet Most Influential Investment Advisor Award, and has also won the industry Battle of the Bands twice, as a Bass player.

Bobby is also a regular speaker on pensions issues at various conferences, and has participated as a judge for a number of industry awards. He has held leadership roles in areas including ESG, professional standards and governance, asset liability modelling and liability driven investment.

Kathryn Saklatvala is an asset management writer, editor and investment content specialist.

She currently works on an independent basis for several firms, including SG Pensions Enterprise, supporting the development of high-quality thought leadership and marketing/communication strategies. She has over seventeen years of experience developing content for institutional investment audiences. Formerly Head of Investment Content at global consultancy bfinance (a firm she still supports as Senior Advisor) and, prior to that, Managing Editor of Institutional Investor Networks at Euromoney Institutional Investor plc.

She is CEO of TenSen Content Limited (formerly Kathryn Saklatvala Consulting), founded in 2016. She is a frequent contributor to industry and non-industry press and conferences (Financial Times, BBC World Service, Pensions & Investments, IPE, OECD, Responsible Investor, Private Equity Investor, etc.).

Gurbani joined M&G Investments in 2022 to head the Endgame Solutions team. The team brings together expertise from across the firm to deliver commercially-focused outcomes and meet desired endgame solutions for pension schemes.

Prior to M&G, Gurbani worked in the Integrated Risk Management Team at TPT, a fundamental part of their strategy for managing risk associated with pension scheme funding, and responsible for coordinating various functions (covenant, actuarial and investment) to adopt a truly integrated approach to risk management.

Gurbani has a varied background in actuarial, investment and pension consulting, having previously worked at Mercer, Deloitte and KPMG.

Simon is the Chief Executive Officer of Clara Pensions, the member-first consolidator of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes.

Simon has over 30 years’ experience in the life & pensions industries. Prior to joining Clara in 2022, he was the Group Corporate Development Director and Group Chief Actuary at the FTSE 100 insurer Phoenix Group, where he established the group’s bulk purchase annuity team.

Martine joined Capital Cranfield in October 2016.

Martine is a fully accredited professional trustee and acts as chairman or co-trustee as required. Her clients include ongoing schemes, where the emphasis is on governance and collaborative working as well as special situations involving, corporate restructurings and journey planning.

Martine also chairs and sits on various sub-committees including Asset and Liability Committees as well as Governance and Funding Committees.