Judging panel 2024
Robert Branagh, CEO, London Pension Fund Authority (LPFA)
David Butcher, Managing Director, Communications and Content
Michael Clark, Trustee Director, Independent Governance Group (IGG)
Jerry Gandhi, Director, C A P Services
Mohsin Harhara, Head of Pensions, Skanska UK
Ali Heppenstall, Founder and Director, Climate Action for Associations (CAFA); and Managing Director, b2b and B2.Media
Vince Linnane, Chairman, Moorlands Human Capital
Julian Mund, Chief Executive, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA)
Richard Parkin, Head of Retirement, BNY Mellon Investment Management
Richard Poole, Legal Director, Pensions & Employee Benefits, Royal Mail Group
Matthew Swynnerton, Partner, DLA Piper
Robert Branagh, CEO, London Pension Fund Authority (LPFA)
Robert is a pensions professional with an extensive business background, largely in outsourcing and financial services. He has worked for trustee, not for profit, private equity owned, and insurance businesses over the last 30 years. Robert helped transition the Office of the Paymaster General from a public to a private sector outsourcing business in the late 1990’s and worked with Cabinet Office to establish the joint venture which became MyCSP. He has also managed the back office or pension functions for several large pension schemes, including the NHS, Civil Service, Royal Mail Statutory scheme, and the Railways Pension Scheme. Currently, he is the CEO of the London Pensions Fund Authority, a £7.6bn fund within the LGPS. He is also a Trustee of the Creative Pensions Trust Mastertrust and a Governor of the Pensions Policy Institute. He sits on the Board of the Local Pensions Partnership Administration and its parent, the Local Pensions Partnership Limited and is a NED at the Ministry of Defence where he chairs the Armed Forces Pension Schemes. He is also a NED on the Board of the Pensions Ombudsman. He is a frequent speaker at pensions and employee benefits events and is a regular contributor to the UK pensions industry press. He is a Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute and has been both Chair and President during his service there. He is also an Accredited Member of the Association of Professional Pension Trustees.
David Butcher, Managing Director, Communications and Content
David Butcher is a communications professional who advises financial services clients on their messaging, thought leadership and reputation in the media. He launched his consultancy Communications and Content in 2017 and has worked in the sector for 25 years. He started his career in consultancies, such as Lansons, where he launched Citywire.co.uk and Moneysupermarket.com before specialising in investment management and long-term savings. David has held a number of senior roles at businesses including Fidelity International and M&G Investments. He is a Fellow of the RSA, publishes the popular annual Readability Report and writes regularly on communications issues in the trade media.
Michael Clark, Trustee Director, Independent Governance Group (IGG)
Michael has worked with a full range of companies from FTSE 100 to SMEs undertaking a wide range of different roles and managing specific projects including professional trustee appointments, including three Master Trusts, providing trustee secretariat services, trustee induction and training, executive pension benefits and auto-enrolment. Michael qualified as an Associate of the PMI min 1990 and was the first professional trustee to be accredited by the Pensions Management Institute. Michael has spent much of his working career in the pension services sector where he has more than 35 years’ experience working in a variety of roles. These include leading a team of professional pension trustees after having previously worked at a major Third-Party pension administrator. Before this Michael gained experience working in consulting actuarial and insurance companies.Michael is a regular speaker and Chair at conferences and seminars.
Jerry Gandhi, Director, C A P Services Ltd
Jerry is an independent pension’s professional with extensive experience as a Pensions Manager having held senior roles in a range of diverse organisations and also now a Professional Independent Trustee.
He has worked within small and large pension operations covering projects, hands on management and delivering to both Trustees and Company. He is a leader in the field of Trustee Governance and operational excellence for both DB and DC schemes. He fully appreciates, and has extensive experience in, managing the conflicts between Company/commercial economic impact Vs Trustees member/fiduciary responsibilities.
Jerry has significant expertise in understanding employer covenant and affordability as well as the need to agree appropriate long-term investment and funding strategy that works for both the trustees and scheme sponsors.
Jerry is well known in the pensions market, works energetically to build strong relationships quickly and works collaboratively with all stakeholders and advisers.
He is known for effective decision making, being innovative and strong focus in driving the agenda to ensure the Company and Pension Trustees work to achieving a win-win solution to protect and deliver benefits promised.
Mohsin Harhara, Head of Pensions, Skanska
Mohsin is the Head of Pensions at Skanska and a Director sitting on a number of the UK pension schemes trustee boards and sub-committees, and the DC governance committee He was previously the Head of Pensions at Evelyn Partners and Head of Pensions at Mott MacDonald where he was responsible for pension strategy and overall management of the pension schemes including governance matters. Prior to this he has held pension and employee benefits consultancy roles with various advisory firms which include WTW and PwC, advising companies ranging from SMEs to FTSE100s helping them with their strategic plans and managing various projects in areas such as DB liability and risk management, auto-enrolment and pension scheme and benefit design
Ali Heppenstall, Founder and Director, Climate Action for Associations (CAFA); and Managing Director, b2b and B2.Media
Ali Heppenstall is Founder and Director of Climate Action for Associations (CAFA) and Managing Director of b2b and B2.Media. Ali has more than 25 years’ experience working hands-on with more than 60 leading NGOs, professional bodies and trade associations to implement growth, impact and new revenue generation programmes, including the PMI, ACCA, IACEW, CIPD, CIPP, CIPS, FSB and British Chambers. Ali’s work with leading international climate and sustainability NGOs such as the Carbon Trust and The Climate Group led her to recognise the critical role the membership sector plays in accelerating climate action. As a result, Ali went on to establish CAFA, a not-for-profit, that provides climate action leadership, information, guidance and emissions reporting solutions specifically for membership organisations and their business members. CAFA is an official accelerator for the UN backed Race to Zero campaign. Ali and the CAFA team are currently working with BSI/ ISO to develop a net zero guidelines annexe specifically for membership organisations.
Vince Linnane, Chairman, Moorlands Human Capital
Prior to taking up the role of MHC Chairman, Vince Linnane was Chief Executive of the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) for a decade between July 2006 and May 2016 when he stood down from the position. Vince has a BA (Hons) from Newcastle University in English and History. Achievements have included winning the 2016 Professional Pensions Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2016 Pensions Age Pensions Personality of the Year Award. Vince was included in the most 50 influential people in UK pensions by Pensions Insight for 2012-15.
Julian Mund, Chief Executive, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA)
Julian Mund joined the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association as commercial services director in 2013 and became chief executive in 2017. Prior to this, he worked at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) for almost 16 years. Julian undertook a variety of roles such as the managing director of their commercial company and their director of operations. He led on business growth and strategic development across CIPFA's commercial business as well as the delivery of their member services. Julian worked on school policy at the Department for Education before joining CIPFA.
Richard Parkin, Head of Retirement, BNY Mellon Investment Management
Richard is Head of Retirement for BNY Mellon Investment Management. In this role he is responsible for working with intermediary clients on developing their approach to retirement planning and investment. He also acts as a spokesperson for the firm on retirement issues particularly as they relate to investment.
Richard has over 30 years’ experience in the industry, focused entirely on Defined Contribution (DC) pensions and retirement. Prior to joining BNY Mellon, Richard ran his own business providing strategy consulting to pension providers and asset managers and producing a series of research reports on the DC and retirement advice markets.
Much of his career was spent at Fidelity International where he led its workplace proposition team before taking the role of Head of Retirement for the UK business in 2013, just before the introduction of pension freedom and choice.
Richard is also a non-executive director and chair of the Risk Committee at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Richard Poole, Legal Director, Pensions & Employee Benefits, Royal Mail Group
Richard Poole is the pension and benefits lawyer for Royal Mail Group, which has a number of pension schemes in the UK. He has been advising on the administration and management of the Group’s pension schemes since 2000, including the transfer of the Group’s historic pension liabilities to Government, ongoing pensions reform and the introduction of a CDC scheme. Richard is a trustee of a charity, the Rowland Hill Fund.
Matthew Swynnerton, Partner,DLA Piper
Matthew Swynnerton is a partner at global law firm DLA Piper where he heads the London employment and pensions team. He advises on all aspects of pensions law, including the pensions aspects of corporate transactions, The Pensions Regulator risk issues and moral hazard powers, reorganisations and restructuring. Recent notable work includes advising Uber on its automatic enrolment duties following the recent Supreme Court judgment on worker status and, as a member of the Pension Scams Industry Group, drafting key legal sections of the Combatting Pension Scams Code of Practice, which received widespread praise from The Pensions Regulator, the Pensions Ombudsman and the Pensions Minister, and working with the DWP in relation to the Transfer Conditions Regulations.Matthew has been described by a leading pensions QC as having “an extensive knowledge of pensions law and practice, very sound legal judgement and good commercial sense”. Matthew is a ranked individual in the current Chambers guide and is ranked as a Leading Individual in the current Legal 500, which has stated that he is “praised by clients as ‘highly responsible and approachable’ and 'able to demonstrate a deep knowledge of pensions law which he deploys with great pragmatism’”. Matthew is a member of the Association of Pension Lawyers’ Main Committee.
