BlackRock has appointed Cyprian Njamma as head of investment strategy for UK defined benefit (DB) pensions.

Njamma joins BlackRock from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where he was a senior member of their UK pensions outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) team. In this new role, he will lead the development of investment strategy across BlackRock’s UK DB pensions OCIO business, overseeing a specialist team that spans portfolio construction, asset allocation, and tailored investment advice. Commenting on the appointment, BlackRock UK pensions OCIO head and CIO, Paul Sheffield, said: “Cyprian’s appointment strengthens our investment leadership for our UK pension clients, and we are pleased to welcome him to the team.”

Van Lanschot Kempen has announced the appointment of its new CEO, Michelle Darracott.

The appointment is effective 1 April 2026, and she will replace the interim CEO of the UK business, Johan Cras, who will resume his prior role as senior advisor for investment management clients. Darracott brings over 30 years of experience across the UK pensions and investment landscape and most recently served as a professional trustee at BESTrustees Limited and as a non-executive director at TPT Retirement Solutions. Prior to this, she was chief strategy officer at Smart Pension and held several senior positions at Legal & General Investment Management, including head of strategic change and head of digital investing.

Isio has promoted Ajith Nair, John McAleer and Samantha Coombes to partner.

Nair will continue as head of research and chief investment officer for Isio Investment Management in addition to his role as partner. Meanwhile, both McAleer and Coombes have been promoted to partner within Actuarial and Consulting. McAleer will continue his role as Scotland market lead, while Coombes will continue as head of operational solutions. Commenting on the promotions, Isio CEO, Andrew Coles, said: “Ajith, John, and Samantha have each made an outstanding contribution to the firm’s growth, combining deep technical expertise with strong commercial leadership and a clear focus on delivering for clients.”

Hymans Robertson has promoted Tom Caron to operations lead of its risk transfer team.

Caron joined Hymans Robertson in July 2019 and is a member of the risk transfer team. Over the years, he has contributed to a range of transactions of varying scale and complexity, gaining experience and playing a key role in helping clients achieve their long-term strategic objectives. In his new role, he will have operational responsibility for the team, leading on resourcing, people development, knowledge sharing and regulatory compliance. Alongside this, he will also continue to provide advice to trustees and sponsors on their own risk transfer projects.

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