Appointments update - 22 April 2021

Aviva has named Rob Barker as managing director, UK savings and retirement.

Barker, who previously served as managing director of Aviva’s Health and Protection business, will report to Aviva UK and Ireland Life chief executive, Doug Brown. He has also previously held senior roles at Regent Insurance, Standard Bank Group and Hollard Insurance. Aviva CEO, Amanda Blanc, commented: “Rob’s track record in driving innovation, growth, and profitability, across multiple product lines and distribution channels, in his more than 20 years in our industry, makes him ideally suited to lead our growth plans.”

Aon has been appointed by London Borough of Southwark Pension Fund to provide investment advice.

The professional services firm has already been providing both actuarial and governance advice to the fund, which has assets of around £1.9bn and more than 25,000 members. London Borough of Southwark’s strategic director of finance and governance, Duncan Whitfield, said: “We have worked with Aon for some time in other areas of managing our fund. However, when reviewing our investment strategy and with particular reference to our pursuit of a low-carbon approach, we were impressed by the Aon Investment team’s credentials and capabilities in this area and in the thinking that backed them up.”

Interactive Investor has announced the appointment of Gordon Wilson as chair of the board.

Wilson, whose hire remains subject to Financial Conduct Authority approval, has almost three decades of experience with high-growth digital platforms. The most recent example of this was his work as president and CEO of Travelport from 2011 to 2019, during which time he took the global travel commerce platform public on the New York Stock Exchange before selling it to private equity. Wilson is currently on the supervisory board of BCD Holdings N.V, is a non-executive director of William Hill PLC, and serves as a board trustee for the Coopers Hill Recreational Trust. He replaces Hugo Van Vredenburch, who has chaired the board since 2015 and has stepped down to focus on conservation as chair of Fauna & Flora International’s council of trustees.

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