WBR Group has announced a series of appointments, effective 1 October.

WBR Group director of small self‑administered scheme (SSAS) transformation and proposition, Caitlin Southall, has been appointed as chief commercial officer. She will lead the group’s commercial strategy, oversee proposition development, marketing and technical expertise. Current chief commercial officer, David Santaney, will move into the newly created position of growth and partnerships officer, focusing on advancing WBR Group’s strategic growth agenda. Meanwhile, WBR Group director of SSAS operations, Jenni Harland, has been appointed as chief operating officer. In her new role, she will join the board and take responsibility for driving operational excellence as the business grows. WBR Group director and current chief operating officer, Martin Tilley, will remain on the board and assume the role of trustee governance and standards officer. In addition to these appointments, WBR Group confirmed that chief banking officer, Rocky Leanders, will be leaving the business in the coming months to pursue other opportunities. Santaney will assume his responsibilities.

Cleveland & Co has appointed Louise Howard as general counsel, pension funds & institutional investors.

Howard has more than 25 years of legal experience and joins from Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), where she most recently served as chief legal officer. During her career at USS, she contributed to many legal and governance initiatives in the pension sector and supported trustee boards and executive leadership on matters spanning governance, regulation and long-term institutional strategy. In her new role, she will advise on governance, regulatory strategy and legal risk, and work as an extension of clients' in-house legal and leadership teams.

EV has hired Jake Moeller as director, investment consulting.

He joins EV from Titan Square Mile, where he was associate director, responsible investment and senior investment consultant. In that role, he conducted fund research, contributed to portfolio construction, and supported investment and adviser firms in developing their propositions. Earlier in his career, Moeller worked as a portfolio manager and served as a pension trustee.

Broadstone has appointed Ben Reyer as principal consultant – business protection within its Employee Benefits Consulting division.

Reyer has more than 20 years of experience in advising clients on shareholder protection, key person cover, relevant life cover, loan protection and executive income protection. He joins from Towergate Health & Protection – now Everywhen – where he spent more than 15 years, most recently as business development manager within its Business Protection team. Prior to joining Everywhen, he held senior roles at HSBC and HSBC Actuaries & Consultants. In his new role, he will support the firm’s clients with their business protection needs, help businesses identify and manage risks that could affect their people, ownership structures and long-term resilience.

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