LGPS Central, the pension pool for eight Midlands-based local government pension schemes (LGPS), has appointed Jayne Atkinson as its new chief investment officer (CIO).
She will join in the spring of 2025 and previously was in charge of the investments at the Unilever UK Pension Fund.
Atkinson will oversee LGPS Central’s investment strategies, making her responsible for more than £32.5bn of assets on behalf of its partner funds.
Atkinson is an experienced investment professional and qualified actuary with more than 20 years of expertise across various investment disciplines.
In the first decade of her career, the qualified actuary focused on pensions and investment advisory roles, serving as lead investment consultant to FTSE 100 companies and trustee boards.
Subsequent years saw a transition into chief investment roles, where she became a key leader and board member for cross-border pooled funds, with roles at Unilever and Nestlé.
Atkinson also brings non-executive experience, including positions such as an independent investment committee member for the Medical Research Council Pension Fund and chair of the European Pension Fund Investment Forum.
She has also served as an external investment committee member for the CERN Pension Fund in Geneva and an International Advisory Board member for EDHEC Risk Institute, in Nice, France.
On Atkinson’s appointment, Richard Law-Deeks, LGPS Central’s chief executive, said: “Her impressive skillset will be pivotal in guiding the next chapter of our investment strategy and delivering strong returns for our partner funds.”
He added: “Jayne joins us at a crucial time as we continue to refine our offering and with deep rooted experience from a fund perspective was the ideal choice to support LGPS Central in building upon the progress of the past six years.”
Atkinson joins a leadership team that includes Mark Davies and Nadeem Hussain, who continue to provide leadership of the public and private markets teams respectively. They will continue to act as interim co-CIOs until Atkinson joins in April.
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