Future of Pensions Summit 2024

Debi O'Donovan

Co-founder & Director, REBA

Debi is the Co-founder  &  Director at REBA.

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Ant Donaldson

Reward Manager – Benefits, Wolseley

Ant leads on all aspects of employee benefits, pensions, and company car schemes for the Wolseley Group, across the UK and Ireland, having previously managed E.ON UK’s reward and benefits activity, including developing the E.ON Group’s first global employee benefits strategy.

He is also an experienced DB and DC pension trustee, and has led projects to transition Wolseley’s DC pension plan to a large master trust, to introduce a DB pensions increase exchange at E.ON, and to implement auto-enrolment for E.ON’s DC scheme, with delegated opt-out management (an industry first).

Ant’s focus is on engaging Wolseley’s diverse workforce with their pensions and benefit offerings, and continuously improving employee experience and wellbeing, together with scheme delivery and cost-effectiveness. He regularly looks to implement new arrangements, to help meet colleagues’ diverse needs and keep the offering fresh.

He’s also actively involved in integrating acquisitions into Wolseley’s pension, benefits, and company car arrangements, with the number of new businesses hitting double figures in the past two or three years.

Ant was extremely proud to be named Employee Benefits Professional of the Year back in 2015, and led his team to the Employee Benefits Team of the Year and Grand Prix, amongst other awards.

Earlier in his career, Ant held several operational management roles at E.ON, Powergen and TXU (Eastern) Energy, and headed a number of significant organisational change programmes. He’s also a Chartered Accountant, with an initial grounding in internal and external audit.

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Robert Cochran

Workplace Pensions Engagement and Innovation Specialist, Scottish Widows

Robert has lead the Scottish Widows Employer and Employee engagement teams, dedicated to crafting impactful messages and materials for a variety of pension seminars and engagement events. His team's outreach touches thousands of employees annually, fueling Robert's passion for demystifying pensions. His commitment to simplification is evident in his team's collaboration with LBG digital resources, aiming to integrate pensions into the broader context of Financial Wellness for employees. With the increasing role of digital engagement through APPs and AI Robert has focused on this area to really take understanding and interaction with pensions to the next level.

A recognized voice in the industry, Robert is a regular fixture in print and on the radio, and hosts the Scottish Widows Workplace Pensions Podcast. His insights on pension engagement, technology, and data are sought after at industry conferences, and his interactions with policymakers over the years have been influential. As a founding partner in Pension Engagement Season and National Pension Tracing Day, Robert has been at the forefront of initiatives that strive to improve retirement outcomes for individuals.

In addition to his extensive professional experience, Robert holds a degree in Marketing and Finance, underscoring his expertise in the financial sector. His educational background complements his practical knowledge, making him a well-rounded specialist in his field.

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Zoe Alexander

Director of Strategy, Nest

Zoe is Director of Strategy and Corporate Affairs at Nest, with a role spanning long term organisational strategy, the Government relationship, policy and public affairs. She has held this role while Nest has grown from 3 million members/under £1bn assets to around 13 million members/£40bn assets, and in doing so become the largest UK DC pension scheme by membership.

Before joining NEST, Zoe was a civil servant for over a decade, in a variety of roles. She was Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions during the passage of the legislation that established automatic enrolment; wrote the funding strategy that helped set up Nest; and led the Treasury programme that set up the national pensions guidance service, Pension Wise.

Zoe chairs PLSA’s Master Trust Committee and is a member of their Policy Board. Zoe is passionate about mental health and is executive sponsor of Nest’s mental health working group, as well as a non-executive director and trustee of the homelessness charity, Emmaus SLC. Zoe has two teenage children and lives in South East London.

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Richard Birkin

Partner and Head of DC pensions, Isio

Richard Birkin is the Partner and Head of DC pensions at Isio.

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Yvonne Braun

Director of Policy, Long Term Savings and Protection, ABI

A member of the ABI’s Executive Team, Yvonne directs the ABI’s work on pensions, including ESG and sustainable investment, and protection insurance, and oversees the finance department and data analysis team. She leads the ABI’s diversity and inclusion programme, and the sector’s charitable £100m Covid-19 Support Fund.

Yvonne joined the ABI from the Financial Services Authority, where she worked in policy and public affairs. She previously was a capital markets lawyer at Goldman Sachs and the US law firm Cleary Gottlieb.

Yvonne is a member of the Government’s Industry Steering Group for the Pensions Dashboard Project, and the City of London Corporation’s Taskforce to improve socio-economic diversity at senior levels in financial and professional services. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a former trustee of Asthma UK, a graduate of Cambridge University and holds a doctorate in international criminal law.

She can be found on Twitter at @YvonneBraun4.

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Rita Butler-Jones

Head of DC, Legal & General

Rita is Head of DC at Legal & General, responsible for our DC strategy and business growth. She has a wealth of DC experience with a broad spectrum of product, client, and sales experience. Rita has been at LGIM since 2015, prior to this she held senior sales roles, including Head of DC at Threadneedle Investment, Business Development Director at Friends Life, and DC Sales Consultant at Mercer. She is also a scheme strategist for Legal & General’s Mastertrust and in 2021 Rita was voted Pensions Woman of the Year at the Professional Pensions Women in Pensions Awards. 

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Chris Clark

Policy Manager, The Pensions Regulator

Chris Clark is the Policy Manager at The Pensions Regulator.

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Aimée Denham

Client Director, Vidett

Aimée joined us in July 2019 as a trustee director. Her career in pensions started back in 2001, where she worked as pensions consultant at KPMG, before working at the National Grid within their in-house pensions management team. Prior to joining Vidett, she worked at PwC; leading their DC team, and previous to there, had held a senior consulting role at Deloitte. Away from her day job, Aimée is a season ticket holder at her beloved Aston Villa F.C. When not supporting the Villains, she can be found enjoying Pilates, eating out and spending time with her daughter, family and friends!

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Caroline Eastwood

Client Director, Vidett

Caroline has over 25 years’ experience in pensions management, from both in-house and consultancy positions. She was the Senior Pensions Manager at two leading building societies, where she supported their trustees and sponsors in outsourcing administration of their £8bn defined benefit scheme. Before moving in-house, she was a member of the Mercer Governance Trustee Services team, providing outsourced pensions management, secretarial and governance advisory services. She was also named Pensions Manager of the Year at the 2019 Women in Pensions Awards.

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Hannah English

Head of DC Corporate Consulting, Hymans Robertson

Hannah is head of our DC Corporate Consulting services. She has extensive experience defined contribution pension schemes and is responsible for the day-to-day management of numerous high profile corporate clients. She has a passion for delivering improved outcomes for members. She specialises in pension scheme design and benefits management; and change and implementation.

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Kathryn Fleming

Partner , Hymans Robertson

Kathryn is a Partner in the DC consulting team at Hymans Robertson LLP. She specialises in advising employers and trustees on effective, objective driven, pension strategy. Having spent 20 years in the industry, she has an in depth understanding of providers, engagement and governance. She leads the strategic thought leadership for the Retirement proposition for the DC Consulting market.  Kathryn is also a Council Member for the Pensions Policy Institute and Co-Chair for a workstream of the Pensions Equity Group.

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Catherine Foot

Director, Phoenix Insights

Catherine Foot is Director of Phoenix Insights, a new think tank set up to transform the way society responds to the possibilities of longer lives. Phoenix Insights is part of The Phoenix Group, the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business.

Catherine is a research and policy specialist in ageing and longevity, and from 2015 to 2021 was Director of Evidence at the Centre for Ageing Better, a charitable foundation funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, and part of the government’s What Works Network. Catherine has also held senior roles at the health and social care think tank The King’s Fund, and the medical research charity Cancer Research UK.

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Mark Futcher

Partner, Head of DC and Workplace Wealth, Barnett Waddingham

Mark focusses on workplace wealth (including DC), advising a range of UK businesses on, essentially, anything that employers use to recruit, retain and improve their workforce.

He has developed particular expertise in helping employers adapt their employee benefit offering to cope with the changing demands of a modern workforce.

Mark’s extensive experience, clear advice and proactive approach have helped him to become a trusted consultant to a wide range of UK and multi-national businesses.

He was Engaged Investor's Best Individual Pensions Consultant of the Year 2016.

Significant experience:

• advice to clients with workforces in excess of 100,000 employees
• advising trustees of defined contribution (DC) schemes with assets in excess of £1 billion
• modernising DC schemes in the context of the overall benefit packages
• demonstrably increasing engagement with the employer’s workforce
• tailored education of workforces from career start to and through retirement

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Jo Gallacher

Content Director, REBA

Jo Gallacher is the Content Director at REBA.

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Matthew Gregson

Executive Director, Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing

Today, Matthew oversees all aspects of Howden’s proposition for Corporate clients. He has over 20 years’ experience in employee benefits, including a large portion of his career helping shape the flexible benefits market in the UK. Matthew has personally helped many large and complex employers introduce transformational change to their pension and benefits programmes, working with providers and partners in industry to innovate and maximise the value they bring to clients.

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Emma Hadley

Head of Pensions, Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing

Emma is responsible for both the Howden and Aston Lark Pensions team.  She has over 30 years’ experience within Employee Benefits with a particular specialism in pensions.  Emma has assisted a range of industries on how to comply with Workplace Pensions legislation ranging from Retail to Investment Banking and understands the different challenges that apply to different sectors. 

She is passionate about delivering value for employers, ensuring they receive cost-effective solutions without compromising their workforce’s quality of pension schemes. With her wealth of experience and dedication, Emma is a driving force in optimizing pension programs for businesses and employees alike. She is committed to implementing bespoke and targeted employee engagement strategies, striving for positive outcomes for all.

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Alex Hadonou

Senior Consultant, Aon

Alex has 10 years’ experience having joined Aon in 2013 working in Aon’s corporate consulting team - helping corporates optimize their pension strategy covering both DB and DC pensions. Alex has worked with a number of clients from various backgrounds, ranging from large financial institutions with multi-billion-pound DB schemes to firms in the charity sector. Alex is also a member of Aon’s Financial Wellbeing specialist team, helping both UK and Global clients implement financial wellbeing programmes and developing Aon’s thinking and capabilities in this space.

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Catherine Harvey

Head of Reward, Wienerberger Ltd

Catherine Harvey is the Head of Reward at Wienerberger Ltd.

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David Harvey

Master Trust Leader, NatWest Cushon

David is Cushon’s Master Trust Lead and has worked in the DC pensions market for over 25 years. During that time, he has worked on both “sides of the fence” at Consultants and Insurers and has built up a really good understanding of what both companies and members look for and value when it comes to pension provision. 

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Stuart Hopley

Workplace Pensions Specialist, Scottish Widows

Stuart joined Scottish Widows in 2002 and has over 25 year’s experience of working with Independent Financial Advisers, Employee Benefit Consultants, Trustees and Employers. Prior to joining Scottish Widows, Stuart held Account Manager and Business Development roles at Legal & General and Scottish Amicable.

Stuart has a vast experience of Auto Enrolment and a passion for helping people better understand and make the most of their workplace savings. 

Stuart hosts our webinar programme and is responsible for a team of Scottish Widows Workplace Relationship Managers and supports our wider relationships with Key Workplace clients and Employee Benefits firms.

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Christine Jackson

Group Reward Director, Kantar

Christine Jackson is the Group Reward Director at Kantar.

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Oliver Morley

Chief Executive, Money and Pensions Service

Oliver Morley is CEO of the Money and Pensions Service and joined us on 1 February 2024.

Oliver brings a unique blend of private sector experience at Thomson Reuters combined with a successful record of leadership as CEO of public sector organisations including the Pension Protection Fund. Prior to this, he was the CEO of the DVLA, with services to over 45 million customers annually where he was awarded a CBE for digital transformation.

Oliver is committed to seeing MaPS reach its full potential to deliver on its purpose “to help people, particularly those most in need, to make the most of their money and pensions.” His established relationship with key pensions industry stakeholders will support the team as we deliver the Pensions Dashboards Programme, including our own MoneyHelper dashboard.

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Stacy O’Sullivan

Head of DC Strategy and Development, LGIM

Stacy O’Sullivan is the Head of DC Strategy and Development at LGIM.

With 25 years of DC consulting experience, Stacy has provided strategic advice to some of the largest and most progressive DC pension schemes in the UK. Now, she brings her extensive knowledge of the DC market and insights into strategic propositions to LGIM.
Her focus is on ensuring that L&G continues to be a market-leading provider, catering to the specific needs of clients and members. Previously, Stacy spent 4 years at Muse Advisory, where she played a pivotal role in developing their independent DC consulting business. Prior to that, she served as a Partner in Lane, Clark & Peacock’s (LCP’s) DC team and co-headed Trustee Services for the broader LCP business.

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Katharine Photiou

MD workplace savings, LGIM

Katharine Photiou is the MD workplace savings at LGIM.

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Jenny Swift

Proposition Lead, Aon

Jenny Swift is the Proposition Lead at Aon.

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Steve Watson

Director of Policy & Research, NatWest Cushon

Steve Watson, Director of Policy & Research Steve is NatWest Cushon’s Director of Policy & Research. He has spent over 30 years of his career advising organisations on all aspects of pensions and workplace savings both in the UK and internationally.

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Sam Whiting

Benefits and Pensions Senior Manager , Grant Thornton UK LLP

Sam Whiting is the Benefits and Pensions Senior Manager at Grant Thornton UK LLP, steering the firm's benefits and pensions offering. With 15 years of experience in benefits and pension process management, Sam has broadened her focus to include overall financial wellbeing, championing strategies that resonate with a diverse workforce.

Sam is passionate about demystifying pensions, transitioning from traditional offerings and communication methods to a more holistic approach to financial wellbeing and employee support.

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