Clarke to Quit PPF for Government Actuary Job

(March 6, 2014) — Martin Clarke, the executive director of financial risk at the UK’s lifeboat for bankrupt company pension funds, is to join the Government Actuary Office, aiCIO has learned.

Clarke will leave the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) later this year and become the Government Actuary for a five-year fixed term, the agency confirmed today.

A former member of aiCIO’s Power 100, Clarke has been with the PPF since its early days and has helped its assets grow from less than £1 billion to more than £13 billion in under a decade.

After the departure of PPF CIO Ian McKinlay in 2012, Clarke took over the general investment helm until the appointment of Barry Kenneth into the role last year.

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He has been instrumental in creating a three-pronged investment risk regime employed by the fund. He was also actively involved in bringing more than one liability-driven investment manager on board to diversify the fund’s risk.

PPF Chairman, Lady Barbara Judge, said: “Martin has made an enormous contribution to the success of the PPF during the last eight years, not least in spearheading an investment strategy that has seen our assets grow to more than £15 billion and put us on course for financial self-sufficiency in 2030.”

Clarke is a Cambridge-educated mathematician, actuary, and Harvard Business School alumnus. Before the PPF, he worked in retail financial services with the Co-operative Insurance Society.

(March 6, 2014) – BlackRock’s head of UK defined contribution (DC) and head of consultant relations for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) have both resigned, aiCIO has learned.

A company spokesperson confirmed both departures but declined to comment.

After 12 months as DC chief, Neil Purvis is now training his replacement in preparation to leave the firm, according to someone with knowledge of the situation.

DC business development chief Paul Bucksey is set to become the division’s third leader since 2013. Bucksey has a decade of experience in the field, having led the business side of DC operations at Friends Life and Fidelity International.

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He enters the role with a more substantial background in the area than his predecessor. According to one insider, Purvis was tapped as “transitional” head to implement changes within the division.

After rising up in the human resources department, in 2011 Purvis moved from head of international HR to head of DC member communications. Purvis stepped in to lead the London-based DC operations following then-head Steve Rumbles’ resignation in March of 2013.

Rumbles spent 25 years at BlackRock and has been a longtime leader in European DC. He has since established his own pension and DC consulting service.

Another division head with a substantial history at BlackRock has also resigned.

Geoff Cheetham led consultant relations for EMEA before leaving to accept a position at another asset management firm. His last day was in early March, a source told aiCIO.

As with the DC leadership role, his position was filled internally by Head of European Consultant Relations Howard Newell.

Cheetham’s recent departure capped off his second stint with the organization.

Earlier in his career, he spent eight years with BlackRock’s predecessor, Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. Cheetham left his director position with the institutional account management team to head up HSBC’s institutional and DC business. An executive role with Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s UK operations followed.

Cheetham came full circle with a return to BlackRock’s London office in 2008 as a managing director for relationships with “top-tier institutional clients,” the firm described at the time.

Assets from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa accounted for 31% of BlackRock’s $3.8 trillion under management, according to the 2012 annual report, which is the most recent available. Nearly all of the assets from the EMEA region were institutional. —Elizabeth Pfeuti & Leanna Orr