Legal & General (L&G) is seeking to grow its international de-risking capabilities with the appointment of a new director of strategic transactions.
Matt Wilmington joined from consultancy firm Aon Hewitt, L&G said in a statement, and will lead on “strategic longevity, buy-in, and buyout transactions, focusing particularly on our large multinational client relationships.”
L&G broke new ground in 2014 with the completion of a multi-country pension de-risking project with automobile parts manufacturer TRW. The transaction involved a £2.5 billion ($3.6 billion) buyout of the company’s UK pension, as well as smaller de-risking moves for its Canadian and US pensions.
In a 15-year career at Aon Hewitt, Wilmington held a number of roles including overseeing the consultant’s non-UK pension-risk transfer business. Most recently, he was a partner in the group’s risk settlement team. He led advice on “a number of UK-based, large-scale, complex de-risking transactions,” L&G said.
In the last 18 months, Aon Hewitt has advised on notable deals such as Alcatel-Lucent’s £300 million buy-in, completed at the start of this year, and a £675 million buy-in for the Lehman Brothers UK pension in May 2015.
“I’m confident that the strength and depth of the pension-risk transfer team will result in many innovative transactions being completed over the coming months and years, and I’m excited to be playing a part in that,” Wilmington said.
Related: Lehman Brothers Secures UK Pension with Buy-in & L&G Secures £2.5B Buy-Out in International Risk Transfer Deal