(April 12, 2013) – The long-standing CEO of the Royal Mail Pension Trustees is to stand aside as a new generation of investors takes over.
Gerry Degaute, now the outgoing CEO, is due to leave the Royal Mail pension plan in June, aiCIO has learned.
As a result, Chris Hogg, head of funding, has been elevated to CEO, while Ian McKnight, senior investment strategy manager, has taken the newly created position of CIO at the £3.2 billion fund, according to a source close to the situation.
The promotions occurred earlier this month but have not yet been publicly announced, aiCIO understands. Key contacts to the pension plan have been notified of the changes. Outgoing CEO Degaute is overseeing the transition and is due to leave the fund in June.
Royal Mail declined to comment.
McKnight appeared on aiCIO‘s Forty Under Forty list last year. The 35-year old joined Royal Mail three years ago after working at consulting firms Watson Wyatt, Lane Clark and Peacock, and KPMG
Chris Hogg is due to appear on this year’s list – published later this month – and joined the plan barely six months before McKnight. The 34-year old had been an actuary with Aon and KPMG before joining the fund.
The fund had been one of the largest in the UK until £28 billion was transferred to the UK Treasury in May last year. Its current value is around £3.2 billion, having grown £500 million since the transition. It is still open to future accrual and receives the second highest income of all UK pension funds.
Degaute joined Royal Mail in 1987, having previously worked for Sun Life and Varity Pensions. He became CEO in 2002.
Related content: Ian McKnight in 2012’s Forty Under Forty