NewsmakersJanuary 17, 2024

UK’s PPF Appoints Michelle Ostermann as CEO

Ostermann will move from PSP Investments in Canada in April to succeed Oliver Morley, who moved to MaPS.

Reported by Matt Toledo

The Pension Protection Fund, a U.K. public corporation that protects the pensions of its 10 million members from employer insolvency, named Michelle Ostermann its new CEO on Wednesday. Ostermann will succeed Oliver Morley, who stepped down in December 2023 to lead the Money and Pensions Service.

Ostermann’s appointment is effective April 1, and she will be based in London. Katherine Easter, the PPF’s chief people officer, will serve as interim CEO until Ostermann assumes her new role.

“Having long admired the PPF’s astute approach to investing and its profound impact on the U.K. pension system, as evidenced by its award-winning investment and administration businesses, it is both an honor and a privilege to now contribute to shaping its future,” Ostermann said in a statement. “In a pensions industry rife with challenges and opportunities, I firmly believe the PPF is poised to play a pivotal role in defining best practices and reshaping the U.K. pensions landscape—a prospect I eagerly anticipate diving into.”

Ostermann has nearly three decades of experience in pensions and institutional investing, most recently as senior vice president and global head of capital markets at PSP Investments in Canada, managing all aspects of that firm’s $120 billion portfolio.

Ostermann was also managing director of , a U.K. asset manager with 30 billion pounds ($37.97 billion) of assets under management. She was previously senior vice president of corporate and investor relations and investment risk, strategy and research at the British Columbia Investment Management Corp. and head of guaranteed investments at Manulife Investment Management in Toronto.

The PPF pays out pensions to its members if their plan becomes insolvent or if a pension scheme is unable to make payments to its members. The firm oversees 32.5 billion pounds in assets. Members represent 5,100 pension schemes across the U.K.

Ostermann earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from the University of Victoria in British Columbia and is a Certified Financial Analyst charter holder.

“The CEO of the PPF provides oversight of a high-profile organization that has nearly 10 million members, making this a challenging but rewarding position,” said Paul Maynard, the U.K.’s under-secretary of state for pensions, in a statement. “I welcome the appointment of Michelle Ostermann in April, with her wealth of experience, and I am grateful to Katherine Easter for stepping into the role of interim CEO until that time.”