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What is the Trustee?

The Scheme is run by a group of Trustee Directors in order to manage the Scheme, including its investments, administration, pension payments and compliance with regulations.

The Trustee is supported by specialist advisers and the Hays Pension Scheme Administrator when carrying out these duties.

Your Trustee Board

What they have to say

The Role

The Board operates as a team. We all have different skills which impact on the various issues to varying degrees. We use sub-committees for Board members to take responsibility for particular areas of work, such as communication issues, investments, and legal and administration issues. We are very ably supported by the Pensions Manager and have regular dialogue with Hays’ Finance Director and other Hays Board members.

Working with the Board

Each Trustee has their own different background and brings different things to the Board. I think we have a very good spread of experience and knowledge in all of the salient areas, and it’s fascinating to see different viewpoints on a matter.
It is a pleasure to work with such a professional and experienced Board with high standards of governance.

Looking out for members

The key thing about being a Trustee is to protect members’ benefits for the long term, look out for their interests and plan our move forwards, at the same time keeping in harmony with the Company.
My role as a chair and sole Trustee on a number of boards allows me to see how other organisations deal with pensions issues. I am looking forward to working with Hays Trustee Board and continuing with the level of cooperation and dialogue we have with the company.
Both of my committee roles involve looking out for members. As the Chair of the Accounts Sub-committee, I am responsible for managing the production and audit of the pension scheme annual accounts, making sure everything is accurate; as a member of the Investment Sub-committee, I’m also responsible for safeguarding investments on behalf of the Scheme. This makes a real impact on ensuring that the Scheme has enough money to pay pensions.

Experience and expertise

I am an Actuary by training and spent many years working in in-house roles focused on pension investments and governance.

I am also involved with the industry-led Guaranteed Minimum Pension Equalisation Working Group, which feeds into the guidance being published via the Pensions Administration Standards Association.

In April 2019, I had the pleasure of joining the group of dedicated individuals who sit on your Trustee Board and oversee the Scheme.

My career has always centered around investment, risk management and governance. My experience, much of which has been in the pension’s universe, has been as an analyst, a consultant, and a director, as well as a regulator. I’ve worked both in public sector, at the Canadian financial regulator, and in private sector in a number of investment roles, including Moody’s as the Head of the Alternative Investment Group and as an investment consultant at Mercer.

I am an Actuary, and Associate of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK, and I hold a degree in Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

Aside from my duties as a Trustee and Chair of the Investment Sub-Committee of the Hays Pension Scheme, I am also the Chief Operating Officer of MJ Hudson, a listed City-based consultancy focused on the alternative investment industry. In that role, I oversee the group’s investment advisory, Environmental, Social, and Governance and data and analytics businesses. I also act as an investment adviser to a number of institutions, including other pension funds, charities, endowments, family offices and a bank.