Mike Weston has stood down as chief executive of LGPS Central after four years at the Midlands pensions pool.
The pool confirmed his departure in a short statement, as did Weston via social media. “After a tremendous four years at LGPS Central, working with such a talented group of colleagues and partner funds, now is the time for my next chapter,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
This means the pooling system has lost one of its most passionate and vociferous leaders.
Weston has been a firm believer in further and faster pooling, which chimed with the government’s position to deepen and move forward the pooling process.
Weston mentioned this when writing rather cryptically on LinkedIn: “I have taken a very public position in support of further and faster pooling. Sometimes when you take a position not everyone agrees.”
He added on his future plans: “Working on a couple of things that hopefully will allow me to continue supporting pooling and the broader LGPS.”
John Burns, LGPS Central’s deputy chief executive, chief operating and financial officer, takes up the role of interim CEO, subject to regulatory approval, until a permanent successor is found.
Prior to becoming LGPS Central chief executive, Weston was head of Pensions Infrastructure Platform, a body that helped to facilitate investments into infrastructure from pension funds.
LGPS Central has also made changes in its responsible investment team with Sheila Stefani joining as head of stewardship.
Stefani will lead on engagement with companies and policy makers on ESG issues and oversee LGPS Central’s proxy voting process and strategies.
She joins LGPS Central from TPT Retirement Solutions, where she led on engagement strategies in areas such as net zero, diversity, human rights, modern slavery and corporate governance, advising trustees on responsible investment policies relevant to the pension industry.
Stefani will also be joined by Sameed Afzal, who joined LGPS Central recently as a senior stewardship analyst from St James Place.
On Stefani’s appointment, Patrick O’Hara, the director of responsible investment and engagement at LGPS Central, said: “We are looking forward to working with her and together confronting the challenges facing the investment industry in respect of the evolution of responsible investment.”
LGPS Central holds £55bn in assets from eight pension funds: Cheshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.
Comments