Judging Panel 2025

Robert Branagh, Former CEO, London Pension Fund Authority (LPFA)
David Butcher, Managing Director, Communications and Content
Michael Clark, Sole Practitioner
Jerry Gandhi, Director, C A P Services
Mohsin Harhara, Head of Pensions, Skanska UK
Louisa Harrold, Client Director, ZEDRA Governance Limited
Ali Heppenstall, CEO, Climate Action for Associations
Joanne Holden, Trustee Director, IGG
Miriam Kimber, Director of Legal, Pension Protection Fund (PPF)
Vince Linnane, Chairman, Moorlands Human Capital
Ian McQuade, CEO, Muse Advisory
Dr Suzy Morrissey FCA, Deputy Director, Pensions Policy Institute (PPI)
Julian Mund, Chief Executive, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA)
Richard Parkin, Head of Retirement, BNY Investments
Richard Poole, Legal Director,Pensions & Employee Benefits, Royal Mail Group
Maggie Rodger, Co-chair, Association of Member Nominated Trustees
Mike Smaje, Trustee Executive, BESTrustees
Matthew Swynnerton, Partner, DLA Piper

Robert Branagh, Former CEO, London Pension Fund Authority (LPFA)
Robert is a pensions professional with an extensive business background, largely in outsourcing and financial services. He has worked for trustee, not for profit, private equity owned, and insurance businesses over the last 30 years. He has also held senior leadership positions for several large pension schemes, including the NHS, Civil Service, Royal Mail Statutory scheme, and the Railways Pension Scheme. Between January 2015 and January 2024 Robert was a NED at the Ministry of Defence where he also chaired the Armed Forces Pension Schemes. Currently, he is the CEO of the London Pensions Fund Authority, a £8bn fund within the LGPS. He is also a Trustee of the Creative Pensions Trust Master trust and a Governor of the Pensions Policy Institute.
He sits on the Board of the Local Pensions Partnership Limited, and he is also a NED on the Board of the Pensions Ombudsman. He is a frequent speaker at pensions and employee benefits events and is a regular contributor to the UK pensions industry press. He is a Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute and has been both Chair of the PMI Board and President during his service there. He is also an Accredited Member of the Association of Professional Pension Trustees.

David Butcher, Managing Director, Communications and Content
David is a communications professional who advises financial services clients on their messaging, thought leadership and reputation in the media. He launched his consultancy Communications and Content in 2017 and has worked in the sector for 25 years.
He started his career in consultancies, such as Lansons, where he helped launch Citywire.co.uk and Moneysupermarket.com, before specialising in investment management and long-term savings. David has held a number of senior roles at businesses including Fidelity International and M&G Investments. He is a Fellow of the RSA, publishes the popular annual Readability Report and writes regularly on communications issues in the trade media.

Michael Clark, Sole Practitioner
Michael has worked with a full range of companies from FTSE 100 to SMEs undertaking a wide range of different roles and managing specific projects including professional trustee appointments, including three Master Trusts, providing trustee secretariat services, trustee induction and training, executive pension benefits and auto-enrolment. Michael qualified as an Associate of the PMI min 1990 and was the first professional trustee to be accredited by the Pensions Management Institute. Michael has spent much of his working career in the pension services sector where he has more than 40 years’ experience working in a variety of roles. These include leading a team of professional pension trustees after having previously worked at a major Third-Party pension administrator. Before this Michael gained experience working in consulting actuarial and insurance companies. Michael is a regular speaker and Chair at conferences and seminars.

Jerry Gandhi, Director,  C A P Services Ltd
Jerry is an independent pension’s professional with extensive experience as a Pensions Manager having held senior roles in a range of diverse organisations and also now a Professional Independent Trustee. He has worked within small and large pension operations covering projects, hands on management and delivering to both Trustees and Company. He is a leader in the field of Trustee Governance and operational excellence for both DB and DC schemes. He fully appreciates, and has extensive experience in, managing the conflicts between Company/commercial economic impact Vs Trustees member/fiduciary responsibilities.
Jerry has significant expertise in understanding employer covenant and affordability as well as the need to agree appropriate long-term investment and funding strategy that works for both the trustees and scheme sponsors. Jerry is well known in the pensions market, works energetically to build strong relationships quickly and works collaboratively with all stakeholders and advisers. He is known for effective decision making, being innovative and strong focus in driving the agenda to ensure the Company and Pension Trustees work to achieving a win-win solution to protect and deliver benefits promised.

Mohsin Harhara, Head of Pensions, Skanska
Mohsin is the Head of Pensions at Skanska and a Director sitting on a number of the UK pension schemes trustee boards and sub-committees, and the DC governance committee He was previously the Head of Pensions at Evelyn Partners and Head of Pensions at Mott MacDonald where he was responsible for pension strategy and overall management of the pension schemes including governance matters.
Prior to this he has held pension and employee benefits consultancy roles with various advisory firms which include WTW and PwC, advising companies ranging from SMEs to FTSE100s helping them with their strategic plans and managing various projects in areas such as DB liability and risk management, auto-enrolment and pension scheme and benefit design.

Louisa Harrold, Client Director, ZEDRA Governance Limited
Louisa has more than 23 years’ pensions experience, including four years working as a professional trustee. Prior to this, she spent over 16 years as a consulting and scheme actuary working for DB and DC pension scheme trustees and corporates, and three years as a Pensions Manager overseeing a multi-billion-pound DB & DC pension scheme.
Louisa currently works with a range of DB and DC pension schemes in a variety of capacities, including chair of trustees, co-trustee and as sole trustee. She is also head of ZEDRA's new "Trust Essentials" proposition, which provides a streamlined yet robust and compliant governance structure in cases where there is a corporate sole trustee appointment, particularly suitable for smaller DB schemes.

Ali Heppenstall, CEO, Climate Action for Associations 
Ali Heppenstall is Founder and Executive Director of Climate Action for Associations (CAFA) and Managing Director of b2b. CAFA is the only resource and network dedicated to sustainability and net zero for the membership sector. With more than 25 years’ experience, Ali has worked with more than 70 memberships, including PMI, IACEW, CIPD, CIPP, CIPS, FSB and British Chambers of Commerce to help them to grow, increase reach and impact, generate alternative revenues and be sustainable.
Her work with climate change NGOs, industry, and business net zero working groups has enabled the development of CAFA’s best practice framework and certified net zero association programme of support specifically for associations and their members, is speeding up climate leadership, systems and sectoral climate action.
With over 23 years of pensions experience, four as Non-Executive Trustee Director, Joanne is a professional Trustee with a passion and specialism in pension scheme governance and risk management.

Joanne Holden, Trustee Director, IGG
Joanne has a broad client base both in size, complexity, and characteristics. Joanne has several Professional Corporate Sole Trustee appointments, along with some co-Trustee, Advisory and Client Relationship roles. The scheme size ranges from the billions to 10’s of millions of AUM.
Prior to joining IGG Joanne was Head of Governance for the DC Master Trust at HSBC, and a member of the Executive Committee leading on the risk and governance aspects of the Master Trust. In her global role at HSBC, she was responsible for managing the Bank’s global pension risk exposures for c.130 DB, DC and hybrid pension and benefit plans.
Joanne is known for her collaborative style and strong attention to detail. Her career includes experience as a consultant at Aon and Mercer, in-house at the Bank; on a number of secondments, and now a Trustee, Joanne has the experience to appreciate all viewpoints and ‘seats around the table’.
Joanne’s key strengths and areas of expertise include DB, DC, Master Trusts, Life Assurance, Project and Risk management, Compliance, Relationship management and problem solving.
Joanne has worked closely with the Pensions Regulator regarding the Master Trust Supervisory Regime. She has also worked at the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) transitioning Schemes into the PPF and also with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) moving the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) into the PPF.
Joanne has managed large and complex projects: recent projects include risk transfer transactions, buy-in and buy-out transactions, GMP rectification and equalisation exercises, adviser re-tender exercises including Fiduciary Management selection.

Miriam Kimber, Director of Legal, Pension Protection Fund (PPF)
Miriam joined the PPF in 2006 and has worked in various roles within the legal department, sharing her knowledge and expertise of pensions law and litigation, and information law, including data protection and freedom of information. Miriam is passionate about working for diversity, inclusion and belonging, and being an agent for change, amplifier of voices and challenger of status quo. During her time at the PPF, she initiated and now leads the PPF Working Families’ Alliance. She won Lawyer of the Year at the Women in Pensions Awards 2023.

Vince Linnane, Chairman, Moorlands Human Capital
Prior to taking up the role of MHC Chairman, Vince was Chief Executive of the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) for a decade between July 2006 and May 2016 when he stood down from the position. Vince has a BA (Hons) from Newcastle University in English and History. Achievements have included winning the 2016 Professional Pensions Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2016 Pensions Age Pensions Personality of the Year Award. Vince was included in the most 50 influential people in UK pensions by Pensions Insight for 2012-15.

Ian McQuade, CEO, Muse Advisory
Ian has over 30 years’ pension experience, covering the management and administration of DB & DC schemes. He advises Trustees and Companies on a wide range of strategic, operational and governance related issues, including advising on strategy, operational and administration effectiveness, and leading clients through the review, selection and implementation of administrators and advisers, including supporting master trust selection exercises.

Dr Suzy Morrissey FCA, Deputy Director, Pensions Policy Institute (PPI)
Suzy joined the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) in 2024. In addition to being the Deputy Director, she also manages the PPI's research programme and policy research and modelling teams.
Suzy brings over 20 years' experience from both the public and private sectors. After leaving the UK following university, she started her career working for global consulting firms in Australia and New Zealand, providing taxation advice to multinational organisations. She then moved to the public sector and held several senior positions in the New Zealand civil service, including at Treasury and the Retirement Commission.
She has been a regular presenter and commentator on pensions, including the gender pensions gap, as well as on broader issues related to older people and welfare, and on wellbeing economics. In 2018, Suzy was conferred Fellowship (FCA) by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the profession.

Julian Mund, Chief Executive, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA)
Julian joined the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association as Commercial Services Director in 2013 and became Chief Executive in 2017.Prior to this he worked at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) for almost 16 years. He undertook a variety of roles such as the Managing Director of their commercial company and their Director of Operations. He led on business growth and strategic development across CIPFA's commercial business as well as the delivery of their member services. Julian worked on school policy at the Department for Education before joining CIPFA.

Richard Parkin, Head of Retirement, BNY Investments
Richard is Head of Retirement for BNY Investments. In this role he is responsible for working with intermediary clients on developing their approach to retirement planning and investment. He also acts as a spokesperson for the firm on retirement issues particularly as they relate to investment.
Richard has over 30 years’ experience in the industry, focused entirely on Defined Contribution (DC) pensions and retirement. Prior to joining BNY, Richard ran his own business providing strategy consulting to pension providers and asset managers and producing a series of research reports on the DC and retirement advice markets. Much of his career was spent at Fidelity International where he led its workplace proposition team before taking the role of Head of Retirement for the UK business in 2013, just before the introduction of pension freedom and choice. Richard is also a non-executive director and deputy chair at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Richard Poole, Legal Director, Pensions & Employee Benefits, Royal Mail Group
Richard Poole is the in-house pension and benefits lawyer for International Distributions Services plc (formerly Royal Mail Group plc), which has a number of pension schemes in the UK. He has been advising on the administration and management of the Company’s pension schemes since 2000, including the transfer of the Company’s historic pension liabilities to Government in 2012, ongoing pensions reform and the introduction of a planned CDC scheme in 2024. Richard is also a trustee of a charity, the Rowland Hill Fund.

Maggie Rodger, Co-chair, Association of Member Nominated Trustees
Maggie’s career has included a variety of roles, primarily financial, with the National Church institutions of the Church of England. Latterly, before retirement, she was FD for a N W London hospice. It was from this latter role that she answered an invitation to become an MNT for the Pensions Trust (TPT) before becoming an MNT for the Church of England Pensions Board, for which she is chair of their Audit and Risk committee.
Overall she has been an MNT for over twelve years and Co-Chair of AMNT for three years.

Mike Smaje, Trustee Executive, BESTrustees
Mike Smaje joined BESTrustees in 2020. He has over 30 years’ pensions experience, as a former scheme actuary and investment consultant before becoming a professional trustee. He currently represents BESTrustees on eight pension schemes. His clients range in size from £100m to c. £4bn. Mike specialises in funding and investment matters.

Matthew Swynnerton, Partner, DLA Piper
Matthew Swynnerton is a partner at global law firm DLA Piper where he heads the London employment and pensions team. He advises on all aspects of pensions law, including the pensions aspects of corporate transactions, The Pensions Regulator risk issues and moral hazard powers, reorganisations and restructuring. Recent notable work includes advising Uber on its automatic enrolment duties following the recent Supreme Court judgment on worker status and, as a member of the Pension Scams Industry Group, drafting key legal sections of the Combatting Pension Scams Code of Practice, which received widespread praise from The Pensions Regulator, the Pensions Ombudsman and the Pensions Minister, and working with the DWP in relation to the Transfer Conditions Regulations.Matthew has been described by a leading pensions QC as having “an extensive knowledge of pensions law and practice, very sound legal judgement and good commercial sense”. Matthew is a ranked individual in the current Chambers guide and is ranked as a Leading Individual in the current Legal 500, which has stated that he is “praised by clients as ‘highly responsible and approachable’ and 'able to demonstrate a deep knowledge of pensions law which he deploys with great pragmatism’”. Matthew is a member of the Association of Pension Lawyers’ Main Committee.