Aviva has appointed Mike Ambery as director of policy within its UK wealth business.

Ambery will join Aviva in September, from Standard Life, where his most recent role was retirement and savings director. Before Standard Life, he spent 17 years at Hymans Robertson as a partner, leading firm-wide propositions, and overseeing DC master trust consolidation for several high-profile corporate clients. Ambery succeeds Emma Douglas, who held the role for two years before recently becoming chair of The Pensions Regulator. In his new role, he will report to Aviva managing director of wealth, Michele Golunska. He will work closely with Aviva colleagues and industry and government bodies to help shape and implement wealth policy.

Aptia has announced the appointment of James Burke as actuary director.

Burke joins Aptia from Aon, where he spent almost 25 years. He is also a fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. He brings experience to his new role from across trustee consulting, scheme funding, de-risking, guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) equalisation and endgame strategy. Commenting on the appointment, Aptia director of consulting, Nick Atkin, said: “James is a highly respected pensions actuary with a strong track record of helping trustees achieve successful outcomes. His experience spans the full pension scheme journey, from funding and governance through to de-risking, buy-in and buyout, and he brings a deep understanding of the challenges trustees are facing today.”

Kenneth Jacobs elected as chair of Vanguard's Board of Directors.

Vanguard current chair, Mark Loughridge, will retire from the board of directors and the board of trustees for each of the Vanguard funds effective 31 December. The boards elected Jacobs to succeed Loughridge as non-executive chairman, while John Murphy has been elected as lead independent director. Jacobs joined Vanguard’s board in February 2026, and Murphy has served on Vanguard’s board since 2024. Jacobs has nearly four decades of experience in global financial services, including as the chairman and chief executive officer of Lazard. Meanwhile, Murphy is president and chief financial officer of The Coca-Cola Company.

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