Caroline is a Senior Investment Manager at Railpen, where she leads their global stewardship work across £35bn of assets under management on behalf of 350,000 members. She is also Chair of the Investor Coalition for Equal Votes (ICEV) and Vice-Chair of the Global Investment Governance Network (GIGN).

She previously led on investment and stewardship policy at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) and prior to this, she was Head of Public Policy at the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF). She started her career in fixed income research at a large asset manager.

In addition to her role at Railpen, she is a fully accredited professional pension trustee at a large DC scheme and was selected as “Investment Manager of the Year” at both the 2022 Women in Pensions and Rising Star Awards. Previous recognition includes as Investment Week’s “Investment Woman of the Year 2019” and one of Financial News’ 2020 “Top 25 Rising Stars of Asset Management in Europe”. In her spare time, she chairs NextGen, an industry organisation which seeks to boost cognitive diversity in the pensions sector, and is a Board Director of the Social Market Foundation (SMF), a cross-party Westminster think-tank.

Chintan joined Aon in 2008 and has previously won the Rising Star of the Year Award in 2020 and 2022. He is delighted to have been invited to join the judging panel for this year’s awards and has been thoroughly impressed by the breadth and quality of this year’s submissions.

Chintan is a Scheme Actuary advising a range of defined benefit pension scheme trustees. His long-standing interest in, and passion to address, intergenerational fairness issues has also seen him developing Aon’s advice and thought leadership in the innovative area of Collective DC in recent years. As part of this, Chintan has been actively working with DWP and The Pensions Regulator as they seek to widen the scope of CDC regulations in the UK, and influences the direction of wider pensions policy through various industry roles, including as an Officer / Honorary Secretary of the ACA.

An experienced Professional Trustee with over 30 years’ experience in institutional investment. Graham’s background includes implementation of investment strategies for Schemes ranging from £25m to over £10bn. He has been instrumental in the development of hedge fund risk management, fiduciary management propositions and the use of alternative asset classes as a pension fund investment.

A qualified Actuary and well-known industry figure, Graham has built up extensive professional relationships within the investment and advisory community. He is a regular speaker at industry events and is a key member of the Pensions Management Institute’s fiduciary management forum.

Harus Rai is the Managing Director of Capital Cranfield, one of the UKs largest independent professional pension trustee firms. He is also the Chair of the Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT) and was one of the co-chairs of the Pension Regulator’s Diversity and Inclusion Working Groups.

Harus has over 25 years experience of working in the pension industry, the last 13 of which have ben for professional pension trustee firms. He was previously the Head of Sole Trusteeship for Capital Cranfield and worked on the industry group which created the APPT’s code of practice on professional corporate sole trusteeship. Harus also recently gave evidence to the Parliamentary Committee investigating liability driven investments and the 2022 gilt crisis.”

Lesley joined KGC in 2012. Previously, Lesley gained significant insight into the market from a provider view in the areas of pensions systems, employee benefit services and investment management. This holistic understanding covers both trust and contract based arrangements. She has a deep knowledge in the construction of products and services offerings within the industry.

Lesley is the ie past President of the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) previously serving on the advisory council and its Board. Whilst President Lesley chaired the Joint Industry Forum, working with the many different associations and industry bodies to liaise with Government bodies and regulators. Lesley is currently Chair of PASA’s DC Governance Working Group. Lesley features regularly as a Judge for Industry Awards such including Professional Pensions and the PMI Pinnacle awards and is a speaker and chair of industry events plus author of topical articles on various aspects of the industry.

Lesley holds a Masters in Economic and Social History and is also a Chartered Marketeer. When not working Lesley likes to spend time with her dog and developing her baking skills, although bread still remains a challenge.

Natalie Mee is a partner in the pensions team at international law firm CMS. Natalie advises on all aspects of pensions law, including corporate and bulk annuity transactions, reorganisations, benefit redesign and liability management exercises. She also has extensive experience in negotiating funding arrangements between trustees and corporates.

Natalie is on the board of the Pensions Management Institute London Committee. She is recognised by clients as “someone you want on your team” and clients praise her ability to “explain complicated concepts in a straightforward way”.

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. Robert helped transition the Office of the Paymaster General from a public to a private sector outsourcing business in the late 1990’s and worked with Cabinet Office to establish the joint venture which became MyCSP. He has also managed the back office or pension functions for several large pension schemes, including the NHS, Civil Service, Royal Mail Statutory scheme, and the Railways Pension Scheme.

Currently, he is the CEO of the London Pensions Fund Authority, a £7.6bn fund within the LGPS. He is also a Trustee of the Creative Pensions Trust Mastertrust and a Governor of the Pensions Policy Institute.

He sits on the Board of the Local Pensions Partnership Administration and its parent, the Local Pensions Partnership Limited and is a NED at the Ministry of Defence where he chairs the Armed Forces Pension Schemes. 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 and President during his service there. He is also an Accredited Member of the Association of Professional Pension Trustees

Roger is a Trustee Director at the Independent Governance Group. He is an APPT Accredited Trustee having been a professional trustee for over 10 years.

He chairs many trustee boards of various shapes and sizes and is actively involved in the pensions industry, including leading on climate change reporting on the Occupational Pensions Stewardship Council.

He is a Past President of the Society of Pension Professionals and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors.

Simon leads strategic marketing efforts to drive growth and brand presence to ensure BW's sustainable success.

Tess is Mercer’s UK Wealth Strategy Leader and a client-facing consultant, advising investment and DC clients. She began her career in the industry in 2002 at a private equity firm, and joined Mercer in 2011, having previously worked at HSBC Actuaries and Consultants and WTW. During her career at Mercer Tess has held leadership roles across investments, funding, and DC.

Tess chairs the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) DC Committee and is a member of its Climate Risk Group. She chaired the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ working party on retirement savings and is a mentor for the Cherie Blair Foundation.

A former Rising Star award-winner, Tess is now too old and is campaigning for the launch of the “Fading and sinking but still shining” Star Awards. Until then, she is delighted to serve on the Judging Panel.

Tess has a Master’s in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford and she is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. Outside of work, Tess is a Trustee of a GM4Women 2028, a charity focused on improving equality for women, girls, and the community in the North West.