WHO'S WHO
This section details the parties involved in running the Scheme. Most of the contacts listed below are for information only and are contained within the Annual Report and Accounts. Normally, members will not need to deal directly with any of these parties other than the Trustee, the Scheme Secretary and the Scheme Administrators.
Trustee
Hermes Pension Trustees Limited
Directors of the Trustee Company
Alison Bostock, ZEDRA Governance Limited (Chair)
Peter James
Dr Hans-Christoph Hirt
Penni Coe
Joanne Coxwell
Secretary to the Trustee
Zedra Inside Pensions Limited
Sponsoring Employers
BT Pension Scheme Trustees Limited
Scheme Actuary
Adam Stanley, XPS Pensions Limited
Auditor
KPMG LLP
Legal Adviser
Sackers & Partners LLP
Administrator
XPS Administration Ltd
Investment Managers
Aegon Investment Management B.V.
Barings GPC GP S.a.r.l
Legal & General Investment Management Limited
M&G Investment Management Limited
abrdn Investment Management Limited
Investment Adviser
Lane Clark and Peacock LLP
Banker
National Westminster Bank PLC
TRUSTEE DIRECTORS
Alison Bostock
Representing ZEDRA Governance Ltd – Independent (Chair)
Alison, representing ZEDRA Governance Ltd, was appointed as Chair on 12 October 2017. ZEDRA Governance Ltd is a specialist and award-winning provider of professional trustee and governance services. Alison joined ZEDRA Governance Ltd as a Client Director in July 2015 with 25 years’ experience in actuarial, investment and DC consulting.
Dr Hans-Christoph Hirt
Member Nominated Trustee
Dr Hans-Christoph Hirt is an accredited professional trustee with Pi Partnership, an advisory partner at Fidelio, and a senior consultant at Arkadiko. He also serves as a non-executive director and trustee of the Hermes Group Pension Scheme, an investment advisory committee member at WHEB, an impact-focused asset manager, and a member of the FCA’s Listing Authority Advisory Panel.
With over 25 years of experience in governance, corporate law, sustainable investing, stewardship, and activism, Hans advises institutional investors, company boards, and management teams. He teaches at leading universities and business schools and contributes as guest faculty to IMD’s flagship High Performance Boards programme. A recognised expert and accomplished author, he recently co-edited a book on stewardship and sustainability in investment management.
Hans previously held senior leadership roles at global asset managers, including Managing Director in Sustainable Investing at UBS Asset Management. He also served as Managing Director and board member of EOS at Federated Hermes, a leading provider of engagement and voting services, where he led its fourfold growth to over $1.6 trillion in assets under advice.
Before entering the asset management industry in 2004, Hans practised corporate law at international law firm Ashurst and held academic positions at the London School of Economics.
Peter James
Employer Nominated Trustee
Peter is an employee nominated Trustee of HGPS. He is the Chief Risk Officer for Brightwell, the primary service provider to the BT Pension Scheme.
Peter has over 30 years’ experience within the financial services industry. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Penni Coe
Member Nominated Trustee
Penni became a Member Nominated Trustee on 5 December 2019. She joined Hermes in 1996; she headed up the government and inflation bond team until June 2015. Her main expertise was in inflation and actively managing liability matching assets. She holds the IIMR fund management qualification and an MSc in Economics. Penni currently does some teaching and mentoring for charity projects.
Joanne Coxwell
Employer Nominated Trustee
Jo was appointed as an Employer Nominated Trustee on 1 July 2022. Jo trained and qualified as a solicitor at Berwin Leighton Paisner and then spent many years working in the pensions team advising on all pension related matters for both sponsoring employers and trustees. She joined BT Pension Scheme Management Limited supporting the BT Pension Scheme in 2016. Jo provides support on a whole range of pensions legal areas including reviewing member communications, advising on technical legal points, member issues and complaints as well as advising the BT Scheme and the Trustee more generally on changes to the law and queries on the interpretation of the Scheme’s Trust Deed and Rules.
Member Nominated Trustee Director Election Process
A vacancy occurs for a MNTD when a Trustee resigns or when a Trustee’s term of office comes to an end. Applications will be invited from members: HGPS members with deferred pensions and HGPS pensioners (including spouses and adult dependants but excluding those in receipt of a child’s pension). This is usually done via letters dispatched to all members, via mail and email if you have supplied XPS with this . If more than one person applies, a ballot of all members will be held. Each of those members shall have one vote. The candidate receiving the most votes will be appointed.
Members who wish to be considered as a candidate when there is a MNTD vacancy must consider whether they would have a conflict of interest in assuming the role of a MNTD and ensure they would have the time available to carry out the role.
In all cases the HGPS Trustee Directors will determine the eligibility of potential MNTD candidates.
Please note, if you wish to supply XPS with your email address for communication purposes, please send your email and a request your member file is updated to HGPS@XPSgroup.com.
[This note formally records the policy for the process for the election of MNTDs unless, in particular circumstances, the Principal Employer and the other Trustee Directors agree to vary the terms of the policy.]