Aqib Merchant is an Associate Director in the EMEA Clients team at Russell Investments, based in London. He provides fiduciary management services to institutional clients across the UK and Middle East, with a focus on investment strategy and the design and implementation of investment solutions. Aqib has a particular interest in sustainable investing and in building solutions that are resilient across diverse market conditions.
Prior to joining Russell Investments in August 2021, Aqib was an Investment Consultant at Isio (formerly KPMG), where he advised defined benefit pension schemes on investment strategy and governance. He also served as Assistant Head of Fiduciary Manager Research, contributing to multiple publications on the UK fiduciary management market. Aqib began his career at EY in 2015 as a Pensions Actuarial Consultant.

Aqib is an active member of Russell Investments’ EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Council, contributing to initiatives around associate engagement and inclusion. Outside of work, he enjoys cycling, following football, cricket, and tennis, and regularly participates in volunteer projects.

Charlotte Clark CBE has been the Director of Cross-Cutting Policy and Strategy at the FCA since November 2024. Her team leads on areas such as Consumer Duty, Vulnerability, Redress and Prudential Policy as well as areas such as the development of policy for AI. Prior to this Charlotte was the Director of Regulation at ABI, leading on areas such as Solvency II reform and the ESG. Her background is in the civil service where she had senior roles in HMT, DWP and DfE including being the Director for Private Pensions at DWP.

Daniel is Client Director and Head of ZEDRA’s Run-on Forum. He is a Trustee on a number of Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution schemes acting as Professional Corporate Sole Trustee, chair and board member.

Prior to joining ZEDRA, Daniel worked at Isio and prior to that, KPMG, as an investment consultant advising both Trustee and Corporate clients.

Henry Corrigan, senior associate, advises trustee and employer clients on all aspects of pensions law and practice. Henry helps clients comply with their legal obligations in relation their pensions arrangements both in a day to day advisory capacity and on significant projects.

Helen is responsible for driving forward the PMI’s strategic vision and priorities, both internally and externally. She works through effective relationships with government, regulatory bodies, and other relevant organisations to strengthen the PMI’s advocacy voice. Helen has worked in the pensions sector for almost 20 years. At TPR, she has been instrumental in engaging with the market to understand the risks and opportunities, driving behaviour change through targeted communications.

Katya Gorbatiouk has over 20 years of experience in international capital markets. As Head of Investment Funds in Primary Capital Markets of the London Stock Exchange, Katya is responsible for driving the growth and liquidity of the market for listed investment companies, a conduit of capital into vital sectors of the economy, including infrastructure, renewable energy, high-growth sectors such as tech and life sciences, and other growth areas of private markets. Katya is one of the recipients of the 2024 ‘Jackie Beard Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Industry’ from Investment Week, recognized for her leadership in a group of senior market leaders who ran an industry campaign to tackle undue regulatory barriers hindering the flow of capital into this strategic area of capital markets.

Since 2024, Katya's team is also responsible for the expansion of the London Stock Exchange's ETF franchise. Under her leadership, the London Stock Exchange won the ‘Best European Exchange for Listing ETFs’ award at the 2025 European ETF Express Awards.

Since 2023 Katya is a member of the Stakeholder Insight Group of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), that acts as an external adviser to the regulator on market developments and areas of focus related to corporate governance and stewardship.

Since 2022 Katya serves on the Best Practice Committee of the Board of the Investor Relations Society. She previously served on the judging panel for the IR Society Best Practice Awards. Her articles on the evolution of investor communications and engagement were published in the recent issues of the IR Society Journal Informed.

Katya’s early career includes 14 years in investment banking at Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Barclays, in New York and London. 

Katya is a Freeman of the City of London. She has been a long-standing advisory council member of the Global Leaders Institute (Washington DC), the London Symphony Orchestra, a Trustee of the London Music Fund, and since last year Chair of the Advisory Board of UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies.

Lily Tomson is a Senior Research Associate and Departmental Fellow based at Jesus College and Finance for Systemic Change within the University of Cambridge. She leads a project developing the first global bond index to address fossil fuel expansion. She focuses on the potential of asset owners, as actors at the top of the investment chain, to address systemic crises at scale – and the role of deep research to unlock this potential. She previously spearheaded the creation of the £550bn+ Occupational Pensions Stewardship Council in collaboration with the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions. Lily is also a trustee with specialist interest in finance and investing at John Ellerman Foundation, and a non-executive director at the money and banking research and network organisation Positive Money.

Marcus Hurd is a professional trustee with over 25 years of experience navigating the DB pensions landscape. He has particular experience taking schemes on the end game journey, including buy-in / buy-out, refunds of surplus, consolidation, and run-on.

As Chair of Trustees for Citrus, the not-for-profit DB master trust, Marcus has first hand experience of the benefits of consolidation and how they can be delivered for schemes.

Matt is Head of Public Affairs for Long-Term Savings at Phoenix Group. Before joining the public affair team he worked in a variety of roles across workplace proposition and governance. Prior to joining Phoenix Matt worked in Public Policy roles at the Association of British Insurers and Pensions UK.

Nico leads BNY’s strategy in UK workplace pensions, combining the market-leading asset servicing, data and analytics, investment management and OCIO offerings. Nico joined BNY in July 2023 and has previously held several roles in pensions investment for consultants, asset owners and asset managers, including being the first Chief Investment Officer of The People’s Pension, a leading UK Defined Contribution (DC) master trust.

Nico holds a Master’s degree in Natural Sciences specialising in Theoretical Physics from the University of Cambridge and is a qualified actuary.

Nico volunteers extensively for the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, contributes to research papers, and currently serves on Council and is the Chair of the Institute’s Finance and Investment Board.

In his free time, Nico co-hosts VFM pensions, a podcast about value for money in DC pensions.

Jess leads the Corporate Investment Services (CIS) business within Phoenix Group, one of the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement businesses. She is responsible for the strategic direction of CIS and its clients, including creating and delivering bespoke investment solutions for the trustees of DC and DB own trust schemes and multi-employer Master Trusts.

She joined Phoenix in 2015 from AXA Wealth and prior to this held a number of relationship and business development roles across the asset management and insurance sectors. She is the current PMI Pinnacle Awards Leader of the Year.

Priya joined Capita Pension Solutions this year as Senior Partner for the Actuarial, Investment Consulting team. Priya has over 18 years' experience in the pensions industry, across both investment consulting and wider pension consulting, delivering strategic advice across both DB and DC pensions schemes.

Ryan has worked in the DC Pension marketplace for over 30 years and has gained experience in all aspects of the industry. Since joining Schroders in 2015 he has focused on building and developing relationships with Trustees, Pension Managers, Consultants and Providers of DC pension schemes. This involves understanding each client’s requirements and offering a service designed to anticipate and meet these needs through the delivery of Schroders’ investment capabilities. He previously spent time as an Investment Consultant, which included managing the DC Investment Team at Aon Employee Benefits. His main responsibilities included the development and delivery of all investment-based services to UK DC clients, including: thought leadership and developing the DC Investment Centre of Excellence.

Prior to this Ryan worked for a number of pension providers where his roles included Investment Proposition Manager and was part of the Fund Strategy and Selection Group at Friends Provident, where he was responsible for the positioning of the investment proposition both externally and internally, whilst supporting the development of investment knowledge for all external facing employees. Ryan obtained a BEng (Hons) and MSc (Eng) from Leeds University and has also passed the IMC.

Simon is Senior Director, Head of UK Fiduciary Management at Russell Investments, based in London. He leads the strategic evolution and growth of the firm’s fiduciary management offering for UK pension schemes, partnering with prospective clients to design tailored solutions that align with their specific investment goals. Simon works closely with fiduciary strategy, investment, and client teams to deliver a unified and outcome-oriented client experience.
A qualified actuary, Simon brings over 20 years of experience supporting both defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes in meeting their long-term objectives. He joined Russell Investments in 2021 from BlackRock, where he spent 11 years in a variety of client-facing roles. While at BlackRock, Simon co-founded the fiduciary client team and was responsible for both business development and relationship management across key accounts.
Simon began his career as a Pensions Consultant at Watson Wyatt (now WTW) and later served as an Investment Consultant at Mercer, where he advised UK pension schemes on investment strategy design, objective setting, and manager selection.

Tegs, an established professional trustee and Head of Sustainability at IGG, brings extensive experience in overseeing pension schemes across various sectors, encompassing DC master trusts, DB, and hybrid schemes. As a qualified actuary, her expertise extends to profound insights into pension finance, risk management, and regulatory landscapes .
Prior to moving to Trusteeship, Tegs spent her career in investments, having previously worked as an investment consultant and on the sell side of an investment bank.

Tegs’ natural style is open, enthusiastic, and direct. She communicates effectively, simply, and clearly, working collaboratively with all stakeholders and advisers, whilst also offering strong decision-making skills, positive and supportive challenge, and an independent voice to her appointments.

Tegs is passionate about responsible investing and strongly believes that the way in which pension funds are invested impacts the future of our economy, our environment, and our society. She has experience of implementing net zero targets for pension schemes and sits on the APPT committee on ESG and climate change and is also a member of the Occupational Pension Scheme Council (OPSC) looking to improve stewardship standards.

Tegs is an Accredited Member of the APPT and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries. She has the CFA certificate in ESG Investment.

Tracey Follows is a globally recognized futurist, named in the Global Gurus Top 30 Futurists for 2025 alongside William Gibson and Kevin Kelly, and listed in the Top 50 Female Futurists in Forbes. She is the founder and CEO of Futuremade, a strategic foresight consultancy working with brands like Virgin, Amazon, Google, and Coca-Cola to navigate the mega trends shaping tomorrow.

A sought-after keynote speaker, Tracey has engaged audiences at the United Nations, FT’s Global Boardroom, Cannes Lions, and Fortune’s Brainstorm AI with her stage presence and actionable insights as she advises businesses and policymakers on the global trends transforming society and technology.

Her pioneering book The Future of You: Can Your Identity Survive 21st Century Technology? explores how emerging technologies are reshaping personal identity. Its themes are expanded in her award-winning podcast, which scooped Best Technology Show at the Independent Podcast Awards 2023.

Tracey was Jury President at Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2019 (inaugural Creative Strategy Lion) and Jury President for Innovation and Creative Data at Eurobest 2018, and is presently Co-Chair of the Cross Technology working group of the Global Initiative on Virtual Worlds and AI – Discovering the Citiverse a visionary multi-stakeholder platform launched by ITU in collaboration with the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC) and Digital Dubai.

Tracey has worked extensively with Big Tech including Meta, Amazon, Snapchat and Google - including with the Advanced Technology Group in MountainView, with Google Creative Labs, and presenting the Future of YouTube alongside Matt Brittin at AdWeek. She did Future Visions with Richard Branson. And sat on the Advisory Board of Martha Lane-Fox’s thinktank DotEveryone. She is presently on the advisory board of the Lifeboat Foundation.

She is a Visiting Professor in Digital Futures & Identity at Staffordshire University and a guest lecturer at London Business School. She is an associate fellow of the World Academy of Art & Science, and writes a regular column on AI in Forbes.

Tracey is a trusted commentator for media outlets like the BBC, Times, and FT as her work connects technological foresight with societal impact, helping organisations navigate uncertainty and seize opportunity.

Vivek Paul, FIA, Managing Director, is Head of Portfolio Research and UK Chief Investment Strategist for the BlackRock Investment Institute (BII).  The BII leverages BlackRock’s expertise and produces proprietary research to provide insights on the global economy, markets, geopolitics and long-term asset allocation – all to help clients and portfolio managers navigate financial markets.

Mr Paul leads BII's Portfolio Research group, which is responsible for developing the core principles and intellectual property that underpin BlackRock's approach to portfolio design, such as capital market assumptions and optimization tools.  Vivek is part of BII's Global Leadership team. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2013, Mr. Paul worked at Towers Watson as an investment consultant, where he specialized in advising pension funds and corporate clients on liability hedging derivative arrangements, financial modelling and investment strategy. He began his career at Hewitt Associates in 2005.

Mr. Paul earned a Math degree in Mathematics from the University of Warwick in 2005, with first class honours. He earned an MSc in Actuarial Finance from Imperial College, London, in 2008 and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries.