People

Natural History Museum, Kensington & Chelsea

A Collective Investment Vehicle for London Local Authorities (LLA) Pension Funds which delivers broader investment opportunities and enhanced cost efficiencies than LLAs can achieve individually and overall better risk adjusted performance.

London LGPS CIV is the collaborative FCA regulated firm for pooling the London Local Authorities (LLAs) Pension Funds.

We are unique in being the first fully authorised investment management company set up by local government, for local government in the UK. We are the collective investment vehicle (CIV) for their Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds.

Our purpose is to be the LGPS pool for London to enable the London Local Authorities to achieve their pooling requirements. We work in partnership in order to do so.
Our vision is to be a best in class asset pool that delivers value for Londoners.

We seek to deliver value through: performance, opportunity, efficiency and transparency as described more fully in about us.

Board

Bob Kerslake
Lord Bob Kerslake
Chair

Lord Kerslake is Chair of London CIV, Chair of Peabody (the housing association), Chair of the Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS), President of the Local Government Association and Chair of Be First.

A former Head of the Civil Service, Lord Kerslake led the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) from November 2010 and prior to this was the first Chief Executive of the Homes and Communities Agency. The current Ministry for Homes, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) oversees the statutory framework for pension asset pooling within which London CIV operates.

Before joining the Civil Service Lord Kerslake served in local government in London and Sheffield. He was made a life peer in 2015.

Mike O'Donnell
Mike O’Donnell
Chief Executive Officer

Mike O’Donnell is the Chief Executive Officer of the London CIV which he joined in March 2019. Mike has over 15 years’ experience as a local government finance and corporate services director, having spent 13 years at the London Borough of Camden and, more latterly, undertaking interim executive director roles at Birmingham City Council and the London Borough of Newham.

Mike is a former President of the Society of London Treasurers and a former Chair of the London Finance Advisory Committee. He is also a former NED and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of the London Pension Fund Authority.

Jason Fletcher
Jason Fletcher
Chief Investment Officer

Jason Fletcher is the Chief Investment Officer at the London CIV and joined in July 2020. Jason has significant experience in the LGPS sector; he has previous experience as Chief Investment Officer at LGPS Central and at West Midlands Pension Fund prior to that, where he has worked in partnership with a multitude of pension funds. His familiarity with the LGPS sector complements 25 years of experience in the financial services industry more broadly, where he has previously progressed at the Universities Superannuation Scheme Investment Management (USSIM), initially specialising in Equities and succeeding as Co-Deputy Chief Investment Officer.

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Brian Lee
Brian Lee
Chief Operating Officer

Brian Lee is the Chief Operating Officer of London CIV. Brian is a Chartered Accountant and has been responsible for the management and operation of substantial investment management and fiduciary services businesses including the asset management division of a major bank, a FTSE 250 wealth manager, and a NYSE listed hedge fund and private equity manager.

Brian has deep experience in the set up and operation of investment management businesses and has been responsible for the operation and compliance of collective investment schemes under FSMA 2000 since 2005.

Stephen Alambritis
Cllr Stephen Alambritis
Non-executive Director

Cllr Stephen Alambritis was first elected as the Leader of the Council at the London Borough of Merton in 2010 and re-elected again in 2014 and in 2018 before stepping down as Leader in November 2020. In October 2020, Cllr Alambritis was awarded an MBE for services to Local Government.

Stephen is also a former Board member at the London Pensions Fund Authority (until 30 September 2018). Stephen is also a former member of the Committee of the Regions representing London Local Government in Brussels.

Stephen was for many years the voice of small firms as Head of Public Affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses from 1988 until 2010. Stephen was a member of the Better Regulation Task Force at the Cabinet Office and was a Commissioner at the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Stephen is a former Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

Chris Bilsland
Chris Bilsland
Non-executive Director

Chris is a non-executive director for London CIV. His experience with the LGPS dates back to 1991 when as the Somerset County Treasurer he was responsible for the Somerset Fund. He previously served as the Chamberlain of London where he was responsible for the finances of an organisation with turnover in excess of £500m p.a. and property and investment assets of over £4bn.

Chris has worked in both the public and private sector. He has been an advisor to the LGPS Scheme Advisory Board, was President of CIPFA from 2011/2012 and received the OBE in 2014 for his services to local government finance. In 2016, Chris was granted an Honorary Fellowship for his services to music and drama.

Ravi Govindia
Cllr Ravi Govindia
Non-executive Director

Ravi Govindia has led Wandsworth Council since 2011. He has specialised in the fields of regeneration, housing, finance and planning.

He is co-chair of the Nine Elms Vauxhall Partnership and played a key role in securing the Northern Line extension to Nine Elms, unlocking London’s biggest regeneration programme.

Under his leadership, Wandsworth has delivered record housing, the second lowest council tax and pioneered a range of innovative homeownership schemes. In 2017 he was awarded a CBE for services to local government.

Eric Mackay
Eric Mackay
Non-executive Director

Eric Mackay has over 20 years’ experience in investment management, where he has held a number of senior roles in authorised firms. Eric spent fourteen years at F&C Asset Management where he was Chief Risk Officer and in 2013 joined TT International. At TT Eric is a Partner of the firm and Chief Operating Officer.

Eric has extensive experience providing oversight and bringing appropriate independent challenge within an investment firm managing over £100bn of assets. He also has a range of other relevant experience, including responsibility for the risk management framework, legal, compliance and operational functions.

Paul Niven
Paul Niven
Non-executive Director

Paul is Managing Director, Portfolio Manager, and Head of Portfolio Management, Multi-Asset Solutions at BMO Global Asset Management, which manages in excess of £180bn. He has over twenty years of investment experience and is Fund Manager of the FTSE 250 listed F&C Investment Trust, one of the largest Investment Trusts in the UK.

Paul has invested across a wide range of traditional and alternative asset classes and has experience across a number of relevant areas including manager and product selection, strategic and tactical asset allocation as well as risk and portfolio management. Paul chairs the Investment Oversight Committee.


Alison Talbot
Non-executive Director

Alison Talbot has over 20 years’ experience in senior roles in financial services with an emphasis on asset management. Her most recent C suite executive role is as Chief Legal Officer of AEGON Asset Management Europe/Kames Capital Plc and she is a qualified solicitor and FCA approved person. Her role has included a wide range of corporate governance, fund structuring and merger and acquisition activity. Her earlier career was with Standard Life and Scottish Widows and included the project leading to the demutualisation and merger of Scottish Widows and Lloyds TSB.

She has been Chair of the Executive Risk Committee and Executive Legal and Financial Control Meeting, and Member of the Board Audit and Risk Committees for AEGON/Kames. She has been active in AEGON/Kames diversity and inclusion work.

Alison has recently been appointed Chair of an FCA regulated firm

Kitty Ussher
Non-Executive Director

Kitty Ussher is an economist, former Lambeth councillor and MP who served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury (City Minister) during the financial crisis of 2007-08. In parliament she was a member of the Public Accounts Committee, the 2006 Companies Act and several Finance Bill committees. She has also served on the Financial Services Consumer Panel of the FCA.

More recently, her expertise has come from public policy research consultancy, including as Chief Executive of the think-tank Demos and Managing Director of Tooley Street Research. She is currently the Chief Economic Advisor to Demos and also advises fintech firms.

Michael Green
Investment Oversight Committee Member

Michael Green is currently Independent Chair of Trustees for the Lloyd’s of London DB Pension Scheme. Prior to this, he was appointed in 2007 as the first Independent, non-insurance, member of the Lloyd’s of London Investment Committee.

Michael has served as International CEO for American Century Investments (ACI, 2008-2018) and Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM). In both cases he was responsible for implementing significant strategic change. At ACI, Michael was their first non-US based employee, building an institutionally focused, $16bn AUM business from scratch.

The control owner of ACI is The Stowers Institute for Medical Research. Michael’s active engagement with this stakeholder informed his long-term interest in ESG investing and enabled his effective leadership of the project that resulted in ACI becoming a UN PRI signatory.

*Michael Green is not a member of the London CIV Board

Ian Williams
Ian Williams
Treasurer Observer

Ian is the London Borough of Hackney’s statutory Chief Finance Officer. His directorate includes Customer Services, Revenues – Council tax and Business rate collection, Housing Benefits and Needs, ICT, Strategic Property, Procurement, & Contracts, Audit and anti-fraud investigation. He is also the lead officer for the £500m development of the Britannia Site to include Leisure and Education provision alongside 480 residential properties.

Ian is an active member of the Society of London Treasurers and a member of the London Finance Advisory Committee.