Over thirty years, Chris has held a series of high-profile roles in UK pensions and investments, most recently as Chair of the Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, where he oversaw its growth from inception to become the largest Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pool with assets over £100 billion. Chris has extensive experience of both defined benefit and defined contribution models, with long stints as CEO at Railpen, the £30 billion pension arrangements for UK railways, and as Chair of the Investment Committee at the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST). 

A qualified actuary, Chris is also an Honorary Fellow of the CFA Society of the UK and a former Chair of Pensions UK. He began his career at Aon Consulting, and currently serves as Chair of the Nuclear Liabilities Fund and Board Member of the Scott Trust Endowment, which backs the Guardian newspaper.

In his consultancy role at JPES, Chris will advise clients on a range of key issues relating to business development and product positioning, client engagement and research to support their long-term commercial growth goals.

Chris’ appointment follows the recent addition of Rob Treich, previously Head of Public Markets at the London LGPS CIV Limited (LCIV) to the JPES consultancy team.

Julian Samways, Founder and Chair of JPES, commented:

“Chris is one of the most prominent figures in the investment industry. His appointment reflects our continued commitment to providing our clients with access to experienced senior personnel who can offer unique insights to support their long-term growth.”

Chris Hitchen added:

“JPES has developed a strong reputation through its work with investment businesses, helping them to better articulate their propositions to underlying investors, as well as raising their profiles. I look forward to working with the team to contribute to these efforts, as well as to the firm’s proprietary research capabilities in order to give industry participants greater insights and guidance on some of the major shifts in the space and how these businesses can ultimately meet the needs of their clients.”