IGG continues expansion with two new Associate Directors

We have made two additional senior hires as we continue to expand our offering.

Katherine Ball and Vanessa Roberts have joined the firm as Associate Directors, bringing nearly 50 years of combined experience across trusteeship, corporate sole trusteeship and scheme secretarial roles. Both are set to take up key roles in the ongoing development of the business.

Katherine Ball is a fully accredited professional trustee, and joins IGG as a recognised expert in scheme governance. In over 25 years in the pensions industry, she’s undertaken a variety of roles including those of scheme secretary, sole trustee and trustee board chair, as well as significant experience as a scheme actuary. She has extensive experience managing complex projects in areas as diverse as buy-in transactions, GMP rectification and adviser selection.

Recently, Katherine has contributed to assisting trustee boards in preparation for The Pension Regulator’s Single Code of Practice, undertaken gap analysis and providing recommendations for next steps.

Vanessa Roberts has worked broadly across the pensions industry, including both DB and DC schemes, as well as roles with public sector schemes and local government. She led the in-house governance and secretariat for Nationwide’s pension fund, a scheme with c. £7.5bn worth of assets and has experience as a trustee for DB schemes were a sole trusteeship model is in place.

Her governance experience includes developing initiatives to reduce operational risk, as well as significant expertise in establishing protocols to provide efficient and effective scheme solutions. She is a member of the PLSA DC Committee, as well as a fully accredited professional trustee.

The hires are the latest part of the group’s growth in 2023. In February, Ross Trustees and Independent Trustee Services merged to create IGG, the leading provider of trusteeship in the UK. In March, IGG acquired Clarity Trustees, with Clarity founder Karein Davie joining IGG, bringing over 20 years’ experience built with firms such as PwC, Hymans Robertson and Mercer.

Andrew Bradshaw, CEO of Independent Governance Group, commented:

“I’m thrilled to welcome Katherine and Vanessa to the team. With an increasing focus on pensions and retirement, 2023 is set to be a year of significant change in the pensions world, meaning the need for excellent governance has never been so important.

“Their skills across governance and secretariat services will support our existing work on scheme governance well, and I can’t wait to work alongside them as IGG continues to grow.”

Katherine Ball, Associate Director said:

“Joining IGG at such an exciting time is a real privilege. I’m honoured to be part of a growing business with an incredibly dynamic team, and can’t wait to lead from the front on new trustee and governance appointments. I’m looking forward to getting started and bringing my experience to bear in finding workable, effective solutions for schemes and members alike.”

Vanessa Roberts, Associate Director at Independent Governance Group said:

“Governance is a key part of a well-run and successful scheme, so I’m very pleased to be joining a business that has best practice at its heart. I’m keenly focused on delivering results for members and schemes through strong governance and good advice, and IGG’s philosophy of collaboration makes it a great place to continue this.”