PP Rising Star Awards - The Winners

Smart Pension's Michael Watkins (right) receives the Rising Star of Pensions accolade from Rhys James.

Michael was praised by judges for his role in the creation and launch of NextGen Now as well as his work on the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) policy board and his various roles on Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) steering groups.

London Stock Exchange Group's Ava Lau (right) collects the Pensions Manager of the Year award from Rhys James.

Judges described Ava as a "future leader of pensions" and praised her for "consistently going the extra mile in her career".

Capital Cranfield's Lukshmi Selvarajah (right) was joint winner of the Trustee of the Year award, which she collected from Rhys James.

Judges said the accolade reflected Lukshmi’s work as an independent trustee and commended her for helping schemes navigate tricky challenges – praising her work with schemes with financially distressed employers, those facing difficulties agreeing a recovery plan, and instances where The Pensions Regulator is involved.

Accenture Retirement Savings Plan trustee Anna Darnley was named as joint winner of the Trustee of the Year award. Tim Phillips of Smart Pension right) collected the award from Rhys James on her behalf.

The winner of the Adviser of the Year category was Aon’s Oliver Walker (right), who received his accolade from Rhys James.

Judges praised Oliver for significantly building the corporate practice of his firm and becoming one of its youngest ever senior partners.

PwC’s Katie Lightstone (right) was commended in the  Adviser of the Year category. She collected her award from event host Rhys James.

Judges praised Katie for her covenant advisory work and cited her ability to contribute to pensions more broadly, both through a secondment to The Pensions Regulator and participation in a regulatory working group on funding.

The winner of Trainee of the Year was PwC’s Chloe Priestley. Dan Gilmour (right) collects the award on her behalf from Rhys James.

Chloe joined her firm as part of its school leaver programme in 2014 and has been promoted twice since. She became a chartered accountant last year and plays a significant role in PwC's Northern pensions team.

The Pension Protection Fund's David Rix (right) collects the accolade for Administrator of the Year from Rhys James.

David was praised for his work on the insourcing of a new pension scheme of around 60,000 active payroll members.

XPS Pensions Group’s James Farrel (right) collects the accolade for Administration Trainee of the Year from Rhys James.

Judges praised James' willingness to support colleagues and his success with clients.

The winner of the Actuarial/Advisory Trainee of the Year was Hymans Robertson’s Iain Church. His award was collected on his behalf by David Hutchings (right) from host Rhys James.

Judges praised the way Iain had advanced in his career since he began his training in 2015 – praising him for taking on a leadership role very early in his career as well as his passion for pensions.

Buck’s Leanne Carpenter (right) was commended in the Actuarial/Advisory Trainee of the Year. She collected her award from event host Rhys James.

Judges said Leanne had demonstrated "huge passion and commitment" in her role.

Mercer’s Deborah Wardle (right) was named as joint winner of the Investment Manager of the Year category.

Cardano’s Paras Shah (right) was named joint winner of the Investment Manager of the Year category.

The Excellence in Customer Service and Communication award was presented to the PPF’s Sara Protheroe (right) by Rhys James.

Judges said Sara had demonstrated "an exceptional commitment to customer service" – leading both a successful insourcing project and delivering the PPF's vision to put members at the heart of everything it does.

The winner of Mentor of the Year was Aon’s Karina Klimaszewski (right). She collected her award from award host, Rhys James.

Karina was praised for her caring approach to helping her colleagues succeed, and for leading a number of initiatives to help others grow their support networks. They also cited her broader work with the NextGen committee and her support for the Institute and Faculty of Actuary’s Girls Count On Us event.

Guinevere Taylor (left) was commended in the  Mentor of the Year category. She collected her award from event host Rhys James.

Judges felt Guinevere had demonstrated her "passion for helping others succeed".

Richard Gibson (left) and Danny Wilding (centre) receive Barnett Waddingham's Award for Supporting Development from Rhys James.

Judges said Barnett Waddingham demonstrated a “strong commitment” to employee learning and development through a clearly set-out strategy.

Sara Protheroe (left) and Sharon Godfrey (right) receive the Pension Protection Fund's award for Training Scheme of the Year from  Rhys James.

The judges commended the PPF for the range of training schemes it provides to staff – praising, in particular, its apprenticeship and internship programmes and the way it has partnered with the Institute for Customer Service to accredit its bespoke member services training programme.