PP Rising Star Awards - The Winners

The awards aim to celebrate the emerging talent in pensions - recognising and identifying the sector's future leaders as well as shining the spotlight on the organisations and individuals that are helping develop and foster new talent in the industry.

Professional Pensions had an exceptional response to these awards - receiving hundreds of nominations and entry forms.

This year's accolades were presented online this afternoon. To view the ceremony and find out more about the awards, visit: http://events.professionalpensions.com/risingstarawards

Judges:

A big thank you to all the judges of this year's PP Rising Star Awards!

• Lesley Carline, president of the Pensions Management Institute
• Anna Copestake, partner at Arc Pensions Law
• Caroline Escott, senior investment manager at RPMI Railpen         
• Alison Hatcher, global head of pensions client strategy at HSBC Asset Management
• Girish Menezes, head of administration at Premier Pensions
• Julian Mund, chief executive of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association
• James Riley, president of the Society of Pension Professionals and partner at Isio
• Simon Rusling, partner and head of marketing at Barnett Waddingham
• Rona Train, partner at Hymans Robertson
• Michael Watkins, head of proposition development at Smart Pension
• David Weeks co-chair of the Association of Member-Nominated Trustees

Supporters:

The Professional Pensions Rising Star Awards 2020 were supported by a range of industry organisations. A huge thank you to:

• NextGen
• Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association
• Pensions Management Institute
• The Association of Consulting Actuaries
• The Society of Pension Professionals

Winners:

The winners of this year's awards are:

Rising Star of the Year

Winner: Chintan Gandhi, Aon

Trainee of the Year

Winner: Fan Jia, PwC

Pensions Manager of the Year

Winner: Dzung Bale, British American Tobacco

Highly Commended: Rachel Murphy, Mercer

Trustee of the Year

Winner: Julia Yates, 20-20 Trustees

Adviser of the Year

Winner: Andy Lewis, Travers Smith

Highly Commended: Sarah Keighley, XPS Pensions Group

Actuarial / Advisory Trainee of the Year

Winner: Laasya Shekaran, LCP

Administrator of the Year

Winner: Nigel Milward, UNISON Staff Pension Scheme

Administration Trainee of the Year

Winner: Lauren Williams, Barnett Waddingham

Investment Manager of the Year

Winner: Kristina Branum-Burns, Universities Superannuation Scheme

Excellence in Customer Service and Communication Award

Winner: Richard Goldring, Smart Pension

Mentor of the Year

Winner: Azka Ali, Mercer

Team of the Year *** NEW FOR 2020 ***

Winner: 20-20 Trustees Team

Highly Commended: Pinsents Masons Pensions Team

Social Media Personality of the Year *** NEW FOR 2020 ***

Winner: Tess Page, Mercer

*** ORGANISATIONAL AWARD *** Award for Supporting Development

Winner: CMS

*** ORGANISATIONAL AWARD *** Training Scheme of the Year

Winner: Fidelity International