Rising Star Awards 2025: Shortlists revealed!

A huge congratulations to all those who have made the shortlist for 2025.

This year, Professional Pensions has had an amazing response - with an extremely high volume of very high quality entries. All entries have now been assessed by our panel of eminent judges and we are thrilled to reveal this year's shortlist.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 12 November at The Brewery in London. For further information about how to book at table at these awards, visit our website here.

Our 2025 shortlists are as follows:

Rising Star of the Year

• Abigail Kwao (BlackRock)
• Amber Patel (LCP)
• Anisha Gill (Aon)
• Calum Edgar (Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management)
• Connor Mackay (XPS Group)
• Emma Louise Birch (LCP)
• Emma Roberts (Dalriada Trustees)
• Femi Adigun (Standard Life)
• Harriet Burchett (Eversheds Sutherland)
• Jack Carmichael (Barnett Waddingham)
• Joel Curtis (XPS Group)
• Lauren Branney (Hymans Robertson)
• Rohit Meena Rajesh (PwC)
• Wojciech Busz (Brightwell)

Trainee of the Year

• Callum Duckmanton (Burges Salmon)
• Cara Gordon (Mercer)
• Ceara Grey (EY)
• Helen Chapelhow (Surrey Pension Team)
• Joshua Ved (Isio)
• Katie Hunter (CMS)
• Meg Kenny (Barnett Waddingham)
• Mia le Fleming (Aon)
• Rebecca Robson (Capita Pensions Solutions)
• Rebekah Hill (Mercer)
• Zander Kasparian (Hymans Robertson)

Trustee of the Year

• Bang Hoang (Independent Governance Group)
• Ben Salmons (Vidett)
• Chris Tabersham (Independent Governance Group)
• Joe Ireland (Independent Governance Group)
• Kirsty Bain (Dalriada Trustees)
• Nikesh Patel (Independent)

Actuary / Consultant of the Year

• Abhishek Singh (Deloitte)
• Adrian Loughlin (Hymans Robertson)
• Andrew Murphy (Mercer)
• Ben Bailey-Conlon (Isio)
• Emily Eskandari (Pacific Life Re)
• George Christopher Ellis (WTW)
• Jack Carmichael (Barnett Waddingham)
• Lauren Branney (Hymans Robertson)
• Saanvi Vasudevan (LCP)
• Shanu Ghai (PwC)
• Stephen Lee (PwC)
• Stephen McIlwraith (Hymans Robertson)
• William Scott (Clara Pensions)

Actuarial / Advisory Trainee of the Year

• Abigail Thomas (Barnett Waddingham)
• Alex Kelly (Hymans Robertson)
• Annabel Fredericks (Barnett Waddingham)
• Avinash Harkison (Isio)
• David John Jervis (Quantum Advisory)
• Duncan Cameron (WTW)
• Hana McMath (Aon)
• Jack Johnson (Hymans Robertson)
• Kate Wimbush (LCP)
• Keren Thomson (Hymans Robertson)
• Lauren Branney (Hymans Robertson)
• Lucy Mearns (Aon)
• Struan Paton (Hymans Robertson)

Administrator of the Year

• Chloe Tinkler (Trafalgar House)
• James Turner (Quantum Advisory)
• Jenny Smith (Quantum Advisory)
• Katie Moore (XPS Group)
• Richard Empson (Surrey Pension Fund)
• Richard Orford (Barnett Waddingham)
• Saleem Shadman (NHS Business Service Authority)
• Shannon Ryan (Cartwright Pension Trusts)

Lawyer of the Year 

• Callum Duckmanton (Burges Salmon)
• Cindy Pereira Smith (Travers Smith)
• Hayley Sherry Gibson (Hymans Robertson)
• Jess Peart (Eversheds Sutherland)
• Oliver Hunt (Eversheds Sutherland)
• Santi Bicchieri (CMS)
• Sara Summerscales (Pinsent Masons)
• Thomas Bates (CMS)
• Yavor Georgiev (People's Partnership)

Investment Manager of the Year

• George Vinod (Van Lanschot Kempen)
• Tom Brophy (Aon)

Investment Trainee of the Year 

• Abby Larmour (Barnett Waddingham)
• Ali Asghar (LCP)
• Ben Phipps (Mercer)
• Charlotte Watson (Barnett Waddingham)
• Daniel Morris (Aon)
• Eleanor Osborn (Mercer)
• Finlay Grant (XPS Group)
• George Cooper (XPS Group)
• Jacob Smith (Aon)
• Jessica Lin (Aon)
• Lauren Davis (Payden & Rygel)
• Neil Patience (Aviva)

Excellence in Customer Service and Communication Award

• Abbee Hanlon (Nest Pensions)
• Asef Uddin (Hymans Robertson)
• Femi Adigun (Standard Life)
• Georgina Gayles (Aon)
• Jack McEneaney (People's Partnership)
• Natasha Costa (Legal & General)
• Natasha Overlaet (Smart Pension)
• Samantha Simpson (Aviva)
• Stephanie Mundt (People's Partnership)
• Tori Watson (XPS Group)

Mentor of the Year

• Alison Cribbs (Eversheds Sutherland)
• Amy Gibbs (Capita Pension Solutions)
• Edward Burns (Aon)
• Hayley Sherry Gibson (Hymans Robertson)
• Hikmatali Shariff (Mercer)
• Laura Sherry (XPS Group)
• Leanne Coomber (Dalriada Trustees)
• Mark Jenkins (CMS)
• Martin Coelho (Hymans Robertson)
• Paul Tucknott (People's Partnership)
• Priya Jassal (EY)
• Priya Patel (LCP)

Team of the Year

• Aon's Risk Settlement Group
• Aviva's Workplace Member Communications Team
• Cardano's Now Pensions Client Team
• Clara Pensions
• Isio's i-FLO Team
• Pension Insurance Corporation's Origination Team
• People's Partnership Continuous Improvement Team
• Standard Life's Bulk Purchase Annuity (BPA) Team
• XPS Group's Calculate Team

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

• CMS
• Deloitte
• Independent Governance Group
• Legal & General
• Mercer
• Redington
• WTW

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

• Deloitte
• Independent Governance Group
• Legal & General
• RSM
• WTW