Rising Star Awards 2025 - The winners!

The Rising Star Awards aim to celebrate the emerging talent in pensions, recognising our industry's future leaders as well as the organisations that are developing and nurturing the talent.

Our winners were announced last night (12 November) at a gala dinner at the Brewery in London and presented by comedian Angela Barnes.

To find out further information about the awards and to view the shortlists, visit the event website here. Photos of the event will be published later today. A link will be provided here.

The full list of winners for 2025 is as follows:

Rising Star of the Year

Winner: Rohit Meena Rajesh (PwC)

Trainee of the Year

Winner: Cara Gordon (Mercer)

Highly Commended: Meg Kenny (Barnett Waddingham)

Trustee of the Year

Joint Winner: Ben Salmons (Vidett)

Joint Winner: Nikesh Patel (Independent)

Actuary / Consultant of the Year

Winner: Emily Eskandari (Pacific Life Re)

Actuarial / Advisory Trainee of the Year

Winner: Lauren Branney (Hymans Robertson)

Administrator of the Year

Winner: Saleem Shadman (NHS Business Service Authority)

Lawyer of the Year 

Winner: Cindy Pereira Smith (Travers Smith)

Investment Manager of the Year

Winner: George Vinod (Van Lanschot Kempen)

Investment Trainee of the Year

Winner: Ben Phipps (Mercer)

Excellence in Customer Service and Communication Award

Winner: Samantha Simpson (Aviva)

Mentor of the Year

Winner: Leanne Coomber (Dalriada Trustees)

Team of the Year

Joint Winner: Now Pensions Client Team (Cardano)

Joint Winner: The Standard Life Bulk Purchase Annuity (BPA) Team

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

Winner: Legal & General

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

Winner: Legal & General