The Pensions Infrastructure Platform (PiP) has announced Tony Poulter as its new chairman.

Until recently, Poulter was global head of consulting at PwC – prior to that he was head of Project Finance.

Poulter is also senior independent director at the Green Investment Bank and a non-executive board member at the Department for Transport.

He will replace outgoing chair, Joanne Segars, who hailed the appointment as "great news".

"Tony's appointment is great news for PiP and its investors," she said, "Tony's expertise in infrastructure investment will be pivotal in leading PiP in its next stage of development."

Segars said PiP has made huge strides since it was first conceived in 2011, putting to work more than £1bn in UK infrastructure for the benefit of UK pension scheme members, receiving FCA authorisation and employing a specialist investment team.

"PiP has stayed true to its mission to be by pension schemes, for pension schemes," she added.

Commenting on his new role, Poulter said he was excited to be joining the organisation: "I'm excited to bring more pension fund investment into UK infrastructure – there is a huge need and we have a clear focus and the right structure in place," he said.

"I am very much looking forward to working with the board and the team to deliver more benefits through this important sector of the economy."

PiP has the backing of a group of leading UK pension schemes and, it says, it can offer them a degree of alignment and transparency that can't be found in the traditional asset management sector as a result.

Paul Trickett, Railpen Investments chair, said: "We are a large investor in infrastructure and for us PiP is an obvious route to them, tailored to our needs."

"Tony's appointment marks the next step in PiP's development as it grows in scope and scale, using infrastructure investment to benefit not just pension funds, but also wider society."

First Published 20.01.2017

Lindsay.sharman@wilmingtonplc.com