Legal & General has appointed two new senior people to its Pension Risk Transfer team.

Chris DeMarco joins as managing director of UK Pension Risk Transfer and Costas Yiasoumi as head of core business.

DeMarco's previous role was head of institutional client management at Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM).

L&G says he brings significant pensions and risk management expertise, as well as leadership experience.

"His combination of technical and client skills will be a valuable addition to the team as we continue to guide pension schemes through their de-risking journeys," a spokesperson said.

Prior to L&G, DeMarco worked in the banking and consulting industries, most recently as a partner at Aon Hewitt.

Yiasoumi joins the company from Partnership Assurance, where he led bulk annuities.

His previous roles included senior positions at Swiss Re, JP Morgan and mercer.

L&G says his appointment further demonstrates its commitment to the growing pension risk transfer market and points to his wealth of market knowledge and expertise.

Kerrigan Procter, managing director of L&G, said: "I'm delighted to welcome Chris and Costas to the team at a time when trustees and sponsors of defined benefit schemes are increasingly focused on transferring their risk to insurers.

"After what's been another strong year, I am confident that their expertise will result in many more market leading and innovative transactions being completed over the coming months and years."

Solutions team expands

L&G has also announced senior hires to its Solutions Group, which designs, executes, and manages holistic solutions for clients, including defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes.

Anna Troup joins as head of UK Bespoke Solutions, and will be responsible for improving how LGIM works with clients from a strategic perspective.

She was previously at BlueBay Asset Management, where she was a partner and a portfolio manager on the emerging markets desk, and prior to that, worked at Goldman Sachs for 10 years.

Mehdi Guissi joins as head of European Bespoke Solutions and he will work alongside LGIM's investment and distribution teams in the UK and Europe, to plan and structure bespoke portfolio management services for large insurance, pension scheme and other financial clients.

Mehdi joins from Lombard Odier Investment Managers, where he was head of Insurance and Pension Solutions for three years.

First published 26.01.2017

Lindsay.sharman@wilmingtonplc.com