Executive Committee

Hans Georgeson – Chief Executive Officer

Hans Georgeson joined Royal London Asset Management as Chief Executive Officer in April 2021 with overall responsibility for managing the business, and as a member of the Royal London Group’s Executive Committee.

Hans started his financial services career in 1996 as an equity analyst at BZW Investment Management, the asset management arm of Barclays. Hans remained with Barclays until 2010, progressing through a number of executive roles at Barclays Wealth, Gerrard Investment Management and Barclays Stockbrokers.

In 2010 Hans joined Architas, a fledgling UK asset management business wholly owned by AXA. Under his tenure the business grew to over £40bn assets, operating across 13 countries. Hans graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Politics, Philosophy & Economics and a Masters degree in Economics. He completed his MBA at INSEAD in 2000.

Piers Hillier – Chief Investment Officer

Piers joined Royal London Asset Management in January 2015 as Chief Investment Officer, with responsibility for managing and developing our investment capabilities. Piers has 30 years of investment experience, including roles as Head of International Equities and a member of the Strategic Policy Group responsible for setting Asset Allocation for multi asset portfolios at Kames Capital. Prior to this, Piers was CIO and Head of Asset Allocation for LV= Asset Management and previously CIO European Equities for WestLB Asset Management. He also previously held the position of Head of European Equities at Deutsche Asset Management and Schroders. In his current role, Piers is a director of Royal London Asset Management Ltd, a member of the Executive Committee, and chairs the Investment Committee. Piers holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Bristol and Masters degree from the University of Oxford.

Ed Venner – Chief Client Officer

Ed Venner joined Royal London Asset Management in May 2024 as Chief Client Officer with responsibility for overall distribution strategy and client proposition development. Previously, Ed was Global Distribution Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Franklin Templeton. Prior to Franklin Templeton’s acquisition of Legg Mason in 2020, Ed held the role of Head of US Sales and COO for Global Distribution at Legg Mason having previously served as International Chief Financial Officer and in other finance roles at the firm. Ed also spent a year acting as Head of Global Distribution in 2017. He was also Chair of the Board for Martin Currie. Prior to joining Legg Mason, Ed trained as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young in their London Asset Management practice. In his current role, Ed is a member of the Royal London Asset Management Executive Committee, and chairs the Customer and Product Committee. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (with honours) in Economics from the University of Durham, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Andy Hunt – Chief Financial Officer

Andy joined Royal London Asset Management in December 2015, becoming Chief Financial Officer in January 2018 following his appointment to the Board. He has responsibility for all aspects of Finance, including business performance, statutory and regulatory reporting, and the ICAAP. Andy is also Client Money Oversight Officer, responsible for the protection of client money and assets. He has 25 years’ experience within asset management having worked for M&G from 1997 to 2008 and then Aviva Investors from 2008 to 2015. In his current role, Andy is a Director of Royal London Asset Management Holdings Ltd, Royal London Asset Management Ltd and Royal London Unit Trust Managers Ltd. Andy is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and holds a BSc (Hons) degree from the University of Hull. 

Jonathan Kennedy – Chief Operating Officer

Jonathan joined Royal London Asset Management in April 2020 initially as Chief Technology Officer, becoming the Chief Technology & Operations Officer in October 2021 and Chief Operating Officer in 2022. He has responsibility for operations, data, technology systems and business change functions. He has over 30 years’ experience of the financial services industry, and prior to joining Royal London was the Global CTO for Standard Life Aberdeen. Prior to joining Standard Life he was the Chief Operating Officer of Virgin Money, and has held other senior technology and change positions with HBOS and Lloyds Banking Group. In his current role Jonathan is a member of the Royal London Asset Management Executive Committee reporting to the CEO, and attends the Royal London Asset Management Holdco and subsidiary boards. Jonathan holds a BA (Hons) in Computing In Business from Huddersfield University.

John Nicol – Chief Risk Officer

John joined Royal London Asset Management in September 2017 and is responsible for the Risk and Compliance function. John joined Royal London Asset Management from Aberdeen Asset Management where he was the Global Head of Risk Strategy. Prior to this John was the Head of Governance & Risk Strategy at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership and Compliance Officer and Company Secretary at Blue Planet Investments. John started his career with PwC in the financial services consultancy practice. John has an LLB and Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from Aberdeen University and has over 25 years’ experience in financial services.

Kerry Miller – People Director

Kerry is People Director for Royal London Asset Management. She joined in May 2019 as a Strategic Business Partner, and has 30 years' global HR and business experience across operations, sales, and product development for asset management retail banking in the UK, Europe, US and Asia. She holds an MBA in International Business from the University of Bristol and is currently responsible for ensuring that all of the people activity in Royal London Asset Management aligns to the business strategy, enabling the firm to develop the capabilities it requires to be successful in the future, whilst creating a positive culture with high performing teams.

Tracey Bennett – Chief of Staff

Tracey joined Royal London Asset Management as Chief of Staff in March 2022 with responsibility for overseeing the delivery of our strategic priorities. Tracey has over 25 years’ experience in delivery roles in Financial Services. She joined from KPMG where she was a Director responsible for programme delivery. Prior to this, Tracey was a Head of Change at Fidelity International and she has also held a number of senior change, strategy and business management roles at Old Mutual Global Investors (now part of Jupiter Asset Management) and Old Mutual plc. Prior to this Tracey was a management consultant at KPMG and she started her career with Prudential plc.