Legal & General has appointed Meera Venu as a new trustee director on the L&G Mastertrust Board.
Venu comes to the L&G Mastertrust from Google, where she was the senior industry head of UK financial services. Her background spans technology, digital marketing, and financial services. Venu’s appointment follows the Trustee Board’s pledge to strengthen the Legal & General Worksave Mastertrust’s Board’s diversity and expertise in order to ensure the Mastertrust’s long-term viability.
In addition to the new appointment, Dermot Courtier, the current independent chair of the trustee board and head of the IGC will step down from both duties once his successor is nominated, having successfully completed two terms in office. Ali Toutounchi, a member of the IGC, has also resigned as of December 31, 2021.
LGIM co-head of defined contribution Rita Butler-Jones says: “Meera brings an extensive amount of digital transformation experience, which will be hugely beneficial to the L&G Mastertrust Board and its membership. Bringing in someone outside of the industry is an important milestone, as most trustee boards are made up of purely pensions experts. We believe Meera’s professional experience will complement the existing strengths we have in this area – having three independent trustees on the board already – as we keep abreast of the rapidly changing pensions landscape.
L&G Mastertrust independent chair Dermot Courtier says: “Meera’s diverse range of skills and professional experience, at Google, particularly in Digital and Marketing, will be a fantastic addition to the Trustee Board. As one of the largest master trusts in the UK, this appointment complements an industry-leading board that can confidently, discharge its governance responsibilities and represent all of the core interests of our members.”
LGIM co-head of DC Stuart Murphy says: “We would like to thank both Dermot and Ali for their considerable professional contributions over the years which has helped build the L&G Mastertrust into one of the largest in the UK. We wish both Dermot and Ali all the best in their future endeavours.”
