Sally Bridgeland is an actuary with pensions and investment experience as an adviser, trustee, and non-executive director. Alongside Avida, where Sally acts as a senior adviser, she is a non-executive director at insurer Royal London, Impax Asset Management and Local Pensions Partnership Limited, where she chairs its FCA regulated investment company. Until recently, Sally was a pension trustee for both Nest Corporation and the Lloyds Bank pension funds, having previously been Chief Executive Office of the BP Pension Scheme 2007-14. She also spent 20 years with Aon as a consultant and in research and innovation.
Contact Details
Location: London
Tel: +44 203 755 3419
Sally’s War Story
In 2007, I was recruited to take over the role of CEO of the BP Pension Fund. My predecessor had, for a variety of reasons, ceased to have functioning relationships with the line managers of both the in-house teams responsible for delivering the investment management and administration of the pension fund. As CEO and the successor, I had to make the relationships work to make progress on our normal day to day business as well as the bigger strategic agenda.
First, I recognised the importance of technical skills and language when dealing with investment and pension professionals. I established my credentials by talking about some technical issues. With the HR/Administration Head, I then suggested some “design principles” for our negotiations on factors. This avoided arguments about actuarial niceties and the numbers and improved communication. On the investment front, I used my experience and network to help the investment team make connections with external advisers of their own, with their help, a regular reporting cycle and reports on investments were quickly established. Though the experience was frustrating, it taught me a lot about politics, personalities and the need for patience.