RPMI announces new Chief Executive Officer

RPMI Limited has announced the appointment of John Chilman as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He will be responsible for RPMI’s pension administration business, which counts the industry-wide Railways Pension Scheme (RPS) among its clients, as well as its investment arm, RPMI Railpen (Railpen), which manages the c £29 billion of RPS assets.

John has a MA from St. Anne’s College, Oxford, is a chartered accountant and joins RPMI from National Grid where he was Group Head of Pensions, overseeing their pension arrangements in the UK and US. John was previously Group Pensions Director at FirstGroup as well as Group Head of Reward at HBOS.

With over 25 years of pensions experience, John is the current Chair of the Railways Pension Scheme Trustee, a role he has held since 2014, having been a Trustee Director since 2007. He will be stepping down from this role in March, when his successor will be confirmed, prior to taking up his new role at RPMI in June. John’s appointment follows the departure of Phil Willcock, who will leave RPMI at the end of February.

Commenting on John’s appointment, Babloo Ramamurthy, Chairman of RPMI, said:
“John’s past knowledge and experience of RPMI and his reputation as an innovative leader for many years in the pensions industry will be invaluable to ensure RPMI continues to deliver the Trustee’s mission of paying members’ pensions securely affordably and sustainably.

“John’s commitment to both RPMI and the RPS will prove invaluable as we continue to provide the best possible service for all our clients and their pension scheme members.”

John Mayfield, RPS Trustee Director added:
“We would all like to thank John for his service to the Railways Pension Scheme over many years. His leadership as our Chair has been an incredible contribution and we are confident he will lead RPMI and its people with the same passion, commitment and quality.

“We have a robust succession plan in place and will be appointing a new Chair of the Trustee in the near future.”

John Chilman, also added:
“I am delighted to have the confidence of the RPMI Board. RPMI is a fantastic business, with knowledgeable and passionate people delivering an incredibly important service for hundreds of clients and hundreds of thousands of pension scheme members.

“We have an important mission and I look forward to working with my new colleagues to further its delivery.”