John Chilman to step down as Railpen Chief Executive

John has had a long relationship with the railways pension schemes and Railpen, having joined the Trustee Board in 2007, Chaired the Investment Committee from 2010 to 2014 and then became Chair of the Trustee from 2014 to 2019, before moving into the Railpen Chief Executive role.

During that time, John has seen the internalisation of the Investment Management capability, the development of the Fiduciary capability and a significant increase in the size of Railpen’s assets under management. This has helped to ensure that Railpen has continued to deliver value for members at a time when pensions are subject to ever-increasing regulation and change.

John has led the work to ensure Railpen has the scale and efficiency necessary to continue to support a multi-employer scheme with over 100 legally distinct sections and evolving section and member needs, as well as providing quality and member-centred, third-party administration services to many other schemes.  

Commenting on his retirement, John noted:

“I’ve enormous pride in what we have achieved together at Railpen in recent years, of which the highlights for me are:

• defining a clear purpose that has galvanised the diverse operations across Railpen, which has been further strengthened through our internally generated values;
• the very strong funding position delivered;
• the improvements made to the day-to-day support we provide members and pensioners; and
• the enhanced support we now provide to our colleagues.

I have given the Board a lot of notice of my decision, so that there can be a thorough recruitment process for the next stage in Railpen’s evolution, and that I can pass on the shirt to someone who can take Railpen forward in continuing to achieve its purpose to secure our members’ future.”

This announcement does not affect John’s position as Chair of the PLSA Policy Board or as a Trustee of the Pensions Policy Institute.

Railpen Chair, Mike Craston, said:

“John has helped to transform Railpen in his time as Chief Executive, both operationally and culturally. John’s energy and enthusiasm have united colleagues behind a common purpose, and he leaves Railpen in a much stronger position than when he and I joined. My focus now is on the difficult task of filling John’s shoes.

On behalf of the Railpen Board, I wish John all the best for his retirement and in whatever his next challenge may be.”

Railways Pension Scheme Trustee Limited Chair, Christine Kernoghan, said

“John was the Chair of the Trustee when I first became a director, and whilst it was a loss for the Trustee when he moved into the Chief Executive role, John has enabled Railpen to flourish under his leadership. The Trustee Board knows how important the scheme is to members.

Everyone at Railpen shares this passion, and it will be vital that dedication continues as it has done under John’s leadership. All of us on the Trustee Board thank John and wish him the very best in retirement.”