Mercer has appointed Martine Ferland as Head of its Retirement, Risk & Finance (RRF) business for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She will join from Towers Watson where she was retirement business leader for Canada. Prior to that she spent 13 years in a range of roles with Towers Perrin in North America, including two years with leadership responsibilities for their retirement business in Asia-Pacific.
Ms Ferland has nearly 25 years’ experience in retirement consulting, leadership, strategy and business development, and is a fellow of both the US Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. She will replace Jacques Goulet who transferred to North America earlier this year to lead Mercer’s RRF business in the US.
RRF is the largest of Mercer’s businesses in Europe, employing 1,600 actuaries, consultants and support staff across 15 countries. The business provides advice and solutions across the full range of issues affecting occupational retirement plans, including scheme design, risk management and governance.
Michele Burns, Mercer’s Global CEO, commented: “This role is of strategic importance to our wider global business, given the size of the European retirement market and the pivotal role that RRF plays in many of our relationships with major clients. RRF is a dynamic business that is reshaping itself for the future, and Martine brings exactly those qualities of leadership, business acumen and specialist expertise that are needed for this complex market.”
Simon O’Regan, Global Head of RRF, added: “Martine joins us at a time of significant change in the retirement consulting arena, when the focus on cost and risk management, global decision-making and the move to DC and flexible savings are driving many developments across the industry.”
Recent changes in Mercer’s RRF business include the growth of its financial strategy and dynamic de-risking teams which help clients manage their funding risks, and the expansion of its Retirement Service Centres in Belfast, Lisbon and India – centres of excellence that streamline the scheme valuation process to increase efficiency and drive costs down for clients.
Mr O’Regan added: “We are working closely with our investment, outsourcing and communication colleagues to provide a seamless service to clients with legacy DB plans and to establish effective long-term DC and hybrid retirement schemes. International consulting is also an important growth area, as companies look to centralise the coordination and governance of global benefit plans.”
“Martine’s extensive experience in international consulting and in leading businesses in the Americas and Asia Pacific will give us a strong advantage. At Mercer, she will be a key player in driving further business developments in the changing DB and DC environments, and in maintaining our leadership in this market,” he added.
Ms Ferland will join Mercer in September, based in London.
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