Our board of directors

Ruston Smith

Chairman of the board of directors

Ruston has over 30 years' experience in the pension fund and investment industry, including 14 years as the Group Pensions Director at Tesco. He's held senior positions with responsibility for strategy, governance, investment and operations for a wide range of UK funds. In 2017, he co-chaired the Automatic Enrolment Advisory Board for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) in 2017, leading on engagement – an issue that is a key point of Smart Pension's long-term strategy. In 2018, he led the initiative to create a simplified annual statement for all schemes and providers to adopt. This uses consistent language and numbers – making it easier for savers to understand their statement.

Executive directors

Andrew Evans

Chief Executive, co-founder and board member

Andrew co-founded Smart to give real people simpler ways to save and access their savings throughout their lives. As the company has grown, world-leading institutions and governments have partnered with Smart, allowing us to help more people with their money. Previously, Andrew was an international managing director, with roles in banking and finance. He also works with cutting edge innovation foundations – awarding funding and offering advice to promising UK fintech companies and social entrepreneurs, including those who work with open banking.

Will Wynne

Managing Director, co-founder and board member

Will is behind Smart’s technology strategy, innovation and global vision. Starting with a solid background in private equity, Will moved to eBay's marketing department where he grew their members from three to eighteen million in three years. He also created the business case for eBay's charity arm, which raised several hundred million pounds for good causes. Will is the co-founder of ArenaFlowers.com, one of the UK’s leading flower and gift delivery businesses, and oversees fintech acceleration programmes run by Octopus Investments. Will is also Chairman of Truliance, a futuristic, digital human software firm.

Jamie Fiveash

Chief Operating Officer and board member

Jamie was COO at B&CE where he was instrumental in the design and delivery of The People’s Pension, before joining Smart in 2018 as COO and executive director. With a background in accountancy and more than 27 years' experience in financial services, Jamie is a safe and skilful pair of hands to efficiently direct Smart’s in-house administration and global operating systems through their significant growth.

Claire Altman

Chief Corporate Officer and board member

Claire leads Smart's legal, governance and regulatory affairs at a time of enormous change in the way the industry is governed. She joined in 2018 following three years as Chair of Trustees of Smart’s master trust. Before that she was a barrister, a pension law specialist and a partner at city law firm Sackers & Partners. Her strong leadership and focus on watertight processes has taken the firm through UK Master Trust Authorisation to brokering global strategic partnerships across the world.

Non-executive directors

Emma Douglas

Head of DC Solutions, Legal & General Investment Management

Emma is regarded as one of the most influential women in European finance. She was recently appointed Chairperson of the PLSA’s policy board, and previous roles include both partner and head of Mercer’s delegated DC business. She's also held senior positions at BlackRock and Threadneedle Investments.

Duncan Howorth

Chairman of ITM

Duncan is the former CEO of the employee benefits division of global insurance giant Jardine Lloyd Thompson PLC. He has experience in insurance, employee benefits and pensions, and has built a wealth of expertise in effective benefits communication.

Tom Valentine

Co-founder and MD of Secret Escapes

Tom is the co-founder and COO of UK travel ecommerce success story, Secret Escapes. He's experienced in building and scaling online businesses, and has helped build several very successful online platforms. Tom brings this experience to Smart Pension as a non-executive director.

Karen Roberton

Global Head of Consultant Sales, J.P. Morgan

Karen has been with J.P. Morgan Asset Management for 25 years and is the Global Head of the Consultant Sales team. Throughout her career, she has always been client focused, working with both Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Pension Schemes and their advisors. She has a Law degree from the University of Westminster and has successfully completed the Law Society Final Examinations at the College of Law in London.

John McMurtrie

Executive Director and Managing Director, Link Group

John has been Managing Director of Link Group since 2002 and has over 35 years' experience in financial services, covering both the public and private sectors. He is a member of the board of directors of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, and in 2019 was made a Member of the Order of Australia for service to both the finance industry and the wider community.

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If you're a member and would like to learn more about how coronavirus will affect your pension savings, read our latest article here.