LGPS Private Markets Forum

Collaborating with the Chief Investment Officer (CIO), Nadeem actively contributes to establishing a robust decision-making framework for allocating assets to the infrastructure portfolio. Acknowledged as a leader and expert in his designated asset classes, he also considers Responsible Investment & Engagement (RI&E) policies, aligning them with Partner Fund policies and investment decisions. Nadeem’s proactive approach ensures a commitment to responsible investment practices throughout the decision-making process.

Ian Connatty is the first Managing Partner for BBB Patient Capital Advisory Services, leading its regulated investment advisory and fundraising activities. As Managing Partner, Ian will also serve on the BBB Patient Capital Advisory Services Board, contributing to the Partnership’s governance and strategic oversight. He was previously the British Business Bank’s Deputy Chief Investment Officer. He brings with him a wealth of experience in direct, co-investment and venture capital fund investing having worked for British Business Bank and its forerunner organisations since 2009. Ian joined British Patient Capital when it launched in 2018 where he was Managing Director of the Funds business until 2021. After this he was appointed Managing Director, Direct and Co-investment, where he established the £425m Future Fund: Breakthrough programme. He previously worked in corporate finance at technology company Infinity SDC and in financial modelling at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Anna leads the investment team that invests and manages Better Society Capital’s portfolio with Jeremy Rogers. She is a member of the Investment Committee and Executive Committee.

She joined Better Society Capital in 2012. Over the past ten years, she has helped shape BSC’s strategy and make investments which have grown the UK social impact investment market ten-fold to almost £8bn. Within this, she led on developing a number of segments of this market including social property funds, blended finance, place-based investment and community finance.

Prior to joining, Anna had over ten years of experience in investment and strategy, working in Merrill Lynch’s Financial Institutions Group. She was a Board member of Charity Bank between 2014 and 2022 and is now a member of Access’ Blended Finance Investment Committee and the Local Access Blended Investment Committee.

Collaborating with the Chief Investment Officer (CIO), Nadeem actively contributes to establishing a robust decision-making framework for allocating assets to the infrastructure portfolio. Acknowledged as a leader and expert in his designated asset classes, he also considers Responsible Investment & Engagement (RI&E) policies, aligning them with Partner Fund policies and investment decisions. Nadeem’s proactive approach ensures a commitment to responsible investment practices throughout the decision-making process.

Mr. O’Brien is an executive vice president in the London office and head of asset-based origination in EMEA. He focuses on sourcing private investment opportunities and delivering solutions to PIMCO clients. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2025, he was a managing director and the head of Europe at ATLAS SP Partners. Previously, he spent more than a decade at Credit Suisse in a number of positions, including head of origination for the EMEA securitized products business. He has 21 years of investment experience and holds an MBA from Krannert Graduate School of Management and an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Karen has worked in the finance sector for over 30 years. She provides independent investment advice to the London Boroughs of Islington, Camden, and Hounslow pension funds.

In 2017, she set up Pensions for Purpose, a collaborative information-sharing and training platform which aims to raise awareness of responsible, sustainable, and impact investment amongst pension funds.

She is non-executive Chair of Resonance Ltd, an impact manager investing in real estate social impact opportunities, and chair of the Strategic Investment Board for the Ministry of Justice.

Philip has worked in Local Government Finance since 1987 and has been involved in various roles for the Clwyd Pension Fund since 1996.  During this time he has worked with an in house team and external advisors who have recommended and implemented changes to the Clwyd Fund’s governance, funding, investment and administration strategies. Over the 27 years the value of the Fund has increased from £300m to over £2.3bn and the investment strategy and approach to managing investment risk has significantly changed.  Recreationally, Phil can be found supporting Everton and Chester FC or making investments at various racecourses.    

Mr. O’Brien is an executive vice president in the London office and head of asset-based origination in EMEA. He focuses on sourcing private investment opportunities and delivering solutions to PIMCO clients. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2025, he was a managing director and the head of Europe at ATLAS SP Partners. Previously, he spent more than a decade at Credit Suisse in a number of positions, including head of origination for the EMEA securitized products business. He has 21 years of investment experience and holds an MBA from Krannert Graduate School of Management and an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Waqar Rizvi is a Senior Portfolio Manager in Private Credit at LGPS Central, where he is responsible for manager selection, portfolio construction, and capital deployment on behalf of the partnership’s local government pension fund clients. He has a particular interest in applying systematic and data-driven approaches to portfolio construction to improve risk-adjusted returns.

Waqar has more than 20 years of experience across credit investing, restructuring, and private markets. Prior to joining LGPS Central, he worked in the Structured Finance team at Morgan Stanley, where he provided warehouse financing solutions to direct lending funds. Before Morgan Stanley, he was a member of the Structured & Private Debt team at Aviva Investors.

Earlier in his career, Waqar worked in financial restructuring at Houlihan Lokey and in systematic credit investing at Diversified Credit Investments, where he developed an appreciation for quantitative investment approaches that continue to influence his investment philosophy today.

Waqar holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from the University of Virginia and a Master of Science in Finance from London Business School.

William has worked in institutional asset management for 40 years, including three spells in Tokyo.  Since 2009 he has been advising public sector funds and currently acts as independent advisor to three LGPS funds.  He also acts as independent chair of the Lancashire County Pension Board.  He has a Masters in Finance from the LBS, and is Director of Linchpin Advisory Limited, providing advisory services on investment and governance.   William has three millennial and one Generation Z children and lives with his wife in Kent.  Outside work he plays bridge competitively and spends most of his spare time looking after and occasionally sailing a 55-year-old wooden boat on the River Medway.

James Kidd is Head of XPS Xchange, the secondary market solutions business within XPS Group. He has advised Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution pension schemes throughout his career, working with clients ranging from smaller schemes of £2m to some of the UK’s largest pension funds with assets exceeding £3bn.

Following the liquidity challenges experienced by pension schemes during the 2022 gilt market crisis, James recognised the need for dedicated secondary market solutions and established XPS Xchange to help asset owners effectively buy and sell private market assets on the secondary market. He now leads the market-leading business, overseeing transactions across private equity, private credit, infrastructure and real estate portfolios.

Today, XPS Xchange supports a diverse range of institutional investors beyond XPS’ typical client base, including fiduciary managers, LGPS pools, insurers and endowments. James is recognised as a leading voice on private market liquidity and secondary market transactions and was named Finance Professional of the Year at the Future Faces Greater Birmingham Young Professional of the Year Awards 2026.

Mike is responsible for business development activities with a focus on capital formation for the firm’s global timberland strategy. He is also involved in new timberland product development and is a member of the Timberland Strategy Team. In addition, he manages investment portfolios and large institutional client relationships. Prior to joining the firm, Mike was a partner at Global Forest Partners, where he was directly involved in portfolio management, valuation analysis, and investment research. Previously, Mike was an equity research analyst at Merrill Lynch, where he covered the forest products industry. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Society Boston.

Education: B.S., Finance, Pennsylvania State University

Joined the company: 2017

Began career: 2005

Stephen is co-Managing Partner of Stafford’s Timberland team and is responsible for client services, investment sourcing and due diligence.

Stephen was previously the Forest Business Manager for Willmott Forests where he managed large afforestation and acquisition projects.  He was also a senior consultant at URS, specialising in plantation management, timberland appraisals and due diligence.

He holds a Bachelor degree in Forestry from the University of Melbourne.

Alex has worked for the Norfolk Pension Fund since 2004.  A chartered accountant by training, he qualified with Ernst & Young and gained client exposure to a diverse range of corporate pension schemes with the firm. 

He leads on Norfolk’s funding and investment activities and is an active participant in the work of the ACCESS Pool, which remains very much a collaborative effort between its member funds.

Mattis is a Managing Director at Arjun. He is responsible for the origination, evaluation and execution of infrastructure investments as well as the strategic development of Arjun’s portfolio companies.

Previously, Mattis was an Associate at Nebrodi Partners, where he focussed on private equity and debt investments in the US mid-market. He began his career as management consultant with Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in Germany, where he was Project Manager and worked in infrastructure-related industries in Europe.

Mattis holds an MBA from Yale School of Management and an MSc in Industrial Engineering from the Technical University of Berlin.

Paul is a qualified actuary with over 25 years experience in institutional investment. After starting his career in life insurance he moved into investment banking working over a 13 year period at a number of banks on derivative based solutions for asset managers, private banks and life and pension funds. In 2008 he joined the then Watson Wyatt, now Willis Towers Watson as a Senior Investment Consultant. He then went on to join SEI’s fiduciary management business in 2014. In 2022 he took retirement but in early 2023 took a role at West Midland’s Pension Fund  in charge of Investment Strategy for their over £20billion fund.

Sarah has over a decade of experience in the institutional and direct agriculture industry. Prior to Fiera Comox, Sarah held senior consulting roles at both Callan and Aon Hewitt. Most recently, Sarah was a Senior Vice President, Real Assets at Callan, a leading institutional investment consulting firm, where she was responsible for the firm’s farmland investment research. In this role, she also worked with clients on real assets strategic planning, investment research, and asset class education.

In addition to her institutional experience in farmland, Sarah has direct agriculture experience having managed a large dairy heifer growing operation for a dairy and cropping farm in Wisconsin.

Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science, College of Agriculture with a concentration in Food Animal Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.