John Lovell was appointed group pensions director at Coats PLC, London, said a spokeswoman for the industrial thread and consumer textile crafts business.
The position is new, and Mr. Lovell will start March 2. He will be responsible for overseeing Coats’ retirement plans around the world, and Guiness Peat Group PLC’s U.K. pension funds. GPG is an investment holding company that owns Coats PLC. Coats oversees five pension funds globally with about £2 billion ($3 billion) in combined assets.
The spokeswoman said the principal pension funds are in the U.K. and include the £1.5 billion Coats plan and two other closed DB pension funds sponsored by GPG. She said there are also a number of other retirement plans in other countries, primarily in Europe, and a U.S. pension fund, which she said is overfunded.
Mr. Lovell will develop the strategy for these retirement plans. He will report to Richard Howes, chief financial officer.
Mr. Lovell was previously head of pensions at J Sainsbury PLC. The Sainsbury’s Pension Scheme, London, has about £6 billion in assets, according to the National Association of Pension Funds’ 2014 yearbook.
“We are making some changes to our finance team, and while we are unable to confirm individual responsibilities at this stage, we will of course ensure that the pensions team continues to be overseen by experts,” said a spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s, in an email.
