Willis Towers Watson (WTW) has appointed a private markets expert to a global leadership role as its CIO steps back after 10 years.
The professional services and investment organisation announced it has appointed Jon Pliner as global chief investment officer (CIO) which will see him join the investment global leadership team.
He is currently the deputy CIO and co-chair of the company’s private markets investment committee and real assets investment committee, which has seen him create custom portfolio solutions for its outsourced clients in the US.
He will succeed Craig Baker who moves to a role of chief investment strategist after 10 years as global CIO. He will continue to serve on the investment global leadership team, but will take on more external, market-facing responsibilities for the firm.
This will see him become responsible for strategic relationships and developing key investment opportunities around the world.
Diya Luke, global head of investments at WTW, said: “I want to congratulate Craig and Jon on their new roles. Following 10 highly successful years as our CIO, and 30 years with our investments business, Craig’s new role is strategically important in helping to further grow our business.
“I am also delighted to welcome Jon onto our global leadership team and excited for him to start work with a range of new clients. Jon brings a breadth of experience that will greatly benefit our clients and our partners.”
Baker and Pliner are based in London and New York, respectively, and will take up their new roles on 1 April 2025.
WTW’s investment business has US$167 billion ($263 billion) in assets under management and assets under advice of US$3.4 trillion.
Meanwhile, fund manager Nikko Asset Management has appointed Mark E. Stoeckle as chief investment officer and global head of investment. The move, which will take effect on 1 April, comes a year after he joined the firm’s board as an outside director.
He was previously the chief executive of US fund manager Adams Funds for 10 years, and chief investment officer of US equities at BNP Paribas Asset Management.
Current CIO Hiroshi Yoh will resign at the end of March “to pursue his personal ventures”.
Nikko AM president, Stefanie Drews, said: “During his time on the board, we immensely benefited from Mark’s expertise and thoughtfulness. His deep investment management knowledge capital coupled with his leadership experience and the rapport he has already built with all our senior management and investment management colleagues make him the best choice to support the ongoing refinement of the offering for our clients and the progress in our Global Growth strategy.”
