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Willis Towers Watson appoints Bibi de Vries as Benelux business head

31 March 2017 Consultancy.uk

Willis Towers Watson has appointed Bibi de Vries, who joined the firm in 2016 and was formerly a politician and Director at Achmea, as its new Head of the Benelux business. She takes responsibility for developing the region’s growth strategy.

Prior to joining Willis Towers Watson, de Vries worked at Achmea, where she held various role as Director since joining in 2007, most recently as Director of Strategic and Corporate Relations. Prior to joining the firm she was involved in the Dutch VVD party, as a member of the Dutch Parliament from 1994 until 2006. Earlier in her career she worked as a regional municipality council member, also for the VVD for five years, and was a tax advisor for various organisations, including PwC, for seven years.

Bibi de Vries - Willis Towers Watson

De Vries, who holds a Master’s in Tax law from Leiden University, has been promoted by Willis Towers Watson to the role of Head of Benelux. Her new responsibilities include the setting of the firm’s Benelux markets’ strategic direction for driving growth. She will be based in the firm’s Amstelveen office, in the Netherlands.

Regarding the appointment, Paul Morris, Head of Western Europe, says that the firm is “delighted” that de Vries will fulfill this role. He adds, “She is a proven leader with a clear vision on how Willis Towers Watson will strengthen our market-leading position in the Benelux.”

Besides her activities for Willis Towers Watson, De Vries holds various boardroom and commissioner positions, including for the Koninklijk Actuarieel Genootschap and the Royal Dutch Football Association.

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Rapid growth sees Quantum Advisory promote trio of partners

18 April 2019 Consultancy.uk

Three senior level consultants have been boosted to the rank of Partner at Quantum Advisory, as the firm works to meet heightened levels of client demand. Aled Edwards, Amanda Burdge and Chris Heirene become Partners as long-time Quantum member Rob Davies retires in May after 15 years as a Partner at the firm.

Founded in 2000, Quantum Advisory provides pension and employee benefits services to employers, scheme trustees and members, with five offices across the UK. The firm has enjoyed exponential growth in recent years, following a number of major client wins and booming demand for its services. It opened a new office in Bristol in 2016 to service the South West and in 2017 relocated its Cardiff office to a larger site within the Welsh capital to house the increased workforce. More recently, Quantum relocated its Amersham, Birmingham and London offices to more spacious premises in the centre of both cities to cope with demand.

The financial services consultancy, which employs 115 people across the UK, has promoted three senior team members to Partner, as part of its wider growth plans. The firm has moved Aled Edwards from Principal Consultant & Actuary, while Amanda Burdge has ascended from Principal Investment Consultant. Chris Heirene, former IT Manager, has also joined the ten current Partners at Quantum.

Aled Edwards most recently managed the actuarial team within Quantum’s Cardiff office as well as providing technical training for all staff. He boasts more than 17 years of pensions experience. He started his career as an Actuary at Jardine Lloyd Thompson’s Bristol wing, before joining Quantum in 2011. Edwards is also the President of the Welsh Actuarial Society (WAS), which supports actuaries and actuarial students living or working in Wales.

Rapid growth sees Quantum Advisory promote trio of Partners

Amanda Burdge joined Quantum’s team in 2001, as one of the fledgling firm’s first employees. Most recently she was a Principal Investment Consultant with the firm, and with more than a quarter of a century’s experience in the sector, she is responsible for providing investment advice to many of Quantum’s key clients with both defined benefit and defined contribution schemes. Prior to her time with Quantum, Burdge spent two years as a consultant with SBJ Benefit Consultants (now Capita), and three years with Tesco Pension Trustees. She currently sits on the Regulation Committee for the Pensions Management Institute.

Chris Heirene initially worked with Quantum as an IT Consultant with Teamwork Technology Services and then UES for over five years, before finally joining the firm itself in 2011. He is now responsible for Quantum’s IT systems across all of its offices, including the network and core server infrastructure which supports the business. Heirene is heavily involved in utilising IT to improve and build upon the processes in place throughout Quantum.

David Deidun, Partner at Quantum Advisory, said of the promotions, “This is a very exciting time for Quantum. The recent round of promotions fully recognise the hard work and dedication shown by the three, all of whom go above and beyond for the company. I’ve no doubt that Aled, Amanda and Chris will settle into their new roles with ease and look forward to working together to grow Quantum even further.”

The news comes as Rob Davies retires in May, after spending fifteen years as a Partner at Quantum. A qualified actuary, Davies was instrumental in setting up Quantum’s Investment Division, specialising in aiding clients with their investment strategies. He will remain with the company on a part-time consultancy basis, while working with several clients in the Fiduciary Manager area.