First Actuarial appoints Rob Hurst and Claire Fuller co-heads of administration

First Actuarial has appointed Claire Fuller and Robert Hurst as co-heads of administration. Their joint appointment comes as First Actuarial is looking to show it is ready for “a new era of digital scheme administration”.

Robert Hurst has worked in pensions administration for 27 years, starting at Capita as a trainee administrator, progressing to pensions administration manager. Following further roles at Kerr and Company (now Broadstone) and Aon, he then moved across to the process side of pensions administration. He was appointed as process manager at First Actuarial in 2020.

Hurst, commented, “This appointment puts me in a strong position to help shape the member experience of the future. Claire and I enjoy strong relationships with each other and across our nationwide administration team. Importantly, we have interconnected skillsets – technology can only deliver positive change with robust processes and high-quality data.”

Claire Fuller’s trainee administrator roles at Towers Watson (formerly Swiss Life) and Pearson Publishing gave her early exposure of both in-house and third-party administration. She then spent 16 years at Xafinity, where her career path shifted to systems and data analysis. She moved to First Actuarial in 2013, rising to the position of head of pensions administration systems, prior to her latest appointment.

Fuller added, “First Actuarial has always played to my strengths, encouraging me to develop my technical and managerial abilities. Scheme administration at First Actuarial is known to be exceptionally member-focused and we’ll be looking to build on that strength while making the most of the latest technologies and industry initiatives which are advancing at pace.”

Fuller’s data and system experience combines powerfully with Hurst’s process acumen to equip the firm’s administration function with highly skilled leadership. With regulatory focus on data quality and guidance, together with developments such as the pensions dashboards – which they have both worked on from the beginning – scheme administration is clearly moving into a new digital era. Looking ahead, they will remain actively involved in PASA (Pensions Administration Standards Association), working with colleagues across the industry on standards for process and data quality in pensions administration.