Co-opted members
You can find the full names, qualifications and biographies of our co-opted members here.
All our co-opted members were appointed following an independent appointments process.
Aneen Blackmore
Audit and risk committee
Aneen took up the role of DG Finance at the Ministry of Defence in June 2024. She joined from Ofcom, the Communications Regulator, where she has held the post of Finance Director, overseeing finance, commercial, risk and estates.
Before Ofcom, Aneen worked in the Civil Service from 2016, holding various roles within the Department of Housing, Communities & Local Government. She also held the role of Chief of Corporate Services within the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), overseeing the merger of the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) and Chief People Officer (CPO) portfolios into a single Corporate Services group.
Before joining the Civil Service, Aneen worked within the private sector. Including BT Openreach, Royal Bank of Scotland and KPMG.
Jon Hayes
Audit and Risk Committee
Jon Hayes is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. He trained with the Audit Commission and undertook roles across all the Commission's responsibilities for local government and the NHS. Including acting as a statutory auditor for 10 years. From 2012 to 2015 he was a member of the Commission's executive management team.
Jon was the chief officer of Public Sector Audit Appointments from 2015 until the end of 2018. He is currently a non-executive director and audit committee chair at the NHS Counter Fraud Authority. A member of the Financial Reporting Council's advisory panel. And a member of the audit and risk committees at the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the London Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime.
Jon is the company secretary of a small heritage charity in a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He grew up in Staffordshire and studied at Leeds University. He lived and worked in London for 30 years and now lives in Derbyshire and Southport. His hobbies include playing bass guitar, local history and travel.
Mike Jennings
Investment Committee
Mike Jennings is a seasoned investment professional with over 30 years of experience in managing investment portfolios and leading investment teams as both an Investment Manager and Chief Investment Officer (CIO). His hands-on management of global equities across various economic and market cycles has equipped him with a critical eye for evaluating investment processes and strategies.
In his role as CIO, Mike served as an Executive Director. Overseeing and reporting to the board on all matters related to investment performance and outlook. He was responsible for managing £2.5 billion of the firm’s assets across many asset classes. As a fund manager, he worked with executives from industries worldwide.
Mike has always been at the forefront of innovation in investment management. Early in his career, he embraced thematic investment. In 2016, Mike became a signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment leading the integration of ESG principles across all investment strategies and chaired the ESG Committee.
As a global equity fund manager, Mike has demonstrated critical and transferable skills include robust portfolio construction and risk management. His empathetic approach and critical rigor have successfully improved investment outcomes on many occasions.
Besides his role as co-opted member of the GMC Investment Committee, he currently works as a Consultant for TT International, and as an advisor to FE Fund Info. He is also a Non-Executive Director and Trustee of the Global Returns Project. A not-for-profit organisation that encourages investors to donate to a portfolio of environmental charities.
Paul Cox
Investment Committee
Paul Cox is a highly commended finance instructor at Miami University and University of Bath. He spent 30 years as investment practitioner including Head of Investment Development at the National Employment Savings Trust. And equity fund manager at Kleinwort Benson Investment Management.
Paul has served a variety of public appointments including the UK Government, European Commission, and the European Insurance and Occupational Pension Fund Authority. Between 2016 and 2022 he was a non-executive at the Financial Reporting Council appointed for investment expertise.
Recently, he's been involved in designing the method for expected retirement income used in the UK’s Pension Dashboards initiative. He was also seconded to the multi asset investment desk at Royal London Investment Management.
