The Board

Chris Hitchen
Chair
Chris has many years of experience as an actuary, chief investment officer, chief executive officer and more recently as a non-executive. In his role as chief executive officer, Chris transformed RPMI Railpen, the asset manager for the Railways Pension Scheme into a very successful asset management company. His non-executive roles are as a board member of the International Centre of Pensions Management, Chair of the Master Trust committee under the auspices of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, and Board Member of the Investor Forum.

Rachel Elwell
Chief Executive Officer
Rachel joined Border to Coast with over twenty years’ experience of working in pensions and institutional investment, both as a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and latterly at Royal London. In this role she was responsible for both Royal London’s own pension arrangements and for investment strategy and oversight of internal and external management of its insurance assets totalling £80 billion. Rachel is a Cambridge maths graduate and qualified actuary.

Fiona Miller
Chief Operating Officer
Fiona joined Border to Coast from Cumbria County Council where she managed the £2.4bn Local Government Pension Scheme, as well as the treasury, accounting and insurance functions. Fiona has more than 25 years’ experience in finance across the public and private sectors and has been the driving force behind shaping the Border to Coast response to the Government’s pooling agenda over the last two years. Recent recognition awards include the IPE Gold Personal Achievement Award and inclusion in the 100 Most Influential Women in Finance in the EMEA region, both for her work on LGPS pooling.

Enid Rowlands
Non-Executive Director
Enid has a background in change management, organisational transition and development. A psychologist by qualification, she has chaired public bodies with budgets in excess of £1.2 billion. In recent years Enid has specialised in governance in the public and not for profit sectors. She has been Chair of the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority since 2014, having joined the board in 2013. She was a board member and chair of HR/Remuneration Committee of the General Medical Council for seven years. Her previous Non- Executive roles have included the Information Commissioner’s Office, NEST Corporation, Consumer Focus, North Wales Police Authority and Chair of North Wales Health Authority. She is also a former chair of the charity Victim Support. Enid’s executive career includes posts in Shropshire and Wiltshire County Councils, CEO of the North West Wales Training and Enterprise Council and MD at the Welsh Development Agency.

Tanya Castell
Non-Executive Director
Tanya has a portfolio of non-executive board roles including positions on the boards of Faster Payments Scheme and Scottish Canals. She chairs the Quality Assurance Scheme for the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and has twice been a pension trustee (for HBOS DC and UBS DB and DC schemes). She also has a couple of pro bono roles, notably Changing the Chemistry, a charity that she founded to promote diversity of thought in the boardroom. For her work in this area, she was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours in 2017. In executive life, Tanya Castell is a former senior global banking executive with expertise in corporate governance, risk management and regulation having spent most of her career at JP Morgan and UBS.

Sue Ellis
Non-Executive Director
Sue joined Border to Coast in October 2018. She began her career as a Police Officer before becoming a qualified Social Worker in London. She moved to Rotherham 30 years ago and became a Labour Councillor for Rotherham MBC in 1995.
She has held many positions within the Council, including, executive member for Housing and Environmental Health, various regional boards and is currently the Chair of Licensing. As a Local Councillor she has been involved with various community projects and charities.
Sue joined the South Yorkshire Pensions Authority in 2013 and became Chair in 2014. The South Yorkshire fund has assets of £8 billion and has had a consistently high level of performance under her leadership. She has been involved with Border to Coast from its inception including establishing the aims and principles on which the company is based.