• Four trustee trainees secure board-level learning opportunities ahead of graduating from inaugural programme

Standard Life has appointed Priya Kainth, Director, Global Markets Credit, Bank of America as its first Master Trust Board apprentice - a developmental position designed to support the next stage of her trustee learning journey, following the successful conclusion of its two-year Trustee Accelerator Programme pilot.

Priya is joined by three fellow trainees - Dean Dennis, Managing Director Verizon; Tom Dibble, Communications Specialist, Standard Life; and Danielle Devoy, Risk Business Partner Lead, Standard Life, who as part of their continued development, have secured positions on the Board’s sub-committees, gaining exposure to investment and sustainability, administration, communications and engagement, and risk and governance.

Launched in 2024 in partnership with the Pensions Management Institute (PMI), the Trustee Accelerator Programme (TAP) is designed to help develop a more diverse pipeline of future pension scheme trustees. The programme combines formal study with practical experience, including mentoring and board level shadowing.

Helen Dean CBE, Chair of the Standard Life Master Trust Board, said: “It’s been wonderful to see the Trustee Accelerator Programme make such a positive impact, by bringing fresh talent into the pensions industry. We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Priya Kainth as our first apprentice to the Standard Life Master Trust Board and three further graduates from the programme to the Board’s sub-committees. Priya’s appointment, alongside those of Dean Dennis, Tom Dibble and Danielle Devoy, is a brilliant reflection of the programme’s success, and we’re excited to support them as they continue their development. I’m sure we will all benefit from the energy, insight and fresh perspective they will bring to the boardroom and committee discussions.”

Commenting on her trustee apprentice role Priya Kainth said: “TAP is about getting people like me into the Trustee boardroom, so our voices are heard. We represent a big part of the membership pool, but we’re not represented in decision-making. TAP has opened doors I never thought possible.”

Standard Life, Head of Master Trust and programme sponsor Donna Walsh hailed the pilot programme a great success. “It was hard to imagine how transformational the original pilot would become. It has changed the lives and career paths for many of our trainees and opened specific opportunities for the trainees while creating a pool of talented trustee ready candidates for existing trustees and their boards. With the first cohort of trainees graduating this month, I am delighted to be handing over the post-pilot programme to the PMI, and confident that under its stewardship it will be equally successful in diversifying and developing the trustee boards of the future to better serve all scheme members.” The programme’s first cohort of trustee trainees are set to graduate at the PMI’s annual conference in June 2026.

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About Standard Life

  • Standard Life is a retirement specialist focused entirely on retirement saving and income.
  • We are proud to manage around c£317bn in assets on behalf of our 12 million customers, and we champion the belief that everyone's journey to and through retirement can be better.
  • With our focus entirely on retirement savings and income we want to be the business that people trust to guide their retirement journey, helping our customers achieve better outcomes and greater financial security in later life.
  • As a FTSE 100-listed group we are using our size, expertise and influence to shape the world our customers will retire into and are committed to helping three million more customers by 2035, take action towards a better retirement.
  • Standard Life is a responsible investor with a clear commitment to supporting a more sustainable future. The Group has achieved its net zero goal across its emissions for 2025 and is working towards net zero investment portfolios by 2050 or sooner.
  • Standard Life is recognised as a leading employer, with long-standing accreditation as a Living Wage Employer, Living Pension Employer and Carer Positive Exemplary Employer and in 2025 became one of Britain’s Most Admired Companies in 2025.

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