Naomi L’Estrange

Naomi, Managing Director at 20-20 Trustees, has twenty-five years’ experience in pensions and a formidable reputation in the field. After ten years as a pension lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills where she advised clients such as the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries, KPMG and the National Trust, she was seconded to government to advise on the establishment of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and the moral hazard provisions of the Pensions Act 2004.

She then joined the PPF as its inaugural Director of Legal, leading the team advising on the world’s first risk based levy, international insolvency litigation, and a multi-billion investment portfolio.

Subsequently as Director of Strategy and Policy she was responsible for negotiation with government and the EU on pension policy as well as overall strategy for the PPF, and was a member of the Executive Committee.  She joined 20-20 Trustees in April 2014 to lead the Nottingham team acquired from Alexander Forbes, and became MD in January 2019.

She has very broad experience of issues affecting pension schemes of all sizes, funding positions and covenant strengths from ongoing financial negotiations (including involving proactive engagement), complex investments and asset backed funding, benefit structures and equalisation, liability management, distress and employer debt, wind ups and buyouts both inside and outside the PPF, and the PPF levy.

Naomi specialises in bringing parties together in robust, constructive and good-humoured communication to improve outcomes for members and employers alike.

Naomi studied law at Clare College Cambridge where she was also a Choral Scholar, has a Masters in European Law from the University of Brussels, a certificate in Advanced Management from Ashridge, and is a trained Executive Coach. She is passionate about all matters environmental/sustainability/biodiversity, both in work and out, and has spearheaded 20-20’s leadership in driving change in pension trusteeship and the broader pensions market on this topic.

She was awarded Trustee of the Year at the inaugural Women in Pensions Awards in 2018, and is appointed to the Advisory Board of the Financial Reporting Council.

Away from work, Naomi is a keen vegetable grower who is trained to help new growers (feel free to ask for tips!) and was for eight years a trustee of Garden Organic, the national charity, patron HRH Prince Charles.

To view Naomi’s profile on LinkedIn, please click here.