Consultancy acquired by Howden announces 40 senior promotions

Barnett Waddingham (BW) has made a range of senior appointments after being acquired by Howden.

Howden announced in March 2025 that it had agreed to purchase the London-based consultancy to create a “new global force in employee benefits”.

BW has now hired five new partners following the announcement. They are Lewys Curteis, DB pensions consulting, Julien Masselot, insurance and longevity consulting, Nikhil Patel, risk transfer consulting, Harshil Shah, risk and resilience services, and Reena Tanna, DC investment consulting.

BW also said it had made eight principal and 27 associate promotions, made across the entirety of its service offering of risk, pensions, investment and insurance.

Andrew Vaughan, senior partner at BW, said: “As we continue to grow and evolve following our recent acquisition by Howden, one thing remains constant – the core belief that our people are the key to our success and we are proud to recognise and nurture the exceptional talent at BW.

“The promotions highlight the strength, expertise and influence these people have across our teams and the wider business.

“Supporting career progression remains a core part of our culture and these appointments are not only a celebration of individual achievement – they also reflect the depth of talent in our teams that continue to drive our business forward on its fantastic trajectory of success.”

The acquisition

By acquiring BW, Howden aims to expand pension and related investment and risk services for clients in global markets.

The acquisition also doubles Howden’s global employee benefits business in terms of employees, with approximately 4,000 experts delivering combined revenue approaching £500m around the world.

David Howden, chief executive at Howden, said: “In our journey to build a global broker, we recognise the need to create a world-class employee benefits business for our clients. As we always do, we have waited for the right partner to expand our capabilities, with experts who are entrepreneurial and culturally aligned and with whom we can do more together.

“BW’s people have this in abundance. Together, we will take a leading position in our home markets of the UK and Ireland in employee benefits, as well as in insurance broking.”