Helen Dean CBE, one of the architects of auto enrolment, is to step down as Nest CEO after nearly eight years in the role.
Helen Dean CBE has announced her intention to step down as Nest CEO after nearly eight years in the role.
Dean was behind the creation of the government's auto enrolment policy when she was at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
From the DWP Helen moved to Nest’s predecessor, The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) where she was responsible for helping to build a low-cost pension scheme from scratch.
Nest, which is the largest UK pension scheme with 12 million members, invests around £450m a month on their behalf.
During her time as CEO Helen has also signed the Women in Finance Charter on behalf of Nest, overseen the creation of Nest’s first diversity groups and published Nest’s gender and ethnicity pay reports.
She said: “The success of Nest is down to the hard work of many, many people I’ve had the pleasure to work with over the years. I’m delighted to have played my part in Nest’s story and can’t wait to watch how it continues to flourish in the future. Nest will always have a special place in my heart.
“It’s important for the continuity of Nest that the Board has plenty of time to run a competitive and thorough recruitment process, as the priority will be finding the right person for the role. I’m therefore confirming that I’ll be leaving Nest next year to allow someone else the honour and privilege of this wonderful job.
“With the new scheme administrator contract in place, I feel confident now is the right time to step down and allow my successor to continue driving forward the digital transformation of Nest’s platform.”
Brendan McCafferty, chair of Nest said: “Helen has helped revolutionise workplace saving, and the fantastic position Nest finds itself in is down to her excellent leadership. I deeply value her energy, expertise, and passion for ensuring the Nest project she started all those years ago remains a success.
“Our focus now is the bright future ahead of Nest. We will begin by looking for the best person to fill Helen’s shoes, not an easy task, and I am confident we will find someone who can build on the strong foundation Helen helped create, advancing our digital scheme and providing a world class service, for millions of people across the UK."
“I wish Helen all the best for whatever challenge she chooses to take on next.”
Dean's successor has not been announced.
