Helen Dean, CEO of Nest, has today been awarded a CBE for services to pension saving.
Dean, who started her career in the benefits office of Peckham, became one of the architects of the auto enrolment policy responsible for bringing more than 10 million UK workers into pension saving.
Dean has been chief executive of Nest for the past four years and has overseen its growth into the largest pension provider by membership in the country with assets under management of £15bn.
Dean said: “This is a huge honour and I’m humbled to join such a prestigious group of people who have achieved so much. There are many, many people who were part of the long journey to make auto enrolment pensions a reality, transforming the retirement prospects of millions of people in the UK.
“I am proud and grateful to have been able to play my part. It’s an incredible privilege to do a job that makes a real difference in people’s lives. I know that all of my fantastic colleagues at Nest feel the same sense of purpose and I’m enormously grateful for their hard work and dedication to our members.
“While I have been recognised today, I would like to pass on that recognition to each and every one of my team, without whom Nest would not be the world class pension scheme that it is, providing better retirements for working people across the country.”
Nest Chair Otto Thoresen said: “We are very proud of Helen and this honour couldn’t have gone to a more deserving person. She works tirelessly to bring about her vision of improving the future for millions of people and she never for a minute forgets about the members that Nest was set up to serve.
“On behalf of the Nest board I’d like to congratulate Helen on this very well deserved recognition.”
