The CEO of People’s Pension is one of a number of industry figures to be recognised in the King’s Birthday honours list this weekend.
Patrick Heath-Lay, CEO of People’s Partnership was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), in recognition of his services to the pensions industry for the not-for-profit firm, where he has worked for over o four decades.
Heath-Lay joined the organisation in 1985 as a 16-year-old school leaver, initially working in the post room. He has been CEO for the past 13 years, where he has overseen significant expansion of the pensions company, following the introduction of auto-enrolment.
People’s Partnership, was founded in 1942 as B&CE, and has grown from approximately 200 colleagues to more than 1,000 and is now one of the largest employers in Crawley, where the firm is based.
The birthday honours list also awarded a CBE to Katie Jones, chair of the pensions protection fund for services to pensions and financial education.
There were also awards for a number of people working at the Department of Work and Pensions, with Martin Brown, director of retirement services within the department receiving a knighthood (GBE) in recognition of his public service work.
The DWP’s Vikki Knight, director for fraud, error and debt policy and Ashley Machin, lead non-executive director also received CBEs, with OBEs being awarded to Rebekah Warburton, deputy director of health transformation and Maria Lane, deputy director for people safety within the department.
Speaking about the honour, Heath-Lay says: “It’s really humbling to be recognised in this way and is not something I ever expected to happen when I set out in the world of work as a teenager straight from school more than 40 years ago.
“This recognition is a wonderful surprise and would not have been possible without my family, friends and colleagues who have supported me throughout my career at a company that has given me so much. I have been lucky enough to be able to work with some of the most talented and driven people who share a passion for the purpose of our organisation and who have helped establish People’s Pension as a major player in the pensions industry. It’s an organisation that has made a genuine difference to the futures of millions of hardworking people across the UK.”