Nest, the auto-enrolment pension provider, has appointed former Skipton Building Society boss Ian Cornelius as interim chief executive following the departure of Helen Dean.

Mr Cornelius will take up his new role on 1 May following a short handover period from Helen Dean who leaves Nest on 30 April.

He will also join Nest’s board and take on the role of accounting officer. The board of Nest will run an open process to appoint a permanent chief executive during the course of 2024.

Mr Cornelius has 25 years of experience in senior executive roles with financial services brands. His appointment is expected to be for a period of about 12 months while a permanent chief executive is recruited and onboarded.

Before serving as interim group chief executive at Skipton Building Society, he was Skipton’s commercial & strategy director for a decade. 

He joins Nest at a time of continued growth and customer-orientated transformation. 

Brendan McCafferty, chair of Nest, said: “Ian’s expertise and insight will be very valuable as we build on our achievements and accelerate our purpose-driven plans that put our low to middle income members at the heart of everything we do.”

“I would like to thank Helen for her leading role over decades in creating and then leading Nest as CEO for eight years. Her tireless focus on improving financial outcomes for all – including perhaps the most underserved in society - will transform the financial resilience and retirement of millions of citizens across the United Kingdom.

"She leaves an incredible and long-lasting legacy.”

Mr Cornelius said: “I’m excited to be joining Nest as it continues to develop. The organisation has a unique and purposeful place in the sector and I’m looking forward to supporting the next phase of its future.”  

Helen and Ian will work together during a short handover period before she leaves on 30 April.  

Nest currently invests £39bn on behalf of its 13 million members, making it one of the UK’s largest pension schemes.