Matti Leppälä, secretary general at PensionsEurope, has been elected chair of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority’s (EIOPA) pension stakeholder group (OPSG), succeeding Philip Shier.

Leppälä, who has been with the European industry group since 2011, was previously the OPSG’s deputy chair, serving under Benne van Popta and Shier, following the former’s resignation mid-term in 2015.

“I am honoured to chair the OPSG for the coming term of two and a half years,” Leppälä said in a statement.

“The role of occupational pensions and other private pensions is increasingly important for good pensions in Europe.

“The OPSG is in a unique position to help EIOPA and other European institutions to reach the best possible outcomes.”

Leppälä is the second secretary general of PensionsEurope to chair the OPSG, following Chris Verhaegen’s term as the group’s inaugural chair, when the organisation was known as the European Federation for Retirement Provision. 

The OPSG, which met on 28 April for the first time since 21 new members were named, also elected Bernard Delbecque as deputy chairman during its meeting, the EIOPA press office confirmed to IPE.

Delbecque was appointed to the OPSG earlier this year.

He is director of economics and research at the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), which in the past has been a propronent of a pan-European personal pension product – an idea now championed by the European Commission as part of its Capital Markets Union proposals. 

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