Oliver Morely is to take over from Alan Rubenstein as chief executive of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), the £28.7bn (€32.2bn) lifeboat fund announced today.

Morely will join in March from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), where he has been chief executive since 2013.

Morely has led a digital and organisational overhaul of the DVLA, which maintains a database of drivers and vehicles in Great Britain and the UK, respectively. The DVLA is one of the UK’s biggest multi-channel service organisations, with over 45m customers, 402.5m digital interactions, and £6bn in revenue collected for the UK government per year.

Morely was recognised for his digital services work at the DVLA by being awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the UK’s 2017 New Year honours.

Before joining the DVLA, he was keeper of The National Archives and previously worked at Thomson Reuters in a range of roles, including global head of sales operations.

PPF chairman, Arnold Wagner, said: “I am delighted someone of Oliver’s calibre has decided to join the PPF.

“We have a proven team at the PPF and his leadership will ensure that the PPF enters the next phase of its development well placed to continue to protect the millions of people in the UK who belong to defined benefit pension schemes.”

Morley said the PPF’s mission strongly attracted him to the role. 

”The PPF plays a fundamental role in the pensions’ landscape, protecting the retirement savings of millions of people,” he said. “The PPF is now an organisation with over £30bn in assets and over 250,000 members and I will ensure that these members, as well as the schemes across the UK that pay the levy, are well served.”

The PPF announced Rubenstein’s departure in July. He has led the lifeboat fund as its chief executive since April 2009. During his tenure the PPF won several IPE awards, and Rubenstein himself was recognised for his work with a Lifetime Achievement award at the IPE Awards last month.

The UK’s pension fund association welcomed Morely’s appointment and thanked Rubenstein for his contribution.

Julian Mund, chief executive of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, said: “As chief executive of the Pension Protection Fund since April 2009, [Rubenstein] has worked hard to build confidence in the industries lifeboat and helped to ensure that individuals are protected should the worst happen and their scheme fail.

“We look forward to working closely with Oliver Morley and his team in the future as we focus on safeguarding the retirement savings of millions of people.” 

Morley will be the PPF’s fourth chief executive. 

See IPE’s December 2017 magazine for an interview with Alan Rubenstein

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