DENMARK – Danish pension giant ATP has appointed Carsten Stendevad, a managing director at Citigroup in New York, as successor to outgoing chief executive Lars Rohde.

Rohde, who has been head of the DKK790bn (€106bn) ATP Group since 1998, was in August named governor of Denmark's national bank.

He was honoured for his contributions to the pensions industry at the IPE Awards last month in Copenhagen.

Stendevad, currently global head of the financial strategy group at Citigroup, attended school in Brussels and holds degrees from the University of Copenhagen and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Jørgen Søndergaard, chairman of ATP's supervisory board, said Stendevad was the "natural heir" to Rohde, whom he praised for doing a "fantastic" job in his 15 years in the role.

"With his extensive professional knowledge, network and global vision, Carsten Stendevad can help bring ATP even more into play in a global context and ensure ATP's decisions are to an even greater extent based on international trends and developments," Søndergaard added, praising the new appointment as a "candid and thoughtful person".

Stendevad said ATP had "a key political, social and economic role" to play, both domestically and overseas.

In his current role at Citigroup, the Dane advised the bank's largest clients – which included pension and sovereign wealth funds.

Stendevad has been with Citi for a decade, joining to establish and head up its emerging market strategy group in 2002, before being promoted to his current role in 2007.

In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, he also sits on the bank's corporate and investment banking operating committee, the strategic cross-border transaction committee and its editorial board.

Prior to Citigroup, he was a project manager for McKinsey, based in both Copenhagen and New York.

ATP CIO Henrik Gade Jepsen has been named acting chief executive until Stendevad assumes the role, no later than May next year.

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