The board of supervisors of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has appointed new members to its two stakeholder groups, which will then appoint their respective chairs at the end of this month.

The appointment of the new members comes two and a half years after EIOPA first launched its two stakeholders groups, which are split between the Insurance & Reinsurance Group (IRSG) and the Occupational Pensions Stakeholder Group (OPSG).

Each group comprises 30 members in total, and 14 new members were appointed to the OPSG group.

Speaking with IPE, Chris Verhaegen, previous chair of the OPSG, said she would not run for the new chair position, as, under EIOPA’s stakeholder rules, members cannot hold the position for two consecutive terms.

She added that the chair of the OPSG would be elected during the first meeting of the new stakeholder groups, which will be held on 24 October.

 

The 14 members of the OPSG include the following people:

IORP representatives: Lukasz Budzynski, Fritz Janda, Michaela Koller, Niels Kortleve, Matti Leppälä, Joachim Schwind, Martine Van Peer, Benne Van Popta,

Petar Vlaić, Allan Whalley

Professional associations representatives: Charlotta Carlberg, Laure Delahousse,

Ruth Goldman, Philip Shier

SME representative: Thomas Keller

Representatives of beneficiaries: Marianne Moscoso-Osterkorn, Ellen Nygren,

Guillaume Prache, Marius Serban, Klaus Struwe

Employee representatives: Bruno Gabellieri, Hristina Mitreva, Douglas Taylor, Chris Verhaegen, Neil Walsh

Academics: Alberto Floreani, Pierpaolo Marano, Manuel Peraita, Ján Šebo, Federica Seganti

 

EIOPA said its stakeholder groups were an important part of the Frankfurt-based authority’s governance, as they helped analyse and assess the impact of its activities from different angles and perspectives.

“They also ensure a close dialogue not only with consumers, employees’ representatives, users of (re)insurance services (for IRSG), beneficiaries of pension schemes (for OPSG) and academics, but also with industry, SMEs and relevant professional associations,” EIOPA said.

Gabriel Bernardino, chairman at EIOPA, added: “We are confident that, under the new composition, the stakeholder groups have the right professional expertise to provide feedback on all of EIOPA’s activities.

“The diversity of interests represented within the stakeholder groups is crucial for the practical implementation of EIOPA’s mandate – to ensure financial stability and consumer protection in the EU.”