EUROPE – Lars Rohde, longstanding head of Denmark's ATP, has been honoured for his outstanding contribution to the pension industry at yesterday's IPE Awards 2012 in Copenhagen.

Rohde, who will become governor of the Danish central bank in the new year, joins industry veterans including Philippe Neyt, Anton van Nunen and European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority stakeholder group chair Chris Verhaegen in being awarded the Gold Award for Outstanding Industry Contribution.

The chief executive of ATP was not the only individual praised at yesterday's ceremony, with Geraldine Leegwater of the Dutch ABN AMRO Pension Fund hailed as Pension Fund Personality of the Year.

Accepting the award, Rohde said he was "honoured".

"As you may know, I am leaving the pension industry in a couple of weeks," he said. "It's been a privilege to be the CEO of ATP and have the most incredible crowd around me. A huge thank you to my colleagues and my friends at ATP. Thank you very much."

Meanwhile, Leegwater, who is head of investment and communications at ABN AMRO's scheme, was awarded the Gold Award for Pension Fund Personality of the Year for the "dedication" she brought to her role at the €11.5bn fund.

Upon receiving her award, she said: "It is my strong belief that the future of this industry lies not with further regulation – but with innovation and the courage to make a difference."

The awards ceremony, IPE's twelfth, saw PensionDanmark named Best European Pension Fund.

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