The former director general of the Association of British Insurers will become chairman of trustees at one of the UK’s largest defined benefit (DB) pension schemes.
Otto Thoresen has been appointed chairman of the BT Pension Scheme, taking over from Paul Spencer, who spent seven years in the position.
BTPS is one of the country’s largest company pension schemes, with around 292,000 members and assets under management of around £51bn.
Jan du Plessis, BT's chairman, said Mr Thorensen "brings a wealth of pensions, business and financial experience to the role, alongside his considerable board chairmanship skills".
Mr Thoresen, who will start in the role in February, said: "Looking after the long term interests of over 290,000 scheme members, and their dependants, is a very important duty."
He is already chairman of the National Employment Savings Trust, the UK’s state-launched, multi-employer defined contribution scheme, which he joined in 2015 after quitting the ABI. He is understood to be retaining this part-time role.
Before the ABI, Mr Thoresen was chief executive of Aegon UK and the independent reviewer of the Treasury Review of Generic Financial Advice - the Thoresen Review - which was published in 2008 and led to the creation of the Money Advice Service.
In recent years BTPS has struggled with its funding level, mainly due to low interest rates and rising longevity, despite sustaining healthy investment returns.
In March, the company announced it would attempt to plug the scheme's £11.3bn deficit with a £4.5bn payment spread over three years. The plan saw the company issue at £2bn bond to help cover the payment schedule.
Mr Thoresen holds a range of other senior roles within financial services – he is chairman of Aviva International Insurance and Aberdeen Asset Management’s Life subsidiary. He is also a governor of the Pensions Policy institute.
