PensionDanmark is working to ensure good and effective leadership and management of the company. A main priority is to ensure that PensionDanmark’s administration and activities reflect the interest of our shareholders and members, and that the company’s activities and risks are responsibly monitored and managed.
Qualifications and skills of the Board of Directors
The Board of Directors of PensionDanmark shall ensure that its members possess adequate collective knowledge, skills, and experience to be able to understand the undertaking's activities, including the risks involved. Therefore, the composition of the Board of Directors should reflect a sufficiently broad experience. The Board of Directors has established a policy for diversity in the board. The purpose of the policy is to promote sufficient diversity in qualifications and skills among the board members. According to the policy, the board must continuously consider the presence of special experiences and skills focusing on the specific conditions and requirements for management that characterize a life insurance and pension company. The board conducts at least one annual overall evaluation of the composition and skill level of the board in relation to PensionDanmark's business model, strategy, and risk profile, as well as an evaluation of the collaboration between the Board of Directors and the Executive Board.
Board member and Chairman of the Risk and Audit Committee, Peter Engberg Jensen, has management experience from the financial sector, including as former CEO of the Nykredit Group.
PensionDanmark ensures that the company has staff and financial resources which are necessary to ensure sufficient opportunities for introductory courses and continuing training courses for members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Board.
New members of the Board of Directors complete, as soon as possible (and no later than 12 months) after taking up the position on the board a basic course in the skills necessary to fulfill the obligations and functions required of board members in a life insurance and pension company such as PensionDanmark. The course is conducted by an external course provider approved by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (in Danish: Finanstilsynet).
Additionally, the Executive Board and relevant members of PensionDanmark's management team provide new board members with an introduction, including to PensionDanmark's business model and strategy.
New members of the Executive Board receive internal training in areas that are important for PensionDanmark's business model.
If the Board of Directors, based on the Board’s self-evaluation, finds that there is a need to supplement the existing skills of the Board of Directors and/or the Executive Board, and that this could be achieved through further training courses, it is ensured that the necessary resources are allocated for this purpose.
Transparency
PensionDanmark emphasizes maintaining and further developing a high level of transparency in all regards concerning the company’s activities, good information and dialogue with the stakeholders, as well as high professional standards for the work of the Board of Directors and the Executive Management. This is ensured by approving an information- and communication policy and by examining the effectiveness of the company’s communication.
The composition of the Board of Directors
The report from the Danish Pension Market Council (in Danish: Pensionsmarkedsrådet) on good and efficient corporate governance in occupational pension schemes, which was published in June 2004, recommends that the number of board members can be considered reduced in the long term. PensionDanmark’s Board of Directors consists of 17 members, as the shareholders’ value the importance of a wide spectrum of Danish collective agreement parties on the board to ensure ownership, insight, and influence. The advantages of this composition are assessed to outweigh the benefits of reducing the number of board members.