David White

David White has spent his whole career encouraging people to save for their (or their children’s) future.

He spent 19 years in pensions where his last job was Pensions Products Director at Prudential, then the largest pensions and life assurance company in the UK. He was responsible for the profitable marketing of corporate and individual pension schemes. In 1999, David was appointed Chief Executive of The Children’s Mutual, the UK’s only specialist focused solely on long-term savings for children’s futures.

David has been at the heart of the development of the Child Trust Fund (CTF). Starting with discussing the concept with one of the UK’s leading think-tanks, the Institute for Public Policy Research and ultimately helping Government and officials to construct the policy. Throughout his career, David has addressed many audiences, but perhaps the most important being a discussion chaired at 10 Downing Street by then Prime Minister Tony Blair. The process began with consultation from HM Treasury and Inland Revenue and resulted, via Green and White Papers, in the Child Trust Fund Bill which received Royal Assent in 2005. He is the most quoted and interviewed person on the subject of CTFs.

The Children’s Mutual has the largest number of distributors of the CTF in the UK, working with organizations from retailers on the high streets to banks and building societies. Promotion of the CTF is key and The Children’s Mutual has partnerships with many key stakeholder partners in health, voluntary, and social services arenas.

David is a Board member of the Tax Incentivized Savings Association. He is a Trustee of pfeg, the Personal Finance Education Group, a charity which helps teachers prepare Personal Finance lessons. David is also a member of an advisory group on Social Policy for the Institute of Public Policy Research and, in his personal capacity, is a member of the FSA’s Financial Capability Steering Group and a Trustee of the Family and Parenting Institute.

He is married to Melanie and has three children.

Summit Video: David White
From Civil Rights to Silver Rights; Defining Success for Financial Literacy