AEGON to Detail Progress in Execution of Strategy at Investor Conference
By Aegon N.v., PRNEMonday, December 6, 2010
Sharpened Focus on Core Activities and Capturing Efficiencies in US
THE HAGUE, Netherlands, December 7, 2010 - AEGON CEO Alex Wynaendts will today outline the actions being taken in
the United States and Asia to sharpen its focus and capture additional
operational and cost efficiencies to strengthen the company's position in its
core businesses: life insurance, pensions and asset management. Mr. Wynaendts
and other senior management are hosting AEGON's annual Analyst & Investor
Conference today and tomorrow in New York City.
A main focus of the conference will be the actions underway in the US to
increase market share in the Life and Protection segment; implement a
business shift to more fee-based products in the Individual Savings and
Retirement markets; and pursue the growth opportunities in the Employee
Solutions and Pensions segments. Mark Mullin, a member of the Management
Board and CEO of AEGON Americas, will also cover recent actions to wind-down
the company's activities in the executive non-qualified benefit plan and
related Bank-Owned and Corporate-Owned Life Insurance markets in the United
States, as well as consolidate operations to improve efficiencies across the
organization.
AEGON also announces a new organizational structure for its operations in
Asia under the leadership of a newly-established CEO position for Asia.
Douglas Henck, who has held a number of senior management positions in the
insurance sector over the past twenty-five years, mostly in Asia, has been
appointed as AEGON's CEO of AEGON Asia. Whereas a number of AEGON's
businesses in Asia have been managed from the US, under the new structure all
Asian based insurance businesses will be managed as one regional division
headquartered in Hong Kong. The aim is to leverage product and distribution
expertise, capture efficiencies, and pursue organic growth of AEGON's
franchise in Asia. The integration, which will be carried out during 2011, is
in line with AEGON's strategy to achieve a greater geographical balance in
favor of those regions and markets that offer higher growth and returns in
the longer-term.
"We are making solid progress towards our ambition of securing a
leadership position for AEGON in all of our chosen markets in the coming five
years," said CEO Alex Wynaendts. "The steps we are taking are aimed at
sharpening our focus on the clear opportunities for our core business,
implementing significant cost efficiencies in the United States, Europe and
in Asia for the benefit of our customers, business partners and shareholders.
This is a unique time for our business given the trends in almost every
market which make clear the increasing need for individuals to take
responsibility for their long-term financial security. We are determined to
make the most of the significant opportunities from a position of strength,
operational excellence and recognized expertise."
The company will provide further details later today during AEGON's
Analyst & Investor Conference in New York City, webcast live at 5 pm EST and
accessible at www.aegon.com.
Biography
Douglas Henck
- CEO AEGON Asia - Appointed: January 1, 2011 - Nationality: US citizen
Douglas Henck has spent over 25 years in international insurance, with a
specific focus on Asia.
Educated in the US, he began his career at Aetna, Inc. in 1974. His last
position at Aetna was Senior Vice President, Aetna International, Inc.
responsible for the operations in Asia.
Mr. Henck moved to AIG as Senior Vice President of the AIG Life Division
based in Hong Kong in 1997, where he had numerous responsibilities in Asia
and globally.
Continuing in Hong Kong, Mr. Henck was named President of Sun Life
Financial Asia in 2000, where he remained until 2005.
From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Henck was based in Haifa, Israel, where he served
as Chief Financial Officer at the Bahá'í World Center, the global
administrative headquarters of the Bahá'í Faith.
Douglas Henck currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Asian Corporate
Governance Association, a position he has held since 2001.
Education:
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of New York, B.S. Mathematics (1974)
Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (1978)
Forward-looking statements
The statements contained in this press release that are not historical
facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the US Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following are words that identify such
forward-looking statements: aim, believe, estimate, target, intend, may,
expect, anticipate, predict, project, counting on, plan, continue, want,
forecast, goal, should, would, is confident, will, and similar expressions as
they relate to our company. These statements are not guarantees of future
performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are
difficult to predict. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise
any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which merely reflect company
expectations at the time of writing. Actual results may differ materially
from expectations conveyed in forward-looking statements due to changes
caused by various risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties
include but are not limited to the following:
- Changes in general economic conditions, particularly in the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom; - Changes in the performance of financial markets, including emerging markets, such as with regard to: - The frequency and severity of defaults by issuers in our fixed income investment portfolios; and - The effects of corporate bankruptcies and/or accounting restatements on the financial markets and the resulting decline in the value of equity and debt securities we hold; - The frequency and severity of insured loss events; - Changes affecting mortality, morbidity and other factors that may impact the profitability of our insurance products; - Changes affecting interest rate levels and continuing low or rapidly changing interest rate levels; - Changes affecting currency exchange rates, in particular the EUR/USD and EUR/GBP exchange rates; - Increasing levels of competition in the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and emerging markets; - Changes in laws and regulations, particularly those affecting our operations, the products we sell, and the attractiveness of certain products to our consumers; - Regulatory changes relating to the insurance industry in the jurisdictions in which we operate; - Acts of God, acts of terrorism, acts of war and pandemics; - Changes in the policies of central banks and/or governments; - Lowering of one or more of our debt ratings issued by recognized rating organizations and the adverse impact such action may have on our ability to raise capital and on our liquidity and financial condition; - Lowering of one or more of insurer financial strength ratings of our insurance subsidiaries and the adverse impact such action may have on the premium writings, policy retention, profitability of its insurance subsidiaries and liquidity; - The effect of the European Union's Solvency II requirements and other regulations in other jurisdictions affecting the capital we are required to maintain; - Litigation or regulatory action that could require us to pay significant damages or change the way we do business; - Customer responsiveness to both new products and distribution channels; - Competitive, legal, regulatory, or tax changes that affect the distribution cost of or demand for our products; - The impact of acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings, product withdrawals and other unusual items, including our ability to integrate acquisitions and to obtain the anticipated results and synergies from acquisitions; - Our failure to achieve anticipated levels of earnings or operational efficiencies as well as other cost saving initiatives; and - The impact our adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards may have on our reported financial results and financial condition.
Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting the
company are described in the company's filings with Euronext Amsterdam and
the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on
Form 20-F. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this
document. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, the company
expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any
updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to
reflect any change in the company's expectations with regard thereto or any
change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is
based.
About AEGON
As an international life insurance, pension and asset management company
based in The Hague, AEGON has businesses in over twenty markets in the
Americas, Europe and Asia. AEGON companies employ approximately 28,000
people and have some 40 million customers across the globe.
Third quarter Full year Key figures - EUR 2010 2009 Underlying earnings before tax 473 million 1.2 billion New life sales 527 million 2.1 billion Gross deposits (excl. run-off) 9.4 billion 28 billion Revenue generating investments (end of period) 405 billion 363 billion Contact information Media relations: Greg Tucker +31(0)70-344-8956 gcc-ir@aegon.com Investor relations: Gerbrand Nijman +31-(0)70-344-8305 877-548-9668 - toll free USA only ir@aegon.com www.aegon.com
Media relations: Greg Tucker, +31(0)70-344-8956, gcc-ir at aegon.com; Investor relations: Gerbrand Nijman, +31-(0)70-344-8305, 877-548-9668 - toll free USA only
Tags: AEGON N.V., December 7, Netherlands, The hague