Sarah Russell Appointed CEO of AEGON's Global Asset Management Business
By Aegon N.v., PRNEMonday, July 12, 2010
THE HAGUE, The Netherlands, July 13, 2010 - AEGON has appointed Sarah Russell as the new Chief Executive Officer of
AEGON Asset Management, effective August 1. Ms. Russell succeeds Erik van
Houwelingen, who is leaving AEGON to pursue career opportunities elsewhere.
Ms. Russell's appointment marks a new stage in the development of AEGON's
global asset management organization, which was established in October last
year.
Ms. Russell has spent nearly 20 years in international finance and
investment management both in Europe and her native Australia. Ms. Russell
has a master's in applied finance from Macquarie University in Sydney and
was, until recently, the Chief Executive Officer of ABN AMRO Asset
Management.
"Sarah Russell brings significant experience and expertise to this key
leadership position within our global asset management organization," said
AEGON CEO Alex Wynaendts. "Her appointment comes at an important time
following the successful start-up phase of this new business over the past
two years. Sarah will be charged with leading AEGON Asset Management into a
new period of development and growth, in line with our ambitions.
"We are very grateful to Erik van Houwelingen for his considerable
contributions in bringing together our asset management capabilities of the
Americas, Europe and Asia into one global company. Today, we are well
positioned to achieve the objectives we established when launching the
organization: to improve service and extend our broader expertise for the
benefit of our customers, to make better use of our worldwide resources and
to build a leading global asset management business."
AEGON Asset Management was officially launched last year as part of a
wider objective to manage AEGON more as one international company. The
organization groups together AEGON's asset management businesses in North
America, Europe and Asia, employing 1,300 people and managing more than EUR
200 billion in assets.
Ms. Russell's appointment is subject to regulatory approval.
About AEGON
As an international life insurance, pension and investment 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.
First quarter Full year Key figures - EUR 2010 2009 Underlying earnings before tax 488 million 1.2 billion New life sales 538 million 2.1 billion Gross deposits (excl. run-off) 7.8 billion 28 billion Revenue generating investments (end of period) 388 billion 363 billion
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; - Effects of deliberations of the European Commission regarding the aid we received from the Dutch State in December 2008; - 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.
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
Contact information: 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, ir at aegon.com
Tags: AEGON N.V., July 13, Netherlands, Target, The hague, The Netherlands