ING Direct CEO announces retirement

Vaughn Richtor, CEO of ING Direct Australia and CEO of ING Retail Banking Asia, has decided to retire from the business mid-2016.

ING Direct chair Michael Katz praised Mr Richtor as a visionary leader who was instrumental in setting up ING Direct in Australia.

“Vaughn will be leaving a highly successful bank that he guided with passion and enthusiasm from the very first day of business,” Mr Katz said.

Mr Richtor was founding CEO of ING Direct Australia, creating Australia’s sixth largest retail bank within 10 years between 1996 and 2006. He remained on the board while pursuing his career with ING in Asia before returning to Australia as CEO more than three years ago.

Mr Richtor has also been a major contributor to the success of ING beyond Australia, having led India’s ING Vysya as managing director and non-executive director through a major turnaround between 2006 and 2009. He also led ING commercial and retail banking operations across Asia between 2009 and 2012.

He will continue to represent ING on the board of TMB Bank Thailand and act as an advisor to ING in the region.

Mr Richtor will be succeeded by Uday Sareen, currently president of operating management committee at Kotak Mahindra Bank India.

Mr Sareen joined ING Vysya Bank in 2007 from Citibank India, where he headed up the branch banking business. As ING Vysya’s head of retail and private banking, Mr Sareen managed the retail bank’s turnaround and oversaw a national expansion with the roll-out of more than 100 new branches in three years.

In November 2012 he moved to Germany as ING-DiBa’s chief strategy officer, returning to ING Vysya in April 2014 as deputy CEO, responsible for strategy and wholesale banking.

Following the merger of ING Vysya Bank with Kotak Mahindra Bank in April 2015, Mr Sareen has been responsible for the integration of ING Vysya’s retail banking businesses.

ING Group head of challengers and growth markets Aris Bogdaneris expressed his appreciation for Mr Richtor for his dedication and commitment over the past 24 years.

“He is a passionate and energetic leader who has developed ING Direct Australia into today’s strong bank with high engagement from customers and employees,” he said.

“With his broad international experience in both retail and wholesale banking, he has also played a significant role in growing ING’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

“I am pleased that he will be succeeded by Uday, whose long-standing experience in retail banking will contribute to ING Direct Australia going from strength to strength.”

Mr Sareen is expected to start the ING Direct Australia CEO role in June this year.

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