ING announced that Ljiljana Čortan will be appointed head of Wholesale Banking and succeed Andrew Bester no later than at the day of the Annual General Meeting in April 2026. Ljiljana is currently chief risk officer (CRO), member of the Executive Board and the Management Board Banking and will continue in these roles until the changes take effect, at which point she will step down from the Executive Board of ING Groep N.V.
Ljiljana joined ING and took on her current role in 2021. She has more than 25 years of international banking experience in various positions in risk, corporate banking, strategy and business development, among others as head of Corporate and Investment Banking Strategy for Central and Eastern Europe and global head of Financial Institutions, Banks and Sovereigns at UniCredit. Before joining ING, she was a member of the Management Board and CRO at HypoVereinsbank, a subsidiary of UniCredit Germany.
Steven van Rijswijk, CEO of ING, commented: “I am pleased that we have an excellent internal successor with a strong track record of execution and leadership; she is well suited to lead our Wholesale Banking business. Ljiljana knows the business and organisation very well and has a great understanding of the many opportunities we have to further strengthen, diversify and grow our business.”
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“I would like to thank Andrew for his contributions during the last five years and his leadership of Wholesale Banking. Under his leadership, the foundations of our Wholesale Bank have strengthened significantly. His focus on client value, scaling up our business and attention to an inclusive culture have been highly valued. Andrew has positioned our wholesale bank well for further growth over the coming years.”
Ljiljana Čortan said: “I look forward to taking up the leadership of our Wholesale Banking business. In my role as CRO and through the many contacts I have had with our colleagues and clients, I have seen the dedication and expertise we have, and I believe we have all the necessary elements to realise our full potential. I look forward to working with our teams to deliver on the next phase of our strategy to become the best European Wholesale bank. I would like to thank Andrew for our cooperation over the years, and I look forward to continuing that for the coming months.”
Andrew Bester joined ING in April 2021 with more than 30 years of experience in banking and professional services including executive roles at Lloyds, Standard Chartered and Co-operative Bank.
Andrew said: “After a fulfilling and rewarding time at ING, it is time to step down from the Management Board and return to my UK home base to start the non-executive phase of my career. It has been a pleasure to help shape the bank to what it is today. I am grateful for the support, trust and collaboration shown by our clients. Thank you also to my fellow board members and all ING colleagues who have made my time so enjoyable. I look forward to continuing our good work in the coming months and in supporting an orderly handover to my board colleague Ljiljana.”
The appointment of Ljiljana Čortan as head of Wholesale Banking is subject to regulatory approval. The search for a successor as CRO has been initiated, and announcements will be made in due course.
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