ING Direct 2002 Annual Report Download - page 24

Annual Report 2002 · ING Group 21
Report of the Supervisory Board

Lutgart van den Berghe,
Hans Tietmeyer and
Mijndert Ververs
Lutgart van den Berghe will retire after having
served the maximum term of twelve years. She
was appointed member of the Supervisory Board
of Nationale-Nederlanden in 1991 while serving
as a professor in Insurance Law at the Erasmus
University in Rotterdam. At 39, she was the
youngest member of the Supervisory Board at
that time and she remains the youngest member
at her retirement. In 1994, she was appointed
Supervisory Board member of ING Group and, as
a Belgian, was the first non-Dutch member.
Because of her great expertise, strong
involvement with ING and her thorough
preparation of the meetings, Lutgart van den
Berghe has played a very active role as member of
the Supervisory Board. Her critical questions were
always accompanied by the expression of her
vision on future developments, especially in the
international insurance field and in the area of
global developments regarding corporate
governance. ING has benefited thoroughly from
her drive and commitment.
The appointment in 2000 of Hans Tietmeyer
– former governor of the Deutsche Bundesbank –
fitted well within the period in which ING was
working on strengthening its position in Europe.
In the three years he was member of the
Supervisory Board, Mr. Tietmeyer has shared his
knowledge of macro-economic developments and
of local economies in the most important world
markets. His keen vision on the developments in
the world economy has been of great value.
Just like Lutgart van den Berghe, Mijndert
Ververs was appointed member of the Super-
visory Board of Nationale-Nederlanden in 1991.
In 1994, he was appointed member of the Super-
visory Board of ING Group. In 1996, he became
vice-chairman and for more than two years he
temporarily took over the chairmanship after the
then chairman had suddenly passed away. From
1999 until 2001, he was a member of the
Remuneration and Nomination Committee. From
1994 until 1996, he was a member of the Audit
Committee. In 2001, he became a member of the
Audit Committee again, this time as chairman.
His experience as CEO of Wolters-Kluwer always
revealed itself in the wisdom he displayed when
inspiring and supporting the Executive Board in
its strategy and policy-making and also by being
critical whenever necessary.
The Supervisory Board and the Executive
Board bid farewell to three Supervisory Board
members who, all from their own background
and with their specific experience and expertise,
have been of exceptional significance. This calls
for a special word of thanks for the way in which
they have devoted their talents to ING.
THE SUPERVISORY BOARD AND
THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
As per 1 July 2003, Hessel Lindenbergh will retire
as member of the Executive Board.
Annual accounts and dividend
This annual report contains the report of the
Executive Board and a summary of the annual
accounts. The full annual accounts – available
through www.ing.com, where a printed version
of the annual accounts can be ordered as well –
were adopted by the Supervisory Board and
have now been submitted for the approval of
the General Meeting of Shareholders. This also
goes for the dividend for 2002, which has been
set at EUR 0.97 per share. After the interim
dividend of EUR 0.48 per share, the final
dividend will amount to EUR 0.49 per share.
Shareholders can take up their final dividend
either in shares or in cash.
Gratitude
The Supervisory Board would like to express its
gratitude to the Executive Board and to all
employees worldwide for their efforts during
the past difficult year. ING’s healthy basis and its
strong market positions are an excellent starting
point to serve the clients to their satisfaction, also
in these economically less favourable times. In
this, we would like to wish the Executive Board,
the general managers of the business units and
all employees much success.
AMSTERDAM, 10 MARCH 2003
THE SUPERVISORY BOARD