This October, after 4 years at the helm of ING Asigurari, Bram Boon will take over ING's Greek subsidiary. In Romania, he will leave behind an insurance business that has doubled turnover since 2004 and a private pension fund that ranks first on the market with almost 1.4 million customers.
"It is the right time for me to leave, after the success I've had in the field of private pensions," says Bram Boon, the Dutchman who brought Romania's name to the fore throughout the ING group, after he succeeded in gaining the top position in private pensions.
Boon, 52, arrived in Romania in 2004, after having run the Indonesian insurance branch of ING.
He believes his biggest achievement is the lobby he made for pension reform. The lobby activities and the massive investments turned ING into a business that will be worth billions of euros over the next few decades.
The almost 1.4 million customers ING attracted to its mandatory pension fund were lured by the 43,000 marketing agents hired by the company and by an advertising campaign worth millions of euros. Whereas in the pension business, Boon's mission was to gain the leading market position, in insurance he probably had an even tougher task, that of maintaining the leading position. The first change he made after taking over ING Asigurari de Viata was to separate the company's management from ING Bank. At the time, the company's turnover revolved around 75m euros, however within four years turnover had doubled and reached 150m euros. The secret? The sales force was doubled and new products were launched. Despite the market's growth, says Boon, Romanians still do not have a culture of saving. "I'm disappointed we don't have fiscal incentives for life insurance and the ones for voluntary pensions are very low," says Boon.
The low level of savings also changed the company's business plans. In early
