Last checked at 8 Mar 2011 07:00
AEGON appoints Adrian Grace CEO AEGON UK
* Otto Thoresen to join Association of British Insurers as Director General
AEGON today announces the appointment of Adrian Grace as Chief ExecutiveOfficer of AEGON UK. He will replace Otto Thoresen, who is leaving AEGON aftersix years as UK CEO. Mr. Thoresen will become Director General of theAssociation of British Insurers (ABI). Mr. Grace, whose appointment is subjectto approval by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) will take up his new roleas of April 1, 2011.Adrian Grace is currently Chief Operating Officer of AEGON UK, a position hehas held for the past twelve months. During that time, he has been responsiblefor developing and implementing the major business transformation plan forAEGON UK currently underway.AEGON introduced a restructuring program in June 2010 aimed at reducingoperating costs by 25% of the life and pensions business by end 2011 in orderto improve the returns of the business. At the same time, efforts are aimed atrefocusing the business on the two growth markets of At Retirement andWorkplace Savings, in which AEGON already has strong positions.Adrian Grace joined AEGON in February 2009. In his first year with AEGON, asDirector of Group Development, he was responsible for delivering greateroperational efficiency in AEGON's sales force and in its owned adviserbusinesses Origen and Positive Solutions. Prior to joining AEGON, Mr. Graceheld a variety of business development roles at GE Capital, during which he wasbased also in the United States and Far East. He also held managing directorroles at Sage Group, HBoS and Barclays Insurance.AEGON's CEO Alex Wynaendts stated: "We are grateful to Otto Thoresen for hisyears of leadership and many contributions to AEGON UK throughout his longcareer. Adrian Grace is uniquely qualified to lead our organization in the UKforward given his extensive industry experience and the significant role he hasplayed in repositioning our business over the past several months. Adrian iscommitted to deliver on the strategic priorities for AEGON UK which are aimedat achieving a new era of focused growth in the At Retirement and WorkplaceSavings markets."Adrian Grace said: "I am very pleased to have the opportunity to lead AEGON UKat such an important time for our business. I will continue with the strategywhich the AEGON UK leadership team has introduced over the past twelve months.My aim will be to execute our plans well in order to achieve improvedperformance and leverage the strengths that benefit us as part of a globalcompany. AEGON UK has the potential to be one of the winners in this market inthe future and I'm looking forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead." Contact informationMedia relations: Greg Tucker+31(0)70 344 8956gcc-ir@aegon.com
Investor relations: Gerbrand Nijman
+31 (0)70 344 8305
877 548 9668 - toll free USA only
ir@aegon.comwww.aegon.comAbout AEGON
As an international life insurance, pension and asset management company based in The Hague, AEGON has businesses in over twenty markets in the Americas, Europe and Asia. AEGON companies employ approximately 27,500 people and have some 40 million customers across the globe.
Key figures - EUR Full year 2010 Full year 2009 Underlying earnings 2.0 billion 1.2 billion before tax New life sales 2.2 billion 2.1 billion Gross deposits (excl. 33 billion 28 billion run-off) Revenue generating 413 billion 363 billion investments (end of period) Forward-looking statementsThe statements contained in this press release that are not historical factsare forward-looking statements as defined in the US Private SecuritiesLitigation Reform Act of 1995. The following are words that identify suchforward-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 asthey relate to AEGON. These statements are not guarantees of future performanceand involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict.We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-lookingstatements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on theseforward-looking statements, which merely reflect company expectations at thetime of writing. Actual results may differ materially from expectationsconveyed in forward-looking statements due to changes caused by various risksand uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited tothe 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, persistence 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 Americas, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and new 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; * 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;
* Our inability to obtain consent from the Dutch Central Bank to repurchase
our Core Capital Securities; and
* Our inability to divest Transamerica Reinsurance on terms acceptable to us.
Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting the company aredescribed in the company's filings with Euronext Amsterdam and the USSecurities 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 expresslydisclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates orrevisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect anychange in the company's expectations with regard thereto or any change inevents, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
MARCH 8, 2011
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