OREANDA-NEWS. August 12, 2014. Eli Leenaars, member of the Management Board Banking and Head of Challengers & Growth Countries will leave ING. Eli Leenaars will step down from his position as of 1 October 2014 by mutual agreement. Any announcements on succession will be made if and when appropriate.

Eli Leenaars was appointed to the Executive Board of ING Group in 2004 and in 2009 became a member of the Management Board Banking with responsibility for ING’s international retail and direct banking operations. Eli Leenaars’ career in the financial sector spans more than 25 years. He joined ING in 1991 and over the years held various management positions, including chairman of ING Poland and of ING Latin America and member of Management Committee ING South-West Europe and Head of Retail Financial Services.

Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING said: "We appreciate Eli’s dedicated service to ING and its customers for many years. During his tenure he successfully managed various ING businesses and, in more recent years, he carefully navigated them through the financial crisis with continued strong performance. Next to that he played a pivotal role in the execution of ING's restructuring process. I want to thank him and wish him well in his future endeavours.”

Eli Leenaars said: “After more than ten years in the board of ING, during some of the most challenging periods for our sector, I think it is the right time f