ING shakes up innovation office; Legrand steps aside

Posted on October 4, 2020 by Design in Design Innovation | 0 Comments

ING is to combine all of its disparate innovation programmes into a single dedicated unit, ING Neo, reporting directly to chief executive officer Steven van Rijswijk.

The move will see the reassignment of the Dutch bank’s chief innovation officer and architect of fintech fund ING Ventures, Benoît Legrand to a new, as yet undefined role, following a five-year stint running the bank’s chief innovation office and the WB innovation office.

ING Neo will instead be headed by Annerie Vreugdenhil, the bank’s current head of wholesale banking innovation.

In a statement, the bank says the realignment is intended to “increase the speed and impact of our performance”.

ING has been seen a front-runner in the innovation arena under the leadership of former CEO Ralph Hamer and his ‘Think Forward’ digital strategy. Hamer quit the Dutch lender in Feburary to join UBS, taking up his new role at the beginning of September.

By taking on a direct reporting brief, incoming chief van Rijswijk is clearly looking to get a grip on the bank’s sprawling innovation activities.