ING Retail Annuity Aligns Talent With Emerging Customer Needs

ING Retail Annuity business has announced three key changes to its leadership team that will further align expertise and resources to match the growing demand for its savings and income products, according to Harry N. Stout, president and head of ING Retail Annuity business group.

Chris Welp has been named chief operating officer, Alice Su has been named head of retail annuity product management, and Michele Burkholder has been named head of strategic planning and communication. All three positions report directly to Stout.

Stout said the changes reflect the growth of ING's variable and fixed annuity businesses and the company's sharpened focus on supporting distribution partners and their clients by making ING easier to do business with. "The most immediate product and service advantages we can deliver our customers will often come from the talent we apply to supporting our relationship with them -- that's what these changes are about," Stout said.

  - As chief operating officer, Chris Welp will be responsible for annuity
    business services, project management, Six Sigma efforts, annuity
    technology, licensing & commissions, and the customer contact center.
    Welp has held increasingly responsible positions with ING and its
    predecessor company, Equitable of Iowa, over the past 17 years.  He will
    remain based in Des Moines, IA.

  - Alice Su (FSA, MAAA) most recently was head of annuity product
    development.  In her new role as head of retail annuity product
    management, she will oversee product development and management for
    fixed and variable product lines and product technical management.
    Before joining ING in 2002, Alice was with Aegon/Transamerica's retail
    annuity and reinsurance businesses, and prior to that she was a
    consultant with KPMG.  Su is based in West Chester, PA.

  - Burkholder, who most recently was head of planning, analysis and control
    for the retail annuity business, will add marketing, marketing
    communications, and e-business to her responsibilities.  She will focus
    on aligning the strategic planning and marketing functions to ensure the
    ING annuity customer experience reflects the company's brand and
    competitive priorities.  Burkholder has been with ING for seven years,
    and before that was with RelianceDirect and State Farm Insurance.  She
    is currently chair of the LIMRA Annuity Committee and on the board of
    directors of NAFA.  Burkholder is based in West Chester, PA.

  About ING U.S. Retail Annuities Group

ING's U.S. Retail Annuities Group, a Top-10 seller of both fixed and variable annuities through financial professionals, strives to develop a broad range of innovative annuity products and services to serve the retirement and long-term financial needs of Americans. ING Annuities' mission is to provide financial advisors the products, information and resources to help their clients build a solid foundation for their long-term financial goals, particularly retirement.

About ING

ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management to over 60 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse workforce of over 119,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.

In the U.S., the ING family of companies offers a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients which include life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, direct banking, institutional investment management, annuities, employee benefits, financial planning, and reinsurance. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves over 14 million customers across the nation. For more information, visit www.ing.com.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: chuck.eudy@us.ing.com

SOURCE: ING U.S. Financial Services

CONTACT: Press inquiries, Chuck Eudy of ING U.S. Financial Services,
+1-770-980-5209, or mobile, +1-770-490-6420, or chuck.eudy@us.ing.com

Web site: http://www.ing.com/