Board of Directors

Gerard Van Rooijen, nominated as Chairman of the Board of Directors of NN Insurance Belgium

Gerard van Rooijen has been working for NN Group for more than 20 years. As an econometrist, he joined Delta Lloyd in 1996, where he held a range of management positions at Delta Lloyd Schade, OHRA, Leven Particulier and Inkomen & Verzuim. In the final year before its acquisition by Nationale-Nederlanden, he was CEO Life at Delta Lloyd. Within NN Group, Gerard went on to work as director of Zakelijke Schade, as director of Schade Intermediair and, finally, as director of Pensions at Nationale-Nederlanden.

So, in addition to that latter role, he will now also take on a directorship for NN Insurance Belgium, becoming chairman of the Board of Directors, subject to approval from the National Bank of Belgium. 

Gerard holds a Master of Science in Econometrics degree from the ‘Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam’

In his spare time, Gerard enjoys participating in sport. In the past, he has often taken part in cycle races and even today both his road racing bike and mountain bike are never far away. He also enjoys running and competes in half marathons.

Bernard Kuiper, Member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Audit & Risk Committee

Bernard Kuiper is Head of Capital Management and Acquisitions & Divestments at NN Group. In this role, he manages capital for NN Group and its subsidiaries, as well as executing M&A transactions and was heavily involved in the IPO of NN Group.

Prior to stepping into this role, Bernard held several senior financial roles within NN Group and ING Group. He was Managing Director Acquisitions & Divestments and led several large divestments in the United States, Canada and Asia, as part of ING Group’s restructuring. Before that, he was appointed as Chief Financial Officer for ING Direct France and Senior Manager for Investor Relations for ING Group.

Bernard has acquired two Master’s degrees: one each in Certified Finance Management and Certified Management Accounting. Additionally, Bernard studied Business Economics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and successfully completed a General Management Programme (CEDEP) at the INSEAD Business School.

As an avid sports enthusiast, Bernard spends his leisure time trying his hand at everything from sailing and water skiing to kite-surfing and snowboarding.

Renia Kulej, Member of the Board of Directors

Renia Kulej has been appointed Head of HR at NN Insurance International in July 2015. In this role she has been designing and driving an overarching HR strategy that strengthens the business agenda for NN Insurance International, consisting of 11 countries. Prior to this role, she served as a HR Director and Board Member in ING/NN Poland where she led organizational change towards multichannel growth strategy & customer experience. Before she joined NN she had led HR during organizational transformations and expansion to the Polish market in international companies like SABMiller Group and Tesco.

She is truly passionate about connecting people & strategy and introducing innovations in organizations.

She holds a degree in Foreign Trade from Cracow Academy of Economics and a post graduate degree in Journalism from Cracow Academy of Pedagogy. She has recently expanded her knowledge at University of Michigan Ross Business School during a program for HR executives.

Opera and classical music are her passions outside of work. She enjoys spending time with family and friends as well as travelling and practicing yoga.

Martijn Hoogeweegen, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors

Martijn Hoogeweegen was appointed Chief Executive Officer of NN Belgium on 1 September 2023.

Martijn can look back on a successful career that spans 23 years of management experience and expertise in the areas of finance and insurance. He started his career at AT Kearney consultants and in 2005 he joined ING, working as Principal Consultant in Strategy& Business Change. Since 2010, he has held several senior leadership roles at NN Group and in 2021 he was appointed Director of Life & Pension Services. Under his leadership, the Life and Pension Services organisation significantly improved customer engagement. He also helped to simplify the IT landscape and the Life and Pension Services processes.

Martijn’s expertise will help him to further grow NN in the Belgium pension and insurance market and to ensure the continued expansion of a strong distribution network.

Martijn obtained his master’s degree, followed by a PhD in Business Administration from Erasmus University in Rotterdam.

Martijn enjoys spending his free time playing tennis and going out with friends and family. He can also often be found at Feyenoord’s De Kuip Stadium with his son and/or daughter.

Angela Lissenburg-Rademaker, Chief Risk Officer and Member of the Board of Directors

Angela Lissenburg-Rademaker was appointed Chief Risk Officer and Member of the Board of Directors at NN Belgium on 1st April 2022.

Angela has more than 20 years of experience with Nationale-Nederlanden and has held (management) positions in areas such as risk management, capital management and pricing.

With her far-ranging expertise in the field, combined with her passion for leadership, Angela will make it her mission to ensure that risk awareness is not only a matter for risk experts, but for the company as a whole.

Angela gained a Master’s degree in Econometrics at the University of Rotterdam, and in Actuarial Studies at the University of Amsterdam, after which she completed her postdoctoral training as an ‘AG actuary’.

Her love for the coast took Angela to Middelburg (Zeeland, Netherlands), where she lives with her family. At the weekend, she likes to take her family and puppy for walks on the beach and enjoy a breath of fresh air. Apart from her work, she likes making (city) trips and travelling with her family, cooking and baking and helping out as a volunteer where her children are involved in sport.

Dieter Vermeire, Chief Finance Officer and Member of the Board of Directors

Dieter Vermeire started his career within the Group in 2009 as a Valuation Actuary, before fast-tracking his way to become Head of the Valuation Team in 2010.

Between 2003 and 2009, before joining the Group, Dieter worked at the Fortis Holding as a financial analyst within the Risk and Capital Management departement.

Dieter is able to comprehend complex risk matters. His challenge in today’s environment of economic and regulatory uncertainty is to maintain excellent balance sheet management through disciplined capital and risk management. He also ensures further enhancement of the risk management capabilities in line with the Solvency II requirements.

Dieter enjoys spending his free time with his three children and going for an occasional run or bike ride. The mountains are his favourite travel destination, whether for snowboarding or hiking.

Dieter holds master’s degrees in Applied Economics, Banking & Finance and Actuarial & Financial Engineering from Ghent and Leuven universities. Besides these, he is a certified actuary and chartered financial analyst.

From October 2014 until August 2021, Dieter was Chief Risk Officer at NN Insurance Belgium.

Since September 2021, he has taken on the role of Chief Finance Officer and is a member of the Board of Directors of NN Insurance Belgium.

Brigitte Boone, Member of the Board of Directors and the Audit & Risk Committee as an independent director

Brigitte Boone embarked on her career in 1985 in the legal department of the Generale Bank, then moved to the financial department in 1987 before becoming general manager of the tax department of Generale Bank, which then became Fortis Bank. In 2001, Brigitte became the head of the bank’s new business line, Private Equity, at the age of 41.

Five years later, she became the CEO of Investment Banking and in 2007 the CEO of Commercial and Investment Banking of Fortis Bank, where she was also responsible for Fortis Intertrust. At that time she was also appointed to the management committee and the Board of Directors of Fortis Bank.

After her career at Fortis, Brigitte assumed several positions as board member in various sectors, including in the listed companies GIMV and Wereldhave Belgium, as well as in a number of non- listed growth companies.

Thanks to her strong professional career in an international context, Brigitte is considered a reliable adviser in the public and private sector in Belgium.

Hans Verstraete, Member of the Board of Directors and member of Audit & Risk Committee as an independent director

Hans Verstraete has been a member of the NN Board of Directors since 1st January 2022. Hans has a lengthy and varied career in the insurance industry behind him. He began his career with Nateus (formerly Naviga), where he became CEO in 1995. After that, he held various other senior management and executive positions with companies such as Ethias and KBC. From 2014 to 2016, Hans was president of Assuralia, the professional association for insurance companies. Hans is also currently vice chairman of Red Cross Flanders.

His extensive expertise and knowledge of the insurance industry, his capabilities as an analytical and strategic thinker and his skills in stakeholder management are invaluable for NN’s continued growth in Belgium.

Hans holds a Master’s degree in applied economic sciences and also graduated in fiscal sciences.

In his spare time, Hans enjoys travelling and playing golf.

Board of Directors