Alex Ren Appointed the President of Ping An Group
Hong Kong, Shanghai, 19 November 2010 - Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (hereafter "Ping An" or "the Group", HKEX: 2318; SSE: 601318) today announced that the Board has accepted the retirement request by the President of Ping An Group Mr. Cheung Chi Yan Louis due to personal reasons. Louis's tenure will finish on 18 March 2011, and he will stay on as a director for the Group. Meanwhile, the Board has approved to appoint the Vice President & Chief Insurance Business Officer Mr. Ren Hui chuan Alex to succeed Louis as the President of the Group from 19 March 2011.
In an announcement of his retirement, Louis said his resignation was due to personal reasons. Louis is hoping to spend more time with family and move on to a new phase of his personal life, after working a hectic life for more than a decade.
Speaking of his resignation, Louis said: "It's been a pleasure to have had such a splendid and indelible decade with Ping An's Management team. Looking back, that was the most meaningful and cherished period of my career, and I am very proud of this phase of my life. During that period, under the leadership of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ping An Group Mr. Ma Ming Zhe Peter, I have been contributing to Ping An's remarkable development in different phases and dedicated myself to this company's revolution and innovation, healthy and rapid expansion. The support and assistance from the Board, supervisors and colleagues, especially Peter as my mentor, are much appreciated. Peter has invested a great deal of time and effort on helping me on my career path and we now have a solid friendship between us. Those days when we were working closely together, I enjoyed most the understanding and harmony in our working relationship. He is also my most admired Chinese entrepreneur, and the sound advice he gave me will stay with me forever. "
Louis added: "Nothing is more satisfying than seeing Ping An today as it has established an outstanding corporate governance system, a fully-developed and systematic management platform, a complete risks control system and a fully-integrated financial services model. I am glad to see a new generation of Ping An's Management team - they are young, loyal to the company, mature and their enthusiasm will mean there'll be no challenge that's too big for them. They are fully capable of taking Ping An to the next strategic development stage. I want to point out that Alex Ren is the best example of the talents Ping An has, among Ping An's new and young management team. And Alex is in many ways a Ping An man, having been with the Group for 18 years. In the years that he has been with the Group, he was posted to various departments to hone his management skills and has proven to us that he is a capable leader. He did extremely well in his roles as Finance Director and Chairman of Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance Company of China Ltd. (hereafter "Ping An P&C"). He has proven that he possesses the essential qualities to be at the helm of Ping An and I am glad and fully endorse him as my successor. I have great confidence in him."
Louis added, although he has resigned as Group President, he would stay on as a director in the Board. He will also continue to support the company's development and contribute to the Group. "I firmly believe Ping An will sustain a healthy, rapid, and sustainable development under Peter's leadership, and maintain its competitiveness and leading edge."
The Board of Ping An fully understands Louis in his resignation request and respects his personal decision. The Board is appreciative of Louis's contribution - Louis joined the Group in 2000, and has worked closely with the management team to proactively introduce best international practice to Ping An's operations and helped to train and nurture new talents for the management team. He has contributed tremendously to the transformation of Ping An and led the Group, in bold strides, on the road to globalization. Louis oversaw the H and A share listings of the Group, took the lead in strategic mergers and acquisitions, strengthened the company's capital base, lifted our corporate governance standards, and upgraded our management and operation systems. With his significant contributions, the Group successfully built an integrated financial services platform.
The Board added, "Louis is an excellent and professional manager. With his international vision, professional skills, diligence and high ethical standards, Louis has delivered an excellent performance and left the Board, the Supervisory Committee, the Executive Committee and Ping An staff a very good impression. The Board and Group Chairman Peter Ma would like to express our sincere gratitude to Louis for his tremendous commitment to Ping An over the years. The Board is pleased that Louis will stay on as a director and believes he will continue to contribute to the development of Ping An."
After much deliberation, the Board reached a unanimous consent on the appointment of Alex to take up the role of the President of the Group, effective on 18 March 2011.
The Board regards Alex highly, with his rich industry experience and excellent understanding and knowledge of the financial services sector. Alex began his career in the IT department of a subsidiary of Ping An. In the spent 18 years in Ping An, Alex served in over 10 positions. The positions he held included Assistant to the Director of Group Development & Revolution Center, Vice President of Ping An P&C, Group Financial Director, Group Vice President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ping An P&C, etc. In June 2010, he rejoined the Ping An Group operations, serving as the Vice President and Chief Insurance Business Officer. Alex took part in the H share and A share listings of the Group and has a thorough understanding of the domestic and overseas capital markets. He has led and worked on major strategic mergers and acquisitions of Ping An, in particular the merger of Shenzhen Commercial Bank, contributing to building an integrated financial services platform for the Group. Alex is not only a veteran in the insurance sector but also an expert in integrated financial services industry with solid experience in management and strong organizational and execution skills.
The Board is aware of Alex's outstanding performance in the past positions he held. He is a winner of Ping An's tough screening system and has made a name for himself in this fiercely competitive market. When he was Finance Director of the Group, Alex pioneered and promoted full budget management and established a more scientific and precise financial control process, which narrowed the gap between the Group's level of planning and financial management and the international standard. As Chairman and CEO of Ping An P&C, he was dedicated to the reforms of distribution channels and cost estimation system and upgrade of its overall customer services level, leading to more rapid business expansion and quality improvement of the business. As a result, Ping An P&C achieved rapid business growth that outpaced the industry for a few years consecutively while its service quality dramatically improved and profitability increased significantly. Alex has completely turned Ping An P&C around, and boosted its long-term competitiveness in the market.
Alex is a good representative of the Ping An-trained cadres. At only 41, Alex is at his prime years and has a lot to offer. Soon after he graduated from university, he joined Ping An in 1992. He is totally dedicated to his work and excels in his job no matter what position he is holding. He is not only known for his loyalty to Ping An, but also has amazing organization skills that impresses everybody who works with him. He has a profound knowledge of China, and keeps himself abreast with market changes. He also has great insights in global financial markets and market trends, having gained experience from international various renowned financial institutions.
The Board reckons that Alex's appointment reflects that Ping An has built an excellent cadre system, providing smooth operational transition during personnel changes. Ping An has established a comprehensive human resources system for effectively developing and nurturing talents. In the Group's 22 years of development, Ping An has nourished a group of young and talented management professionals for the Group's different business units. They are top talents with both knowledge of the local market and a vision of the international markets. The succession of the Group President's position actualizes the orderly succession of senior management positions, opening up an opportunity for the younger talents to take up important roles and face challenges, thereby consolidating Ping An's solid foundation of the management team for its sustainable, healthy and rapid development.
The Board added that Alex is the best candidate to be entrusted with such an important task, given his excellent and professional track record, and outstanding management skills. With the guidance of the Board, Alex will be able to fully grasp and execute the Board's business strategy for the Group, and accomplish the task entrusted him, together with other senior executives, leading Ping An to the next pinnacle in its development.
Ping An emphasizes that the Group has a well-developed corporate governance system, sound operation and management system, supported by long-term planning and a complete business platform for the efficient operations of the Group. Each subsidiary has its own independent management system and the Group's sustainable and healthy development will not be affected by personnel changes. Ping An will stay on course in the strategic development of the Group and pursue the corporate goal of providing integrated financial services, establishing a company and building a pool of management talents matching international standards. Ping An will continue its innovation to create value for its shareholders, deliver top-quality service to customers, provide career aspirations for its staff, and contribute more to society. In other words, Ping An will spare no effort in striving towards its goal of becoming the world's leading integrated financial services group.
Ping An is also announcing two new appointments: Mr. Yuan Siong Lee is promoted to the Vice President of the Group and Chief Insurance Business Officer and Ms. So Lan Ip promoted to the Vice President of the Company and Chief Internal Auditor.
Mr. Lee Yuan Siong, Singaporean, and a Fellow of Society of Actuaries, graduated from the University of Cambridge majoring in Finance. Mr. Lee was the Senior Vice President of the Prudential Taiwan and the General Manager of CITIC-Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd. He joined Ping An in 2004, starting as Special Assistant to Ping An Life Chairman. He was later promoted as General Manager, and Chairman and CEO of Ping An Life. Under the leadership of Mr. Lee, Ping An Life not only set up new benchmark standards for the industry, but also became a key contributor to the Group's revenue, profit, assets and customer base. He and his senior management team has laid down a successful business strategy for Ping An Life, implemented a healthy people-development model, developed and consolidated a strong management platform and set up a comprehensive product system. He has also embarked on online marketing initiatives and MIT business model, achieving continuous growth of the business segment. With 17 years of working experience, profound knowledge of the operation and business of the insurance industry, Mr. Lee is one of the few leading insurance professionals of the industry.
Ms. So Lan Ip, Hong Kong Chinese, graduated from College of Arts and Technology in London, England with a major in Computer Studies and previously worked with AIA and Prudential Hong Kong, etc. She joined Ping An in 2004, and has since taken up various positions, including Assistant to General Manager of Ping An Life, General Manager of Life Insurance Operations Centre General Manager, and Assistant to General Manager of Ping An Group and Chief Internal Auditor. Ms. So has extensive experience in the insurance industry and has expertise in life insurance operations. During her service as the Group's Assistant to General Manager and Chief Internal Auditor, Ms. So learned the best international practice in advanced risk management models, and through her own efforts established an innovative internal audit management model for insurance companies. This system is fully compatible with the Group's corporate governance structure, management model, business nature and scale, effectively enhancing the Group's risk management level.
The three appointments are still pending approval of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.
