Johan de Wit is our newly appointed IDN Ambassador in China.
Tell us about yourself?
In 1986, I started my career at Buck Consultants International, and from 1987-1989, I served as a Lieutenant in the Royal Dutch Navy. In 1989, I joined Nationale-Nederlanden, which became part of ING Group in 1991, where I started my career in life insurance and asset management (corporate & retail). In 2007, I moved to the banking side of ING Group.
In the Netherlands, I held various commercial and management roles in Corporate Pensions at Nationale-Nederlanden. In 1997, I left the Netherlands and worked in Mexico (CFO AFORE Bital at Banco Bital), Chile (Commercial Director ING Life), back to the Netherlands (Project Manager restructuring Head Office), Japan (President/CEO ING Life, Chairman ING Mutual Funds), UK (CEO ING Direct UK), and Turkey (Head of Retail ING Bank Turkey). Since 2013, I have been based in China, where I am seconded by ING Group to Bank of Beijing as Executive Director & Vice President.
I have a Doctoral Degree in Geography from the University of Utrecht and two Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degrees (Erasmus University, Rotterdam and Rochester University/ Simon Graduate School, USA). I also completed the Harvard Business School General Manager Program and the INSEAD International Director Programme (“IDP”). I am a Member of The Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland.
My wife and my three teenage daughters live with me in Beijing.
What are you planning to do to engage with members in your location?
Regarding my new role as IDP Ambassador for China, the IDP network in China is very small. I hope to be able to establish cooperation with the INSEAD China National Alumni Association and explore how we can promote the IDP programme in the large market.
Where will you fly to when you get on a plane next (and why)?
Regarding my next travel, as COVID has been well under control in China for almost one year, travelling within China is easy and common but going abroad is still (practically) not possible.
On my next trip abroad, I will certainly first fly to California to see my family whom I have not seen for a long time!
If you are an IDN member in China, please do reach out to Johan.