Dutch investment bank ING has appointed the former risk chief at HypoVereinsbank – UniCredit Bank to head up its risk operations in the latest senior leadership appointment since its former CEO moved to UBS.
Ljiljana Čortan will join ING in the role as of 1 January from UniCredit Bank’s HypoVereinsbank where she has served as chief risk officer since 2018.
Čortan replaces former chief risk officer, Steven van Rijswijk, who assumed the role of chief executive at ING in July earlier this year.
Čortan started her career in 1996 at Zagrebacka Banka, which became part of UniCredit Group in 2002. She held various roles including risk management, corporate banking, and project management.
During her tenure at UniCredit, she has held positions including head of strategy and marketing for corporate and investment banking, global head of financial institutions, banks, and sovereigns, and head of group credit transactions.
Čortan’s appointment follows the departure of ING’s long-standing CEO, Ralph Hamers, who departed this year to join UBS.
UBS confirmed in February that Hamers would become group CEO in September, replacing Sergio Ermotti who had led the investment bank for the past nine years. Hamers was chief executive officer at ING since 2013 and had been with the bank since 1991.
In June, ING named Steven van Rijswijk as its new chief executive officer. He succeeded Hamers in the summer after serving in various senior roles at the bank, including chief risk officer.