Cocktail Reception - Why insurers differ from banks by Mr. Bart De Smet, CEO Ageas

Ageas is an international insurance company with a heritage spanning more than 180 years. Ranked among the top 20 insurance companies in Europe, Ageas has chosen to concentrate its business activities in Europe and Asia, which together make up the largest share of the global insurance market. They are grouped around four segments: Belgium, United Kingdom, Continental Europe and Asia. It is an undisputed leader in the Belgian market for individual life and employee benefits, as well as a leading non-life player, through AG Insurance. Internationally Ageas has a strong presence in the UK, where it is the third largest player in private car insurance. The company also has subsidiaries in France, Germany and Hong Kong. Ageas has a track record in developing partnerships with strong financial institutions and key distributors in different markets around the world and successfully operates partnerships in Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal, China, Malaysia, India and Thailand. Ageas employs more than 11,000 people and has annual inflows of almost EUR 16 billion.

About the Speaker

Bart De Smet was born in 1957 and is a Belgian national. He not only earned a degree in mathematical sciences from the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), but also has diplomas in Actuarial Sciences and Managerial Sciences.
He began his career with Argenta in 1982. From 1985 to 1993, he served as Executive Vice President of the Life division at the Swiss insurance company Nationale Suisse.
In 1994, he joined ING Insurance Belgium, where he was a member of the Executive Committee, responsible for individual and group life insurance, health insurance & banking activities. Bart De Smet moved to Fortis in 1998, where he was a member of the management committee of Fortis AG and responsible for Fortis Employee Benefits.
In 2005, he took charge of the Broker Channel at Fortis Insurance Belgium, assuming the position of CEO of Fortis Insurance Belgium in 2007. In June 2009 he became CEO of Fortis, which was renamed Ageas following the general meetings of shareholders in April 2010. He has a specific responsibility for the Strategy & Development, Audit, Investor Relations, Communications and Corporate Secretariat departments.
Besides his responsibilities at Ageas, Bart De Smet is Chairman of Assuralia, a member of the Royal Association of Belgian Actuaries, a member of the Advisory Board to the Pensions Chair at the Catholic University of Louvain and a director of Credimo.
About the seminar

Mr. De Smet will share his unique vision on the insurance industry. He will shed a light on how different are the insurers from banks to bankers, or how similar.

After the presentation, a Q&A session will be arranged.

Don’t miss the chance to discuss with the senior in depth!