Chair - Advisory Board
Chair - Executive Committee

Arkadi is the Chairman, President and CEO of ING DIRECT USA, the retail bank that offers simple financial products direct to consumers. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, ING DIRECT USA is part of ING Group of the Netherlands, one of the world’s largest financial services institutions, where he serves as a member of the General
Management of ING DIRECT NV, a member of ING DIRECT NV Supervisory Board, and a member of the ING Group Leadership Council. He joined ING in June 1996 as President and CEO to start up the ING Direct initiative in Canada.

Following the successful launch of ING Direct in Canada, he embarked upon the launch of ING DIRECT USA in September 2000. In just six years, ING DIRECT has led more than 4 million customers back to saving with $62 billion in assets and has become the 3rd largest thrift in the country.

Prior to ING, Arkadi's experience includes both high-level corporate and academic positions. He served as President of North American Trust, CEO of Deak International Incorporated and held various executive positions at the Royal Bank of Canada. His academic experience includes teaching at the American Graduate School of International Management (“Thunderbird”) in Phoenix, Arizona where he was a professor of International Finance and Investment Banking.

Arkadi received an Honors B.A. in Business Administration along with an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business in Canada. He holds several Board positions including Chairman of the Board of the Foster Parents Plan in Canada and Chairman of the Board of ING Bank of Canada. Additionally, he serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board of Richard Ivey School of Business. He is Chairman of the ING DIRECT Kids Foundation, a non-profit organization he helped to establish to improve the lives of children, with a particular focus on foster children, around the globe. He is also an Honorary Chair for the “More Than Houses Campaign” for Habitat for Humanity, a charter member of the American Savings Education Council, and a member of NACD – National Association of Corporate Directors.

Arkadi has not only had a positive influence on the banking industry by breaking the traditional mold to lead Americans back to saving, but he has also had a significant impact on Wilmington, Delaware, the location of ING DIRECT’s U.S. headquarters. By choosing to renovate historic buildings at the Wilmington Riverfront, Arkadi has helped transform the area surrounding the Amtrak train station to create a booming commercial center that has prompted national companies to relocate there. Under Arkadi’s leadership, ING DIRECT has expanded into four buildings in Wilmington and is one of the state’s leading employers.