ONLINE BANKING EXPERT TO DISCUSS REVOLUTIONARY BUSINESS MODEL posted 1/4/06

Arkadi Kuhlmann, pioneer of online banking and chief executive of ING DIRECT USA, is scheduled to speak Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 12:15 p.m. in Dawson Auditorium, as part of the ongoing Convocation speaker series.

Arkadi Kuhlmann has crafted an incredible success story in one of the world's most staid, traditional and monolithic industries. In just four short years ING DIRECT has grown to become the sixth largest savings bank in America, and the largest Internet bank in the country. He and his team have accomplished this through the power and originality of their ideas, and the intensity of their commitment to creating new rules for their industry.

Kuhlmann is an outstanding and dynamic speaker who can help any audience of business professionals see the possibilities for creative business models and innovation in any industry. His speeches explore key ideas in the remarkable success that ING DIRECT has achieved: understand the consumer's emotional trigger point; treat all your customers equally; know who you're serving; don't be afraid to turn away customers who don't fit your model; know who you are and what you stand for.

“Basically, we're a little unorthodox compared to traditional banks. In that sense, we are a bit of a rebel with cause,” Kuhlmann said in BusinessWeek (March 14, 2005).

Kuhlmann is the Chairman, President and CEO of ING DIRECT USA, the retail bank that offers high-value, simple financial products direct to consumers over the telephone and internet. Headquartered in Delaware, ING DIRECT USA is part of ING Group of the Netherlands, one of the world’s largest financial services institutions.

Kuhlmann's appearance is sponsored in part by the Ford Motor Company Business Lecture Series made available throught the Michigan Colleges Foundation.

Dawson Auditorium is located off of Charles Street on the Adrian College campus. This event is free and open to the public. campus map