Aegon Names New U.S. Division Chief

March 8, 2002

Dutch insurer Aegon NV has appointed Patrick Baird as the new president and chief executive of its U.S. division Aegon USA Inc., effective April 19 according to a Reuters report.

Baird replaces Donald Shepherd who will become chairman of Aegon, succeeding Kees Storm who is retiring.

According to a consensus from a Reuters poll of nine analysts, Aegon will post a 16 percent rise in net profit to 2.37 billion euros ($2.09 billion) compared to 2.04 billion euros in the previous year. Estimates ranged from 2.30 billion to 2.47 billion.

Earnings per share are seen climbing 13.5 percent to 1.76 euros within a range of 1.69 euros to 1.79 euros.