Karien van Gennip

Karien van Gennip has been the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment of the Netherlands since January 2022.

Until her appointment as Minister she was CEO of Coöperatie VGZ. With over 4 million policyholders, VGZ is one of the largest health insurance companies in the Netherlands. In this role Karien combines her passion for addressing challenges in society, with leading large transformations, build on a strong belief in ‘people first’, customer engagement, sustainability and digitization.

Karien was a member of the Board of Directors of INSEAD from 2019 to 2022, one of the world's leading graduate business schools. From 2020 to 2022, she was a Board member of the OranjeFonds, a Dutch charitable fund with a focus on social participation. Until March 2021 Karien was Co-President of Financi’Elles, the leading federation of networks promoting gender diversity in banking, financial and insurance in France.

Previously, Karien worked for ING, where she served as CEO of ING Bank France from 2015 to 2020. ING in France is both a leader in online banking and among the top 5 international players in wholesale banking. Karien joined ING Group in the Netherlands in 2008 as Director of Group Public & Government Affairs, and was appointed Director of Private Banking & Investments in September 2010.

From 2003 to 2007, Karien served as State Secretary of Economic Affairs / Minister for Foreign Trade in the Dutch government with responsibilities for bilateral and multilateral Foreign Trade, entrepreneurship, regional policy, investment climate and consumer policy. She also served as a member of the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament 2006-2008.

Karien began her career in 1994 as a management consultant for McKinsey&Company in Amsterdam, and later in San Francisco. In 2002, she continued her career with the Dutch Authority for Financial Markets (AFM).

Karien is a member of the World Economic Forum's Jobs Consortium. She also served as a Board member and Vice Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce until 2019. In 2017 she was a member of the steering committee of the Institut Montaigne publication ‘L’Europe dont nous avons besoin’. Before 2015, Karien was a member of several Supervisory Boards in the Netherlands (eg. SOS Children’s Villages the Netherlands, Cordaid and Deltares).

Karien is married with four daughters. She holds a Master degree from Delft University of Technology and an MBA from Insead (1995, Dean's List). In 2008, Karien was elected Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. In her spare time, Karien enjoys running, dinners with friends, and being a field hockey coach.

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