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ABN Amro chair steps down after criticism of leadership

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ABN Amro chair steps down after criticism of leadership

Olga Zoutendijk, ABN Amro Group NV's supervisory board chairman, has decided not to run for a second term, effective July 1.

To facilitate the search for a new chairman, Zoutendijk will switch her role as chairman for that of supervisory board member. Vice Chairman Steven ten Have will temporarily assume the duties of chairman.

ABN Amro said Feb. 6, a day after the original announcement, that Zoutendijk's "leadership style has been a topic of discussion internally" and that these discussions were partly behind her decision not to stand again. But the bank said a report to that effect by Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad "does not do justice" to her contribution to the bank.

The newspaper said former ABN Amro CEO and Dutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm, who left in 2017, had termed Zoutendijk's appointment "unfortunate" and said she "caused the bank damage," Reuters reported.

Sources close to the bank told the newspaper that Zoutendijk had criticized Zalm for not being ready for the bank's return to private ownership and said ABN Amro was behind its competitors.