Guess who’s 30?
It was 30 years today that ING was founded following a merger of Dutch insurer Nationale-Nederlanden and NMB Postbank Group. A reason to celebrate, right?
Well, unfortunately the coronavirus pandemic has curtailed our big ‘3-0’ celebrations. So we asked employees around the ING world who turned 30 to show us how they celebrated. And with some interesting results! Some video-called loved ones, received old-fashioned postcards and re-watched their favourite movies. Others even tied the knot! Here are their stories.
“Mini Pride at home”
“My actual birthday was spent in quarantine, but we celebrated as soon as we could. Pride (an Amsterdam festival) is always an important time of the year for me and with it being cancelled due to corona, we thought we would celebrate my 30th in style with our own mini Pride at home… blow up unicorn and rainbow balloons included!”
Dominic Tremblay (left). Senior strategic brand manager, ING in the Netherlands.
“An envelope with 50 postcards”
“The best part of my birthday was a surprise organised by my partner. I received an envelope with almost 50 postcards in it, each one with a heartfelt message from a different friend or family member. As an expat, I haven’t seen many of my loved ones since the pandemic began, so it was really special to know they’d all made such an effort to be there for me in spirit.”
Sarah Grace. Product owner, ING in Belgium.
“I got married”
“I celebrated my 30th birthday by getting married to my boyfriend! I was ecstatic to see a surprise birthday party arranged by my partner on the terrace. It was the best birthday ever!”
Ruchita Singh (right). IT engineer, ING in the Netherlands.
“My girlfriend surprised me with an uncommon gift”
“My girlfriend surprised me with an uncommon gift – a picture of the night-sky with the exact constellations from the day I was born!”
Maciej Pietruszyńsk. Senior anti-money laundering specialist, ING in Poland.
“Whatever Danka wants to do day”
“My day was special as it was ‘whatever Danka wants to do’ day. So my husband and I had pancakes for breakfast, pizza for lunch, an amazing explorative walk in nature. We also re-watched my favourite movies. And of course the most amazing part… getting calls from friends and family from all over the world.”
Danka Micevski (left). ING Neo communications adviser, ING in the Netherlands.
“Not the party I was hoping for, but I had a great day”
“My birthday didn’t go as expected as I could only invite a limited number of friends and family. The evening before I turned 30 I set up a gin and tonic bar at home. On the day itself, my family came over and we had cake and champagne. It was a great day with the most important people in my life.”
Joni Lammers. Compliance officer, ING in the Netherlands.
Our heritage
To empower has always been our goal. But how have we done that through the decades?
Discover ING’s history through a series of videos that trace our heritage back to the 18th century.