The Rabobank Group
misses Henry Klarenbeek,
an expert cooperative banker
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Issue 5/December 13, 1989
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On 18 November Mr Henry Klarenbeek died completely unex-
pectedly at the age of 51 years. He had been Deputy Chairman
of the Executive Board since 1 September 1982. 'A great loss to
the organization,' says Mr Wijffels, Chairman of the Executive
Board. 'Klarenbeek was a Rabo man through and through. He
lived for the bank. He saw his most important task as being to
serve the bank. The bank and its members. He did that in a
great many ways, with great expertise and always with a feeling
*or the cooperative character of our organization.'
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October, Henry Klarenbeek signing an agreement with the Banco Popular Espahol.
In 1965, Mr Klarenbeek graduated
with honours in private iaw. Shortly
afterwards he joined the Coöperatieve
Centrale Boerenleenbank in Eindhoven as
a member of the legal staff. In 1970 he
became head of the General Affairs De
partment and a few months later was ap-
pointed secretary to the Executive Board.
In that capacity he was very closely in-
volved in the merger with the Coöpera
tieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Bank in Utrecht.
He made a great contribution to the pro-
cess of integration which followed the
merger. Not only in the legal field, but also
as far as the culture of the new organiz
ation was concerned. In that period, the
monthly magazine Rabobank was published
under Klarenbeek's responsibility. This
magazine played an important part in the
amalgamation of the two organizations.
Wijffels: 'His appetite for work was tre-
mendous, as were his knowledge and
skills. To us he was more than a direct col
league, he was a sounding board, a friend.
We shall greatly miss his powers of analy-
sis and his exceptional qualities, also in
the field of communication.
Deputy Chairman Klarenbeek, beside the Chair
man of the Executive Board Mr Wijffels (centre)
and the Chairman of the Board of Directors,
Baron van Verschuer (left).
Europe occupied an important place in
Klarenbeek's thinking. Through his work,
but also personally, he was excited by the
idea of post-92 Europe. As a member of
the Executive Board responsible, among
other things, for the international policy of
the Rabobank Group, Klarenbeek formul-
ated our reaction to European unification.
During his lectures in connection with
'European' events he also gave clear ana
lyses of the developments on the Euro
pean front. His statements provided food
for thought, provoked discussion and writ-
ten comment. Businessmen could derive
practical advantage from them.
At the last General Meeting it was Kla
renbeek who chaired the afternoon ses-
sion. With captivating persuasiveness and
great skill, he gave a lucid explanation of
Rabobank's position in the international
markets. His words brought the interna
tional policy and the foreign-based offices
closerto the local banks.
Wijffels: 'Klarenbeek worked with the
Rabobank Group for almost 24 years. In
these 24 years he made impressive con-
tributions in every possible field. The Rabo
bank Group owes him a very great debt of
gratitude. We shall not forget him.'
Hugo Steensma (left), General Manager of the New York Branch, talking to Henry Klarenbeek at
last General Meeting in Utrecht.
the
