A ROOM WITH A VIEW
Argentina
Looking
LATEST
TARGET FOR
PRIVATE
BANKING
AHEAD
talking hcads
WHAT'S NewS Issue 2 May 1995
Startling red, elegantly modern
chairs that are suprisingly easy
to sit in, a large equally striking
and complementary canvas
painted by his artist wife on the
wall. These are just two of the
touches Hans van der Velde
has introduced to his otherwise
utilitarian office that hint at the
man behind the job-title of
head of the operations division.
'I suppose the chairs are some-
thing of a statement,' he
muses, 'in the sense that if you
want to change things, if you
think your surroundings are a
bit too bureaucratie, too static,
then you have to start some-
where. And at the time, the
chairs were definitely a change
for the bank.'
When Hans van der Velde ar-
rived back from a posting in
Germany to take on the job of
director of the newly created
operations division a couple of
years ago, many things about
the bank were still formal and
bureaucratie. 'But a lot has
happened to change that in the
meantime,' he says. 'I think
we've all become more open,
more flexible and show more
understanding for the way an
-( in brief )-
Charles Roberts, a former cor-
porate insurance specialist with
an extensive network of top bus
iness contacts, has been recruit-
ed to penetrate this rapidly de-
veloping Latin American
market. 'Argentina used to be
one of the richest countries in
the world,' he says. 'Our repu-
tation suffered because of the
mega-inflation we endured for
years. However, since the econ
omie restructuring, the country
is really taking off. There's a lot
of real wealth here and the
organization should work. You
only have to look around my
own department here to see
the changes. We've got rid of
the old-style corridors, with
their tiny cubicles and closed-
off atmosphere. Almost every-
one now works in an open en
vironment where natural light
comes in from two sides and
the furnishings reflect the kind
of dynamism ongoing in this
area of banking. Operations
today is a different world, even
from 10 years ago. We're all
about information technology,
telecommunications and the
kind of sophisticated systems
we now use to make equally
sophisticated products like
derivatives work.'
The idea of building a division
in which so many new and ex-
citing elements combine fasc-
inates Van der Velde. 'I'm orig-
inally a corporate banker,' he
says, 'and that involves creat-
ing and building things that
weren't there before. That's
exactly what we're doing here
and 1 love it. Perhaps that's
where my interest in art comes
from, too. Besides enjoying it
Argentinians are sophisticated
enough to see the advantages of
placing their assets in Europe.
Although competition from US
banks is increasing, the Amer-
icans have lost some ground
through the hit and run policies
many have pursued in recent
years. That gives us, as a Triple-
A institution, a real advantage.'
Besides his own contacts,
Roberts will also be tapping
into the cliënt base developed by
the Buenos Aires office. 'Peter
Greenberg is doing great things
with clients here, especially in
the oil-crushing industry,' the
says. 'Most of these companies
are still family owned, so they
would be ideal potential private
banking clients. And now many
other Latin American countries
are finally putting their econ
omie house in order, I think this
market could really open up for
us.'
for it's own sake, the
re's also the fact that
something new is cre
ated. Of course, being
married to an artist
means it's around you
at home all the time
and we talk about it a
lot. I'm not a great
lover of totally abstract
work - I prefer pictu-
res that don't require
hard work to under-
stand their meaning.
Okay, you can like ab-
stract simply because 1
of its form, colour and f
composition. But you
also have to know the
philosophy behind it.These
works have a very specific
meaning and you can't just put
your own interpretation on
them. There's a whole language
there.'
Having spent half his working
life in other countries, speak-
ing French, German or English
as circumstance demanded,
Van der Velde is no stranger to
other languages or to the ob-
stacles it can cause in commun-
ication. 'Language is not just
vocabulary or grammar, it's a
whole way of thinking, a phil
osophy. When you talk, you
can only say in words a very
small part of what you're ac-
tually thinking, and when you
begin speaking, what emerges
is already very different from
the intention you had. Com-
munication is so important
that I think you have to con-
centrate on whether you're
able to make clear what you're
doing, why you're doing it,
and what the consequences of
your actions are. It's one of the
reasons I'm so interested in the
Dada art movement. They
were trying to achieve a total
communication by creating a
kind of chaos. They failed, of
course, but that doesn't make
the basic concept any less
valid.'
There is nothing Dadaistic
about Hans van der Velde's
bright, friendly office; it is
organized and business-like.
But his room also manages to
communicate another side to
the efficiënt, plain-talking
corporate banker-turned-
operations man and perhaps
proves his point that the word
is never the whole picture.
May 15
The agribusiness research team
publishes its study on The Interna
tional Food Industry.
May 16-18
Rabobank sponsors the IAMA an-
nual congress in Paris.The Interna
tional Agribusiness Management
Association was formed to pro-
mote training, research and net-
working in the field of F&A.
Herman Wijffels has been elected
chairman of IAMA from May and
Hans Reusch has joined the asso-
ciation's research committee.
May 17-21
The National Juice Products Asso
ciation has invited Arend Heij-
broek of the agribusiness research
team to speak at its annual con
gress in California.
May 24-26
Official opening of the Milan
office; investor relations roadshow
on tour in Milan and Rome.
