Changing of the guard
orgamzation
Throughout Rabobank International relatively short history, there has been a
single public face for the whole organization. For the past 18 years, Herman
Wijffels has been on the board of Rabobank Nederland, with over 12 as chairman.
Under his stewardship, the one-time wholly domestic focused, plain vanilla
lending and savings institution has grown into a recognized provider of Allfinanz
in the home market and increasingly a successful niche player in food and
agribusiness and health care in more than 36 countries worldwide. As he départs
from Rabobank to chair one of the most prestigious bodies in the Netherlands,
the government advisory Social and Economie Council (SER), we look back on
almost two decades of dramatic growth and expansion under Wijffels.
Top ranking
Simple strategy
Euroland positioning
What'sNewS
He is a quiet man, deliberate in both
speech and gesture, rarely raising his
voice above well-modulated, clear diction.
He never appears rushed or in any way
stressed. His sense of humour is dry and
occasionally rye. But when he enters a
room of one of the numerous public
places where he has represented the
Group for so many years, there is no
doubt of the strength of purpose and
presence that is equally characteristic of
the 57-year old chairman of Rabobank
Nederland. In the case of Rabobank, that
purpose was 'to build on the heritage of
my predecessors. Of course, we haven't
stood still, an awful lot has changed since
I came to the bank.' This is not false
modesty or lip service to the niceties or
etiquettes of departure. Wijffels simply
sees his task at Rabobank in that way. It
is part of who he is and how he believes
managers should run organizations -
significant delegation, giving responsibility
at every level, helping people to get the
best out of themselves. 'I think my
strength is the big picture, but that doesn't
mean I didn't know all the details.'
When Wijffels first joined Rabobank in
1981, he came into a financial institution
which was a strong player nationwide,
primarily in the retail and small and
Wijffels on his new job: 'The SER's
negotiating and debating table is central
to the consensus tradition of this country.
I will be chairing that table. You know, ifl'd
stayed on as chairman here Td have
reached retirement age in three years.
Moving to the SER means Tve been given a
whole new career.'
Wijffels and Smits moving ahead
medium-sized business sector. Lending
and savings were the cooperative's forte
and customers recognized the bank as
one of the best in the country. That was
then. In the late 1970s, the consumer
was less sophisticated and a lot less
demanding. In a recent review of his
time at Rabobank, the Dutch business
magazine Quote notes: 'Under Wijffels,
the bank has grown spectacularly, while
retaining its solid group equity.' That has
been no mean feat. The balance total has
grown three-fold in the past ten years
and Rabobank has returned double-
figure increases in net profits for the past
five. In terms of balance sheet, we rank
35th in the world; in terms of core
capital, we take the 22nd slot.
Rabobank has come a long way under
Wijffels, although he would be the first
to point out that he was only one
member of a team. The fact that during
his stewardship Rabobank bas evolved
from an albeit nationwide 'savings and
loan' into a recognized Allfinanz
specialist and international player,
specifically in food and agribusiness and
health care, is attributed to the pursuit
of a clear strategy, rather than any kind
of unique vision. 'Strategie policy in this
house,' he says, 'is really very simple.
You follow the customer, although you
have to be at least five years ahead of
where our customers will want to be.'
The one-stop financial shopping concept,
perceived some years in advance as what
customers would be wanting in the
1990s, led for example to the acquisition
in the 1980s of insurer Interpolis.
Robeco had started life as a cooperative
and so had something of a similar
culture to Rabobank when the two
organizations first got together, initially
to offer the bank's customers access to
investment products, while giving the
asset manager a whole new distribution
network to build on. The acquisition is
proving a win-win situation for all
concerned; an outcome that is no
surprise to Wijffels. These are the kind
of 'conditions' that he, and the rest of
the board, sees as 'right'. They were not
in place during the Achmea negotiations
and ultimately these floundered. But that
does not mean Wijffels, and his successor
Hans Smits, have given up on the kind
Wijffels on Hans Smits: We share many
of the same insights on where the bank
has to go - to Europe. One is the need to
position Rabobank as part of a strategie
European group. That's the challenge
facing Hans Smits now.'
of alliance - in whatever form or
structure proves most useful - that will
position the Rabobank Group firmly in
Euroland. The search for suitable
working relations is still on, albeit
behind the scenes rather than in the full
glare of the media.
