RI's first CEO launches review
strategie development
One of Maarten Hulshoff's first actions as newly arrived Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of Rabobank International (Rl) was to confirm the start up of a dedicated
strategie review team. Headed up by North America's Reinier Mesritz, the team's
mandate is to gain insight into best practice as applied by the best in the
banking world. Another of Hulshoff's early actions was to talk with What's NewS.
Good Communications, it appears, is high on his list of priorities. We ask him for
his initial take on his new task.
Brutal world
Shell-shocked
Tremendous commitment
Catching up
No tolerance
Consistent communication
What'sNewS Issue5- May 1999 3
Maarten Hulshoff is not rushing to
make any hasty decisions about RI.
He needs, he says frankly, time to get to
fcknow the organization, to see what the
Review team comes up with and to work
up a roll-out plan for RI. Obviously, this
will not happen overnight. However, he is
quick to point out that this is why the
people involved in the review team have
been seconded to that project. 'Line
managers have their hands full running
our business,' he says. 'If you add a
project like this to their existing work, it
could take years to get a result. This way,
the team can dedicate all their time to the
goals we have set out for them [see
sidebar] and we'll get results within the
three month timetable.'
The result he is looking for is an indepth
analysis of the situation in the banking
world: who is doing well, and especially -
fcvhy. 'We want to know about best prac
tice,' he continues, 'about why certain
institutions are achieving and performing.
What we need is a better understanding
of the issues here at Rl. We have built a
platform in record time, but we're not
performing. We need to be positioning for
the millennium. This will be a brutal
world. It will be no place for an
institution without a strategy that truly
differentiates you from the pack.'
The picture he sketches of this 'brutal
world' is not news. He's talking ntega-
banks following mergers of already strong
players all around the world. He points to
the growing unions of insurers and banks
that will be the competition of the future.
'The customer base is much more selec-
Pive and into cherry picking than ever
before,' he notes. 'That is a trend that will
continue. The world is still shell-shocked
by what has happened in the emerging
Maarten Hulshoff steps in
markets. We talk about the euro, but
often see it more as an IT issue than a
major reality which will impact all
European banks; we're all bound to lose
business because of it. Then there is the
millennium; this is all pain and absolutely
no gain. But all of these factors combined
mean we have to make choices.'
This is not exclusive to Rl, he argues;
every player in the financial services
industry is engaged in this process.
Hulsoff is already starting to get a feel
for the real strength and weaknesses of
RI, however wants to document these
impressions before taking decisions. 'It is
fine and dandy to criticize what was
done in the past,' he remarks. 'But that
is hardly constructive. What I do see is
that there is a tremendous commitment
to RI from the parent organization. And
the management of Rl has been suc-
cessful in putting us on the map in a
very short period of time. I do not
believe any other bank in Europe has
come close to achieving what has been
done here given the timespan.'
He is also impressed by the entre-
preneurial spirit he sees in RI and in the
healthy mix of old hands with deep
experience and vital young blood. 'The
fact we have a comparatively young
staff,' he says, 'is unsurprising. RI has
undergone extremely rapid growth and
that means bringing in new people to
support that expansion. Now, we need
to give them clear leadership. Another
factor here is that infrastructure - IT,
MIS, human resources - tends to lag
behind when you expand so rapidly. You
can't run a business without proper
management information. So any catch
ing up that needs to be done has to be a
priority. Costs have risen as well. That is
another factor we'll be looking at very
seriously.'
Asked how he works, Hulshoff says he
has a high tolerance for discussion. 'I like
to keep an open mind until the decision is
taken,' he adds. 'I have no tolerance for
deviation.' This is the first sign of the
Chief Executive Officer he has proved to
be throughout his career, which includes a
19-year stint with Citibank in various
locations around the world. No one has
previously held this title or this level of
individual accountability. He shrugs off
the newness of it all, commenting only
that he 'insisted on it and didn't meet
much resistance.' Hulshoff likes account
ability. He does not like working in
situations where everyone is responsible
for everything, so nobody is responsible
for anything.
And not only does he like accountability,
he considers it essential in the same way
team building is crucial, especially at
senior management level. There is, he
argues, no successful organization which
does not have a true 'esprit de corps' at
every level. 'Look at it this way,' he says,
'if you're thinking of doing business with
a company, what do you look at? You
look at the management. You look at the
way the senior people run that company;
it is a crucial part of the success factor.
