Operating RI
i
talking heads -
revisited
At the end of last year, the Managing Board toured regional
hubs and major branches to talk through the proposed busi
ness plan. Many of you will have seen and maybe even talked
to the newest member, Ralf Dekker. For those of you who
didn't, we've revived the old 'talking heads' series. This is a
one-off on the man who put facets into Rabobank Nederland
and has now taken on the C00 role at RI.
Ralf Dekker (44) B
is something of
an old
Rabobank hand.
While at Peat
Marwick, he
eame into the
bank in the early
1980s as con
sultant on au-
tomation of
what would become CBB, the
internal 'bankers' bank', many
of whose activities were later
integrated into RI. As a con
sultant, he worked on major
projects within the bank for
six more years, including Atlas
and the design and implemen-
tation of the Utrecht dealing
room, including systems. It
was during that time that the
initial foundations were laid
for what would become Rabo
Facet, the facilitation organiza-
tion that supplies and supports
most of the Rabobank Group's
IT and service needs. 'In fact,'
he says, 'I was involved in de-
signing the basic concept for
Rabo Facet 10 years before I
Masthead - insert What's NewS, March/April 2001
Editorial Stafi
Coordination Mirjam Diepenbrock, Marketing RI
Distribution Marjolijn Benneker, Marketing RI
Managing Editor Anne Lavelle
(TheWrite Company)
Editors Naomi Lindt, Lisa Petrie
Editorial Address
Rabobank International Marketing, US 710
P.O.Box 17100,3500 HG Utrecht
Telephone +31 30 216 2433
Telefax +31 30 2161976
Rabomail mirjam.diepenbrock^utc.rabobank.com
took over in
the late
1990s.'
Although
he enjoyed
the chal-
lenge at
Rabo Facet,
especially in
light of
high-tech developments and
their potential for the Group's
broader offering, he always
followed RI's progress. 'Be-
cause I'd been in at the start of
CBB,' he says, 'I remained in-
terested in its evolution into an
organization which quickly be-
came global. Actually, I even
talked to Rik van Slingelandt
some years ago about develop-
ing a closer cooperation with
Rl. At the time, it didn't hap
pen. But 1 think that contact
led me to watch RI even more
closely than before.'
Dekker monitored our devel-
opment through the ups and
downs of the late 1990s. 'To
be frank,' he says, 'I did feel
that I might have something to
offer Rl. Then, of course, the
merger with DG Bank came
up.' When the second call
came front Van Slingelandt,
the merger was still very much
in the picture for Rabobank
International. Dekker saw this
as a challenge, so decided to
make the move from Rabo
Facet, even though there was
uncertaintv about how the
management structure would
be filled in. 'I thought I'd take
a chance 011 Rl, which ever
way it went.' The first thing he
heard on moving to Sijpestein
on I November 2000 was that
the merger was off. 'In a way,
that meant I had a much
clearer picture of what needed
to be done. The Managing
Board was preparing to tour
the regions to talk through the
business plan,
so basically I
arrived the
first morning
and we left
for the re
gional hubs
the sarne
week. It was
an education.'
During the
'tour', Dekker was able to
meet many key people in the
organization. 'I think what
surprises me most about
Rabobank International - and
it's a pleasant surprise - is this.
In spite of the uncertainty and
turmoil that seems to have
characterized the organization
in recent years, there is a great
team out there which has been
able to generate considerable
returns. That tells you a lot
about an organization and its
people's commitment. That
makes me feel confident about
what we now have to do.'
Working with Van Slingelandt
and Wouter Kolff, Dekker was
instrumental in developing the
positioning paper and operat
ing model now on the table.
And he's already working on
implementing the ntodel's op-
erational side. 'We're also
working closely with RN on
treasury to ensure separation
into Group treasury and RI's
activities is as smooth as possi-
ble. We need transparency on
that.' He is also involved in the
risk side of our business. But
he sees his primary task as in
ternal focus 011 RI's processes,
systems and organization, in
cluding risk management. 'It's
basically a classic COO job so
that people will have the tools
they need for the revised and
adjusted reporting laid down
in the positioning paper,' he
explains. 'It covers risk, obvi-
ously, but also our internal
governance processes.
After the tur-
bulence that
seemed almost
synonymous
with RI in the
late 1990s,
Dekker be-
lieves the key
issue now is to
get everyone
on the same
page. 'I11 my brief experience
of RI,' he says, 'I've already
seen many people working in
the right direction - in spite of
uncertainties. What we need to
do now is take away the "in
spite of" and the "uncertain
ties". We're starting at what
you could call the lowest possi-
ble point. The only way now is
up. And I for one like driving
upward moving organiza-
tions.'
