Strengthening the organisation
Global vs. regional lines and Rl vs. RN departments that have been defined
'As we head into 2007, we would like to take the opportunity
to look back at the year gone by and look forward to what you
can expect in the coming months. Rabobank International
(Rl) has grown to become an international organisation with
representation in 30 countries and more than 300 locations.
The diversity of both our banking activities and our employees
has increased significantly in the last few years. The number of
people working for us has also increased; the total Rl headcount
has risen 40% since 2004 to nearly 7700 (the forecast for 2007).
'Our rapid growth and some unfavourable remarks from our
auditors are the main reasons we would like to update you on
the composition and roles of RI's Managing Board (MBRI), and
to explain the changes that have taken place.'
'Since Rik van Slingelandt's retirement last July, the MBRI has
undergone considerable changes (see the overview on page
7). The most visible result of this was the appointment of two
Executive Board members to the MBRI, Hans ten Cate
as Chairman and Sipko Schat as Vice Chairman. Two new
positions were also created, that of Chief Financial Risk Officer
(Harry de Roo) and Chief Operations Officer (Ralf Dekker).
Europe, under Rutger Schellens, and the Americas, under
Cor Broekhuyse, are now also represented on the board.
Shelly Sussman, an American, has taken over as Head Global
Financial Markets (GFM). Rob ten Heggeler, a member
since September, will cover both Corporate Clients in the
Netherlands and the Corporate Advisory, Equities and Equity
Research departments in Amsterdam.
'We have also seen changes in assigning roles and
responsibilities in Rl. This is in part due to a move away from
a concurrence model of shared responsibility to a matrix
model. This matrix model means clearer lines of reporting and
responsibility, creating more transparency and accountability
within the organisation.
'Another important change to the structure has been the
separation of regions and regional products, and global
products and clients. The departments within Rl and Rabobank
Nederland have also been defined (see the overview below).
'The roles of accountable and regional managers have also
been clearly outlined. Accountable managers remain account
able even if they delegate tasks to other parties, although these
Regions regional
Global products/clients Rl
Rl departments
RN departments
products Rl
Americas
GFM
Control
Tax
Asia
Structured Finance
Risk Management
Legal
Australia/ New Zealand
Leveraged Finance
Operations IT
Compliance
Europe
Trade Commodity Finance
HR
Communication
Netherlands
TMI
FAR
BBR
IDB
CSR
Corporate Banking
Retail Banking
M&A*
ECM*
Private Equity*
Project Finance*
If applicable
Issue 13 -February 2007 The Word 5
