4
We could redefine
the essence ofbanking
at a time uwen people
are asking themselves
what exactly banking
9
[9
What do you consider
the highlights of your career?
Q
a member of the Executive Board?
What are your long-term goals?
A "I was bom and raised in Brazil by Dutch parents, who
emigrated to Brazil as farmers. My parents moved to Sao
Paulo in the 1960s, so I grew up and studied in the big
city. After I graduated with a degree in management,
I did various traineeships in Brazil and the Netherlands.
Then in 1990,1 started as a trainee with Rabobank in the
Netherlands, with the aim of going backto Brazil. And I did.
After five years there, focusing on commodity financing,
I spent two years in Curagao, as an account manager for
Central America and northern South America. Then it was
off to Hong Kong, where I took care of large corporates in
China, Macao and Hong Kong, and gained my MBA. After
that, I moved to Jakarta as Director of Risk Management,
my first statutory directorship. My next move was to Australia
as Deputy General Manager rural banking for Australia and
New Zealand, which was my first move into the area of
Food Agribusiness retail banking. I was then asked to
come to the Netherlands, where I headed up Rabobank
Amsterdam. At that point, I feit like l'd been dropped right
into the cooperative heart of the organisation, complete
with Amsterdam's 20,000 members. So I suppose Berry
Marttin is someone who has seen many parts of the
organisation, but has also learned how Rabobank operates
at its cooperative core."
A 'The most important highlight to me is that l've managed
to have this career and keep my family together. In terms
of achievement, l'd have to say that was my period in Hong
Kong, since I was able to combine my work with studying for
an MBA. I believe I grew the most professionally in Australia,
having to manage a retail organisation. In terms of what l've
learned as a manager, Amsterdam has certainly been the
most important highlight, especially given that my task
was to turn around an organisation. My experience with
different cultures was very useful as Amsterdam is the most
multicultural place l've ever worked. I think we've done
amazingly well adapting the bank to a multicultural urban
environment. The key was first admitting that Amsterdam
is a multicultural environment and that a one-solution-
fïts-all simply doesn't work. We also decided we wanted
to be a very relationship-driven organisation, very much
in line with the Rabobank ethos. We also wanted to
establish an emotional relationship with our clients and
other stakeholders. That means different things in different
cultures, so you almost have to be a different bank in
different parts of the city, while staying true to Rabobank's
values."
A "Among other things, l'll be responsible for international
retail, the regional international operations, international risk
management and Rabo Development. What I want to do
is make the best possible use of my international and retail
experience and my agricultural background -1 am still a
farmer as is my father. I want to put all that to use within our
international network. If we can build on Rabobank's - and
RI's - strengths and on our strategy, I have no doubt we will
become a leading player in the global F&A financing sector,
and be recognised as such. And through Rabo Development
we will continue to develop our cooperative values in other
countries."
A "Being a Rabobank board member is something very
special, because it means you can really make a difference.
If I had to define a long-term goal, it would be to help
Rabobank make that difference. l'd like to see our
cooperative values in other counties, which is something
l'm convinced will strengthen our cooperative principles
in the Netherlands. We could redefine the very essence of
banking at a time when people are asking themselves what
exactly banking means. Rabobank is one of the world's few
banks with a social answer to that question, because we
have the built-in checks and balances our members - our
clients - provide. We bring society into the bank."
ISSUE 20
THE WORD
