Like wine Koos Kramer and we have a depth of knowledge that's unsurpassed. Another key selling point is our cross-border M&A capabilities. It helps that we have senior staff that have worked in different regions, and have experience of dealing with senior bankers and clients in both Europe and the US. In partnership with Rothschild we're present in 27 countries, and we have 180 dedicated M&A bankers globally, the largest and most successful franchise dedicated to F&A. And in each of these countries we have in-depth knowledge of the market players, from the large companies through to the up-and-coming organisations." Acting as a strategie partner to its key clients is clearly of funda- mental importance to Rabobank, but it's equally as important that Rabobank understands the nature of the relationship as viewed from the cliënt side. Gerard Hoetmer explains that CSM view Rabobank as a long-term partner and, therefore, its strategie partner. "We view this from a number of angles. Firstly, the support they gave us during the Best Brands purchase, which was a textbookexample ofan M&A deal. Secondly, theïr financial stability, which is paramount in today's economie climate. And thirdly, their involvement in the F&A sector. We need good partners in the field, as we produce and sell goods globally, and we need to know we can rely on a financial provider that is a good match within our sector. We have the idea that you can always rely on Rabobank. It's a bank that if something pops up - ifwe require advice or financing at short notice - we have board-level contacts and we get very quick responses. There are not many banks with which you can have such a relationship, and this is a very strong element in the way in which we work together and trust one another. At the end of the day, we're both people businesses, and we feel that the spark between the two organisations is there." Van Gorkom agrees, and believes that when CSM is ready to grow their business further, Rabobank will be a natural partner. "By leveraging what we've done through the Best Brands deal, we'll be able to develop strategie actions within other areas." For De Sanna, loyalty in banking can be compared to wine - people are open to change, but for an important dinner would always go back to a favorite bottle. Taking the metaphor further, when it comes to a large or transformational deal, clients would always go to their trusted advisor, therefore it is essential to build and develop strong relationships over time. "Relationships are both an opportunity and a responsibility. It's natural that you grow closer to clients after a successful deal, but the responsibility on our shoulders is to make sure that we have a coverage plan in place that is a combination of calls, meetings and ideas. You need to keep on top of what the client's strategy is, so that you're in touch with them regularly. The real goal is to build intimacy with clients' key decision makers, and to become their long term trusted advisors .To be able to call the CEO or owner and run an idea past them, and do it in an informal manner; no need for a pitch. This means that you've already reached a level of confidence in the relationship that you trust each other enough to have a chat without formality. This type of cliënt intimacy gets you into the flow of ideas with the cliënt, and that's the goal that we're working towards with all of our core clients." ISSUE 24 JULY2010 RI WORLD 1 3

Rabobank Bronnenarchief

blad 'RI World' (EN) | 2010 | | pagina 13