Management Scope

Pinar Abay (ING): ‘My Appointment Was a Bold Move for the Bank’

Pinar Abay is one of the leading Dutch bankers. Since 2020 she has been a member of the Banking Management Board of ING and as of 2023 she has been head of Retail, Market Leaders and Challengers & Growth Markets - by far the biggest division within the bank - and is responsible for the ten retail markets ING has. The Turkish native was head of ING Turkey already at 34, a young age. She has been at the Dutch headquarters for several years now. The result: ‘I have become thoroughly ‘orange’.’

Ronald Paul and Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi: ‘Do Not Nip Innovation in the Bud’

The CEO of TNO Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi and figurehead of Top Sector Logistics Ronald Paul note that the public-private cooperation meant to propel the logistics sector as well as the Netherlands forwards, is stalling due to a lack of decisiveness. They call on government and industry to act more decisively.

ESG Can Bridge the Gap Between Industry and Society

ESG and corporate social responsibility have become an integral part of conducting business. Hilde van der Baan and Gijs Linse of A&O Shearman argue for transparency and less polarization to restore the trust between industry and society. According to them, companies see ESG legislation as an opportunity to bridge the gap with society.

Pieter Hemels (ftrprf): 'Strategy Should Always be Future-Proof'

Ftrprf is Management Scope’s new knowledge partner. Co-founded by Pieter Hemels, the consultancy firm assists organizations wanting to work on future-oriented transitions. Their fundamental question to clients is what the organization’s impact is for Fay, Hemels’ seven-year-old granddaughter.

Remuneration Policy: Vision Rather Than Box Ticking

There seems to be consensus on remuneration policy in the boardrooms of the Netherlands' largest companies. From time to time, however, the remuneration of executive directors and supervisory directors does still provoke differences of opinion. Roel van der Weele (Deloitte) writes that rewarding according to strict frameworks is not ideal.

topics

Risk & Finance

Digitalization & Disruption

Implementation & Transformation

Strategy & Innovation

Leadership

Societal Impact

Good Governance

Jan Rotmans: 'Without Faith in Progress, It Will Not Work'

The professor of transition studies advocates for less cynicism and negativity toward big companies, which are often perceived as bad actors.

Jeroen Smit on Fear and Courage

In his final column, Jeroen Smit writes that executives will have to lead the way in the great systemic transformation needed to make the economy sustainable, circular, and inclusive.

Hans Meeuwis (Cosun): 'We Attribute a Heroic Role to Plants'

The CEO of Cosun wants to get the most out of its crops, contributing to the food transition and a further improvement in the farmer's income potential.

‘ESG as a Bridge Between Industry and Society’

The leaders in this round table see ESG legislation as a huge opportunity to restore the broken trust with society, but they also agree that greater realism is required.

Michel Lamie (Achmea): ‘The Role of CFO Has Become Broader’

The Achmea CFO observes that the CFO function keeps expanding. However, the day-to-day demands must not come at the expense of the connection with teams.

Carla Mahieu on the Art of Attracting a New CEO

Top supervisory director Carla Mahieu previously held primarily HR roles in major companies such as Shell, Philips, and Aegon. As a supervisory director, she has developed a keen eye for talent management and succession planning. For Mahieu, these are ongoing processes which, despite its ever-increasing data-driven nature, demand humanity in equal measure. Strategic workforce planning enables organizations to prepare for various scenarios.

‘Being Critical of the Shareholders can be Risky for a CEO’

At our roundtable, three CEOs discuss the role of shareholders in modern business. They express skepticism about whether shareholders are fully aligned to the crucial sustainability transitions: the basic model still prioritizes profit maximization, which prevents meaningful change from taking root.

Christian Tabois: ‘Process Intelligence Brings Projects to Maturity and Value’

Christian Tabois (Celonis): ‘Process Intelligence Brings Projects to Maturity and Value’

Celonis, the market leader in process mining and process intelligence, is our latest knowledge partner. Christian Tabois: ‘Through placing a digital layer above existing systems and integrating all online data into it, we can see exactly how processes are running.’

CFOs, Be Honest About the Feasibility of Sustainability Ambitions

In recent years, companies have been formulating ambitious sustainability goals. The realization that the transition is complex, costly, and time-consuming is slowly taking hold. That realism is now also gradually seeping into financial plans and future expectations, which puts CFOs in a challenging position, writes Mohamed Bouker (Deloitte).

The Supervisory Director as Guardian of the Future

Supervisory directors are notoriously risk-averse and compliance-oriented. However, to transition to a more sustainable and humane economy, necessitates them to also see themselves as guardians of the future, argue participants in this roundtable discussion. ‘Our primary role is to choose leaders who can shape that path.’

Shareholders as Allies in the Sustainable Transition

Different investor perspectives on sustainable investments call for a competitive capital market and consistent policies to accelerate the transition.

Ingrid de Swart (a.s.r.): ‘Technology Must Be Innovative but Also Manageable’

Ingrid de Swart: ‘Technology Must Be Innovative but Also Manageable’

According to Ingrid de Swart, we must not lose sight of the employee as the role of digitalization continues to expand.

Rients Abma: ‘The European Capital Markets Union Needs to Urgently Get Off the Ground’

European laws and regulations surrounding ESG objectives are being increasingly out of sync with those in Anglo-Saxon countries.

Collaborate with ‘the enemy’

Leaders who are unwilling to invite the other or other voices to participate might, only too late, realize that circumstances are changing and that a new and different approach is needed.

The First 100 Days as CFCO at de Volksbank

'A unique role with a complex mandate', says Gwendolyn van Tunen about her first 100 days as Chief Financial Crime Officer (CFCO) at de Volksbank.

Frans Muller (Ahold Delhaize): ‘We aim to grow faster than the market’

Frans Muller is focused on the future, as shown in the recently presented group strategy update.

‘Staying the course is the lifeline of the interim executive director’

Making a quick analysis, creating a sense of urgency, consistently staying on the established course, and combining kindness with clarity—this is how experienced interim executive directors Jeltje Schraverus and Ben van Miltenburg get organizations back on course in a short time.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem (Mayor of Eindhoven): 'Pursuing collaboration opens up huge opportunities'

Jeroen Dijsselbloem: 'Pursuing collaboration opens up huge opportunities'

The significant development in the Brainport Eindhoven region means that, in the short term, everything is under pressure. ‘We need to develop a huge amount of infrastructure, and it should have been ready yesterday,’ says Mayor Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who actively seeks collaboration with businesses to address social issues.

A healthy sense of paranoia can only benefit the digitization revolution

Directors need to really embrace the changes caused by digitization, as this transformation will never be finished. CDO Bart Delmulle, responsible for PostNL's digital acceleration program, advises directors to keep looking over their shoulder - there will always be someone who is quicker to respond to the abundantly available technology.

'The public-private partnership has evolved into an ecosystem’

Companies and governments are inter-dependent for enabling the sustainability transition, is the view shared by the three executives participating in our roundtable discussion on how public-private collaboration can advance the transition. ‘Executives now have a far wider responsibility than only towards their own organizations.’