Next50 Non-Executive Directors
Next50 Non-Executive Directors 2022
The Next50 Non-Executive Directors of 2022 reveals that the flow of executives from C-suites to Supervisory Boards has clearly resumed, increases in the number of women have stalled and demand for tech and HR talent is on the rise.
(-) Roderick Munsters
The leader of the Next50 2022 is Roderick Munsters. Robeco’s former boss has an impressive supervisory track record, both in the Netherlands and abroad, with asset management as a recurrent theme. As stock markets boomed in the past year, so did Munsters’s performance as a non-executive director. Previously an investing superpower, he may develop supervisory superpowers as well if he proves willing to look beyond the financial sector and diversify his “basket”. After all, public companies are just as likely to benefit from a non-executive director who is familiar with the ins and outs of domestic and international capital markets.
(-) Johan van Hall
The list’s runner-up, Johan van Hall, also comes from the world of finance, but with an emphasis on traditional banking in his case. He has worked at ABN AMRO for 35 years and was their COO and Deputy Chair until his departure in 2018. Van Hall has experienced it all; the financial crisis, nationalization and unbundling, which he led. He has now traded the green and yellow shield for Rabobank’s blue and orange manikin. As a non-executive, not an executive director this time around.
(-) Gert-Jan van den Akker
In third place we find Gert-Jan van den Akker. He, too, accepted a supervisory role at Rabobank last year. Van den Akker’s roots are in agriculture. A one-company man, he spent his entire career working for Cargill, an American corporation, all over the world. His final role there was as the company’s CRO. No wonder he ended up on Rabobank’s risk committee, among other duties. In addition, Van den Akker’s food & agriculture experience and network make him a fine strategic sparring partner for the executive board.
(-) Jan Zijderveld
Unilever is clearly a preferred supplier in this year's Next50, with two people landing supervisory positions at top Dutch companies after time at this “school of marketing”. Last year, Unilever veteran Jan Zijderveld, number 4, joined Supervisory Boards at both supermarket chain Ahold Delhaize and Pandora, a Danish jewelry chain. Zijderveld spent the three years prior immersed in crisis management as CEO of American cosmetics concern Avon and non-executive director of Hema, which was in dire straits due to debt and the effects of the pandemic.
(-) Nitin Paranjpe
The other Unilever veteran in the top 10 can be found at number 5; Nitin Paranjpe. Originally from India, he is this purveyor of food and care products’ COO and as of last year, holds a supervisory position at Heineken as well. That makes him the highest ranked of the four foreign non-executive directors on the list.
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Justification
A non-executive director is eligible if he or she holds one or more positions as a Supervisory Board member or Director at the major companies in the Netherlands. By this we mean companies listed on the AEX, AMX (MidCap) or AScX (SmallCap) index and unlisted companies with an equity capital of more than 500 million euros. Unlike the Top-100 Non-Executives, it is not just about the points. The timing of the supervisory board memberships should also be taken into consideration: Non-execs should be evolving, not deteriorating. From the universe of non-execs at the above-mentioned companies, non-executive directors have been selected who still have a management position or who had until recently. Candidates must also have accepted new directorships within the last two years. The reference date is 1 February 2022.
Allocation of Points
The Supervisory Board members are awarded points based on the level of the equity capital of the companies where they hold a position. Supervisory positions at these companies weigh more heavily than executive roles. In addition, the members of the Supervisory Board receive points for chairmanships of supervisory boards, chairmanship positions of boards of directors and chairmanships of audit, remuneration and nomination committees.Finally, points are awarded for supervisory positions at large foreign companies, universities, colleges, hospitals and other large companies.
Non-Financial Criteria
The attentive reader will have noticed that at the top of this list are many non-executive directors at financials. We see the same happening in the Top-100 Non-Executives. This is the result of our scoring method, each company being weighted based on equity. Since the financial crisis of 2008, the capital requirements for financials have been higher, which means that these organizations are – perhaps disproportionately – giving extra weight. For some time now, the Management Scope editorial staff feels that a company's influence should be measured by more than just this financial criterion. We are therefore in the process of reconsidering our scoring. We will come back to how this will take shape, but non-financial performances will indubitably weigh more heavily in the new points-based system.