Everyone’s voice is heard

I joined Van Lanschot Kempen in 2015 and have headed up the Treasury department since 2017. Within Treasury, the various teams are responsible for the funding programmes, the interest rate risk we run and our liquidity portfolio, manufacturing structured notes and managing the equity risk that arises, and all foreign exchange transactions for our clients.

What’s unique about the company is that your responsibilities are so broad, and the impact you can make is so pronounced. For instance, I’m the sponsor of the traineeship programme, currently consisting of five trainees. One of them has spent five months working on the KPIs and targets for the company’s liquidity buffer. Based on her advice, we’ve even sold some assets because of their longer-term sustainability risk. That just goes to show how everyone can speak up and be heard.

At Treasury, we’re also working in the trading room – an interesting space to occupy because it brings together lots of different competencies in one room. For example, Treasury, Securities and the Investment Advisory team for professional clients work closely with the Asset, Research & Communication team – responsible for Van Lanschot Kempen's house views on economic developments, asset allocation and individual securities, as well as communication of these views to our clients and the wider audience.

Gerben Zeilstra – Head of Treasury