Variety is key

I started at Van Lanschot Kempen as a banker in The Hague way back in 1988. Since then, my career has taken me through various roles in different departments and several locations – it’s been very varied, which is probably what’s kept me in the company for so long!

I’ve been working in Internal Control since 2010, and in 2018 Client Monitoring was added to the department as well. Internal Control makes sure we stay in control of our processes, carry out risk assessments and unburden the business. While Client Monitoring is all about “know your client” research, anti-money laundering regulations and so on. As you’d imagine, plenty has changed in the last 30+ years – and the pace of change is getting faster and faster. In the past couple of years, we’ve really broken down the silos and improved our teamwork, both between the different business lines and with the staff functions. We’re also constantly working on data analytics, artificial intelligence, robotics and automation. For example, in the control function we’re quickly shifting from manual processes to automated processes.

Now that we’re all working from home, I miss being able to have a chat with a colleague at the coffee machine. But at the same time, things are very well set up for home working. I think the optimum situation is going to be a combination of the two: a couple of days in the office and a couple of days working from home.

Stephan Stuijvenberg – Executive Director Internal Control & Client Monitoring