Zanders

Laurens Tijdhof joined Zanders in the Netherlands in 2000 and is currently heading the international activities, which includes Zanders offices in Brussels, Zurich and London. Together with his team, he provides treasury and finance solutions to corporate clients, financial institutions and public sector organizations.

He has a broad understanding of international treasury and finance, especially related to treasury strategy & organization, processes & systems, risk management and corporate finance. He studied at Tilburg University in the Netherlands and holds master degrees in Economics and Business Administration (MA), Fiscal Economics (MSc) and Tax Law (LLM).

Since Laurens moved to Brussels in 2006, he is focusing on the further internationalization of Zanders. “Our approach is not to source all our projects from one centralized head quarter, but to create a strong network of international offices that work closely together. Currently most of our multinational clients are located in Europe, however we have gained in-depth global experience in following them with their projects in Europe, North America and Asia. In the near future it is our ambition to further increase our international presence by opening new offices abroad.”

Laurens is a regular conference speaker (i.e. Eurofinance, AFP and MCB Forum) and guest lecturer (i.e. Universities of Antwerp, Brussels and Leuven). Furthermore he is author of articles in specialist publications on a variety of treasury and finance related topics.

Jaap Karelse joined Zanders in 1997. His activities lie primarily in the field of risk management- quantifying risks using mathematical methods and thereby controlling the degree to which an organisation is exposed to various risks.

Jaap studied Applied Mathematics at Delft University of Technology, followed by a two-year postgraduate degree in Mathematical Control and Policy Models, also at Delft. He rounded off this program with an internship at Zanders.

’I was keen to put into practice those concepts which you deal with primarily in theory during your education. Only then does mathematics become real; side issues prove to be not as simple as they seem and vice-versa. In recent years significant opportunities have opened up in finance for quantitatively-trained academics. At Zanders, we are able to capitalise on this in many ways.’

Jaap is responsible for Zanders’ practice relating to Financial Institutions. He focuses primarily on the banking sector but also provides support to Zanders’ other client groups on quantitative risk management issues.

Sander van Tol joined Zanders in 1996. He focuses exclusively on Zanders’ Corporate Clients. Together with his team, he provides treasury advice to multinationals, middle-market companies, large corporations, and utility companies.

Sander studied Economics at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, specialising in International Finance and Risk Management. ’I opted for Treasury Management in view of its quantitative aspects: "Cash is king, profit an opinion". At Zanders I am constantly challenged to be innovative, both in our consultancy work for clients as well as in our day-to-day management. Zanders is a relatively young company. As such we continually face new challenges, which requires a flexible attitude and innovative approach. I really enjoy that.’

As one of the partners, Sander is responsible for Corporate Clients, including Treasury Policy and Strategy, International Cash Management, Corporate Finance and Risk Management.

Bart-Jan Wittenberg joined Zanders in 1998. His exclusive focus for Zanders’ clients is on Investment Risk Consultancy issues, (including Asset & Liability Management, Risk Management, design and implementation of financial processes, and independent valuation of portfolios.)

Bart-Jan studied Economics at the Catholic University of Brabant, including a concurrent internship at the Bank for Dutch Municipalities in The Hague. He then joined PWS Housing Corporation in Rotterdam as Treasurer, responsible for setting up and running their Treasury department. This was followed by a position at ABN AMRO Bank, as treasury institutional sales specialist focused on domestic and international financial institutions.

Shortly after joining Zanders as a treasury consultant, Bart-Jan became one of its partners. ’I chose Zanders because of its ideal combination of specialist expertise and practical application. Not just preparing a report with recommendations, but above all seeing it through to implementation.’

Bart-Jan is responsible for Public sector. In addition, he gives various financial training courses.

Judith van Paassen joined Zanders in 1994. Her exclusive focus for Zanders’ clients is on Treasury IT issues. Judith looks for independent IT solutions to treasury problems, such as implementing or restructuring treasury and risk management systems.

Judith studied Computer Science at Delft University of Technology. ’After finishing my studies, I wanted to join a small, start-up company. At that point, Zanders fit that profile perfectly. The combination of treasury and automation matches my own interest in combining complex mathematical issues with automation.’

Judith initially joined Zanders as a treasury consultant but shortly thereafter became one of its partners. She is responsible for Zanders’ Treasury IT practice, and is also highly specialised in various treasury management systems.

Rob Naber co-founded Zanders and is currently one of its six partners. He is responsible for Public Sector clients and for Real Estate Finance.

He started his career with Amro Bank as a management trainee, and quickly moved into Treasury Management.
’Despite my general interest in finance, I am drawn especially to the unpredictability of the markets and the need to anticipate developments. Compared to other areas of finance, treasury is more like a game of chess, with a high degree of stochasticity. That appeals to me as an econometrist.’

Rob left Amro in 1994 to join Chris Zanders as co-founder of Zanders. ’I realised that there was no consultancy in the Netherlands with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of treasury issues, so I decided to join Chris and give shape to a firm which satisfied this demand.’

Chris Zanders is the ‘founding father’ of Zanders. He started his own consultancy business in 1992.

Chris completed his postgraduate studies in Business Economics at the University of Groningen in 1974. He started out his career with Shell, in their International Finance department. Consultancy work already appealed to him, so he moved to Andersen Consulting in 1979. In 1985 he joined Amro Bank as Head of Treasury Management Services, responsible for Treasury Training, Treasury Consulting, and development and sales of Amro Treasury Manager, the electronic banking system.

Chris left Amro Bank in 1992 to set up his own consultancy business, which was rechristened Zanders the following year. ’It was a challenge! By the early nineties, the bank’s working environment no longer appealed to me. I felt that there was significant room for improvement, both in form as well as in substance.’

Chris chose to put his name to an innovative, independent and highly specialized treasury consultancy, and his signature remains an integral part of Zanders’ logo. The firm’s success and rapid growth have since been rewarded with an expansion in the number of partners and staff.

Chris is responsible for the management and strategic direction of Zanders.