| Date of birth Study Graduated Joined Zanders in Position/department |
: 25 February 1978 : Real Estate Investment and Technology Management : 2004, Eindhoven University of Technology : 2004 : Senior consultant, Structuring & Arranging |
For an engineer, financial consultancy is probably not the most obvious area to start looking for a new job, and it was only by chance that Marco came into contact with Zanders. He had, however, already taken the decision to pursue a career in finance. He came across Zanders on the Internet when he found a vacancy for a junior consultant in the Real Estate Finance department. ”I wasn’t sure whether I matched the profile,” he explains, “but I applied anyway.” Marco’s doubts proved to be unfounded: in fact there were already other engineers working at Zanders. Marco explains: “Zanders is very focused on quantitative analysis. Clearly anyone seriously into maths and interested in number crunching can get on very well here.”
Interest in leveraged finance
Marco started as a junior consultant in the Real Estate Finance department in late 2004. After spending a year in the department, he more or less accidentally got involved in corporate finance. Marco worked on behalf of Zanders on a complex leveraged buyout deal. “That appealed so much to me that I decided to concentrate more specifically on corporate finance, and in particular on leveraged finance.”
The department Marco started working for focuses on corporate and structured finance deals. “These types of deals entail, among other things, the financing of acquisitions, (project) financing of specific assets or the repackaging of debts,” Marco explains.
After spending a few years on corporate acquisitions and the related strategic finance advice, Marco turned his attention to structured finance. Within this discipline, he currently works on capital markets deals and the development of investment funds and financial institutions. These projects often cross the line where actual consulting ends and active participation in new business developments begins.
“We not only provide advice; we actually take part in the development of new businesses,” notes Marco. “This implies a shift from a more short-term focus – usually for the duration of the project – to a long term alignment of interests.”
The complex and often specific character of these projects makes innovation important. “Zanders is definitely strong in financial innovation. This consequently features prominently in the services we provide. And this is a must when you’re faced, like we are, with complex issues of this kind and – more importantly – with conditions that often make things even more complicated,” says Marco. “Even more so in our specific line of business.”
Interesting challenge
The team where Marco works is relatively new in the Zanders set-up. It is up to Marco and his colleagues to raise awareness of the fact that Zanders is not just a leading player in the fields of treasury, risk management and corporate finance, but is also active in developing financial products and the structuring of investment funds.
Marco says: “You are involved in the development of a new market that lies just beyond the range of services usually provided by Zanders. For me, this is an interesting challenge alongside my normal everyday duties.”
Marco looks back on his years at Zanders with considerable satisfaction. He also has ambitious plans for the future. Providing Zanders with proper access to the means it requires to build its ‘investment practice’ is an important aspect of this ambition.
As a result, the developments initiated by his team, which are currently often delayed for some time, are intended to come to fruition quicker. Marco adds: “With the release of our ideas into the (equity) capital markets, we should be able to gain market share in what is, for Zanders, a rather new industry.”
