Career before Randstad

Period: 1996 - 2003
Companies: from Rabobank International to Reitsma & Wertheim & Partners
Country: the Netherlands
Job title: from diverse roles in Investment banking to Senior Consultant

My career started in a totally different field of business. In my first year I was management trainee at Rabobank International with different assignments. Repo trader (trading a certain derivative on the books of the bank) was my first position after my traineeship. This was followed by participating in realising a new credit management system for the front-office. Interesting was the variety of jobs, learning to have end responsibility over my own decisions (negative and positive) and learning the ins- and outs of a large Dutch bank.

My second step took me to Reitsma & Wertheim & Partners as Senior Consultant. The role was M&A focussed, responsible for running full, mainly sell-side, M&A processes for director-owners from the first moment of getting the assignment to closing the actual deal. After having started my career as part of a large operation like Rabo International I found it really interesting to work in a small boutique. It was very special to be working with clients at a time when they were selling their ‘baby’. You really need to be able to build their trust before they allow you to do so.