January 2004 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

10 QUESTIONS
5 Questions to Rob Nijst
Can you give us a short insight of
1 your time in Singapore?
I started as a regional financial controller
for Van Ommeren in January 1998. During the 1999
merger between Van Ommeren and Pakhoed I took
part in the integration team for Asia. In 2000 I made
the move to business development and regional
commercial activities.
My involvement in the ADB board started about
three years ago. In reaction to a rumour that the
ADB board intended to split up the ADB in a group
for older and a group for younger members I
wrote an article in ‘Who the Pen fits’ claiming
that the ADB was becoming an ‘éminence grise’.
The article created a bit of commotion and shortly
after this I was asked to join the board as
treasurer.
What are your fondest memories of
2 living in Singapore?
For one the possibility to travel, both
for work and leisure, but also the outdoor living
and everything that comes with that – al
fresco dining, the ideal location for
sports like tennis and golf and never
having to dress your children in warm
winter clothes. Which brings me to
one of the best memories, the
fact that two of my children were
born here. Live with my family in
Singapore has been great. We were
also blessed with a maid
that made the Dutch
apple tart better
than the Dutch
themselves.
In your prologue of ADB Newsbrief
3
last month you mentioned your new
challenge in the Netherlands. Can
you tell us something about this challenge?
For 6 years I worked in the growing markets in
Asia. Especially in my capacity as director business
development, this meant an ongoing effort to
identify opportunities and to manage growth. In
the Netherlands I will work in a mature market,
where the emphasis will be much more on
organisational development and optimisation of
the service level. The additional big difference
will be the difference between the Dutch and the
Asian labour relations.
What achievements as a board
4 member of the ADB make you proud
and are there things you wanted
but failed to achieve?
As a treasurer I regard the added transparency
in the financial administration as a good
accomplishment. When I started as a treasurer I
came across a simple administration that had grown
very complex over the years. More in general,
I am proud of the fact that we were able to form
a high quality board and improved the quality
of the monthly meetings. The visit to Vopak last
month was a good example of this (smile).
What I had hoped but where we have not been
successful, was a growth of the number of
members. In itself explainable given the exodus
of expatriates from Singapore, but on the other
hand surprising as I still regard the ADB to be one
of the best networking platforms for the Dutch
business community.
How do you see the future of the
5 ADB?
In line with the vision of the current
board I see the ADB as a networking organisation
with a solid number of members that meet
frequently to attend high quality events. These
events can be presentations by excellent speakers,
interesting company visits, but also business
lunches. Not the number of meetings, but the
quality of the events is important.
However, one of the most important things for
the future of the ADB is the continuing feedback
from the members to the ADB board and editorial
committee. Only with a high level of involvement
and commitment from the members the ADB will
prove to be sustainable.
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Vol.14 • No. 1 • January 2004