Dutch asset manager Bouwinvest has made two new appointments to its supervisory board, after a falling-out over strategy led to all four previous members of the firm’s oversight panel leaving the company.
Jos Nijhuis, former CEO of the Schiphol Group, and Jos van Lange, former CEO of Rabo Real Estate, take up the two positions, with Nijhuis in the role of chairman and Lange handling responsibility for finance and risk oversight.
Bouwinvest has been without a supervisory panel for more than a month, following a chain of events which began in December last year, when the company was finalising its new strategy and concurrently the tenures of two members of the then-sitting board were coming to an end.
During the course of discussions about the company’s future direction, differences of opinion emerged between management and its sole shareholder - construction workers’ pension fund bpfBOUW - on one side and the board on the other, over the impact upon the company of the proposed strategy. A core element of that future strategy is sustainability.
Talks to bridge the divide failed to bring resolution, eventually reaching a point where the company faced an ultimatum, to the effect that the remaining two members of the supervisory board would depart the firm with the pair whose tenures were up, over this point of difference. The company agreed to this.
It is understood bpfBOUW favoured the new strategy taking priority over the supervisory board’s opinion. As a result, the board - comprising chair Kees Beuving, Jan van der Vlist, Roel Wijmenga and Carolien Gehrels - resigned. They agreed in the process to stay until the next meeting of shareholders, which took place last month.
The appointment of half of the new supervisory board partially brings down the curtain on the episode, after five months. The remaining two appointments will be made in due course, the company said. Bouwinvest is one of Europe's leading real estate asset managers with €11.3 bn of assets under management in 2018, up 20% on the previous year.
Announcing Nijhuis’s and Van Lange’s arrival, Bouwinvest’s CEO Dick van Hal said: ‘I am happy with our new supervisory board chairman and member. Both bring a lot of relevant experience to these roles.
‘Jos Nijhuis has a lot of first-hand experience with strategic, organisational changes at companies in the midst of a dynamic period of social change. Jos van Lange’s background as an accountant is a good fit with our ambitions in the area of finance and risk. With our new supervisory board, we can continue pursuing the strategic course we have embarked on.’
Both new members of Bouwinvest’s oversight board bring extensive experience to their roles. Nijhuis has held supervisory board positions in the financial sector at AON Group Nederland and SNS Reaal / Volksbank. Meanwhile, Van Lange has held positions at Rabobank Nederland and Rabo Real Estate Group, including as CEO from 2013 until 2017.
