Apparently, you can go home again … even if the place has been, er, remodeled … a lot.
Rutger Schellens will rejoin ABN Amro as head of financial institutions and real estate within the bank's large corporate and merchant banking business on Nov. 1 after nine years away from the company.
A lot changed at ABN Amro while he was gone. A consortium of three European banks bought it in 2007, and the Dutch government nationalized the portion of the company owned by Fortis the following year when the financial crisis hit. It has endured some complex restructuring since then. As the Dutch government prepares the bank for sale, ABN Amro is cutting thousands of jobs.
Schellens is replacing Jaap Kalverkamp, who was named country executive and head of large corporate and merchant banking in the United States.
"So far so good," Schellens said of his return to the headquarters in Amsterdam. "I was already walking into the building and familiar faces looked very surprised to see me."
Schellens began working for the bank in 1985 and held various senior positions in the financial markets business. Around 2000, he said, he began thinking about his role and that he might be ready for a change. "I didn't feel like I was fitting in," he said.
He left in 2002 for Rabobank International, where he served as a member of the managing board and was responsible for global financial markets and the European region. For the past year, he had done consulting work on his own.
The revamped company is a good match for him, Schellens said.
"It's an entirely different bank," he said. "The bank is trying to build up a new business by trying to make sure they have relationships in business areas they are interested in. With my knowledge and my experience, I hope I can add value to our clients."
Schellens thinks his hiatus provides a fresh perspective.
"I definitely should give a more objective look at what is good and what is not," he said.
