Rob is based in Spencer Stuart’s Netherlands office, and works with the boards of industrial, energy and chemicals companies globally and in the Netherlands to improve the performance of their executive and non-executive teams. He does this by bringing the best from Spencer Stuart’s global team to his clients and he has a successful track record of diverse placements. Rob has lived across the globe and speaks several languages fluently, including English, Dutch, Spanish, German, Italian and French.

Expertise

Rob has specialized experience in:

  • CEO succession
  • Supervisory board roles
  • Search for industrial companies
  • Diversity
  • Specific industry expertise in energy, process industries, chemicals, offshore/marine and utilities

 

Recent work

  • Leading several CEO, CFO and COO succession projects for various utility companies
  • Recruiting a female CEO for a high-profile national champion in energy distribution
  • Helping a major oil and gas firm attract world-class talent for its renewable energy business
  • Recruiting a range of first-time female non-executive directors for both listed, public and private equity-backed businesses
  • Completing a highly successful CEO succession project for a Euronext engineering firm, which was followed by a significant share price increase upon announcement
  • Helping a newly merged multibillion-Euro company build a new leadership team
  • Leading several CEO-succession projects for private equity portfolio companies in the chemicals and energy space, including a highly sensitive CEO succession project for a large portfolio company of one of the world’s eminent private equity firms

Previous Experience

  • Various senior management roles with Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Spain and Argentina
  • Served on the supervisory board of directors of Shell & Turcas A.S. (STAS)
  • Founded and led Spencer Stuart’s Energy Practice in EMEA

Education

  • Ph.D. and M.S. in applied physics from Eindhoven University of Technology
  • Studied applied finance and investment at the Securities Institute of Australia

Practice Areas