Herbert Fikkers

“Even as a trainee, I took a big step outside my comfort zone when I went to ING in Bangkok. I was the only Dutch person there at that time. But I threw myself into it, and even wrote a blog about my experiences for the Dutch financial newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad.”

After his traineeship, Herbert became a financial controller – first at insurance firm Nationale Nederlanden (which was then part of ING), and subsequently at the bank itself. “That role taught me about the inner workings of a bank. After a few years, I wanted to know more about what happens on the outside too: how do our clients act in the real economy? They make business investments, which we facilitate, but how does that actually work? So I took the initiative to do the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) course. That was tough; I spent three years doing little else than studying and working. But it was well worth it, because it further broadened my relevance.”

Herbert found what he was looking for in Acquisition Finance and Structured Lending: a department where he had lots of client contact. As Deal Captain, he led ever-bigger loans, and that didn’t escape the notice of Corporate Investments. “When they tipped me off about a vacancy, I immediately knew it was exactly what I wanted to do.”

Corporate Investments’ transactions are regarded as the riskiest and most complex investments because they are in ING’s name. In other words, the bank becomes a shareholder in businesses. “I work in Sustainable Investments, where we invest in the sustainability transition. We often deal with start-ups, scale-ups or ‘first of a kind’ producers: companies that usually don’t have positive cashflows yet, let alone make a profit. That’s an additional risk. As a bank, we consider it important to help these kinds of companies grow. They can have an ever-bigger impact. And if businesses don’t make the sustainability switch, they won’t survive. We really take a long-term view.”

“I find it fascinating to be so closely involved in the transition to doing business sustainably. A number of hugely interesting technological advancements are being applied by smart entrepreneurs in potentially groundbreaking ways. For example, we recently invested in a new first-of-a-kind factory with a circular solution to plastic waste. In this project, I worked with two chemical technologists who are colleagues from our own Sustainable Investments team. We learn a lot from each other.”

“Besides being hugely interested in the financial aspect of investing, I also want to contribute to a better world. The steps we take are relatively small, but every little helps. Doing nothing is not an option; our children are already growing up in a world facing a climate crisis. I do what I can through my work. Fortunately, sustainability is firmly anchored in ING’s strategy.”