Robert van der Eijk joins PwC Belgium

Robert van der Eijk joins PwC Belgium as a Partner to reinforce the Financial Services Advisory practice

Brussels, 4 May - As of 1 May, PwC Belgium welcomes Robert van der Eijk as a further reinforcement of the Advisory line of service. As a new Partner, Robert will particularly focus on Operations Effectiveness (OE) within the Financial Services sector. At the same time, Robert will support the Advisory practice on the Insurance sector side. His activities will be pan-European in scale.

Within the Advisory line of service, PwC’s third, alongside Assurance and Tax & Legal, industry specialisation is an important part of how PwC best serves its clients.
Financial Services (FS) is the obvious choice because it shows the biggest growth potential as far as Financial & Business Consulting Capabilities are concerned, according to the 2006 Kennedy Inc. Survey.
Robert will work on integrating the OE service offering, thus facilitating an even better response to the expectations of our FS clients. That is also why, in the coming weeks, the OE team will be joined by two newly hired Directors and further supported by an extended team of FS professionals.

Eddy Schuermans, Managing Partner of PwC Advisory Belgium , explains that Robert’s arrival “conveniently complements our current capabilities in FS Advisory, which are built around Governance & Risk Management, Regulatory & Compliance Management as well as Tax services. The unprecedented change and the increased need for operational excellence in the FS landscape, coupled with our ambition to be a leading advisor in this field compelled us to make this investment.”

Robert van der Eijk is bringing a wealth of expertise to PwC Advisory thanks to his thorough experience in the domain of Financial Services Operations, which he acquired with (amongst others) IBM Business Consulting Services (which replaced PwC’s former Management Consulting Services). As an Associated Partner in the Financial Services Operating Unit, he was responsible for business development in the FS sector and for the go-to-market.
He was simultaneously Account Manager for Fortis Benelux and a member of the IBM Management Team FS Benelux.

In December 2003, Robert moved to Unisys Belgium, where he became Partner and Practice Leader for Global Financial Services, which under his impulse turned into a profitable line of service and, consequently, strengthened Unisys’s FS position towards competition. Robert was also member of the Executive Board of Unisys Belgium.

Robert comments on his new challenge at PwC as follows : “Combining the expertise of Assurance, Tax & Legal and Advisory in the domain of Operational Effectiveness is providing a complete offer to the Financial Services sector. Take for example the Solvency II Directive, which has audit, tax and operational consequences for an insurance company. If we look further at the ongoing consolidation in the market as well the off/near shore sourcing dilemma, Operational Effectiveness is becoming more and more crucial for the Financial Services sector – not only to survive but also to be ready for revenue growth and cost optimisation. I am glad to be part of this new journey.”

Note to the editors :

PwC ( www.pwc.com ) provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to build public trust and enhance value for its clients and their stakeholders. More than 140,000 people in 149 countries across our network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice.

“PwC” refers to the network of member firms of PwC International Limited, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity.