Alexander Zwart Appointed Chief Innovation and Technology Officer at Rabobank, Succeeding Bart Leurs

(IN BRIEF) Alexander Zwart will assume the role of Chief Innovation and Technology Officer (CITO) at Rabobank, joining the Managing Board as of 1 December. In this position, he will oversee Technology, Data and Analytics, Digital Transformation, and Innovation for a four-year term, succeeding Bart Leurs. Zwart’s extensive career at Rabobank includes roles in various areas such as cash management operations, digital customer platforms, and tech departments. His appointment is contingent on positive supervisory assessments. The change also marks Bart Leurs’ departure after seven years with Rabobank, during which he played a key role in driving digital transformation and innovation.

(PRESS RELEASE) UTRECHT, 24-Aug-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — Alexander Zwart’s career took off with a traineeship at Coca-Cola in 1997 after receiving his Master’s degree in Business Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam that same year. He switched to energy supplier Nuon in 2001 where he was part of a business development team that started an energy company in Belgium and Germany. In 2008, Zwart joined Rabobank as Head of Cash Management Operations. Afterwards, he was as Tribelead responsible for the digital customer platforms of the bank and co-led the implementation of Agile working. In his current role, he is responsible for the tech departments of Rabobank Retail Netherlands.

On behalf of Rabobank’s Supervisory Board, chair Marjan Trompetter notes she is very pleased with this appointment: “Alexander has a long history at Rabobank and is very much acquainted with the core of Rabobank’s technology and digitalization. He has shown he can drive hugely complex changes within the bank, something you cannot achieve without truly connecting to people and building strong teams. And, following Els Kamphof, I’m delighted to see yet another talented Rabobank executive rising the ranks to our board level.”

The arrival of Zwart also marks the departure of Bart Leurs, who has decided to leave the bank after 7 years. Marjan Trompetter: “Bart joined Rabobank in 2016, as our head of Fintech and Innovation, and entered the Managing Board the year after as our Digital Transformation Officer. From 2021 Bart became as CITO responsible for Technology, Data, and Innovation. Bart has contributed to the strategy of the bank by accelerating the digital transformation and guiding the bank into an Agile way of working. Bart has also created an environment in which colleagues could generate impactful innovations for the bank like Peaks, Surepay, Fundr, and Acorn. In his last role, Bart was very much focused on the stability and resilience of the bank and its technology platforms. He has also put strong focus and emphasis on cyber risk, data quality, and the attractiveness of Rabobank as a tech employer, acknowledged by Computable as the #1 tech employer of the non-tech companies in the Netherlands.”

Stefaan Decraene, chair of the Managing Board, adds: “We thank Bart for his support of our mission Growing a Better World Together, and look forward to working even more closely together with Alexander on the Managing Board.”

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SOURCE: Rabobank