PROFILE HERMAN MULDER
General profile: Former executive in leading global bank , now independent board member resp. advisor with particular focus on broad range of sustainable development issues in “glocal “context; worldconnector.
Basic data:
Born: 7 June 1946, The Hague, Netherlands
Education: Gymnasium-B (The Hague 1964); Master-at-Law (Leiden University 1969); Bachelor Economics (Rotterdam University 1972); Executive Management Programs (INSEAD, 1996)
Languages: Speak: Dutch, English, French, German; read-only: Spanish, latin, ancient greek
Marital status: married, 4 sons (2 graduated from Delft University; 1 graduated from Maastricht University; 1 student at Delft University)
Address: Plaggenweg 385, 1406TT Bussum, Netherlands
Sports: skiing, golf
Special interests: geo-politics, travelling, philosophy, wine
Contacts: e-mail:
Mobile phone: +31653369879
Employment history:
1970-1971: Dutch military service, the Hague
1972-1979: Pakhoed Holding (oil-services: Rotterdam; Blue Bell, Pa, USA): treasury/control, new business development;
1979-2006: ABN AMRO Bank: relationshipmanager (energy sector: SVP); credit work-out division (Head,SVP); structured/project finance & syndication(Global Head, EVP); risk management (Head Group Risk Management, co-Head Group Risk Committee, SEVP); creator of the ABN AMRO Foundation (first chairman); chairman Divisional Staff Council
1998-2004: non-Executive Director of Bank of Asia (Bangkok) Special achievements:
Lead ABN AMRO to become the leading international infrastructure financing bank in the 90’s: ABN AMRO was “Bank of the Year 1995”
Lead ABN AMRO to become the premier global bank in CSR/Sustainable Development in period 2003- 2007: Sustainable Global Bank of the Year 2007, Sustainable Emerging Markets Bank 2007 (India), Sustainable Emerging Markets Bank 2006 (Brazil); winner of the WEC-medal 2006, winner of Best Sustainability Report 2005, 2006;
Initiator of the Equator Principles for Project Finance (2002), now adopted by 60 banks
Knight in the Royal Order of Oranje-Nassau (2005) for his national and international efforts on Sustainable Development for business since 1998
Named among “100 most influential people in finance” by the US Treasury and Risk Management Magazine(July 2007)
Frequent publicist and speaker/panelist on issues related to risk management , infrastructure finance, local capital market development, finance for development (incl. micro finance in India), sustainable development(incl climate as challenge & opportunity, value chain), business ethics, corporate governance, “new scarcities” (water, food, biodiversity, skills)
Post-retirement focus:
Mr Mulder took a conscientious decision mid 2006 to retire from ABN AMRO to dedicate himself fully to ” international sustainable development as a business case”. His many activities in combination with his very extensive, diverse, high level policy- and practicioners’-oriented network, enables him to “connect” themes, people and initiatives, to create coalitions within the business sector and with their stakeholders, offering new business opportunities and/ or integrated solutions. Apart from Europe and North America, India has his particular interest, a country which he visits frequently.
Below functions are reflecting his broad interest and ambition to combine the many different aspects of “making markets work for sustainability” : enabling policy-making, non-financial reporting, multi- stakeholder cooperation (incl. NGO’s, consumer, investors).
Roles, functions
Member of the (Dutch) Worldconnector Committee: see website
Senior Advisor to World Business Council for Sustainable Development(Geneva)
Senior Advisor to UN Global Compact(New York) Member of the Board of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI); member audit committee,Amstedam
Member of the Board of Dutch Committee for Development Cooperation(NCDO), member audit committee, Amsterdam
Advisor to the Club of Madrid (CoM): CoM is group of former world-leaders offering opinions and services on multiple issues, such as climate; member of climate panel, Madrid
Member of the Special Mediation Committee of the Dutch National Contact Point ref the OECD Guidelines for multi-national enterprises. The Hague
Member of the Board of Utz Certified; member audit committee, Amsterdam
Member of the Board of Business in Development (BiD): offering technical and financial support to qualifying SME’s worldwide, Amsterdam
Vice-Chairman of the ABN AMRO Foundation India, Mumbai
Member of the Board of MicroSave, India (capacity building in microfinance), Lucknow
Member of the Steering Committee for the Business Forum of the UN Finance for Development Conference in Doha: Monterrey II (New York)
Member of the World Bank Extractive Industries Advisory Group, Washington DC
Member of the TEEB Advisory Board: “The Economics of Ecosystems and Bio-diversity”, Bonn/Mumbai
Advisor the Earth Charter International Council, Costa Rica/Amsterdam
Member of the Core Faculty of SustAinability (Elkington et al), London
Member of the Roundtable (=advisory board) of OXFAM NOVIB, The Hague
Member of Steering Committee of Dutch Chapter of the Global Compact, the Hague
Member of Advisory Committee to the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS/TERI)
Member , lecturer of the Core Faculty of the Business Leaders’ Program on poverty reduction by University of Cambridge/Prince of Wales
Advisor to Triple Value on business impact analyses on fragile communities, the Hague
Member of the VBDO-jury on responsible Supply Chains for the AEX listed companies
Active participation on issues such as: human rights; public-private partnerships; consensus building & mediation; social, environmental and ethical standards; social venture capital (i.a. at John F Kennedy School/Harvard) Some recent publications/speeches
The Fortune at the Top of the Pyramid, British Council, Mumbai, October 2007
The G L Mehta Memorial Lecture, IFMR, Chennai, February 2008
The role of Chambers of Commerce& Industry in Combating Global Warming, Mumbai, February 2008
Inclusive Growth Needs an Inclusive Architecture (Europe’s World, June 2008 issue)
Bussum, 17 May 2008