CEO, Robeco
This is a pre-event interview in the run-up to the Leaders in Sustainable Finance Event 2025 on 30th January 2025.
Jeroen: Karin van Baardwijk, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with Leaders in Finance in the lead-up to the Leaders in Sustainable Finance event on January 30th. To start, could you please introduce yourself and share more about your background, as well as the organization you represent?
Karin: My name is Karin van Baardwijk, CEO of Robeco. This is my fourth year in this role, and I’ve been with the company for 20 years. Over the years, I’ve held various positions, in asset management from risk to technology to being a COO and today as CEO.
Jeroen: That’s been quite a journey. Did you ever expect, five or ten years ago—or even earlier—that you would one day lead this organization as CEO?
Karin: No, I never woke up thinking, “I’m going to run the company.” But I believe it’s the result of a combination of being ambitious, taking the opportunities provided, and continuously learning, improving, and developing yourself that ultimately led me to this position. I’m extremely proud to be leading this company forward.
Jeroen: If I’m not mistaken, Robeco is widely recognized as one of the first companies to highlight the importance of sustainable finance — or ESG investing, or whatever term you prefer. Am I correct, or am I giving you too much credit?
Karin: You see many asset managers jumping on the topic of sustainable investing over the past decade. I truly believe that Robeco hasn’t jumped on this trend in the last ten years because we’ve been doing it and integrating sustainable investing into everything we do for a very long time. We’ve been involved in this topic since the 1980s. So, it’s something that’s very close to our heart and deeply embedded in our DNA. For us, it’s not a hype or something new—it’s one of our core capabilities.
Jeroen: At the moment, I think it’s impossible to miss that there’s significant pushback on sustainable finance and sustainability in general, driven by a changing political environment and legal threats, particularly in the US. So, how do you see this? Is it actually reversing the trend of financial institutions moving towards more sustainable finance?
Karin: If we look at the legal and political aspects, we observe many differences as a global asset manager. Every year, Robeco conducts a global climate survey, and last year we clearly saw increased regional differences, especially around climate investing. It reflects the markets in which we operate. For us, it is absolutely clear that this topic holds different meanings for everyone because each operates in a different context: everyone has a different definition and a different priority. What is important for us is to ensure that, as a company, we are not prescriptive about what should or shouldn’t be done. Instead, we listen carefully to our clients and accept that this topic can carry different weight or develop at a different pace, depending on the context. One thing we are absolutely sure of is that, if you look at the increasing weather extremes—which we see in the news on a daily basis, especially now in the US with the wildfires—this topic is not going away. The timing and pace may change, but the relevance of this topic will remain on our clients’ agendas going forward. I think what is important for us, and what we can do in the meantime, is to see how we can work together as a financial ecosystem and strengthen global alliances. There are many initiatives, such as Nature Action 100 or COP commitments, aimed at countering fragmented national policies, and this is something we clearly observe as well. When everyone is working on their own island or focusing solely on national policies, we miss out on opportunities to achieve something overarching that unites all parties. Other aspects are also relevant. For example, leveraging strong regulatory and market positions to promote global benchmarks is, in my view, very important for sustainable finance. Another emerging topic is transition investing, which means supporting companies that are not green today but have credible ambitions for a sustainable future. This requires substantial capital allocation to innovate financing models, and it also requires creativity from asset managers to come up with solutions that facilitate this transition. Another one that is relevant to mention is active ownership. Continuing to advocate for accountability, diversity, and climate action through shareholder engagements is essential to ensure these topics remain a priority within governments and organizations to drive meaningful change.
To summarize, priorities, definitions, and the pace of change may vary, but the relevance of this topic will be there over time. It is up to all of us to join forces and look beyond the borders of our own countries.
Jeroen: That’s great, thank you. You mentioned earlier that you’ve been active in this space since the 1980s. Given the political pushback, does it actually affect your strategy, or is it something you simply navigate as part of your ongoing efforts? Or do you feel it matters because your customers are responding to it, and that’s why you need to adjust your approach as well?
Karin: Yes, one of the points I made earlier is that, as an active manager, it’s crucial for us to focus on our core objective: investing money and ensuring a return on investment. How we define that—whether by prioritizing sustainability goals or financial results, or a combination of both—depends on our clients. The political pushback doesn’t change the relevance of our strategy; what it does change is the need for us to listen closely to our clients. We must understand their context and priorities. If those priorities shift, we need to engage in dialogue and adjust our approach to meet their evolving needs by offering customized solutions. What changes for us is the need to stay ahead of our clients’ needs, as their demands may evolve. But sustainable investing will continue to be a key part of our investment strategy.
Jeroen: Do you have some concrete and specific examples of initiatives that Robeco is undertaking in relation to sustainable finance?
Karin: There’s a lot we do, especially around engagement and active ownership. But I think what’s even more important is not just what we, as a company, do. It’s also about the global initiatives I mentioned earlier. For example, Climate Action 100+, the world’s largest collaborative initiative focused on the biggest emitters. Several companies have made significant strides toward transitioning to a low-carbon economy, and this initiative highlights what can be achieved when global investors unite. We’re part of this initiative, we unite with others to work together.
Jeroen: Within your own strategy or products, aside from collaborating with others, are there specific actions you’re not taking or particular steps you’re focusing on to promote the transition
Karin: Yes, there is a broad range of solutions and products we have developed around transition investing. For example, in Asia, particularly in Singapore, we’ve seen strong regulatory support. A few years ago, Singapore’s regulatory authorities published a paper on transition investing, urging asset owners and asset managers to collaborate in driving this transition. In response, we focused on creating investments and solutions that support transition investing. We developed a product range specifically designed to facilitate this shift. This serves as a concrete example of how transition investing can be supported—not just locally in Singapore, but on a broader scale. Additionally, this topic is now expanding from Asia into Europe.
Jeroen: Switching gears to the final question: whenever we have the chance to speak with C-level executives, we like to ask: What advice or tips would you offer to someone starting their career, either in financial services or more broadly? Or perhaps a tip for someone starting at Robeco, or even advice you would give to yourself when you first began your career, many years ago.
Karin: One important thing when starting out is that, coming from university, you often don’t know what to expect. All you know comes from books, workshops, and these kind of things. That’s why it’s crucial to look for organizations that offer internships. Internships allow you to get a look inside the kitchen, helping you determine whether a specific role or company aligns with your interests, but also to develop yourself and to create your own voice. I think one thing people often do is try to blend in as much as possible in the organizations where they’ve just started their careers. They feel that by understanding the culture and recognizing what success looks like, they can shape themselves in a way that gets them seen and recognized, eventually leading to a successful career at the company. But the more you progress in life and in your career, you’ll realize that the true power you have is the ability to simply be yourself and stay true to who you are, with all your strengths, opportunities, and perhaps also your weaknesses. So, my advice would be not to try too hard to blend in, but to stick to who you are, because that alone makes a difference and shows that the power of being yourself is the greatest strength an individual can have.
Jeroen: Beautifully put. You should have told me this 20 years ago. I think I blended in too much at the beginning, and I’ve definitely seen the development you described in myself. You may have experienced it as well. But anyway, thank you so much, Karin van Baardwijk, CEO of Robeco, for taking the time to speak with Leaders in Finance. As I mentioned at the beginning, this is a pre-event interview leading up to the Leaders in Sustainable Finance Event on the 30th of January, 2025, where Karin van Baardwijk will participate in one of the panels.
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