EUROPE – Two high-level Netherlands and UK executives, Marc Verberne and Dermot Keegan, have quit ABN Amro Asset Management to join rivals.

Dutch chief operations officer Verberne has joined merchant bank NIBC as financial markets operating chief. UK institutional head Keegan is joining Old Mutual to run its institutional business.

The departures follow the arrival of Sarah Russell as the new chief executive of the division in January.

Verberne, 42, was at ABN Amro AM for approximately four years, an ABN Amro spokesperson told IPE. Before this, he was at Fortis. He started at NIBC on April 1, and reports to financial markets managing director Jac Besuijen.

ABN Amro AM operating officer Wayne Dove will succeed Verberne. “The pool of responsibilities has been reshuffled,” the spokesman said.

At NIBC Verberne will be in charge of a roughly 30-strong team, taking over from chief financial officer/financial markets chief Bart van der Spek, who joined NIBC Group Finance in mid March.

Keegan is joining Old Mutual Asset Managers as managing director of its £3bn (€4.3bn) institutional business.

He will run an eight-strong team when he starts at OMAM on April 24, a spokesperson for OMAM told IPE. He joined ABN Amro AM in 1998.

According to OMAM, Keegan has been appointed to a new position. Previously, institutional business was handled “geographically”. However, Keegan’s appointment “wraps it all together”, IPE was told.

Hedge funds make up 50% of OMAM’s institutional business.

In January, Sarah Russell formerly took over the role as chief executive of ABN Amro’s asset management division from Huibert Boumeester.


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