NETHERLANDS - Heino van Essen, former chairman of the executive directors at PGGM, has joined the Dutch pension cooperative, PensioenCoöperatie, as its new chairman.

Van Essen, who announced his departure from PGGM in September last year, left PGGM - the fund manager of the €90bn Dutch health care fund PFZW - on January 1.

Co-founder of the organisation, Erik Klijn, told IPE his organisation is "extremely happy" to have Van Essen on board, particularly in light of several new developments the organisation is working on.

"We are launching a management training course at the business university Neyenrode on May 15, which is a one-year course of 10 modules, teaching managers about all aspects of pension fund management," said Klijn.

PensioenCoöperatie, which launched in July last year, is currently a cooperative of eight Dutch pension funds, among which large funds such as PMT and Vervoer are included, alongside smaller funds such as Wolters Kluwer.

If you have any comments you would like to add to this or any other story, contact Carolyn Bandel on +44 (0)20 7261 4622 or email carolyn.bandel@ipe.com

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