Annemarie Jorritsma about the role of private equity in the Netherlands I

Can you please tell something about yourself, your career and your role as Chairman of the NVP?
I started in local politics, thereafter I entered the Dutch House of Representatives. As representative, I have been a member of the VVD for twelve years before I became minister. In my first ministry, from 1994-1998, I was assigned to Transport, Public Works and Water Management. In my second ministry, from 1998-2002, I was minister of Economic Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister. After this last tenure, I had the pleasure to be the Mayor of Almere for twelve years. Now I am member of the Senate. Since this is not a full-time job, I have the time and space to do other things and being the chairman of the NVP is one of these.

In my opinion, the sector has to communicate more. More communication is one of my key goals. In addition, I will commit myself to advocacy. I consider the latter more as a form of explanation. The private equity industry is well known, but many do not know what private equity really means. This is quite odd, since private equity plays a big role in the economy. My mission is to make private equity well-known for a larger group, its definition and role in the economy.

‘’I will commit myself for improvement of the Dutch investment climate in order to maintain our competitive position with surrounding countries. Concerned shareholders such as private equity firms are indispensable in this improvement.’’ This is a statement you made in the Financieel Dagblad (FD) on August 31, 2015.
To what extent are you succeeding in achieving this goal in times of a financial crisis?
Corporations with a private equity firm as shareholder experienced less bankruptcies during the crisis of 2008 than corporations without investment from a private equity firm. Furthermore, the firms recovered at a higher pace. Therefore, I am convinced that when the agents know what private equity firms do, they will have a milder response to the sector. At the moment, the biggest risk, also for our investment climate, is a too rigid attitude towards the sector with possibly limiting legislation as a result. I want to prevent legislation that makes it harder for private equity firms to operate in the Netherlands. Another ‘risk’ or challenge for the sector is the decreased consumer spending. Both stock market listed companies and portfolio companies of private equity firms are suffering. The thing that stands out is that at companies held by private equity firms, the private equity firms are blamed while the crisis is the actual cause. At stock market listed companies, the crisis is rightly considered as the cause.

Henk Nijboer from the PVDA (labour party, left wing political party) wrote private members’ bill ‘Private equity: end to the excesses’. What is the reaction of the NVP to this proposal and how do you look at the default of V&D? According to many, private equity is to blame.
Henk Nijboer expresses the gut feeling of society. This feeling comes from the lack of knowledge about the sector. You can blame the sector for this. The private equity sector has been introvert over the years. The sector has to communicate more (both the NVP and its members). This is one of the three key goals as a response to the private members’ bill from Mr. Nijboer. Beside, we are going to update our code of conduct, this code is outdated. Next to updating, we are also trying to simplify the code of conduct so people can understand it easier and faster. Finally, we are working on a document for trade unions. The goal of this document is to inform trade unions about the options and possibilities when a private equity firm becomes a shareholder.

I highly regret the bankruptcy of V&D. First of all, for all the employees who lost their job. Secondly, because it was an iconic Dutch company. But the fact remains that their business model was fairly outdated. Sun Capital probably lost tens of millions on V&D. That was not their intention. Is the bankruptcy of V&D the fault of this private equity company? I do not think so, if V&D wouldn’t have been acquired by Sun Capital, it would probably have gone bankrupt at an earlier stage.

How difficult is it for you to stay/remain neutral in your job as Chairman of the NVP, while at the same time you are a VVD politician? One can think that you, as Chairman of the NVP, asked to lobby for a better position of private equity in the Netherlands.
I was contacted for this position before private equity became an issue in Parliament. In fact, I did not even count on private equity becoming an issue. I accepted this position because I consider the private equity sector to be important for the Dutch economy.  Therefore, it should be understood better by the people.  It is not hard for me to be neutral in politics. As mayor, everyone knows that you are part of a political party but you set yourself above party politics. Of course, I will not be the spokesperson on this topic in the Senate, it is simply not allowed in our group. But we take care that the House of Representatives has to be informed as much as possible. As a Member of Parliament, you have to be well informed about all the issues in society. Lobbyists bring this information. Therefore, I consider lobbying to be very important. A member of parliament who does not listen to the voice of a group in society will never be a good member of parliament. You have to make your own choices based on the facts brought forward by different groups. A member of the House of Representatives has the responsibility to listen to other arguments. I think it is not difficult and it is actually more an advantage that you know how the political system works and how you can contribute to it.