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By Peter, August 19, 2009 23:57

After almost three weeks at EtamGroep in Zoetermeer everyone is probably wondering how I am doing there. Being a CFO in fashion. Being a man in a company where 90% of the employees are women. Working with a female CEO. Questions that were asked already a few months ago, but could not be answered then. I will try to give some first impressions.

Continue reading 'My first Etam Groep Impressions. I have the virus!!'»

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By Peter, July 21, 2009 01:07

That my Blog post with the same name would have such an impact, I could not foresee, but the media want to write juicy stories (especially when it’s about media).  It’s just like stories going around: it starts with a fly and it ends with an elephant. And of course people only read, what they want to read, making their own assumptions.

There was one thing that I wanted to make clear: my transfer from Audax to Etamgroep did not have anything to do with the dismissal of Carel Bikkers. And I also wanted to make clear that there was (and is) no crisis at Audax. With all the publicity my weblog had, I succeeded in spreading that news. And the 2008 results,  that Audax has published last week, underlined my statement.

But all the media – after reading my weblog – concluded that I stated that Carel Bikkers wants to harm Audax. I did not, but readers who want to read such things, thought they find enough evidence between the lines to draw this conclusion. I had a telephone call with Carel earlier today and he stressed that he did not have anything to do with the two articles in De Telegraaf and he was not happy with these publications either. These articles were not only harming Audax but also harming his own case against Audax as well. And that is true!

Carel has stated in the press that he is going to court to challenge his dismissal. I do not want to be a part of that discussion and I also do not want to influence – not in any way – the course of justice. As far as I am concerned, this will be my last post on the Audax-Bikkers case. No further comments!

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By Peter, June 16, 2009 18:57

Every year in June, all the CFO’s (or wannabes) come together for almost two days in Noordwijkerhout to grant the “CFO of the Year Awards” and to have discussions (round tables and break out sessions) about actual themes. The main theme this year was ‘Leadership in Finance’. The happening is organised by Mando Vroling of Alex van Groningen and  gets better and better every year. The meeting consists of two parts:. the pre-conference day and the CFO Day itself, where the prizes are awarded. The pre-conference day is more or less the place to be. What you see is that a lot of (mostly AEX) CFO’s only attend this first day. And a few of them come solely to Noorwijkerhout for the VIP Dinner, the drinks before and the Party after the dinner. It is more or less some sort of reunion. Seeing all your peers again and have discussions about the struggle in these hard economic times and of course hear how well (or how bad) you are doing yourself. Continue reading 'CFO Day 2009'»

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By Peter, May 29, 2009 14:37

Today, the CEO of Etam Groep, Beatrice Macdonald, made the following announcement:

Dear colleagues,

I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Peter van Dongen as our new CFO and Director ERS.
Peter starts on the 1st of August 2009, and will report into me.

Peter is a chartered accountant (CPA), with twelve years experience in public accounting with (a predecessor of) a ‘Big Four’ firm and 17 years in finance management, 9 of which as CFO with a family owned company (Audax B.V.), similar in turnover to Etam Groep, but which includes both retail (AKO, 103 stores) and wholesale companies. Audax operates a complex, high-risk supply chain, recognised as state of the art in today’s market. Besides Finance, Peter has been responsible for IT management and for the implementation of large IT and Logistics projects such as SAP.

Continue reading 'Official statement Etam Groep May 29th, 2009'»