The Big Interview: Robeco CEO on joining the ETF race, navigating regulatory change and UK expansion

Karin van Baardwijk

Karin van Baardwijk had spent close to two decades working at Robeco before she took on the chief executive role at the start of 2022, just as asset managers entered one of the most tumultuous periods for the industry in recent years.

While investors grappled with a drastic shift in the direction of central bank policy, geopolitics and negative returns across many asset classes, van Baardwijk approached the first two years of her tenure with the unique confidence of someone well-acquainted with the intricacies of a business. "It was good for me to be in this company for many, many years before I took over the role, because 1 January 2022 wasn't the easiest time to get started," she says.  van Baardwijk held myriad roles across the organisation before landing the CEO seat at the Rotterdam-based asset manager. Having...