Leasing Life catches up with
former subjects of On The Move to see how they have fared
in their new roles
Frank Stienstra – CEO of Amstel
Lease
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Amstel Lease’s CEO Frank Stienstra has taken
his first steps into leasing during the most turbulent of
times.
Since joining Amstel in January 2009
– after working 15 years with the Dutch lessor’s parent company,
ABN Amro – he was confronted with all sorts of challenges, from the
failed merger with Fortis Lease to seeing a huge drop in
investment. However, under Stienstra’s leadership, coupled with
Amstel leasing veteran Robert Peterson’s expertise, the lessor has
managed to keep its new business volume unchanged compared to last
year.
Moreover, Amstel’s SME client base,
which is mainly in the turbulent agriculture and transport sectors,
increased by around 10 percent over the last three quarters.
Stienstra’s strategy during these
months has included working very closely with ABN Amro, in order to
increase lease penetration with the bank’s clients.
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By GlobalDataThis was combined with a strong
advertising campaign in the first quarter.
He also undertook a series of
actions to maintain the relationship with Amstel’s existing
clients. These included doubling the amount of client visits to
larger customers, as well as creating an e-magazine to reach
smaller clients, to inform them about the latest development in
leasing.
Stienstra is now confident that
these measures, coupled with a continued focus on SME-sized
businesses and the company’s willingness to finance assets it
traditionally wouldn’t finance – including ferries, equipment for
pop concerts and even for a manufacturer of pet food packaging –
will help Amstel to remain profitable.
Ludwig Fischer – Invigors
Five months after Ludwig Fischer joined
Invigors to set up the lease consultancy’s German operations,
Leasing Life caught up with him to see how the job was
going.
“It has been very interesting, but
challenging in the current market conditions,” he said.
Fischer’s role at Invigors’ German
operation is two-fold, he explained. On the one hand, many leasing
and asset finance companies are restructuring or pulling out of
certain market segments, but there are also a number of US or UK
lessors looking to move into Germany.
“These are two sides to the coin,
but interestingly enough, I have seen more on the side where
companies are looking at moving to Europe. In fact, I have been
working with a number of UK-based companies that are considering
moving to Germany, just trying to get a foot in the door here.”
The German market, which counts
between 1,500 and 1,800 leasing companies, is very different from
the UK, Fischer explained. He believes his experience can help
companies to enter the market.
“There is a lot of movement in the
German market, and I expect the next 12 to 18 months will see a
number of the smaller companies pull out, or be acquired by bigger
players,” he said.
Despite the economic turmoil,
Fischer said he was enjoying his new job and the challenges it
brings.
“I have been working for American
leasing companies for nearly 20 years, and what I have realised is
that something that works in the US or the UK might not be as easy
to implement in other European countries – and that is where I can
add value.”
