Olof Könst: From O4 & Partners Private Office to Navis Private Office
This special was originally written in Dutch. This is an English translation.
‘Structure, creativity and, above all, lots of energy.’
Congratulations on your new step. How do you like your new position?
‘Very much! It's nice to be part of a fast-growing organisation and to be able to contribute to that growth. The current size offers opportunities to further professionalise our services by setting up an Investment Office.’
Which aspects of your job already give you energy?
“Thinking about what the company will look like in five years” time and then determining the route to get there. That requires structure, creativity and, above all, a lot of energy. What steps are we going to take in the coming years? What do we need to do that? And how do we take our clients with us on this journey? I'm really looking forward to that!'
What was your very first (holiday) job and what did you learn there?
‘One of my first holiday jobs was catching chickens that needed to be transported. The first chickens were easy to catch, as they were standing side by side in an overcrowded hall. But when you find yourself running around a dusty hall later in the day chasing the last four chickens, you quickly realise that finishing school isn't such a crazy idea after all.’
How and when did you come into contact with Navis Private Office?
‘I had worked with two of the current three partners before and had always kept in touch over the years. Now that the company is entering its next phase of growth, the question arose as to whether I would like to contribute to this. I was able to combine this perfectly with a number of other activities that I am setting up with Willem Jan Pelle, with whom I used to work at MN.’
What do you expect to achieve there as Investment Manager?
‘The main goal is for Navis Private Office to be able to keep a large group of clients satisfied and attract new clients. If we look back in five years’ time and regularly receive bouquets of flowers from satisfied clients, then the mission will have been accomplished.’
What is the most important thing you learned in your previous jobs, and how are you applying that to this new role?
‘I started my career at MN (then MN Services), which coincided with the rise of fiduciary investing under the leadership of Hans Rademakers and Jan Bertus Molenkamp, who later left their mark on the development of fiduciary management. I then went on to work for large institutional asset managers who had to relate to this development in one way or another. When I made the move to family offices six years ago, it quickly became clear to me that this institutional experience is particularly useful for the growth that this sector is currently experiencing. It is not (yet) called fiduciary, but it does form a blueprint of what the services of a family office could look like.’
What are your personal ambitions?
‘To become an Olympic padel champion with Rogier Rake, but that means we'll have to train more than once a year.’
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1996 Business Administration – Nyenrode University 1971 Born in Amstelveen |