What might it be like to sign an employment contract whose entire content changes one month later? Henk Derksen, who has been CFO of the Duisburg-based family business Haniel since October 2023, could provide some answers. Because when he took up his post, he was suddenly not only CFO, but had to act as interim CEO. Haniel had parted ways with CEO Thomas Schmidt shortly beforehand.

However, Derksen is not one to talk too much about how he feels, and during the interview the 55-year-old smiles away questions that he does not want to answer. „It wasn't planned for me to take on additional CEO duties when I started the job. However, the advantage for me was that I was forced to familiarise myself with the business and teams more quickly than usual,“ he says.

As a new CFO, you normally start by focussing on your own area before delving deeper into the operational business. The Dutchman should know, as his CV corresponds to the classic CFO career path. After studying economics in Arnhem, he began his professional career at PwC and then worked for 21 years at Belden, a US provider of data transmission solutions. Before being promoted to CFO there in 2012, he worked in the finance department in a wide range of roles – from corporate finance to treasury and financial planning. In 2021, he moved to the technology company Viavi in Arizona as CFO. Haniel poached him from there.

At that time, there was still no talk of the strategy that the family behind Haniel wanted to develop. However, the strategy is now in place. „The advantage is that we are now not moving in a new direction every five years, but have a long-term guard rail to which we can align the strategy in detail,“ explains Derksen. Managers come and go, but the owners, especially in family-owned companies, stay.

Specifically, Haniel wants to build up a second pillar alongside the pillar of direct investments. Strictly speaking, the so-called multi-asset approach is what a family office does – broadly diversify the assets.

„The aim of the new set-up, which will take five to ten years to implement, is risk diversification,“ he explains. However, it is also true that Haniel has not always shown a good hand in the development of the existing investment portfolio. So now a second pillar is to be established that serves to equalise risk. What is important here is that the weaknesses of the investment portfolio are to be compensated for with the multi-asset approach – particularly in geographical terms, as the investment portfolio is too Europe-centred.

Between the lines, gentle criticism of the investment approach pursued to date can be heard. Derksen's priority is to improve the operating performance of the direct investments. „Haniel has a broad investment portfolio. This applies not only to the end markets, but also to the maturity of the businesses. It is therefore better if each business pursues a customised approach,“ explains the CFO. For this reason, there will be so-called operating partners for the investments in future, who will actively intervene in the management of the investments, and serve as sparring partners for the respective CEOs.

But where should the money for the development of the second pillar come from? What could be more obvious than selling off portfolio investments and investing the money in the second pillar? „As an investor, we regularly ask ourselves what we can achieve with the asset and whether there might be better owners,“ says Derksen. There are basically two options for financing: cash flow or money from divestments. The former source is likely to be ruled out due to the meagre inflow of funds in recent years, especially as the family is paid an annual dividend.

„In the current financial year, we have so far fallen short of our expectations,“ Derksen says candidly. Before concrete portfolio decisions are made, however, it is necessary to wait for the new CEO Joachim Drees. The investment manager will arrive on 1 October. Then Derksen, who has settled in Nijmegen in the Netherlands after returning from the USA, will finally be relieved of his dual function.