We sometimes get asked: "Who's on the pension fund board and what do you all do?" In each PensionUpdate, one Board member will share more about themselves, the Board, and their role on it.
"I work as departmental manager of site logistics chemicals for part of the Terneuzen Site. That means I'm responsible for the logistics processes involved in the supply and transportation of chemical materials. I've been working at Dow for 37 years. Plus, for nearly 12 years I've been a member of the Works Council. This was what led me to join the pension fund board.
I've been a board member on behalf of employees since 2015. It's a role that I really enjoy! My work for the board has a lot of overlap with the Works Council, such as retirement provision, which is one of the terms of employment for which the Works Council has the right of consent. I became a board member at the time when the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) was asking the pension fund to identify integrity risks.
For this, we used a risk management system, which comprised lots of texts. As an engineer, I am more a tables person. I then developed my own 'tool' in which we could incorporate all the risks. The pension fund board and DNB thought it was a good idea, so I was made key risk management officer. That means I give my opinion on all governance issues from a risk perspective. There are different types of risks: legal, financial, reputational and environmental. To identify these and draw up appropriate measures, we ask ourselves: how likely are certain risks to occur? What could their impact be? And how can we spot risks before they have an impact? The aim of the measures is to prevent risks, or minimise their impact.
Risk management is important because it helps us achieve the pension fund's objectives: are we keeping our promises to members? Together with the board office and an external board advisor, we continuously evaluate whether our actions reflect our words. We use the lessons learned to improve the way we prevent and manage risks."