Rick ter Maat joins JBR partner team at age 30

Article from Consultancy.co.uk

Partner and industry expert

How do you become a partner at 30? In Rick ter Maat's case, it started with a clear vision. "The M&A profession already inspired me during my studies," he says with a broad smile. "So I immediately knew what I wanted. And if you really like something you want to get as far as possible in it. Becoming a partner is definitely part of that for me."

Rick went through his Finance studies in Groningen. "I was the first in our family to study at the university. I couldn't actually delay, so that was some serious rolling up of my sleeves."

The hard work paid off, and at the tender age of 22 he was able to kick off his dream career at BrightOrange - a small firm specializing in valuations and M&A, co-founded by Jan Vis. "He is the founder of business valuation in the Netherlands," said Rick. "At the time, I deliberately chose to start at a small club, where I could go straight to the client and get into the content. In my two and a half years there, I learned a lot."

Source Article: Consultancy.co.uk

The wide sop

After this flying start, Rick made the move to JBR in 2015. There, founder Kees van Biert quickly took him by the hand in the maritime and offshore industry.

"I hardly knew anything about that sector, but that quickly changed. The nice thing is that it's a very tangible sector. We all know how goods are shipped around the world and - especially since last year - how important that is. In addition, it involves hefty transactions, which makes it all the more interesting."

Rick now focuses entirely on the maritime and offshore sector. He advises companies during acquisition processes, but also around valuations, financing and strategy. A nice side effect of his sector focus is that the companies he assists are located all over the world.

"I've been everywhere," he says enthusiastically. "My first job was immediately a large strategy and corporate finance project in Seattle. I've also been to the Middle East a lot and to India, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and throughout Latin America - from Peru to Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Brazil."

"Besides the fact that it is of course fun to see so much of the world, coming into contact with all those cultures also makes the work extra challenging," he explains. "In doing so, we at JBR also benefit from the international network we are part of, Global M&A Partners. For example, in Peru we worked with a local partner, who helped us with aspects such as the local legislation there and certain cultural customs."

Hutspot

As nice as frequent travel is, one of Rick's highlights simply played out in his own office in Zeist. "One of the biggest jobs I was involved in involved the sale of the Peruvian tugboat company Tramarsa Flota to PSA Marine of Singapore. We worked on that for two years. It started with determining what was the best option for Tramarsa - grow organically, merge or sell. In the end, that turned out to be selling, and the deal was made with PSA.

Because Singapore and Peru are so far apart, however, it was decided to meet halfway - at JBR's office. "The Netherlands is a 12-hour flight from both Peru and Singapore, so that worked out perfectly. That's why we did the signing at our place. We spent a week together in the office, invited a chef and negotiated the deal. It was a great deal anyway and extra special to be able to do it at our office. So all these different cultures came together in little Zeist. We even had some stew to eat together."

From the plane to the screen

Over a year ago, however, closing deals from home was suddenly no longer the exception, but the rule of necessity. Where Rick used to fly around the world, corona was now grounding around the world.

"Yes was a bit of a scare," he looks back. "In mid-March we came back from South America very naively thinking we were going to embark on a big journey that we had prepared for months. Then we were quickly overtaken by reality. The whole project went on ice."

As with countless businesses, a few anxious months followed. "With the kind of transactions we do, travel is important anyway. Surely buyers and sellers want to really look each other in the eye. And when you buy a company you do want to see it up close. So everything was at a standstill and, of course, that was pretty exciting."

However, necessity breaks law, and after a few months of getting used to it, more turned out to be possible than expected. "It surprised us how much could be handled digitally. Not everything can be done online, but I don't think I will travel as often in the future for one deal as I did before. For the sale of Tramarsa, I think I flew to Peru about 12 times, I don't see that happening any time soon. Even with all the limitations, we still had one of our better years last year, which already shows how much is possible digitally."

The next step

Both abroad and behind his laptop, Rick thus gained a wealth of international (and digital) experience before he was even 30 years old. Meanwhile, he was also working hard with Kees van Biert to further professionalize JBR's maritime and offshore practice.

"We already had a strong position within the industry, but that still leaned a lot on a few of our seasoned experts," he explains. "We were able to expand that nicely so that the knowledge and experience is now more broadly supported within the team. We can now also serve a wider range of clients. In addition, we have set up a tighter process that allows us to better produce the right analyses and reports."

All in all, early this year Rick was all set to take the next big step at his still young age and join JBR's partner team. "Age is also just a number," he emphasizes. "I now have about eight years of work experience. Some colleagues may be older, but have only four years of experience. Becoming a partner - co-ownership - is something I've always wanted and it feels great to be able to do this now."

In his new role as partner, he will continue to focus on the further professionalization of the maritime and offshore practice in addition to client work. "I see this as a nice challenge. Kees van Biert is now 63 and he will really stay involved for the time being, but of course it is also important to look at the long term and I think it is very nice that I can play such an important role in this."

Fish in the water
So Rick certainly does not see his joining the partnership as reaching his final goal - rather as the beginning of a challenging new phase in his still young career.

"I'm far from being there yet, of course; I'm just starting to warm up," he says with a laugh. "I feel like a fish out of water here at JBR and am especially incredibly grateful for the wonderful opportunity they have given me and the confidence they are expressing in me with this partner appointment."

Caspar van der Geest, partner at JBR, comments, "Rick has proven in recent years that he can handle large international transactions. And in addition, his dedication to loyal clients and his input in the office makes for fun at work. Rick's partnership offers JBR the connection to a new generation and a long-term perspective. We are very pleased that Rick is joining our partner team."

Managing Partner Ronald van Rijn is also pleased with the appointment, stating: "Rick has a unique blend of expertise, talent and commitment. He has a high acceptance rate with clients. Partly because of his age, clients enjoy working with him. He's also just a nice person! Internally, his appointment as partner is supported by all employees. His partnership is a more than logical step that we are very happy with."