Team
PGGM Asset Management
The Asset Management department within PGGM is tasked with the investment of the collective pension assets of PGGM’s pension fund clients, with the vast majority being accounted for by PFZW. Broadly speaking, the investment categories can be divided into public markets and private markets, which make up about 75% and 25% of the assets, respectively. Next to the front-office investment teams that are primarily responsible for managing these asset classes, the Asset Management organization contains Risk Management, Tax, Legal & Regulatory and several operational functions, plus a Responsible Investments team responsible for the implementation of PGGM’s ESG policies.
PGGM Private Markets
The Private Equity team is a front-office investment team within the Private Markets segment. The Private Markets segment focuses on non-listed investments with an equity(-like) return profile. Besides the mandate managed by the Private Equity team, there is Private and Listed Real Estate, Infrastructure and Credit & Insurance Linked Investments.
PGGM Private Equity
The private equity mandate is managed by the PGGM Private Equity team. As per December 2022, it consists of 28 professionals with over 145 years of combined private equity and investing experience. The team has a diverse set of backgrounds, including Accounting, Business Administration, Econometrics, Economics, International Relations, Law, and Physics. The team has extensive private equity working experience and is a good mix of junior professionals and experienced seniors.
Being a diverse team, with over 10 different nationalities and speaking more than 12 languages, the PGGM Private Equity team has a sound understanding of different geopolitical trends, cultures, and customs. This is a clear asset as it covers investments across the globe, requiring knowledge about local risks, business structures, regulation, and future developments.
Interested in joining? Please find vacancies here.
Other PGGM teams
In managing the Private Equity mandate, the team is supported by various functions within PGGM:
- The Risk Analysis (“RA”) team, which is situated under the Chief Risk Officer (“CRO”) of PGGM Asset Management, provides a second opinion on the due diligence and analysis done by the private equity deal team. To this end, the RA team reviews and provides an independent report for each investment proposal of the Private Equity team.
- The Operational Due Diligence (“ODD”) team, which is also part of the Risk department, analyses all material operational aspects of a manager, including regulatory, valuation, accounting, reporting, IT & cybersecurity, as well as compliance, risk, and HR policies. The ODD focus is complementary to the review of the RA team.
- The Responsible Investments (“RI”) team provides an advisory role on Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) matters for the team. Each potential transaction and partner is judged on its ESG credentials and must meet minimum standards for a transaction to take place. The assessment of ESG factors is done by the Private Equity deal team, with the RA team again providing critical counterbalancing. Please find here PGGM’s guidelines for responsible investment in private equity.
- Finally, the Private Equity team is supported in each transaction by several other departments within PGGM, such as Tax & Legal, Compliance, and various other back-office functions.
PGGM Private Equity team contacts
Diane Griffioen
Diane joined PGGM in September 2022. She leads the team and chairs the PGGM Private Equity Investment Committee. She is a member of the PGGM Private Markets Management team and oversees the private equity investments for PGGM’s clients.
Before joining the team in 2022 she worked for four years as Head of Investments at ABP pension fund. Prior to that she worked as Director of ASN Impact Investors. She started her career in 1996 as Analyst Corporate Finance at ING Barings. Diane holds a master’s degree in international economics from the University of Amsterdam and is CFA charter holder since 2001. In 2021 she got her CFA Certificate in ESG Investing.
Harrie van Rijbroek
Harrie is a Senior Director in PGGM’s Private Equity team and also serves as a member of the PGGM Private Equity Investment Committee. He is responsible for the investments in the European mid-market segment. Before joining the team in 2016, he worked for over 15 years at the Dutch mid-market private equity firm Bencis, lastly as a Director. From 1996 to 1999, he worked as a Controller Alliance Partners and Manager Corporate Finance at KLM, the Dutch airline company. Harrie holds a master’s degree in finance from Tilburg University and a master’s degree in international finance from the University of Amsterdam.
Wouter van der Geest
Wouter is a Senior Director in PGGM’s Private Equity team and also serves as a member of the PGGM Private Equity Investment Committee. He focuses on fund commitments and co-investments in the GLBO space. Before joining PGGM in 2015, he worked in the Corporate Finance advisory practice of KPMG in the Netherlands. Wouter received a master’s degree in Econometrics from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam.
Maurice Klaver
Maurice Klaver is a Senior Director in PGGM’s Private Equity team and also serves as a member of the PGGM Private Equity Investment Committee. He is responsible for sustainable investments in PFZW’s focus themes healthcare, climate, food security and water scarcity. Maurice joined in 2011 and was until early 2019 mainly focused on fund and co-investments within the European mid-market. Prior to joining PGGM in 2011, Maurice worked in the Real Estate Investment Management department of NIBC, investing in mezzanine and equity, as well as in CMBS. In 2005 Maurice started with NIBC in asset backed securitization, structuring mostly CLOs and CDOs. Maurice is a graduate of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam with a MSc in Econometrics (cum laude).
Berend Schiphorst
Berend is a Senior Director in PGGM’s Private Equity team and also serves as a member of the PGGM Private Equity Investment Committee. He focuses on North America, responsible for investing in private equity funds, making co-investments, and purchasing funds on the secondary market. Before joining PGGM in 2013, Berend worked at AlpInvest in Amsterdam focused on secondary transactions in Europe. He received an MSc in Econometrics from the University of Groningen.
Irina Manea
Irina is a Senior Director in PGGM’s Private Equity team and serves as a member of the PGGM Private Equity Investment Committee. She is responsible for technology growth investments globally as well as investments in Asia Pacific and emerging markets. She started her career in 2010 at PGGM Private Equity where she joined as one of the first team members supporting the set-up of the in-house private equity program and making investments globally. Between 2016-2022, she worked at FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, where she focused on private equity and venture capital investments across emerging markets. Irina holds an undergraduate degree from University of Economic Studies in Bucharest and a MSc/MIF degree from Amsterdam Business School.
Talha Zafar
Talha is a Director in PGGM’s Private Equity team, focused on middle market funds and co-investments in North America. He started his career at FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, investing in Africa before joining Strategy& (formerly Booz & co) as a strategy consultant. Talha holds an MBA from INSEAD, MSc in Finance from Tilburg University in the Netherlands and an undergraduate degree from Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan. He is also a CFA charter holder.
Diederick Plasmans
Diederick Plasmans is a Director in PGGM’s Private Equity team. He focuses on fund commitments and co-investments in the European mid-market and GLBO space. Before joining PGGM in 2017, he worked in the M&A Transaction Services practice of Deloitte in Amsterdam. Diederick holds a master’s degree in finance from Maastricht University and is a CFA charter holder.
