Meet Our Team

Guillamo Bonapart is also a co-founder of VB Advisory. Guillamo’s background is in Econometrics and he too, gained his degree at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam (specializing in Quantitative Finance). He started his consulting career in 2014 and a has become a dedicated developer of quantitative solutions for complex problems encountered in the financial sector. Whilst working for a broad range of financial institutions in recent years, Guillamo started to see potential for a unique program aimed at Young Professionals. By focussing on specific desirable skills and providing tailored coaching, he believes you can advance into becoming an invaluable asset within the financial sector.

Guillamo enjoys working in professional groups and aims to create added value for companies by positioning himself as a liaison between Quants and Business. Improving the processes and the communication between different parties, is what gives him energy. In his free time, he enjoys travelling, listening to music, dancing and he likes to play and watch football.

David Schrager is a principal consultant at VB Advisory and has more than 20 years of experience in the financial sector working in quantitative and senior management roles.

David has worked in culturally diverse teams for most of his career. He is passionate about the development of young professionals and helps them find their personal and professional purpose.

He has extensive experience in setting up internal models for valuation and hedging of complex structured products, insurance liabilities and economic capital, design and implementation of (longevity) hedge programs and the pricing and structuring of all forms of retirement savings products. David has been involved in many strategic de-risking projects including M&A.

David holds a Ph.D. in quantitative economics from the University of Amsterdam, actively participates in academic research and is a member of the advisory board of the Amsterdam School of Economics. His spare time is devoted to his wife and two kids and spending time in the gym or on a bike.

Diederick Venekamp is the co-founder of VB Advisory and always commits himself to finding the optimal client solution. Diederick has an enthusiasm for guiding talented people, helping them to accomplish their personal goals and to ensure they hit their business milestones. Diederick gives lectures and seminars in risk related topics and is the active stakeholder behind the VB Advisory Pro Bono program.

Diederick graduated in Econometrics from the Erasmus University Rotterdam. During his studies, he was involved in entrepreneurship related courses and he specialized in Quantitative Finance.

Before founding VB Advisory, he worked at a consultancy firm and for a number of large insurance companies, where he was involved in financial modelling, the design of quantitative tooling, (sports) data-analytics and the validation of quantitative models.

In his free time, he takes an active part in multiple sports including football, partakes in voluntary work (e.g. supporting children with autism) and enjoys visiting major sports events.

Koen Willems is one of our senior quantitative consultants. He gained his bachelor’s degree in Econometrics and Operations Research at the University of Maastricht followed by a master’s degree in Financial Econometrics at the University of Amsterdam.

During his semester abroad at the Bocconi University in Milan he followed courses in Derivatives and Equity Portfolio Management. Whilst working as a developer for an Asset Management company in London, he developed a strong affinity with the investment business. Koen gets a kick out of solving complex problems using his strong skills in programming, statistics and analytics, especially in the field of finance. He enjoys working as part of a team, is eager to learn new skills and constantly works towards self-improvement.

During his free time, he enjoys sports in general, particularly football and snowboarding. He also likes to keep up with all the newest technological developments.

Sabine’s main activities exist of the recruitment of young talents and organise company events. Next to that she assist with office activities like pre- and onboarding, training activities and marketing.

In her free time, she enjoys staying up to date on the latest events and developments in social media and marketing. She also likes to watch all kinds of sports and is an active waterpolo player!

Danny’s responsibility within VB Advisory is to meet all staffing needs by hiring new employees or relocating/assigning the right people to the right projects. Additionally, he provides support in the design of the selection/recruitment process.

In his free time, he enjoys staying up to date on the latest developments in social media and marketing, graphic design and is an active indoor footballer.

Marcel Pentier is a seasoned Client Service & Sales Director responsible for building and developing strategic client relationships in supporting our clients with the delivery of their project execution in the Regulatory Finance & Risk Management function. He has at least 10 years of experience in the field of Consultancy, Strategic Sales Management and Project Delivery at corporate Financial Institutions. He has a Bachelor's degree in Management Economics.

Over the years he has successfully collaborated within international, regulatory driven and complex client stakeholder environments. Marcel is used to work closely with key stakeholders in scoping new project opportunities, identifying appropriate consultants and providing ongoing support throughout engagements to ensure a successful and smooth delivery. In his spare time, he loves being with his wife and two daughters, he enjoys playing a regular game of Basketball and loves exploring the wonderous world of wine(making).

Koen van Wissen is a Quantitative Consultant at VB Advisory. Koen has gained his university degree in Econometrics and Operations Research at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam in combination with a semester abroad at the Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo.

During his studies he acquired an affinity for analytical problem solving and programming. He has utilized this working both externally, on Basel IV and IBOR projects for large banks within the Netherlands, and internally, on eSports and Cryptocurrency projects.

Koen holds a wide variety of interests and particularly enjoys ventures involving teamwork. Self-improvement is important to him and he is always looking to add new skills to his own portfolio. He often spends his free time in the gym or playing football and he relishes staying up to date with the latest developments in eSports.

Rachel Bonapart is a Quantitative Consultant at VB Advisory. She has obtained her degree in Econometrics and Operations Research at the Vrije University in Amsterdam and studied a semester abroad at the University of Sao Paulo. During her study she developed analytic and programming skills. Which she applied to solve complex problems at a smaller bank and larger retail bank within the Netherlands.

Rachel enjoys to create solidarity within groups, like she did during her study through committee’s e.g organizing a study trip. Rachel likes to meet new challenges since this is an opportunity to improve herself and learn new things. During her spare time, she likes to be with family, going to the gym and dancing.

Remco van Bruggen is a Quantitative Consultant at VB Advisory. He gained his Bachelor's degree in Econometrics and Operations Research at the University of Amsterdam followed by a Master's degree in Econometrics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam.

During his studies he further developed his analytical skills by working for a company active in sports data analytics. Remco likes solving complex (business) problems using data and his strong problem-solving, programming and data analytics skills. He enjoys working together and believes the best solutions to business problems require a team effort.

Remco is always looking to broaden and improve his skillset by learning new things and likes staying up to date with the latest developments in the data analytics and financial domain. In his free time he likes to watch and play all kinds of sports. Currently he mostly enjoys going to the gym and recently picked up road cycling.

Bram Ebben is a Quantitative Consultant at VB Advisory. He gained his Bachelor’s degree in Econometrics and Operational Research and Master’s degree in Financial Econometrics at the University of Amsterdam.

Bram has an enthusiasm for financial modelling and (sports) data analytics. He is competitively and team oriented which results in him trying to motivate others and achieve the best possible result. He enjoys playing and watching football, particularly Ajax games are never missed. In his free time he enjoys playing (board) games with family and friends.

Bas Smeitink is a Quantitative Consultant at VB Advisory. He gained his bachelor’s degree in Econometrics and Operations Research followed by a master’s degree in Financial Econometrics at the VU University in Amsterdam. During his study he had a part time job working at one of the Big Four accounting firms, where he worked on projects about Asset Valuations, Actuarial Audit Support and IBOR Transition. After his study, he went traveling for a few months to Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia before starting the Young Professionals Program at VB.

Bas enjoys working on complex financial problems and using all his skills to solve these in a comprehensible way. He always wants to learn and improve his skills. In his free time, he loves to travel, enjoys watching sports like Football or Formula 1, and playing games with his friends.

Tijn Ackermans is a Quantitative Consultants who follows the Young Professionals Program offered by VB Advisory. He gained his bachelor’s degree in Econometrics and Operations Research followed by a master’s degree in Quantitative Finance at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. During his studies, he got used to challenging complex problems within the financial sector using his analytical problem solving and programming skills. Tijn likes to work in (small) teams where everyone can learn from each other’s strengths and together work towards the best possible solution. Also, he is always looking to improve and broaden his own skillset.

After a high-level career in volleyball, he now finds his joy in playing tennis, padel, or squash. In his free time, he mostly surrounds himself with either friends or family to play (board) games, watch sports, go to a festival or simply have a laugh and a drink. He also finds joy in exploring countries with extraordinary nature.

Hans Becker is a Thesis Intern working on his thesis on trading cryptocurrencies at VB Advisory. He gained his bachelor's degree in Econometrics and Operations Research at Erasmus University Rotterdam and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Quantitative Finance. During his studies, he worked parttime at a large insurance firm, getting familiar with Solvency II and capital management.

Hans is an avid programmer, who can develop in multiple languages and likes to learn about related topics. Providing pragmatic solutions to complex problems is what he's all about. In his free time, Hans can be found on a bike or reading a book.

Monique Groen is a Quantitative Consultant at VB Advisory. She has gained her Bachelor's degree in Econometrics and Operations Research at Tilburg University and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Quantitative Finance and Actuarial Science.

Monique finds self-improvement very important and is very eager to improve her skillset and learn new things. She also enjoys being part of a team where everyone can learn from each other.

In her free time she enjoys playing the accordion and piano, reading books and hanging out with her friends.

Jonathan den Boer is a Quantitative Consultant at VB Advisory. He gained his Bachelor's degree in Econometrics and Operations Research and Master's degree in Financial Econometrics at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam.

During his studies, he became enthusiastic about programming and data analysis. He likes to apply his analytical skills to solve problems and turns theoretical thinking into practical actions and solutions. He has a can-do mentality and likes to work together in order to achieve results. During his spare time, Jonathan likes to spend time with family and friends and he likes to listen to music.

Jordi is one of our Quantitative Analysts at VB Advisory. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a Finance specialization at the University of Amsterdam. Throughout his Bachelor’s degree, he studied a semester abroad in the city that never sleeps New York at Baruch College. At Baruch College he was taught by true Wall Street professionals and gained hands-on experience in the world of finance with courses like Technical Analysis, Advanced Investment Analysis and Options. Besides having a passion for finance, during his Bachelor’s degree he was part of an international social entrepreneur student association called Enactus. During his time at Enactus, he helped by taking a social catering business in Amsterdam to the next level. Jordi is now in his end phase of the Master’s degree in Quantitative Finance, which he also is taking at the University of Amsterdam.

Jordi likes solving complex (business/financial) problems. He also likes to dive into valuations of equity and derivatives using his programming skills. He likes to work together and with his enthusiasm he creates an environment where every team member feels engaged. Also, he always likes to improve himself by taking Portuguese courses.

In his free time, he likes to play the piano with a strong preference for Chopin and Tchaikovsky. Also, Jordi is a true sports fanatic and loves working out at brand new workout concepts in Amsterdam.

In his free time he likes to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and do all kinds of sports. He loves spending time with friends and family.

Le-An Martens is one of our junior quantitative consultants. She has obtained bachelor’s degrees in psychology and economics at the VU university in Amsterdam. She then pursued a master’s degree in Econometrics, also at the VU, specializing in financial econometrics. After being exposed to the theoretical world of derivatives and asset management, she applied for an internship at a dutch asset manager. For a period of three months she enjoyed a front row seat in the world of alternative fixed income.

Le-An likes to write code and analyze data, but what she finds most rewarding is translating complex insights into easy-to-follow language. Her never ending curiosity stimulates her to develop new skills and be open to new ideas. Although Le-An can work well in a team, she can also perform when working on her own.

When she has time to herself, she tries to exercise regularly. Moreover, she likes to tutor high school math, and play games.