Dennes van der Vlist

After finishing my studies in Rotterdam in 2011, I started working for a Private Equity firm based in Amsterdam.  As a Private Equity firm, we invested capital committed from large institutional investors (i.e.: pension funds, etc.) by acquiring mid-sized companies. We normally acquired a majority stake, which gave us ‘control’ for important company decisions. After having acquired a company, we support management actively to work on the company’s further improvement. Since 2019, I work as a CEO at DIT Holding

The reason I wanted to start working in the investment industry after my studies was the entrepreneurial character of the work, as well as the broad scope. As an investor, you are involved in virtually all aspects of a company: financially, strategically, operationally, fiscally, legally, etc. I work on both the deal side as well as on the operational improvements side. On the deal side, I support the evaluation of new investment opportunities – giving me the opportunity to look at many different companies – as well as supporting the hectic process of closing the deal. On the operations side, I work on operational improvement programmes at our portfolio companies. This allows me to gain an in-depth understanding of the workings of businesses. I find this truly fantastic exposure to get so early on in a career!

In my opinion, my studies in Rotterdam certainly helped me build a solid fundament to start a career in business. Especially in a fast-paced working environment, as the investment industry generally is, you need to ‘hit the ground running’ when you start working after your studies. I think having developed a good basic sense of business during my studies has greatly enhanced the start of my career.

Therefore, anyone who wants to work as an investor, as an entrepreneur, or who wants to work in business otherwise, I can truly recommend studying business economics in Rotterdam!