Over mij
Robert Bakker
Senior consultant and project manager with over 20 years of experience in financial services. Specialist in regulatory compliance, digital transformation and process optimisation.
I bring structure where it's missing, and deliver results where others get stuck. Calm, connecting and always focused on what really matters. Raised in the financial sector, but broadly deployable.
Experience
Relevant assignments
A selection from my career, with an emphasis on the recent years in regulatory change and digital transformation.
OCTOBER 2025 – PRESENT
CACEIS
Interim Project Manager WTP/NPR
As project manager, set up the project and governance structure for the WTP implementation. First client group successfully migrated in January 2026, repeatable processes established for subsequent groups. Also involved as project lead in mapping, optimising and redesigning data checks and controls in operations.
JANUARY 2025 – SEPTEMBER 2025
ABN AMRO Bank
Lead ESG data transformation
Set up the business case, roadmap and project organisation for modernising the sustainability data landscape. Led a multidisciplinary team of 10+ FTE, focused on EU Taxonomy, ESG Pillar 3 and BCBS 239 alignment.
JANUARY 2024 – DECEMBER 2024
ABN AMRO Bank
Project Manager SFR reporting
Ultimately responsible for the bank-wide implementation of Sustainable Finance Reporting across 20+ departments at home and abroad. Coached project leads and staff across several workstreams, delivered all disclosures on time for the annual report.
APRIL 2022 – DECEMBER 2023
ABN AMRO Bank
Epic Integrator / Project Manager SFR
Connecting link between international entities for SFR and ESG Pillar 3 reporting requirements. In 2023, project lead for the bank-wide Dry Run, the final go/no-go moment before the regulatory year-end close.
JULY 2019 – DECEMBER 2021
ABN AMRO Private Banking Belgium
Business Analyst / Project Manager (via Novisource)
Got a stalled IT migration moving again after the acquisition of a foreign bank. Implemented SAFe Agile, repaired stakeholder relationships, resumed delivery within tight deadlines.
SEPTEMBER 2017 – MARCH 2022
Novisource
Lead Business Consultant / Team Lead Banking & Investments
Built and professionalised a consultancy team within Banking & Investments. Responsible for recruitment, matching, coaching and performance of a team of consultants. In parallel with the client assignments during this period.
JULY 2018 – AUGUST 2019
Achmea
Project Manager / Epic Owner (via Novisource)
Analysis and redesign of the enterprise archive (OpenText) for digital customer access via the portals of Avéro, Zilveren Kruis, Centraal Beheer and Interpolis. Drew up a strategic advisory report, drove delivery as Epic Owner.
DECEMBER 2017 – JUNE 2018
NIBC Bank
Process Analyst / Business Analyst (MiFID II)
Mapped and redesigned all business processes for full MiFID II compliance. Worked with process owners, Legal and Compliance using BPMN in Blue Dolphin.
OCTOBER 2016 – DECEMBER 2017
Argenta (Belgium)
Product Manager / Business Analyst (via Novisource)
Product manager for a new investment advisory platform for all Argenta branches. Navigated the competing interests of commercial stakeholders, Legal and Compliance, without compromising on MiFID II compliance.
APRIL 2016 – OCTOBER 2016
Mars
Analyst Investment Accounting & Operations
Tax filings and rebalancing of European pension investment portfolios. Liaison between Mars, the asset manager and global custodians.
SEPTEMBER 2014 – MARCH 2016
BNY Mellon
Senior Tax Analyst
Tax treaty documentation and withholding tax reclaims for institutional investment portfolios of Scandinavian and Spanish banks, pension funds and asset managers.
FEBRUARY 2011 – AUGUST 2014
BNY Mellon
Associate Custody Client Services
Trade and cash settlement, liquidity positions and corporate actions for institutional clients. Seconded to Frankfurt in 2012 to build and train the local team after the BHF Bank acquisition.
JUNE 2009 – JANUARY 2011
BNY Mellon
Junior Associate Instruction Processing
Processing of trade, cash and currency transactions. Investigation and resolution of settlement discrepancies.
2005 – 2009
First steps in the financial sector
Rabobank Tilburg & ABN AMRO
Sales adviser for retail clients at Rabobank Tilburg (2007-2009) and before that at ABN AMRO (2006-2007). Started at ABN AMRO in 2005 as an internet banking specialist. This is where the financial career began.
Core skills
What I'm good at
My strength is structuring complexity. A programme with many moving parts, multiple stakeholders and a hard deadline: that's where I'm at my best. I work with whatever method fits the programme, whether that's SAFe Agile, PRINCE2, Scrum, Lean or Waterfall. The method serves the project, not the other way around.
On content, I'm at home in heavily regulated environments. MiFID II, CSRD, SFR, ESG, WTP, BCBS 239, GDPR and DORA aren't acronyms I have to look up, but regulation I've built projects around. I know how they relate to each other and where the real work is.
On the people side, it's all about connection. Coaching project staff, team development and reporting that lands at management and C-level. I move easily in politically sensitive environments where not everyone has the same stake, and keep things moving there without damaging relationships.
And I understand the technology. Business analysis, process redesign with BPMN, impact analyses at the intersection of business and IT. The fact that I build AI tools myself is an extension of that. If you build it yourself, you understand better what technology can and can't do.
Education & certifications
SAFe 4.6 Practitioner, Scrum Master, Lean Orange Belt and the Carnegie Mellon Innovation Bootcamp. Backed by over twenty years of learning in practice, at banks, insurers and pension administrators.
Recommendations
What others say.
Nine recommendations from managers and colleagues, from my first assignments in Belgium to the recent years at ABN AMRO.
Contact
Tell me about your challenge.
Send a message or just call. I'll respond within 24 hours.