Fresh energy for strong companies
The idea for the conference was sparked by a conversation between Prof. Erik Roelofsen, Academic Director of the Executive MBA at RSM, and the founder and CEO of Novidam Alexander Schuil (an alumnus of the MSc Finance and Investments 2008). Their discussion focused on the remarkable talent emerging from RSM’s MBA programmes, and the growing number of RSM students and alumni eager to jump on the entrepreneurial path by acquiring and growing an existing business.
Prof. Roelofsen said there is a real need in the Netherlands and the Benelux for more transitions in ownership, succession challenges, and opportunities for new operators to step in and bring fresh energy to already strong companies. “It became clear that RSM could play a meaningful role by bringing these worlds together. The conference is one important step in that direction.”
The conference connected searchers, investors, operators, and service providers in Europe to share knowledge, experiences and future opportunities to open doors for each other. The consensus was that the great energy in the audience and a large number of attendees proved its success. One participant said: “There’s a lot of enthusiasm about ETA being the novel route to owner succession for entrepreneurs.”
Don’t take the first bid
Alexander Schuil spoke from experience with his keynote presentation Charting the next wave of ETA: Global Insights, Local Opportunities. He shared the current context of entrepreneurship through acquisition and its global evolution, and some honest personal experiences. He won over the audience with his honesty and vulnerability in an anecdote about his first offer from a buyer. Convinced the buyer had made a great bid, Alexander went to his board, but they denied the deal. It was just an opening bid, and the board told him to go back to the bidder and say: ‘this offer doesn’t clear the market’. That advice was a turning point, he said. He eventually sold the company for several million dollars, many times the original bid.
Looking to buy
The first panel discussion, Designing your search: structure considerations and the art addressed structuring a search for a business to acquire. Mike Hindi, Chairman of Green Logistics, talked about how he had acquired the company and stressed the human side of ETA. He noted that company founders or owners really want to know – and if possible, like – the new owner who will be taking care of the company they’ve founded. Jard van Heerde of Ventus Succession discussed the people side of starting as a new CEO.
The first 100 days
The second panel discussion took the search further: From searcher to CEO: the first 100 days was moderated by Joris Barendregt of SearchRight Capital. Panel members discussed the first 100 days as a CEO and how the board can guide the new CEO in this journey. Panel member Alexandra Kaars Sijpesteijn, VP at Novidam, highlighted the importance of the board’s support and governance.
Following the panel discussions and lunch, participants could choose one of two expert-led break-out sessions to align with their interests and ambitions.
Legal nuances, searchers, and AI in the Benelux
This breakout session focused on ETA in Europe and the Benelux with a delve into deal sourcing, cultural norms, regulatory and legal nuances, and sector sweet spots, presented by Ruben Tros, attorney at law and partner with law firm Stek in Amsterdam.
It was followed by an interactive session for searchers to pitch their opportunities to investors, receive feedback, and win the attention to showcase their search and build meaningful connections. “This session was so popular and drew keen interest from both investors and searchers; we realised we need to create a second pitch session during the 2026 ETA Conference next year,” said one of the RSM organisers. “It drove so much motivation and enthusiasm for RSM, the investors and searcher entrepreneurs!”
The breakout session for Europe and the Benelux moved on to using AI in searches led by Lorenzo Ferretti of DeeptreeAI, who advised participants during the hands-on workshop to obtain all the help they can get.
Valuing, diligence and speeding up financial analysis
Henk Oosterhout of QVO Values led the alternative breakout session through the fundamentals of valuing small businesses in the ETA process with core concepts, examples and common pitfalls to avoid.
Dirk-Jan Renee of Ox outlined the essentials of due diligence with a presentation on making a smart, careful and attentive process that pays attention to the key risk areas for each type of due diligence. A demonstration of a tool to speed up financial analysis, Fontics, was demonstrated by Chuks Umeche.
A vital role for business succession
Skilfully summarising the day’s proceedings, Lisa Stuhler, founder and managing partner of Tilia Nachfolgekapital and an expert on acquiring and scaling SMEs, outlined practical next steps for attendees and explored why ETA plays a vital role in shaping the future of entrepreneurship and business succession in Europe. “With energised searcher entrepreneurs, keen investment firms, and a growing ETA ecosystem, this is only the beginning of taking established businesses in this region to the next levels,” she said.
