In memoriam Prof. dr. René H. Maatman

To our sorrow, our dear colleague René Maatman passed away on August 20, 2025. We are grateful for what we shared with him over the years. René was characterized by warmth, intelligence, discipline, and personal commitment, drawing daily from the Bible. René expressed his inner turmoil, even during his illness, referring to U2's "40":

I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit, out of the miry clay.
You set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.
Many will see, many will see and hear.

We miss him and cherish the precious memories.

Jan Willem van der Velden, Ella van Kranenburg and Kleis Broekhuizen

Below is a retrospective of René's fruitful working life

René worked for almost 20 years in ABP's investment business, 15 of which as head of legal and tax affairs. René was instrumental in developing ABP's corporate governance and ESG policy and was a member of the Corporate Governance Committee (the Frijns Committee ) from 2005 to 2008. In 2008, René became a board member of the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), with a special focus on capital markets. From 2012 to 2021, he was a partner and lawyer at De Brauw. Blackstone Westbroek, where he led the pensions practice. Since 2018, he has been a member of the supervisory board of the occupational pension fund SPMS (medical specialists). His knowledge and experience enabled him to write a dissertation within two years: "The Pension Fund as Asset Manager" (2004). A year later, René became Professor of Asset Management and Pension Issues at the Business and Law Research Centre of Radboud University Nijmegen. He taught "Pension Fund Governance " as part of the Certified Pension Executive program at the Erasmus School of Accounting & Assurance and "Governance and Fiduciary Responsibility" as part of the
Netspar Masterclass "Pension Regulation, Supervision, and Governance ." His versatility is evident in his publications .

"Pension assets in the Netherlands are a valuable asset and a luxury problem. Pension issues are socially relevant and very fascinating. It's essential to consider the rights and obligations of pension providers in conjunction. 'I'm above the balance sheet,' I sometimes say."