Quintet appoints René Kirkels as Group Head of Business Development for Financial Intermediaries

Quintet Private Bank – headquartered in Luxembourg and operating across Europe and the UK – today announced the appointment of René Kirkels as Group Head of Business Development, Financial Intermediaries (FIM), and member of Quintet’s Asset Servicing & FIM leadership team, effective October 1.

Kirkels, who is Dutch, most recently served as Head of Wholesale Europe at Saxo Bank – leading FIM sales strategies in the Netherlands, Belgium and France. He brings over three decades of experience to his new role at Quintet, which manages more than €30 billion in assets under custody.

Earlier, Kirkels spent over a decade at Rabobank Netherlands Private Banking, where he rose to the position of Director of Institutional Asset Management, Wealth Management & Philanthropy. He began his career as a proprietary trader at Euronext, then served as Head of Financial Engineering at Achmea and its former private banking subsidiary, Staalbankiers. 

“René brings to Quintet deep industry expertise and a strong focus on growth,” said Thomas Klein, Group Head of Asset Servicing & FIM. “As we accelerate the long-term expansion of our FIM business, his energy, client-first mindset and highly collaborative approach will further support our ability to deliver outstanding service – combining digital efficiency with close client relationships and personalized support.” 

Highlighting the importance of this newly created role, Klein noted that Kirkels will collaborate with colleagues across Quintet – including the 75 members of the Asset Servicing & FIM team – to expand the business and deepen client relationships. He will work particularly closely with the firm’s domestic Heads of FIM: Stéphane Ries (Luxembourg), Ronald Borst (Netherlands), Tom Blyweert (Belgium) and Philipp Iarmaltchouk (UK). 

“I’m excited to join Quintet, which has a strong FIM business and decades of success meeting the needs of external asset managers, family offices and other financial intermediaries,” said Kirkels. “I look forward to working with my new colleagues to build on that foundation and further grow our €30 billion business, one relationship at a time.”

Kirkels – who will be based at the Amsterdam headquarters of InsingerGilissen, Quintet’s Dutch branch – holds a Master’s in Engineering from Delft University of Technology. Beyond his professional achievements, he has contributed to advisory councils and served as chairman of a prominent Dutch hockey club, reflecting his commitment to both business leadership and community engagement.