Walter van der Schaaff

Walter van der Schaaff (1958) holds a master's degree in Business Administration and a postgraduate degree as a Chartered Auditor (RA) and Chartered Controller (RC).

Walter van der Schaaff began his career in 1983 with Philips Electronics as a management trainee, after which he joined the company as Product Group Controller Integrated Circuits. He also held the position of Manager of Corporate Reporting and Analysis until 1989.

From 1989-1993, Walter van der Schaaff was the Area-Controller for British Petroleum Nutrition, focussing on North America and the Far East. In addition, he was responsible for coordinating several acquisitions in these parts of the world. From 1992 onwards, Walter van der Schaaff served as Financial Director Aquastar Europe, a sales and marketing organisation involved in farmed seafood.

In 1994, Walter van der Schaaff joined Grundfos Benelux as Director Finance, ICT and Management Services. During this period, he was also responsible for a Business Process Reengineering project, as well as a restructuring process in Benelux.

Walter van der Schaaff joined Wessanen Cheese Division as Chief Financial Officer in 1996, where he was responsible for Finance, ICT and M&A. He held several board positions in Wessanen subsidiaries throughout Europe. In the years 2000/2001, Walter van der Schaaff was jointly responsible for transforming several production oriented companies into a sales oriented company, which also included the sale of several production locations.

His introduction to Sanoma Magazines was in 2002, when he was appointed Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In this role, Walter van der Schaaff is responsible for finance, ICT and several international synergy projects. He also became member of the Management Board of Sanoma Magazines.