New name reflects positive and customer-centric approach to IT services for SMEs
Amsterdam, Sept. 5, 2024 – Investment firm Riverdam is proud to announce the appointment of Laurens Siesling as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Smizer, Riverdam’s fast-growing IT Managed Services Provider platform. Prior to his move to Smizer, Siesling served as Financial Director at Team.Blue Netherlands. Together with Riverdam and CEO Erik van Laar, he will build a national platform of regional IT service providers.
Strong growth of regional IT Managed Service Providers
The IT sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in the Netherlands and plays a crucial role in the digitization of other industries. Riverdam is responding to this by investing heavily in the acquisition of regionally operating IT Managed Service Providers over the past three years. Currently, the Smizer platform includes four IT MSP locations in the Netherlands: Altios Cloud Experts in Apeldoorn, Emma Solutions ICT in Den Bosch, Office IT in Sneek, and Xaris ICT in Wognum.
These IT service providers offer cloud solutions that allow SMB employees to work securely and flexibly, regardless of their location. “The IT sector is the third ‘Mainport’ of the Netherlands, and we expect the digital transformation to further accelerate growth in the coming years,” said Derk van Wingerden, co-founder of Riverdam.
A strong and scalable platform for the future
With increasing demand for IT support, the companies within the Smizer platform are well positioned for growth through a combined buy-and-build strategy and organic growth. Riverdam focuses on building a solid national platform of regional IT companies, bundling support services centrally while the regional hubs continue to operate autonomously. This offers clients the opportunity to partner with trusted, local entrepreneurs and provides national coverage with strong regional roots.
“We are very excited about the arrival of Laurens Siesling,” said Van Wingerden. “He brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise that will be of great value to Smizer’s continued growth. We look forward to working with him to continue building a platform that will become the partner of choice for SMEs in the Netherlands.”
About Laurens Siesling
Siesling previously held the position of finance director at Team.Blue Netherlands and also has experience as finance director at Travix International, a global travel booking platform.
About Riverdam
Riverdam invests in profitable Dutch SMEs with sales of up to EUR 20 million. By leveraging knowledge, financing and a broad network, Riverdam offers companies the opportunity to grow. Over the past three years, Riverdam has completed 13 acquisitions, including 10 within IT Managed Services. As a majority shareholder, Riverdam offers companies within the Smizer platform both a strong foundation and new growth opportunities.
