As head of the Dutch central bank, Sleijpen will take on two major responsibilities: supervising financial institutions in the Netherlands and participating in policymaking at the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt. This includes setting interest rates, which have a direct impact on mortgage rates in the Netherlands. It’s no small task – but Sleijpen is just the man for the job, according to four of his current and former colleagues in the Department of Economics.
They describe the incoming DNB president as “incredibly intelligent”, “highly communicative”, “a great networker”, “dedicated and dependable” and “a classic economist” with a keen eye for emerging trends, such as the impact of climate change on the financial sector. “He was ahead of the curve on that”, says Professor Emeritus Joan Muysken. Professor Clemens Kool adds that Sleijpen is already well acquainted with the ECB, having long accompanied Klaas Knot, the outgoing DNB president, to its meetings.
"Young and ambitious"
Muysken was chair of the department when Sleijpen was hired in 2007. “We were looking for a new part-time professor of European Economic Policy with an affinity for banking. And along came this young, ambitious fellow. It clicked straight away.”
Sleijpen’s social skills undoubtedly played a part in that. “He’s got a sense of humour and a healthy sense of perspective”, says Muysken. “Olaf has a gift for convincing people by presenting his arguments clearly”, adds Professor Emeritus Tom van Veen. “Just as it should be done – in a calm and pleasant manner, over a cup of coffee.” Van Veen remembers Sleijpen as a young Economics student in Maastricht. “One of the brightest. He’d ask questions I couldn’t immediately answer. I’ve always known he’d go far.”
Down-to-earth
Unanimous in their praise, everyone is just as quick to point out how down-to-earth Sleijpen has remained. He talks to everyone, they say, regardless of status and hierarchy, and still drives his Saab from his home in Amsterdam to Maastricht on days when he’s teaching. “He always makes time to visit his parents and family [Sleijpen grew up in Schoonbron, Limburg]”, notes Kool. And his students? “They adore him. Even as DNB’s right-hand man, he never neglected his teaching duties. And he personally supervises master’s theses, never hands his students off to others.”
“He’s one of us”, says Associate Professor Huub Meijers proudly. “He studied here, and he’s a professor here.” At just forty years old, SBE is still a “very young” faculty, notes Kool. “We can be proud that one of our very own economists has made it to the top of DNB.”