Agmi Group
Guy Zwart
After Guy Zwart turned Agmi around and initiated an impressive
growth, he stepped back and sold the majority of his company to
ABN Amro Participaties.
"Havingachievedfinancialindependence,andbeingincontrolof
my own agenda, I have arrived at what I believe to be the des-
tination in my life. I got there ten years earlier than I had hoped
for, however. To me that presents a real challenge, as I strongly
believe that life's essential objective is the road that you travel." It is
aMondaymorning,earlyin2012,asGuyZwart,aged45,reflects
on his life after the deal. It has been almost eight months since he
and the other members of the management team of Agmi Group
sold a majority shareholding to ABN Amro Participaties, the Dutch
bank's private equity arm. "My biggest fear is that I will lose some
of my passion, my sharpness. That would be a disaster of course,
because what is the point of life without those qualities?"
Heavy thoughts for a Monday morning, but from the down-to-
earth yet upbeat manner in which Zwart talks about his challenge
- and about most others topics - you get the feeling that he will
be more than able to deal with it. As a matter of fact, he shares
histhoughtswhilstsittinginhisofficeoverlookingtheproduc-
tionflooratAgmi.Hestillworkstheretwodaysaweek,asa
supervisory director with a major say in strategic decisions and
is responsible for future acquisitions. In addition, Zwart became
an informal investor, is acting as a mentor to a few young entre-
preneurs and has dedicated Fridays to tennis and horseback-
riding with his daughter. Yet nothing in the way Zwart talks about
Agmi's future plans indicates that he has lost any of his passion
or sharpness since stepping down as Agmi's full-time CEO.
Run-down but turned around
The decision to do so, only four years after Zwart took the posi-
tion via a management buy-in, was taken primarily for personal
reasons. "I took on a lot of risk when I bought part of Agmi, I
wanted to reduce the risk and also capitalise on it. My family
and I live in the present, and I wanted to create some security
and comfort for us." From a business point of view, the deci-
sion made sense as well. Zwart and his management team had
turned around a run-down company into a fast-growing one. Be-
tween2008and2011turnoverdoubled,whileprofitsquadrupled.
Moreover,inordertofinanceAgmi'splansforfurthergrowtha
new partner to provide fresh capital had to be found.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
40
41