Rene Sonneveld

Rene Sonneveld Senior Executive Coach AREAS OF EXPERTISE Leadership Coaching for Organizational Performance Executive Talent Development High net worth families Family and Corporate Governance Board and CEO coaching Succession planning M&A and Venture Capital High potential individuals and sport stars Government Circular economy and sustainability Finance and International law Leading multi-cultural and diverse teams

LEVEL/TYPE
C-suite level executives: CEO, COO, CFO; SVP

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
René Sonneveld is an acknowledged business leader and turn-around manager in the Southern Cone of South America. As a chairman, board member, and CEO of family and privately-owned companies in Europe and South-America, René has word-class expertise in coaching stakeholders and family executives on next-generation transitions and board members on adapting corporate governance changes. René coaches professional sports stars and loves bringing out the best in young people.

He founded MVD Capital Partners, located in Montevideo, Uruguay, involved in M&A and VC activities in South America. He is co-founder of Parks Farming Investments, an agricultural asset manager that has developed 120,000 acres of sustainable cattle land in Paraguay.

René started his career as an international tax lawyer working in The Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Curacao. He has extensive experience in international business development leading the expansion of Germany’s largest brewery Warsteiner in Latin America, and the global commodities trading expansion of the Argentine Moreno family by establishing, amongst others, storage facilities in the Middle-East. René worked as a Managing Director with UBS Private Banking in Zurich and as Head Global Wealth Management with Deutsche Bank in Geneva, managing global teams of experts in offices worldwide. He finished his banking career as Vice-President with Citibank New York as the “family governance” champion for Latin America in 2010.

The Queen of the Netherlands appointed René as Honorary Consul General in Uruguay in 2012, which the current King renewed in 2017. The consular activities have given him valuable insights into international government agencies’ internal working and foreign affairs.

Besides coaching, René is passionate about the circular economy and sustainable energy projects. His ambition is to develop a green hydrogen supply chain from South America to Europe, thereby supporting the development of local South American communities and the decarbonization objectives of the Netherlands and the European Union.

René holds a law degree from the University of Amsterdam and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He can coach in Dutch, English, German, and Spanish.

He is an instructor at Rutgers University of the Leadership Coaching for Organizational Performance course and Distinguished Executive In-House Resident at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.