Pitch Best Young M&A Advisor 2022: Simon Derdelinckx, ING

Company: ING 
Job Description: Associate 
Age: 26 

What are the specialties of this talent? 
Strong finance and accounting knowledge, excellent technical skills and the right mindset are qualities which are considered fundamental for every M&A professional. However, his ability to process and translate large amounts of data – often under a tremendous amount of pressure – into information which is valuable for all stakeholders make Simon a true asset to our firm, his colleagues as well as our clients, and valuable for stakeholders on deals he is working on.  

Simon demonstrates that he masters both quantitative as well as the qualitative qualities far beyond what one would expect from someone with his tenure, meaning that, both from a technical and a commercial perspective he displays a very strong performance – something which is rare at this level in an organisation. His strong social skills and ability to explain complex matters in easy to understand language makes him loved not only within ING but also with our clients. These skills also make him an allround professional who can excel in a wide variety of (cross-border) transactions, recent examples including the acquisition of Locatiqs by Keensight/Sogelink, the sale of Peute Recycling to SCGP and the sale of PQR to Bechtle. 
 
How does the talent distinguish itself from its peers? 
The intrinsic motivation to learn and develop and his devotion to be the best and to deliver the best is truly what drives the success of Simon Derdelinckx. With his unprecedented learning curve and his combination of both strong technical and social skills make him a valued discussion partner with both corporate and private equity clients and target company management teams. He earns trust by working pro-actively, diligently and (at least as important) by communicating in a pleasant, structured and comprehensive way. Even when under enormous time pressure Simon continues to deliver in time and keeps up a very positive mindset enthusing his environment. This combination of skills at this stage in his career distinguishes him from his peers and offers a good example of an excelling young M&A banker. In addition to his professional life, Simon is also keen to further develop himself as he speaks multiple languages fluently, is passionate about various sports (e.g. cycling, having participated in several 200km+ rides, complemented by multi-day bike packing tours) and passed various extracurricular exams (e.g. Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and CFA level 1). 

What impact does the talent have within the organization?  
Simon is a Belgian national and started his career as a Wholesale Banking trainee in Brussels in 2019, after an internship with a well-known private equity firm. After a Structured Finance rotation in the Transport & Logistics sector, he gained Corporate Finance experience by joining the M&A team in Brussels for 6 months after which he worked in the Capital Structuring & Advisory team, where he focused on refinancings and capital structure optimizations. These experiences make him a well-educated all-round banker beyond only M&A. Early 2021, Simon decided to move to the Corporate Finance M&A team in Amsterdam as he wanted exposure to more and larger transactions, which is exemplary for his ambition. Throughout all layers of the organisation people want to work with/for him, because of his talents and likeability. From a personality perspective and output standards, Simon is an inspiration to the team. He has a lot of joy in his work which you see reflected in his quality of output, his strive to perfection and especially how he educates colleagues that are his juniors. Regardless the hour of the day and the workload he has to deal with himself, Simon will always take the time to educate co-associates, analysts, trainees and interns. He forms a spill in the web in our department by making sure he is updated on everybody’s deals and workloads, and importantly their personal situations as well. He will make sure every single person in the team feels he/she part of and belongs to the team. 

What impact does the talent have outside the organization?  
Simon is also a highly appreciated person outside of ING, from clients and ING partners to lawyers and other advisors. He is not afraid to speak up; he voices his opinion during both internal and external meetings. The reason people appreciate this can be seen from both a content and social perspective. He leaves a positive impression as a result of his genuine interest in people and their personal story and his well-developed ability to tailor his communication style to each different person. Subsequently topped off with his strong technical skills, financial knowledge and creative insights. 
 
To what extent does the talent make the difference to clients?  
Also with clients, Simon distinguishes himself from his peers through his ability to connect with clients from all seniority levels, his dedication to a project/client and the high quality of his work. His excelling combination of technical skills, creative way of offering solutions, ability to take into account the view of alle stakeholders, commercial sense and content driven decision making make him a valuable addition to every deal team and an appreciated team member by clients. As such, Simon is seen as a very good advertisement for our organisation. 
 
Why does the talent deserve this nomination? 
Simon deserves a nomination for the Young M&A talent award as he is seen as a role model for young M&A professionals, both within and outside ING. The impact he has on the organisation, his colleagues, our clients and other stakeholders should be acknowledged on a broader platform. He is truly a great person to work with, a team player and a professional that leaves a positive impression everywhere he goes and he gets deals done. A great advertisement for the field of M&A and as such the Young M&A talent of 2022. 
 
Any references or recommendations from clients or (colleagues)? 
We have not checked this with our clients, but he has for example recently worked for Keensight Capital, (shareholders of) Peute Recycling and (shareholders of) PQR.