We are Torqx. A team of seasoned investment professionals that looks beyond spreadsheets and understands what it takes to do business. Working closely together with executives and entrepreneurs to expand, improve or transform their enterprise. By doing so, we help them to build momentum and drive performance. Leading to better results and better companies.
Torqx invests in medium-sized companies in the Benelux with significant value creation potential. Funding situations which include growth-, buy-and-build-, performance improvement-, turnaround- and transformation scenarios.
We are active in a wide range of industries including manufacturing, distribution and services, leveraging the broad experience of our team. Typically acquiring majority positions based on partnerships with entrepreneurs and management teams. Apart from providing companies with smart capital, we also offer them our network, expertise and talent. All to help achieve their full potential.
The Torqx fund is a mid-market equity fund, €150 million in size. It has backing from reputable international institutional investors and from the Torqx team itself, underlining our involvement in the companies we take part in. Out of this fund we invest in medium-sized companies that have the potential to become leaders in their field. Using our experience, our network and our resources to help them get there.
Joris is Analyst at Torqx. He enjoys working with management teams and entrepreneurs to identify their strategic advantage and use this to achieve positive, long-lasting value. Joris is an enthusiastic problem-solver with a friendly and open-minded attitude.
Mountains
Joris started as Analyst directly after completing an internship at Torqx. Before joining Torqx, he gained experience as a researcher at the Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht and through an internship at a biotech scale-up in Sweden. Besides that, he was the manager of a start-up specialised in the repair and sales of Apple products. He holds an M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering (cum laude) from Delft University of Technology. Joris loves to spend time in the mountains skiing or mountaineering. Every summer and winter he can be found in the Alps doing so. He has a passion for cooking and currently lives in Amsterdam.
Liesbeth is Office Manager at Torqx. Prior to joining Torqx, she worked as assistant to the Board of Directors and Supervisory Board of DPA Group. She has a broad experience in management supporting positions.
Rome
Liesbeth holds an M.Sc. in History from the University of Groningen. She is married, has three kids and lives in Bussum. Liesbeth likes visiting musea and historic sites. Her favorite place is Rome, where she hopes to live for a longer period to learn Italian.
Laurent is Investment Director at Torqx. He has over 9 years of private equity and M&A experience during which he has closed several investments across Western Europe and North America. Laurent’s experience spans across a broad variety of industries including metal steel processing, industrial flow-control, automation, water treatment, paper mills, software services, food production and consumer packaging amongst others. He dealt with businesses facing all shapes or forms of complexity ranging from bankruptcy situations or complicated carve-outs to handling simultaneous execution of initiatives in fast growing companies. He uses a collaborative approach, and a down-to-earth can-do mentality to support great management teams in achieving extraordinary results.
Curiosity drives learning
Prior to joining Torqx, Laurent worked for US-based private equity funds, first at AEA Investors and later at Peak Rock Capital. Laurent started his career at Nomura (former Lehman Brothers) and graduated from Erasmus University in the Netherlands where he earned an M.Sc. degree in Financial Economics with additional studies at Harvard University and a B.Sc. degree in Applied Economics at Antwerp University. If you catch him outside of work and he is not updating his mental (and sometimes random) statistics databook, he is probably reading a highly didactical book in a café or playing tennis or football. Laurent is happily married to a Spanish woman and is of course therefore continuously trying to improve his Spanish to add to his language repertoire.
Adriaan is Senior Associate at Torqx. He has been involved in a range of growth, buy-and-build and performance improvement investments and has developed extensive experience in the automotive and manufacturing sectors. Adriaan is results focused and has a roll-up-your-sleeves attitude.
Outdoor Sports
Prior to Torqx, Adriaan was an Associate at H2 Equity Partners. He previously gained experience through internships at Rothschild and PwC. He holds an M.Sc. in Financial Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam. Adriaan lives in Amsterdam. He is an enthusiastic horse rider, likes to be outside and enjoys playing football.
Elise van Dam is an Associate at Torqx. She enjoys building long term relationships and supporting companies with creative solutions to business challenges. Elise previously held the position of Associate Leveraged Finance in the ING New York office covering the Telecom, Media and Technology sector in North and South America. She started her career as trainee in the ING International Talent Program in Amsterdam and London. Prior to ING, she gained experience in the engineering and automotive sectors through internships at BMW M, Bentley Motors, and the German Aerospace Center.
Aerospace
Elise is a CFA® charterholder and holds an M.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering with specialization in Aerodynamics (honours track) from Delft University of Technology. She did an exchange semester at the National University of Singapore, and wrote her Master’s thesis at the MIT, where she performed research on the D8 series future aircraft design concept in collaboration with NASA, Pratt & Whitney, and Aurora Flight Sciences. She likes travelling and running.
Cedric is Partner at Torqx. He has been involved in a variety of investments, from an accelerated international expansion to a step-change performance improvement in automotive supply, or a European buy-and-build in heat treatment services. Cedric is a strategist with an entrepreneurial mindset and a hands-on attitude, and likes to work in sync with management teams to build winning businesses.
Let’s ride
Prior to Torqx, Cedric was Investment Manager at H2 Equity Partners. Prior to H2, Cedric was executive director in a family-owned company where together with his team he realized a buy-and-build. He started his career at Roland Berger. He holds a business engineering degree from KULeuven and a MSAE degree from University of Mannheim, and lives in Belgium. He likes riding his motorcycle, and travelling to special places, from exploring Oregon with his wife and sons to climbing a snowy volcano in Kamchatka with friends.
Harmen is Managing Partner at Torqx. He has realized a broad range of successful investments. From a buy-and-build in ironmongery distribution to a transformation in the paper industry. From a step-change performance improvement in automotive products to growth investments in highly innovative businesses. Harmen is a strategist and likes working with management teams and entrepreneurs to help build strong market leaders in their space. Harmen is no-nonsense, pragmatic and action oriented. He has an eye for business opportunities and knows how to build organizational momentum to capture these.
Sail the world
Prior to Torqx, Harmen was Partner at H2 Equity Partners and Bain & Company. He started his career at MeesPierson in corporate finance and capital markets. He holds an M.Sc. degree in Econometrics from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. He is married, has three kids and lives in Hilversum. Harmen has a passion for watersports and aircooled cars. His dream is to sail the world together with his wife and friends.
Willem is Associate at Torqx. He enjoys gaining a deep strategic understanding of businesses and identifying their future potential. He likes to work with entrepreneurs and management teams to achieve sustainable, long-lasting value. Willem has a positive and open-minded attitude.
Boxing
Previously, Willem did an internship at Torqx. And he was active in the R&D and business development of two separate start-ups. He holds an M.Sc. in Applied Physics from the Technological University Delft. Willem lives in Amsterdam and loves to spend time in the outdoors. He has done mountaineering treks in Patagonia and Scotland, and sea-kayak trips in Norway. Also, Willem is an enthusiastic kick boxer. He recently spent a month at a Muay Thai gym in Thailand to train.
David is Investment Director at Torqx. He has been involved in a variety of investments, from buy-and-builds in staffing to high growth tech companies. As a former executive in a fast-growing scale-up, he knows first-hand what it’s like to run a business in a high-pressure environment. He thoroughly enjoys teamwork and loves coming together to tackle complex problems with creative solutions.
How empires are forged
Before joining Torqx, David was CFO at EVBox, global leader in EV charging solutions. He started his career at Gilde where he gained experience with investments in the Benelux midmarket. He holds an M.Sc. in Quantitative Finance from Erasmus University Rotterdam.
David lives with his wife and two children in Amsterdam where in weekends he can be found on a hockey field or running alongside the Amstel. He has a keen interest in history and can talk passionately about the Great Pyramid, the fall of Constantinople or the American Civil War.
Rik is Investment Director at Torqx and is involved in different growth-, buy-and-build and performance improvement investments. Rik is very entrepreneurial and pragmatic. He enjoys working closely with management teams to make strategic plans a reality. He brings energy and a hands-on mentality.
Passionate traveller
Rik started his career at Bain & Company where he worked for ca. 5 years for its offices in Amsterdam and San Francisco, where he gained significant experience in due diligence-, commercial excellence- and cost improvement projects. After this he worked for several years at Black Bear Carbon, a Clean Tech Top 100 start-up from Dutch origin. Rik holds an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering (cum laude) from Delft University of Technology, next to which he founded several still successful companies.
He is a passionate traveller and nature lover; a.o. he conducted a half year 4x4 road trip with his wife through Southern- & Eastern Africa. He lives with his wife in Amsterdam and can be found playing soccer in the Vondelpark every Sunday morning.
Jeroen is Partner & CFO at Torqx. He has been involved in a large number of successful investments. Jeroen combines analytical and financial skills with a clear business sense and loves working with management teams and achieve common targets.
Prior to Torqx, Jeroen was Finance Director at H2 Equity Partners. Prior to H2, Jeroen has worked at Deloitte and KPMG. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Auditing.
Fine dining
Jeroen is married, has three sons and lives in Bussum. He has a passion for food and sports. Jeroen loves to cook for family and friends and also enjoys fine dining. Cycling is his sport and besides practicing he also is a passionate fan, as he is of motorsports.
Reinier is Associate at Torqx. He enjoys the strategic element of being involved with management teams and implementing growth plans. Reinier is enthusiastic about finding solutions for complex situations and has a positive mindset. Growing his capabilities and creating businesses that make a positive impact drives his excitement at Torqx.
Watersports
Prior to joining Torqx, Reinier gained experience through internships at ING Corporate Finance M&A and Harbour Capital Partners. He holds an M.Sc. in Finance and Investments from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. Born and raised in Curaçao, he has always had an interest in water- and board sports like diving and surfing. Reinier has a passion for cooking and currently lives in Amsterdam.
Laurens is Investment Director at Torqx. He has gained experience with several larger and smaller investments in the education, medtech, oil & gas and HVAC markets, amongst others. Laurens is passionate about companies that have a vision to change the world. He takes pleasure in his work from the constant connection between people and finance. The success of a deal depends on a good vision and a plan, but is determined by the team that knows how to bring these elements together.
Tour skiing
Laurens started his career in 2005 at Goldman Sachs and gained private equity experience in the Benelux market at Gimv and Committed Capital. He holds an M.Sc. in Financial Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam. In his spare time, Laurens enjoys sports and reading a wide range of books. Laurens used to play hockey at a high level. Now the emphasis is on tour skiing, tennis, running and cycling. Laurens lives with his wife and three sons in Amsterdam, where they can often be found in ‘het Amsterdamse Bos’.
Lennert is partner at Torqx. He has broad experience in leading successful business transformations and has a passion to actively work together with management teams in driving real change and help companies to fundamentally improve their performance. Over the past years, Lennert has been involved in many investments and performance improvement programs, particularly in the industrials and business services sectors. Lennert brings deep expertise in strategy, commercial and operational excellence, M&A and change management.
Sports fan
Prior to Torqx, Lennert was Partner at Bain & Company where he was a leader in the Private Equity Practice. Lennert holds an MBA from INSEAD and MSc Electrical Engineering (with honors) at Delft University of Technology. Lennert lives in Rotterdam with his wife and two children. He is an avid sports fan and likes to travel.
