Ploegsma is currently a member of the executive board of one of the largest care organizations for the elderly in the Netherlands. Photo Aafje Foundation As of 1 November, WUR’s Executive Board will have a new member: Peter Ploegsma. He will take over the Finance, Business & Services portfolio from Rens Buchwaldt, who has been on leave for medical reasons since 1 July.
WUR’s new Chief Financial Officer is currently a member of the executive board of the Aafje Foundation, a large organization providing care for the elderly in the Rotterdam region. He has held this position since 2014. His jobs prior to that include financial director for the Rotterdam transport company RET and chief financial officer at the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV). Ploegsma studied Public Administration and Policy at the University of Twente and did an MBS at SDA Bocconi in Milan and the London Business School. For more information about his background, see the press release.
Ploegsma is being appointed for a period of four years. He will replace Rens Buchwaldt, whose term of office was extended at the start of the year to 1 January 2026 so that he would be able complete the entire budget cycle and wrap up the process for the planned cutbacks. However, he will no longer be able to do that for health reasons. He has been on leave since 1 July to undergo medical treatment. Given the duration of that treatment, it is unlikely he will be able to resume work before the end of the year.
Not a rush procedure
The search for Buchwaldt’s successor had already started before it became clear he would have to give up his work, explains spokesperson Jan Willem Bol. ‘Board directors at this level often have long periods of notice, so the Supervisory Board had already initiated the selection procedure.’ The search for a new candidate was not rushed through, so it is an added advantage that Ploegsma is able to start as early as 1 November. ‘He was appointed according to the normal procedure with the standard screening,’ Bol confirms.
On the subject of Ploegsma’s appointment, the Supervisory Board chair Elbert Dijkgraaf says, ‘The Executive Board is now complete again. We had not expected Rens Buchwaldt to have to leave so suddenly, so I’m pleased that we have been able to find an expert successor in Peter. He has acquired highly relevant experience that we can put to good use in the coming period. I am confident that the Executive Board will now be able to tackle the challenges ahead.’
Executive Board President Sjoukje Heimovaara adds, ‘We face major challenges in the coming years, which will demand a lot from us. I am therefore tremendously pleased that Peter is joining our team. His views and experience are a good fit with the course we are taking. I look forward to working with him.’
