Ronald Bekker has been digital adoption lead at Randstad Innovation Fund (RIF), the corporate venturing arm of the Netherlands-based human resources firm Randstad, since October 2017.
Launched in 2014 and with $55m in earmarked capital, the fund has made investments across six countries in North America and Europe, primarily in talent acquisition and workforce management startups.
RIF’s current investment focus covers online platforms, big data analytics, machine learning, sourcing, screening and selection tools. Its current portfolio features eight companies including US-based payroll savings platform Alice, professional development network Goodwall, and Hackerrank, an online recruitment community and assessment tool.
The unit has also invested in Pymetrics, which uses games to carry out psychometric tests on job candidates, and software-as-a-service recruitment platform Crunchr.
Bekker’s role to date has involved analysing digital innovations, promoting and managing the deployment of investments, and driving the adoption of proven solutions from RIF investments in cooperation with the Randstad Digital Factory incubator as well as other group operating companies
Bekker has worked within Randstad Group since 2012, initially with responsibility for its German engineering division and then as a development manager for the company’s strategic solutions arm. His previous roles include a stint at Yacht Teccon, an engineering broker based in Hamburg, and a three-year period with beverage producer Heineken International.
Bekker has a bachelor’s degree in market from the Inholland University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands as well as an MBA qualification from the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University.
