Rijkman Willem Johan Groenink (born 25 August 1949 in Den Helder) is a Dutch banker.
As CEO Groenink had built up a substantial portfolio of shares in the bank through various stock option bonuses and the sale of his stake generated an income of €23 million.
[6] In the award-winning book "De Prooi" (Dutch: "The Prey") by journalist and professor Jeroen Smit the fall of ABN Amro is described.
[7] In the book Rijkman Groenink is described as a detached manager, more concerned with maximizing shareholder value and individual bonuses for the company's leaders than in serving the best interests of the bank's customers.
According to the numerous sources in the book, talks with several other banks about mergers failed because of Rijkman Groenink's personal demeanor or his unreasonable demands.
Shortly after the announcement discussion broke out: people thought that Groenink should concentrate on his role at the bank, especially because a fierce bidding-war had started between the consortium and Barclays.
A large stock-holder in both Shell and ABN AMRO, the ABP - the pension fund for all government and education personnel - was against his appointment.
After announcing to step down as ABN Amro CEO and not joining the board for Shell, Groenink's ranking on the Top 200 of influential people dropped to 29th place on the 2007 list.