Taking over and being taken over
Matthijs: “The start was quite exciting. When Davinci Conclusion became part of Yellowtail Conclusion, it had only been taken over by Ophen six months earlier. With two takeovers in such a short time, the question was how Davinci Conclusion would land with us. In addition, Yellowtail Conclusion itself was taken over by Conclusion in 2020. Fortunately, that went very well. Peace has returned and almost all employees have stayed on board. I think that is a positive signal.”
Cultural ‘onboarding’
Robert: “The cultures of both organizations have a similar DNA: we both think innovatively from the content, we are progressive and we also really want to realize, get things off the ground. We saw that at the takeover table, but now you notice in practice that employees really find each other in that. There is a lot of dynamics in the new team. For example, people jump in for shorter or longer periods in other teams.” Matthijs: “Where Davinci Conclusion has a somewhat more senior crew, the Yellowtail Conclusion team consists of more younger employees. You can already see that this has an enriching effect. Employees now have broader opportunities for their careers. There is always a suitable opportunity for you within the larger ecosystem. With this career perspective, we also have more clout on the labor market. It is one of our joint ambitions to be ‘a great place to work’. Especially since events and the like are allowed again, cultural onboarding has become easier.”
Cross-overs
Matthijs: “The rationale for Yellowtail Conclusion to take over Davinci Conclusion was that we wanted to strengthen our position in the housing and lending domain. The big advantage is that Yellowtail Conclusion and Davinci Conclusion complement each other in terms of knowledge and networks. Davinci Conclusion is strong in the field of mortgages and notarial services. There is a world of opportunities for us there.” Robert: “We also see opportunities for growth the other way around. For example, for Electronic Communication Mortgages (ECH) and the Mortgage Data Network (HDN). Both initiatives were once conceived and set up by Davinci Conclusion and now we can help these organisations to grow with the knowledge, expertise and network of Yellowtail Conclusion. In addition, Davinci Conclusion helps the Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) with the development of new (digital) legal certainty services. For example, we are currently working with several banks, an insurer and the notary to see how we can simplify the processes surrounding the settlement of estates for consumers by using new digital services and resources. Yellowtail Conclusion has a lot of added value here with its expertise in software from the financial sector.” Matthijs: “The notary is relatively new territory for Yellowtail Conclusion. That brings us to new parties and initiatives. Davinci Conclusion and Yellowtail Conclusion work from the same philosophy: start small and then continue to invest, together with partners in the sector. We can already see that we can make more impact with the new scale. Our cost structure has improved substantially because we can distribute overhead costs over more units. That also makes us more competitive.”
From spontaneous to structured
Robert: “Davinci Conclusion likes to take the time to think up new things. That is how ECH and HDN came about. We prefer to develop together with chain partners, that is where our strength lies. The fact that we are now part of a larger club helps with that. We now have a larger network and that opens more doors. With our combined strengths, we can also offer our customers a larger playing field. I think we could be a bit bolder in proclaiming the benefits of that synergy.” Matthijs: “Our wish was and is to jointly develop several major initiatives. The first steps towards that have been taken, although so far that has mainly been spontaneous and on a smaller scale. For example, we are working together on a proposition in the consumer credit market and we are already working for various customers with teams composed of both organizations. We are going to organize that in a more structured way in the coming period, so that we can make really targeted, overarching investments.”
