Uit: Comfort Magazine, April 2004:

Wouter van der Zouwen

It is with great sadness that I write these words yet, even as I write, with the tragic events so fresh in our minds, I cannot help but smile when I think of Wouter and his endearing sense of fun and love of life.

I am conscious that there are many of you who knew Wouter betterthan I did and will have many more memories and stories to teil. I can only hope that you feel that this personal reflection is in some way appropriate - really there are no words which are sufficient for this occasion.

Wouter joined Comfort Card in August 1997 from Getronics and held the roles of Project Manager - Sales Support (1/8/1997), Project Manager - Operations (1/1/1999), Head of Project Office Benelux (5/12/2002) and Deputy Head of Product Management from July 2003.

I first met Wouter in late 2001 and was immediately impressed by his great knowledge of the Comfort sys-tems and operations and also how they differed from, and could compete with, the rest of the Dutch market. His vast and detailed knowledge and his willingness to listen to, and develop, ideas were respected not only by his colleagues in Houten, and the rest of Comfort Card, but by all third parties and areas of the Royal Bank he came into contact with.

His knowledge and professionalism led to his well deserved promotion to Deputy Head of Product Management in July 2003 and immediately he brought his enthusiasm to bear and set about structuring our Benelux operation and building up close relationships with colleagues in Germany. Throughout the entire period I knew Wouter I was always struck by his love of his job, his professionlism and his desire to do the very best he could.

In work terms, the loss to Product Management, to Comfort and to the Group is immense.

Our individual responses to the news of Wouters sudden death are of course much more closely related to his personal characterisitics and the contact we had with him as individuals - his sense of fun and humour, the relationships he built with his close colleagues, his laid back image and his unfailing willingness to help.

It was my pleasure to enjoy many social occasions with Wouter - in his favourite Amsterdam bar, The Boulevard, where his popularity was clearly evident, sharing his great passion for Ajax on visits to the Arena and various after business drinks in places too many to mention but all of which will trigger very special memories for me. In our conversations it was clear that he was very proud to be a Dutchman and very proud of his home town and of being an adopted Amsterdammer.

Wouter used to phone me nearly every evening to catch up on the days issues and I find it difficult to believe that I will never again hear his cheerful ,Güten Tag Herr Jackson'

My thoughts are with Alejandra and the family at this time and also with all Comfort staff who have been affec-ted by this tragedy.

lan Jackson
Head of Product Management