Theo Kocken
Theo started his career in finance in 1990 at BNG and worked for ten years in the banking sector. Among other roles he was Head of Market Risk at ING and Rabobank. He graduated in Business Administration (1990) and Econometrics (1993) and received his PhD at VU University Amsterdam (2006). He discovered that financial markets do not always follow the laws that his studies in econometrics had shown him.
In 2000, he founded Cardano to take a broader look at risk and make the pension and insurance sectors more resilient to fundamental uncertainty. He helped set up TCX in 2007 to make developing countries less vulnerable to hard currency loans. TCX is now part of Cardano Development Foundation, which runs a number of initiatives aiming to reduce market failure in low-income countries and improve financial inclusion.
Theo left Cardano in 2021 and is now chairman of the Supervisory Board of Cardano Development. He is also a professor at VU University of Amsterdam and involved in several initiatives in low-income countries. As a hobby, he enjoys making documentaries – one such documentary was ‘Boom Bust Boom’ which he produced alongside Terry Jones and Bill and Ben.
Bill & Ben
Behind the English production company, Bill and Ben Productions, is the creative duo of Bill Jones and Ben Timlett. They have been in the film business as producers and directors since 1998 and have developed a distinctive approach to filmmaking.
Bill and Ben’s documentaries and feature films have regularly been nominated for Emmy Awards, the American film and television awards for extraordinary achievement. The common thread in their works is social engagement and awareness, combined with humour and entertainment.
Feature films by Bill and Ben include ‘Believe’, the story about Manchester United coach Matt Busby played by Brian Cox and, ‘Absolutely Anything’, a science fiction comedy film, featuring Simon Pegg, Robin Williams and Kate Beckinsale.
Other documentaries by the duo include the six-part series retelling the entire Monty Python phenomenon from start to finish, ‘Almost the Truth’ and ‘Boom Bust Boom’ which looked at the history of economic crises, in collaboration with Theo Kocken, Cardano’s Founder.
About Cardano and ACTIAM
Cardano and ACTIAM are part of the Cardano Group, which was founded by Theo Kocken in 2000. The group is committed to a society in which financial services strongly contribute to the quality of life. It specializes in financial risk management, pensions and sustainable investment. It has made a strong name for itself by looking at the future in an alternative way and thus developing scenarios. It manages Eur 60 billion in assets for investors in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom and advises over 300 financial institutions and companies.
