About

Robert W. van Zwieten is the Managing Director for the Asia-Pacific region at Convergence, the global network for blended finance. Convergence generates blended finance data and intelligence, provides trainings, curates an online platform to connect the quickly growing blended finance community with each other on transactions in progress, and provides grants for the design of vehicles that attract private capital to global development at scale. Our objective is to increase private sector investment in developing countries to realize the Sustainable Development Goals.

Robert combines 22 years of private sector experience in global financial markets with 10+ years of mobilizing institutional private sector capital into development and innovating development finance. Robert has conducted business and led teams, transactions and projects in the United States, Europe and Asia, and lived and worked in all three for extended periods. His experience spans Chairman, President, CEO, COO, CAO, CFO, CIO, MD and global and regional treasurer roles, straddling private, public and non-profit sectors. 

Prior to joining Convergence, Robert founded and led The Serendra Group LLC, a boutique emerging markets advisory firm that helps CEOs build better businesses in emerging markets.  He was the President and CEO of EMPEA, the global industry association for private capital in emerging markets, and worked at ADB as the Director leading the Private Sector Capital Markets Division, covering 42 developing member countries during the Global Economic Crisis. His experience further includes roles as Managing Director and COO of an Asia-focused hedge fund venture; EVP, CFO and Member of the Executive Committee of the Singapore Exchange; SVP, CAO and other global leadership roles at Lehman Brothers in New York; Managing Director and Global Treasurer at GE Energy in Atlanta; and Managing Director and Treasurer for GE Capital Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong during the Asian Financial Crisis. Earlier in his career, he worked in ABN AMRO Bank?s Global Clients & Investment Banking Division in Amsterdam, Chicago and Singapore.

Robert is active in a number of non-profit organizations. Amongst others, he is a past Chairman and current Board member of Music For Life International. He is a member of the Singapore Institute of Directors and the Philippines? Institute of Corporate Directors. He earned his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, holds JD and MA degrees from Leiden University in the Netherlands, and an LL.M. degree from Columbia University School of Law. Married, with five children, he is a citizen of both the Netherlands and the United States. He lives in Manila, Philippines.