Robbert Booij, the CEO of ABN Amro Clearing Bank Europe, has completed a 425km cycle ride from Amsterdam to London to raise money for Futures for Kids, a charity foundation set up by the futures industry to support the lives of children in need.
The endeavour was part of the FIA Kilt Challenge, which Booij graciously accepted last year from CQG’s Pat Kenny. Since 2010, various giants of the futures industry have accepted the sporran and the challenge to beat the previous year’s Kilt Challenge fundraising record.
Booij was joined on the cycle challenge by a team of clients and colleagues who arrived in Canary Wharf in style on 6 June wearing matching kilts after three gruelling days on the road.
“Cycling showed us the beauty of Europe,” Booij said. “Our highlights included the Dutch Delta Works in Zeeland, beautiful Bruges in Belgium, the impressive stretch of French coastline, the Dover cliffs and the charm of English heritage.”
He gave special thanks to ABN Amro’s clients Marco van den Berg from WEBB Traders, Jelper Striet from Algorithmic Trading Group and Johan Vahl from Wintermute for joining the ride and the continued support from his ABN Amro colleagues.
“While the bike ride has finished, my Kilt Challenge continues,” Booij said. “I look forward to wearing the kilt at the upcoming IDX Gala dinner, where among other great items the whole Dutch cheese we brought along will be auctioned in support of the great Futures for Kids charity,”
Booij has raised £17,000 to date and donations are still being accepted. Anyone wishing to donate to his fundraising page can do so here.
FFK Fun Run
The charity cycle ride followed hot on the heels of the Futures for Kids Fun Run, sponsored by Lead Sponsor R.J. O’Brien, which took place at the iconic Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London on 25 May.
More than 100 participants from across the futures industry, including representatives from other sponsors, ADMISI, StoneX, ION Group and GH Financials, as well as teams from London Metal Exchange, Trading Technologies, KRM22 and Exante among others, took part in 5k and 10k runs in support of Futures for Kids.
Jaroslaw Kozlowski from ION Group took the prize for the fastest 10k run time, at 39.02, with Rhian Littlewood running the fastest 5k at 20.20. The fastest female in the 10k was Charlotte Thornton-Smith, and the fastest male in the 5k was Anthony Seglo from StoneX.
The month of fundraising will be capped off on 21 June at FIA’s International Derivatives Expo (IDX) Gala Dinner in aid of Futures for Kids where Booij will hand over the sporran to the next kilt challenger.
Since inception Futures for Kids has raised more than £3 million for children’s charities based in the UK and internationally, including Leadership through Sport and Business, We See Hope, EducAid and Kids in Kathmandu.
