Young M&A Café Rotterdam

Daan Bovenberg, Managing Director Excelsior Rotterdam

From the pitch to the deal table

After a career in professional football, Bovenberg sought more intellectual challenge and stepped into the world of strategy and M&A. Years later, he returned to Excelsior, this time to run the club. It didn’t take long before he saw the parallels between business and sport: both rely on teamwork, discipline, and execution under pressure.

He shared how his M&A experience shaped his leadership approach. In football, as in deals, plans are only as strong as the people who execute them. That reality taught him the value of preparation, realism, and making numbers count only when they truly mean something.

Cash flow is control

One of Bovenberg’s strongest lessons came down to a simple truth: cash flow equals independence. He illustrated how a small shift - invoicing early and delaying purchases -  can dramatically strengthen financial control and business value.

That same principle, he noted, applies across all sectors: whether you’re running a football club or structuring a transaction, controlling cash means controlling your options.

Culture as a competitive edge

Excelsior may have the smallest budget in the Dutch Premier League, but it has been profitable for seven consecutive years. The secret? A culture built on clarity, values, and accountability.

Every player, coach, and staff member is expected to live by the club’s principles; a philosophy that delivers consistent performance even against bigger competitors.
In Bovenberg’s words, culture and discipline drive returns more reliably than ambition alone.

It’s a lesson many dealmakers could relate to: most post-deal challenges don’t come from valuation models, but from misaligned teams and weak integration cultures.

Value beyond the numbers

A football club, Bovenberg explained, is much like a scale-up. Profit is only part of the story - real value comes from brand, community, and data. Excelsior’s growth increasingly comes from what happens around the pitch: partnerships, its business club, and a loyal fan base that keeps the community engaged.

For dealmakers, that’s a powerful reminder: topline figures are never the full story. Long-term value is built through relationships, trust, and a shared sense of purpose -  both in business and beyond.

Building communities that last

As the discussion wrapped up, one message stood out across every story: value creation starts with discipline and ends with behaviour.

Whether in a locker room or a boardroom, performance and trust are built the same way — through consistency, connection, and culture.

Bovenberg left the audience with a final thought that perfectly captured the spirit of the event: creating value isn’t just about numbers; it’s about building communities where people grow together — on the field, in the office, and far beyond the balance sheet.