Pieter van der Does

Pieter van der Does
Name	Pieter van der Does
Birth date	1971
Birth place	Leiden, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Alma mater	Leiden University
Occupation	Businessman, entrepreneur
Known for	Co-founder and former CEO of Adyen
Title	Chairman of the Supervisory board
Company	Adyen

Pieter van der Does is a Dutch entrepreneur and businessman best known as the co-founder and former chief executive officer of the global payments platform Adyen. Under his leadership, Adyen grew from a startup into a publicly traded company listed on Euronext Amsterdam, processing payments for major clients like Uber, Netflix, and Spotify. His strategic vision focused on building a unified platform to simplify online payment processing for large merchants worldwide.

Early life and education

He was born in Leiden and developed an early interest in technology and commerce. He pursued higher education at Leiden University, where he studied law and graduated with a degree in Dutch law. His academic background provided a foundation in structured reasoning and regulatory frameworks, which later proved valuable in the complex financial services sector. Following his studies, he began his professional journey in the burgeoning field of e-commerce and digital finance.

Career

His initial career steps were in the banking industry, where he gained critical experience in transaction processing and financial technology. He held a significant role at Bibit, a Dutch stockbroker that was later acquired by the German financial institution ABN AMRO. This period during the late 1990s and early 2000s coincided with the rapid growth of the internet and the early development of online payment systems. His work at Bibit exposed him directly to the technical and operational challenges of digital financial transactions, shaping his future entrepreneurial direction.

Leadership at Adyen

In 2006, he co-founded Adyen alongside Arnout Schuijff, with the mission to create a more efficient payments platform for global enterprises. As CEO, he spearheaded the company's strategy of providing a single integrated system to handle online, mobile, and point-of-sale transactions across various payment methods and currencies. Key to Adyen's success was securing major clients such as Facebook, Microsoft, and eBay, which demonstrated the platform's reliability at scale. He oversaw Adyen's landmark initial public offering on Euronext Amsterdam in 2018, a major event in European technology markets. In 2024, he transitioned from the CEO role to become Chairman of the Supervisory board, marking a new chapter in the company's governance.

Other ventures and investments

Beyond his primary work with Adyen, he is an active investor and advisor in the technology and fintech sectors. He serves on the board of directors for several growth-stage companies, contributing his expertise in scaling software-as-a-service businesses. His investment portfolio includes stakes in innovative startups across Europe and North America, particularly those focused on financial infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and sustainable technology. He is also involved with academic initiatives, supporting programs at institutions like Erasmus University Rotterdam that foster entrepreneurship.

Personal life

He maintains a relatively private personal life and is known to reside in the Netherlands. He has expressed a strong interest in sailing, a popular pastime in his home country, and often participates in regattas. His philanthropic efforts are channeled through contributions to educational causes and environmental organizations focused on marine conservation. He is married and has children, and he values balancing his demanding professional schedule with family time.

Awards and recognition

His leadership has earned him numerous accolades within the business and technology communities. He has been featured on lists such as the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award in the Netherlands. Under his guidance, Adyen has consistently been ranked highly on the Forbes Cloud 100 list and recognized as one of the Fortune Change the World companies. He is frequently invited to speak at major industry forums, including the Money20/20 conference and the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Category:Dutch businesspeople Category:Dutch technology company founders Category:1971 births Category:Living people