Introduction

Robeco is one of the leading global asset managers, headquartered in Rotterdam. With a strong focus on sustainable investing and a growing international client base, Robeco recognized the need to modernize its approach to customer data — enabling more personalized, data-driven marketing and commercial reporting across its Marketing and Sales organization.

The Challenge

Robeco’s Marketing and Sales teams were working with a fragmented customer view. Data was spread across multiple systems without a coherent, integrated foundation — making it difficult to run personalized campaigns, measure commercial performance, or gain deep insights into customer behavior.

The key challenges were:

• No single, trusted customer view available for Marketing and Sales — limiting the ability to personalize campaigns and client interactions
• Lack of a Customer Data Platform (CDP) to integrate data across channels and enable segmentation at scale
• Need for a robust data governance framework for the CDP, ensuring data quality, compliance, and clear ownership
• Requirement to manage a complex RFP process to select the right CDP solution from a competitive market
• Need to align a cross-functional team of Data Engineers, Data Modellers, Data Scientists, Power BI specialists, and CRM Marketeers around a shared delivery approach

What We Delivered

As Sr. Project Manager, Starling Consultancy led the full lifecycle of the CDP implementation:

• Managed the end-to-end RFP process to evaluate and select the most suitable Customer Data Platform — resulting in the selection of Microsoft Customer Insights
• Led the cross-functional project team, including Data Engineers, Data Modellers, Data Scientists, Power BI specialists, and CRM Marketeers
• Oversaw the technical implementation of the CDP platform, including data model design, system integrations, and campaign platform connectivity
• Designed and implemented a data governance framework for the CDP, including data ownership, data quality controls, and compliance processes
• Managed stakeholder alignment across Marketing, Sales, IT, and Data teams throughout the program
• Delivered comprehensive team training to ensure adoption and effective use of the new platform

The Result

The CDP was delivered successfully and is now the central data foundation for Robeco’s Marketing and Sales operations. Key outcomes:

• A single, trusted customer view available across Marketing and Sales — enabling data-driven decision making and personalized client engagement
• Campaign open rates and click-through rates doubled compared to the previous segmentation approach — a direct, measurable result of better data management and AI-assisted segmentation
• A governed, scalable digital ecosystem connecting customer data across CRM, email, and reporting platforms
• A data governance framework in place that ensures data quality, compliance, and clear accountability

Does this resonate with your challenges?

Whether you are implementing a new data platform, transforming your digital ecosystem, or scaling an IT delivery team — we would love to hear what is keeping you up at night.