Guus Boender, founder of Ortec Finance and the ‘father of ALM’, has died.

Boender, who passed away in the early hours of Monday morning, had been suffering from cancer since late 2013.

Internationally known as the ‘father of ALM’, Boender was a co-founder of Ortec and became chief executive at Ortec Finance in 1981, latterly serving as a board member.

He was also professor of asset liability management (ALM) at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, having received his doctorate in operations research in 1984.

Ortec Finance chief executive Ton van Welie said in a statement on the company’s website: “Guus kept on working as much as possible, and we even saw him return to his beloved Ortec Finance for a few hours per week at the beginning of summer.

“Despite his illness, he acted as we all expected – full of enthusiastic plans and ideas.

“In August, these plans were brutally halted as the disease took a turn for the worse, this time with further treatment being ineffective.”

Boender was a frequent speaker at industry events, including those organised by IPE and its Dutch sister publication.