Diederik Tjeenk Willink was a Director of NBZ Management BV, a Dutch ship investment management company, at the time of his Mare Forum appearances. NBZ's own factsheet describes him as the initiator of the NBZ shipping fund.
His shipping career began in 1979 at Phs. van Ommeren, and he later became director of GenChart BV, which in the mid-1990s was among the first to offer Dutch ship partnerships to the general public. In 2000 he co-founded Gannet Shipping BV, a dry bulk shipping company.
He spoke at Mare Forum's 12th Mare Forum Ship Finance in 2012 and the 13th Mare Forum Ship Finance in 2013.