Mr. Kuijlaars has a law degree from Erasmus University, Rotterdam the Netherlands. He thereafter completed the Bank & Insurance certification from the Dutch Institute for Banks and Insurance Companies and followed several post graduate programs at international institutions like: Fontainebleau, France; Cambridge University, UK; Harvard Business School USA.

In his international career with ABN AMRO Bank and later RBS that spanned almost 25 years until 2008, he has held a number of senior positions like: Head Corporate & Investment banking Belgium, Regional Manager Brasil, Country Manager Russia and Argentina, Global Head Integrated Energy. Mr. Kuijlaars was also member of the Supervisory Board in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. After his appointment to Corporate Executive Vice President in 2001, besides running the Banks Global Energy Business, he later became a member of the Executive Committees for Europe, Central & Eastern Europe Middle East and Africa and the Corporate & Investment Bank.

He is an advisor to several international institutions and was the longest serving foreign member of the Foreign Investment Council to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Since 2006 Mr. Kuijlaars is an independent non-executive Director of KazMunayGas. Mr. Kuijlaars joint the Board of Directors of JSC Halyk Savings Bank in June 2009 as an independent non-executive Director.