Dutch firm Houthoff co-managing partner Gerhard Gispen has died, according to a statement by the firm.

Gispen died aged 60 on Wednesday, according to co-managing partners Edward de Bock and Albert Knigge. A cause of death was not provided.

"We are saddened and shocked by this sudden loss of our beloved board member, partner, colleague and friend with whom we have worked with so much pleasure," the partners said in the statement. 

"In our work together, we came to know him as a passionate and collegial managing partner, with a determined spirit, a big heart and great ambitions for the entire firm," the duo added.

Gerhard joined Houthoff in 2016 as a partner in its restructuring and insolvency practice and joined its board last year.

He spent almost 30 years at Simmons & Simmons before joining Houthoff, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

"We are saddened by the sudden death of Gerhard Gispen, a special colleague and gifted insolvency specialist," Brechje van der Velden, a litigation partner and head of the Amsterdam office of Allen & Overy, posted in a comment on LinkedIn.