Van Verre 292 - ENG

CONTENTS VAN VERREHEADINGSnr.292

ALUMNI VAN VERRE

THEME AMERICAN STORIES

16 Introduction

18 President a.i. of the American Friends of Nyenrode University (AFNU) Bill Huber MBA (19780615) is positive about the development of American alumni relations, "Koen Becking's visit has provided new energy!"

20 Drs. Lisette Ditters (19930922) of Signify USA participated in an expat program of then Philips Lighting Division. "I met an American man and then I stayed." She is successful in the male-dominated world of professional lighting in the United States.

23 Alexander J. Roepers MBA (19770094) managed to get an MBA at Harvard, which became the preparation for a great career with his equity hedge fund Atlantic Investment Management. "New York is a great city for people like me."

28 Robert Boerrigter MBA (19800015) started Axxor USA at the age of 49. It is a company that provides industrial solutions with particularly strong paper. "When I stand at a traffic light, I see cars with honeycomb paper," he says.

32 Matthy Welling MBA (19720069) set up a thriving wholesale business in fish from Alaska, Siberia, China, and Thailand from Seattle. Welmar Pacific supplies AH, Jumbo, Lidl and Johma salads, among others. "The fish was paid very well," he says.

34 Tripreport of NBU visit to East Coast America. Participants Dr. Koen Becking MPA, rector magnificus NBU; Dr. Bo van der Rhee, research director NBU, Louise Out van Staveren, director a.i. NBU Alumni Relations & Fundraising and Anouk Reitsma NBU Alumni Relations & Fundraising.

36 “"I have become a true New Yorker," says Gerry Vos (19750072). With a classical BBA education, he jumped in at the deep end as an independent consultant in The Big Apple. Twenty questions about succeeding in the city that never sleeps.

39 Volunteer position with great prestige!" President of the Netherland America Foundation Andy Bender MBA (19830104) discusses the foundation behind the annual NAF gala at the New York Plaza Hotel. Over a century of scholarships, internships, and exchange programs!

42 "The Nyenrodian who put Bangor on the flight map." Alumnus Bob W. Ziegelaar (19660118) landed in the state of Maine and became director of a local airport. As a result, Bangor became a household name on transatlantic flights!

44 "IMF economist inspired by Spinoza." That's Bob Traa (1977011) who earned a Ph.D. MA Economics & Statistics from the University of Oregon. He became a sharp consultant vetting for the IMF in Washington DC, Suriname, Brazil, the former Yugoslavia, and Greece.

08 MESSAGE FROM PRAGUE:

Drs.ing. Johannes van Wijk (20050348) reports "Czechs proud to deliver tanks."

10 MESSAGE KIEV/NETHERLANDS:FROM

Businessman Drs. Guido van Engelen (199200912) organizes aid to Ukraine, with which he even manages to get behind the lines.

12 MESSAGE FROM LONDON:

Ivo Knottnerus MBA(200010413) poses the question "Moscow on the Thames or Londongrad? Inside info on the Russian oligarchs.

15 PITCH

Alumnus Justin Leemkuil MBA (20117432) on his digital marketing agency Growing Lemon: "Growing with the lemon tree."

54 TUMTUM

55 PERSONAL NEWS REPORTAGE

50 Fred Gehring (19730020) walked in as CEO of Tommy Hilfiger. Then he became an investor, but it didn't quite fit. As a drummer and bandleader he found his niche. Idolized, he is of The Beatles. "I would secretly like to conquer the US with The Analogues," he says. It's a tribute band "at large.

“If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.”

SERIES

Dr. Manon Cox (19960702) worked in the United States for two decades for Protein Sciences Corporation in Boston. As CEO, she was at the helm of the development of the flu vaccine Flubok. She thus became a scientific celebrity!

Since President Putin initiated the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the world has looked different, as if we have been thrown back three quarters of a century in time. From a humanitarian point of view, what the democratic state of Ukraine is facing is terrible, but it is a huge wake-up call for the free world. EU member states in particular will realize that a strong defense of NATO's border with Russia is needed and must be achieved urgently. Is all this far removed from the everyday reality of Nyenrode alumni? Not at all! Drs. Guido van Engelen (19920912) is a businessman who lives and works in Kiev. He tells about his hasty departure from the historic city and about the aid campaigns he undertakes. With these he even reaches the Ukrainian troops in the firing line. Also drs. ing. Johannes van Dijk (20050348) reports from Prague, his second home port, on the pressure that the Czechs are experiencing as a neighbor of Ukraine. Ivo Knottnerus (20010413) illuminates the presence of Russian oligarchs in London. Politically, the United States is back as a leader on the world stage. This ties in with the choice Van Verre made to release an edition with American Stories. We spoke with prominent alumni in the US who have achieved business success and realized their American dream. They, too, are dealing with the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

For example, Bill Huber (19780615), the president a.i. of American Friends of Nyenrode University (AFNU), is the finance business partner of the Danish VELUX group (international market leader in roof windows and skylights) and responsible for the VELUX business outside the EU. He had to close the branches in Russia and Belarus. However, he kept the branch office in Ukraine open and was thus directly involved in the war. Matthy Welling (19720069) MBA runs an international seafood business, Welmar Pacific, in Seattle. Until recently, he was able to source salmon from Siberia, but that important supplier was also cut off "overnight.” Alexander J. Roepers (19770094) MBA, on the other hand, with his US equity hedge fund firm Atlantic Investment Management in New York, is profiting from the surge in demand for defense equipment, through his stake in Germany's Rheinmetall. That company manufactures ammunition, tanks, and troop carriers, among other things. At the same time, Roepers warns of the consequences of years of keeping interest rates low by the US Federal Reserve and the gigantic federal budget deficit, which has even doubled under President Obama. He finds macroeconomist Bob Traa (19770111) Ph.D.-MA Economics & Statistics, on his side. Traa has an impressive track record in Washington DC as an IMF consultant. He was responsible for vetting the financial systems of Suriname, former Yugoslavia, Brazil, and Greece, where he was stationed for three years as a watchdog. As an independent consultant, he has published a leading book on the "Insolvency of the US Federal Government.”

Fortunately, there is a wide range of interviews with Nyenrodians who have succeeded in the US and built happy lives there. For example, Drs. Lisette Ditters (19930922) of Signify USA explains what it is like to sell lighting as a woman in the professional US market, which is known as a real man's world. Bob W. Ziegelaar (19660118) is a NOIB'er who put Bangor Airport in the state of Maine on the international flight map. Andy Bender (19830104) MBA walked in with software for the pharmaceutical industry. Now he is president of the Netherland America Foundation, founded a century ago with inspiration from later President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which supports internships and scholarships for talented students in both the Netherlands and the US. Robert Boerrigter (19800015) MBA started Axxor USA at age 49, which makes honeycomb paper for industrial applications. The best car brands have a trunk cover plate that incorporates his product. Gerry Vos (19750072) has held his own for many years as an independent consultant in The Big Apple. He offers helpful tips "to make it there.” And then there's the top woman, Dr. Manon Cox (19960702) MBA, who was CEO of Protein Sciences Corporation and spent two decades working on the recombinant flu vaccine Flublok, which has been approved by the Federal Drug Administration.

Unfortunately, I have to conclude with the announcement that, after twenty-eight years, Joep Stassen (19850083) is quitting his column. He thinks it has been enough. On behalf of all readers of Van Verre, I thank him for his inspiring contribution! ♦

Van

FROM BOARD

AMERICAN ALUMNI IN 'THE SPOTLIGHT' BLOKLAND

VAN NANCYVERRE,EMMENS

Corina Blokland (20070305) is chairperson of Nyenrode Alumni VCV. She did PTMSc and EMBA at Nyenrode and is an entrepreneur.

This is a special edition with stories about our alumni in the United States. A country of unprecedented opportunity and, at the same time, a nation of great contrasts. I have had the privilege of staying in America several times, one of which was for my EMBA from Nyenrode. We stayed in Chicago, and what an experience that was! Besides studying and making group assignments, of course we explored city life. With our regular group of students, we went out for a steak somewhere. I can still picture the waiter. He knew something about every piece of beef and that led to the most expensive steak I have ever eaten. But yes, we only found that out when the bill arrived.

Vorig year I went to New York on behalf of the VCV. I met many alumni there. Their stories were impressive and their collective gratitude for what Nyenrode Business University brought them was great. Some indicated that without Nyenrode they would never have been able to live their 'American Dream.' In March, there was another trip to America. Rector magnificus Dr. Koen Becking MPA, Dr Bo van der Rhee, and Louise Out-van Staveren visited New York, Washington DC, Atlanta, and Boston to talk to a large number of alumni about the future plans of NBU and about strengthening alumni relations. It was a very successful trip! Be sure to watch the film report on our digital platform to get an impression.

Saying goodbye

At our RVA meeting on April 7, we said goodbye as a main board to two much-loved board members: Nancy Emmens and Joep Stassen. Nancy Emmens has been our secretary for many years, and we thank her for her unbridled dedication in recent years. Now and then she had to chase us, and she could do that like no other. Her hospitality is unprecedented. We will miss her! For two years, Joep Stassen gave hands and feet to the Nyenrode pillar stewardship. With Voorwaarts Voor Goed he, together with several others, started a movement among our alumni and during this lustrum year, the Voorwaarts Voor

Goed team shares many beautiful and inspiring videos. An extra word of thanks for Joep, also on behalf of the editorial team, is in order, as he is writing his last column in this Van Verre. For over 28 years, he has written with love for the magazine. That shows his enormous commitment to VCV. Thanks, Joep, for everything!

High time for a real Nyenrode party Out of sight is not out of mind. I am pleased that both Nancy Emmens and Joep Stassen have indicated that they will remain closely associated with us as an association. And, of course, that goes for so many Nyenrodians who are members of the VCV. Fortunately, after the Corona crisis, we can see each other again in real-life. The number of homecomings is exploding and the registrations for the upcoming events are also going well. In recent months, we have also worked hard on the lustrum. 75 Years Nyenrode is a milestone that deserves to be celebrated. I hope to see you there in large numbers. It is time for an excellent Nyenrodian party. I was there five years ago, and it was a spectacle. With what I've heard, this year will be more than fine too!

Van Verre, Corina Blokland President

After four years, Nancy Emmens (19810031) thought it was a good time to hand over the baton as Secretary of the Executive Board. "In those four years, I got to know many Nyenrodians. I find it very special that, whatever the year of study, there is a great affinity between these Nyenrodians. Often people of a piece, who you can work well with. People who are willing to stick their necks out and have lots of ideas. Critical too, thankfully." She took her official leave during the RVA on April 7.

The vacancy for secretary of NAVCV is still open. Are you, or do you know someone who would be interested? Please contact Corina Blokland.

InspirationalIntercircles

April 11, all circle directors were finally together again during the Interkringen. Partly thanks to the interactive workshop, given by Cathalijne Meijer (19990112) of the Marketing & Digital Circle, many new ideas surfaced. These ideas will help us to further activate all VCV circles and to organize fun meetings in the coming period. One good suggestions from that evening was to start a READ ONLY WhatsApp group for all circle directors. This way we can disseminate information in an accessible way and be up-to-date faster. If you want to be in the group, please send an email info@nyenrodealumni.nl.to

FOUNDING FATHERS’ DINNER

To strengthen the ties between Nyenrode Business University and its Founding Fathers, several alumni of the Founding Fathers returned on April 25. During its 75th anniversary this year, Nyenrode aims to strengthen the ties with its Founding Fathers.

75 years ago, the Founding Fathers laid the foundation for an educational institute that was unique in the Netherlands. According to the pioneers, existing universities and institutes did not provide students with the necessary skills to rebuild the international position of Dutch business. Under the inspiring leadership of aviation pioneer Albert Plesman, (the predecessors) of KLM, Shell, Philips, Unilever, Akzo, ABN-AMRO, TPG, Dutch Railways, and many other companies and organizations built the Netherlands Institute for Training Abroad, today known as Nyenrode Business University. This initiative led, almost 75 years ago, to an educational innovation that probably would not have been possible in any other way.

On the afternoon of Monday, May 9, in the De Rooij building at Nyenrode, the second edition of the Dutch edition of the coffee table book Nijenrode, Inspiration for Art was presented. The book by Art Fund Nyenrode has the subtitle 'The history of over seven centuries.' Compared to the first edition from 2018, the content has been completely overhauled and the number of pages has been increased by a third.

Farewell Leo van Os - Art Fund Nyenrode CODE TO THE PLATFORM ➜

The complete revised coffee table book is available from the Servicepoint at Nyenrode Business Universiteit for €29.50 or can be ordered online via the website of Art Fund Nyenrode for €29.50 (excl. VAT and shipping costs within the Netherlands). www.artfundnyenrode.nl

Scan the QR code for the extended article and aftermovie, including the hologram of Albert Plesman. nyenrodealumni.nl and Nyenrode Alumni VCV phone 0346 - 291 513

After seven years as chairman of Art Fund Nyenrode, Leo van Os (19580077) is now truly enjoying retirement. The farewell of a founder took place at the historic Flora Batava estate in the presence of many board members. As a great art connoisseur, Leo organized sixteen art exhibitions at Nyenrode, among other things. He also succeeded in creating a strong profile for Art Fund Nyenrode as a professional foundation, with the goal of bringing art back into the community of Nyenrode. The current board owes him a great debt of gratitude for his tireless efforts during the important growth years of Art Fund Nyenrode. The chairmanship has been taken over by Ton Broeckx (19680010).

US support for NBU COLUMNresearch

Although born and raised in the Netherlands, I have many ties to America. In 2002, I first went to Utah as an exchange student during my master's in Econometrics at the VU. In 2003, I went back to the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah to start my Ph.D. in Operations Management. After completing that in 2007, I came to Nyenrode, now married to my American girlfriend from Maine. I met her in Utah, where she was studying and cross-country skiing on the university's ski team. My wife always teases me that I am more American than she is because I put barbecue sauce on everything....

ACADEMIC CLIMATE

I have been working at Nyenrode with great pleasure and enthusiasm since August 1, 2007, and have held several positions in addition to my role as lecturer and researcher. The most notable ones are that of trigger of the educational innovation taskforce in 2012, Chair of the Examination Committee from 2013 to 2017, and since October 2017, that of research director. As research director, my job is to make sure that the academic climate is such that we can do good research. We are succeeding quite well, as the number of scientific publications has climbed considerably since that time. The quality of the publications is also increasing, and, since 2020, we have been collecting impact cases in which we record the achieved impact of academic research in four categories: leadership, entrepreneurship, stewardship, and educational innovation. An impact case includes a portfolio of research around a central theme, with a focus on the reach and impact of that research. The count now stands at thirty cases and a new case is added every month. (See www.nyenrode.nl/impact).

COLLABORATING IN RESEARCH

For research, collaboration is key. Not only with international co-authors, but also with alumni who are facing issues that we have or can find answers to. Therefore, I was also very pleased to be part of the Nyenrode delegation that recently visited the east coast of America (New York, Atlanta, Washington DC, and Boston) to visit American alumni. Koen Becking shared the Nyenrode story and vision for the future, I shared my vision of research at Nyenrode and Louise Out van Staveren talked about opportunities for alumni to help with scholarships and research funding. Even though our research is on the rise, it remains a field of tension, because education is dominant. This is logical since our survival in the short term depends on whether we can attract enough students with

interesting programs and enthusiastic teachers. However, in the longer-term, research is also of great importance: it not only strengthens our education, but it also literally ensures that we remain a university where, in addition to knowledge transfer, knowledge must also be generated. It is also woven into our 'purpose': "shaping responsible leaders." To form responsible leaders, academic thinking skills, especially today with all the 'fake news,' are of great importance.

STRENGTHEN FOUNDATION

How do we further strengthen the academic foundation at Nyenrode? We will do this by hiring more internal, full-time Ph.D. students who can focus on research with less teaching load. The goal is to have five new Ph.D. students starting each year in the coming years. The average duration of a Ph.D. trajectory is four years, and therefore there are always about twenty students working on their dissertation. Experience has shown that a dissertation results in an average of two to three good publications, which also allows us to conduct more focused research in specific fields, which we can then claim as areas of expertise. Finally, it makes Nyenrode a more attractive place to work for international

Toresearchers.realizethis

ambition, an investment is needed. From Nyenrode, and from funds that we raise externally from companies and alumni. We greatly appreciate the help from the American Friends of Nyenrode University (AFNU). In addition, during this lustrum year we will also appeal to the broader alumni network. A financial contribution is welcome, and we can also use help in several areas. Think of data collection, thinking about research topics, giving guest lectures, and participating in symposia. This will make (the research at) Nyenrode even better, and it strengthens the ties with all our alumni, especially those from America! ♦

DR. BO VAN DER RHEE,

Professor of Operations Management since 2014 (Assistant 20072010, Associate 2010-2014) Research Director - Center for Marketing & Supply Chain Management, Nyenrode Business University

STUDENT BOARD

ONDERNEMEND NYENRODE IN A NEW GUISE

"We look forward to inspiring ambitious students, curious professionals and our listeners." The new board of Ondernemend Nyenrode has taken office. Renske Haafkes, Joep Toebes, Coen van den Berg, Kim Janssen, Quinten Haast, Max Kasmani, and Bart-Jan Bootsman look forward to taking listeners through a new series of enthusiastic and inspiring stories about entrepreneurship starting next month.

The Ondernemend Nyenrode Podcast can now be listened to on well-known podcast channels such as Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher, Deezer, and Pocket Casts. Subscribe via your favorite channel to ensure you don't miss an episode. Also follow Ondernemend Nyenrode on Instagram to stay up-to-date with activities and latest news.

Dear Nijenrodians,

This year de Nieuwe Compagnie Van Verre celebrating its 15th Lustrum, a reason for a party! The lustrum will take place from 7 to 11 July next summer. The theme of this lustrum is 'With Full Sail.' We are leaving the times of the pandemic behind us, and we are going full speed ahead into the future. It is time to enjoy life again, to be with each other, and party with each other! Therefore, we would like to invite you to the alumni day on July 10. This day will take place on the estate, on the handball field near the castle. The entertainment on this day will be provided entirely by alumni and current students. There will be petanque courts, several food trucks, and besides that all the fraternities and sororities have something in store for you! The planning in terms of entertainment is as follows:

14:00-15:00 Daan Hautvast

15:00-16:30(BScBA2021)Tijs Nooteboom (BscBA2019, Old Boys)

16:30-18:00 Michael van der Knoop 18:00-19:30(BBA1986)SuzyWonder & the Sunshine Miracles with Pieter Schulting (MSc11, Luctor)

19:30-21:00 Not too Serious with band leaders and year club mates Rob Geraerts (BBA1986, Ampik) and Gijs Donders (BBA1986, TLL).

21:00-22:00 The Booze of AllYesteryear!inall,it promises to be a tremendously beautiful day, where many current students will be present. We, therefore, hope to welcome all alumni to celebrate the anniversary of our wonderful association together! Information about ticket sales will be communicated as soon as

possible. Follow us on social media as below to stay Instagram:up-to-date! ncvlustrumxv Facebook: LustrumNCV Met Volle Vaart! XVth Lustrum Committee

HEEREN V

The beauty of a network like ours is the sharing of stories. Before new students come to Nyenrode, stories are most likely shared. It is the anticipation that takes over and prospective students create a picture of what their new life will be like. It is good to see that through each Nyenrode experience can be connected to the network. The essence of the stories remains, and a bond spontaneously develops. We enjoy seeing alumni and hearing what lessons have been learned, but we are also interested in the funny stories. We have all experienced what it feels like to enter campus for the first time. This place is one where everyone feels at home, while it is certainly out of their comfort zone at first. It is important to continue to celebrate the development that each Nyenrodian has experienced on these grounds. Finding friends who will last a lifetime, perhaps in a year club or sorority, is a longterm enrichment. Campus is one big family, and we experience that every day. For students, by students. This year offers us a great opportunity to fulfill all the things described above. We are honored that this year is an anniversary year! This year our beloved association will be celebrating its 75th anniversary. Preparations are already underway. We, as students, see the importance of history and are curious about everything we don't yet know. The glory days of de Nieuwe Compagnie Van Verre are not over yet. Let's use this summer to meet, learn, and enjoy each other and be with each other.

Het LXXVIIe Collegie der Heeren Vijf

Van Verre!

The JCV board and committees hosted the general membership meeting and presented their budgets and plans for the year. These were approved and the JCV is looking forward to a fresh start after the restrictions have finally been lifted. Many events will start soon and the JCV board is looking forward to them immensely.

A great position became available in the Czech Republic from the telecom company I worked for in the Netherlands to lead the Customer Support Center, and so I left for Prague in May 2008, two days after finishing my part time MSc study at Nyenrode. The idea was to stay there for a few years and gain some experience, but now it's almost fourteen years later, and I'm still in Prague. It is a good life here.

BY DRS. ING. JOHANNES VAN WIJK (20050348)

The few Czech people I interact with are colleagues at work and my in-laws. Most of these speak fluent English. My other friends speak English or Dutch. At the time of writing, six weeks ago, Russia's invasion of Ukraine began.

A bizarre and unexpected event for all of us. For the older generation who experienced the Russians in the Czech Republic, this brings back very bad memories. One example my mother-inlaw gave was that they suddenly lost a lot of money at the time.

I said that today this is not possible, but a few days later, a bank with a Russian owner was hit hard because many Czechs wanted to withdraw their money resulting in long lines of people waiting. I also heard stories about the general oppression by the communist regime, about not being allowed to have "western" items and smuggling certain consumer items across the border. Also, about the possessions that were taken during communism and not returned after the occupation. This was a very difficult time.

Czechs proud of delivery of TANKS

Czech people my age also become very fierce when it comes to Putin, saying things I have never heard from them before, like often calling him ‘evil’ and ‘satan.’ At work, just before the war, I chatted with colleagues about what was going on in Ukraine. Some said there was a lot of Western propaganda involved and that the oppression of Russian speakers in Donetsk and Luhansk was so severe that it might be better if those areas became part of Russia. To keep the peace, and because I didn't really know what was going on at the time, I didn't really go into it. But surely that pro-Russian attitude has now turned 180 degrees after seeing what Putin's actual plan is? The question arises as to whether the Czech Republic is sufficiently capable of defending itself against the Russian threat if necessary. In 2004, conscription was abolished in the Czech Republic, and compared with the Netherlands, the army is smaller. However, more people legally own a gun. Weapons are produced, mainly smaller handguns, but compared with the time before the Prague Spring in 1989, the national armament is a lot less. On the other hand, the Czech Republic is sending tanks to Ukraine. When it was one of the first Western countries to openly supply weapons, you could see the population was proud of this action. One of my friends said, "I am finally proud to be Czech. I felt like that only once before, in 1998, when we won the Olympics in ice hockey in Nagano, but this is something at a totally different level." As in other countries, we feel quite powerless in the face of the violence of the Russian army. We send money, food, clothes, and bulletproof vests, and we welcome Ukrainian refugees with open arms. Very specifically, within my group of friends, people are workingor have been working - full time to organize relief efforts. From housing and making and distributing food packages to helping

refugees find a (temporary) job. Also, colleagues and friends went to the Ukrainian border to try to pick up as many refugees as possible. Currently, we host about 300,000 refugees, and there may be another 200,000 to come. The number is increasing by the thousands every day. My sons also have more Ukrainian classmates now. The schools have little choice but to accept these kids, and maybe that's a good thing. If kids understand that it doesn't matter what your nationality is, they'll be fine, eventually. Of course, it's not easy with the language, but kids adapt quickly. It will be easier to learn Czech if you are from Ukraine than from the Netherlands. There are already children who speak Ukrainian or Russian as well as Czech because of their parents' origins. I like cycling, and when on the bike you see many things. Near me is a village called Lidice. I often cycle past there. In 1942, a massacre took place there after an attack on Reinhard Heydrich, the governor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia at the time. A total of 340 people from Lidice were murdered by the Nazis in revenge (192 men, 60 women, and 88 children). History is repeating itself in Ukraine on a much larger scale. In the recent past, there has already been an incident here involving the Russian Embassy, when 18 diplomats who had been identified as GRU and SVR spies were expelled from the country in April 2021. This took place after Czech intelligence concluded that Russian military intelligence officers, namely members of the Russian military intelligence GRU unit 29155, were involved in two massive explosions of munitions depots in Vrbětice (part of Vlachovice), near the Czech-Slovak border, in October 2014. There were also rumors that the Russian embassy itself was used for espionage purposes. This had already put relations between Russia and the Czech Republic on edge. The fences are now painted in the colors of Ukraine in front of the same embassy. Recently, a few liters of red paint were "accidentally" spilled in front of the entrance, and a lot of anti-Putin graffiti can be seen around the embassy. But the protests are against Putin, not the Russian population here in Prague. Of course, there is an impact on local Russian businesses and communities comprising some 50,000 Russian people who live in the Czech Republic. This is not desired, but unfortunately, it’s a consequence of the war. Several Russian oil companies and banks have now left. This has consequences for those who had a bank account at Sberbank, for example, or a job at a Russian company. It is officially forbidden here to support Russia in their invasion. The Czech government continues to follow western policy with its sanctions but is at the front line if they are to be implemented. Czech politicians are not deterred by threats from Russia. Nevertheless, there is fear among

the population. Especially in the first few weeks, friends indicated that they were planning to move west. Others indicated that they thought if an atomic bomb were to be dropped, Prague would be one of the first casualties. I must confess that the initial reaction of great indignation and anger is slowly turning into the "normal" daily routine, even though Czechs continue to do what they can at a distance. Ukrainian flags are hanging everywhere, and on social media, you see a lot of the yellow and blue colors, but it is no longer the talk of the day. You also hear people here and there complaining about the impact of the refugee influx on the local population. The cleaning lady complains that some of her clients now have Ukrainian cleaning ladies. The first complaints about refugees hanging around and being a nuisance are surfacing. Their cars are parked everywhere, causing traffic problems in city centers. Personally, I don't notice this, but people say they find it annoying. I own an automation company called Robot ICT. We build software robots for all types of business processes and use our own software to automate specific network, security, data center, and cloud processes. We employ around 40 people, mostly from the Czech Republic (80%).

We have no Ukrainian staff, but we do have one person from Belarus. With the possible closing of the payment system to Belarus, we decided to pay this employee a few months in advance, so they avoid financial problems. Even though I don't see much change in the market yet, I am watching with interest for possible shifts soon. Will market demand go up for us because less software business is going to Ukraine? Will more personnel come this way? And how do you deal with that?

And will Prague remain attractive for programmers from Spain, for example? After six weeks of war, we have not yet seen a concrete increase in Ukrainian developers looking for jobs in the Czech Republic. To date, there is still the same number of Ukrainian companies operating, but they approach me because they have IT personnel and they want to work within my company right away. But the opportunities and problems for Prague software businesses are of secondary importance. Everyone here hopes that Putin's war and the great misery in Ukraine will end as soon as possible. I'm afraid it's going to take months more. ♦

Our help comes from behind the lines!

Since 1995, I have been an entrepreneur living in Ukraine, until the morning of February 24 when my girlfriend and I had to leave Kyiv in a hurry. My daughter was already in the Netherlands. The moment we realized that the loud bangs were rocket impacts, we quickly grabbed some things and put them in bags, got into the car, and drove away. We had no time to lose to get ahead of the flood of people fleeing the city. We had to either drive through the city or around it. As it turned out we were ahead of the flow and had an easy car trip to Holland.

BY GUIDO VAN ENGELEN

Oene of our collaborators had left at nine in the morning, and twelve hours later, she had covered only six kilometers. It was difficult to flee Kyiv for the first week, but it was much harder from other areas, and some were impossible to leave. Also, at least dozens and probably hundreds of people died during the car journey west. My neighbor drove to Chernigiv to take relief supplies and evacuate people. On his return trip, his bus with fifteen occupants was bombarded with artillery fire. His van was damaged, but another van was lost. Many cars carrying fleeing civilians were shelled by Russian soldiers resulting in many casualties. I probably watch television with about the same emotion as every other Dutchman, feeling the war is far away, but when I hear the stories of friends, co-workers, and acquaintances, the reality hits me extra hard; it comes so close. I have heard many stories. The massacres in Bucha and Irpin were no longer a surprise, and I can only add that it was not only there. This has become publicly known now. Of course, I know how the Russians acted in Groznyy, Aleppo, and other places but I, like many others, hoped the

Russians would act differently in Ukraine. It turned out to be a vain hope. As naive as I was, I thought until just one day before the war broke out that it would not end in armed conflict. Rationally, a war like this would make absolutely no sense, and there would only be losers. I assumed, therefore, there would be no war. Unfortunately, things turned out differently because, I am convinced, Putin was misinformed. Perhaps he was not told that the Ukrainian army had been substantially reorganized in the last year and a half. Certainly, he was not told that there are almost no pro-Russians in Ukraine. In 2014, when the war started in our eyes, there was as much as a 10-15% pro-Russian population. Russia was able to use this group to start the war in the Donbas. I get annoyed every time I hear the term separatists. The first leaders were all Russians, and then after that, some pseudo leaders came along who were supposedly allowed to play boss under Russian command. Also, the decisive battles in 2014 were carried out by the regular Russian army. Russian propaganda works in Russia but also in the rest of the world. Everything is turned 180 degrees. I hear this daily on, for example, Dutch TV, where, for example, it is stated that Russian-speaking Ukrainians are disadvantaged. Well, most Ukrainians I deal with are Russian-speaking, and I have never heard anyone complain about this. In fact, they think it is complete nonsense. Also, Putin has underestimated the resolve of Ukrainians. My neighbor walked downstairs with me when I left Kyiv on the morning of February 24. He told me that he was waiting for his weapon. By the way, these are not the people who are fighting. These people mainly help with logistics and manning checkpoints. There are thousands of other people who do all kinds of things to support the military. Very important is the collection of equipment for the military because they do not have enough. Also, sourcing drones, night vision devices, and cars are done by many individuals. Many soldiers also depend on volunteers for food from, for example, soup kitchens. Shortly after the war started, men were no longer allowed to leave the country. This

does not mean they all had to join the army; that is still voluntary. But it means the war is fought by the entire population, which creates unprecedented solidarity. During my car trip to the Netherlands, my phone did not stop ringing. As I answered questions from Dutch and Ukrainian people and a lot of Dutch media, I was already having the first conversations about how we could help the Ukrainian people we had left behind. A group app for Dutch people in Ukraine that I once set up for fun became the main source of information during the first weeks. Thanks to some spontaneous actions in the Netherlands, we loaded the first trucks with relief goods after just a few days. We are a group of Dutch people who have lived in Ukraine for more than 20 years, and some of us are still in Ukraine. Because we are "local," we have many direct contacts to help us manage the logistics. As a result, we delivered the first loads to the front line within ten days of the outbreak of the war. We also delivered some 70 trucks. These were all donated by individuals and companies with the help of many concerned Dutch people. Because normal life has been disrupted, shortages have occurred in many places. The biggest shortages are around the border areas and where the occupying forces were or are. Russia is using hunger as a weapon. They do this by bombing food distribution centers, but also by taking food away from people's homes in villages, like from relatives of friends of mine in the Zaparozne region. In the occupied areas, this is one of the methods used to control or terrorize the people. This is done to people who often have neither the money nor the opportunity to flee. Incidentally, many older people do not want to flee. It is precisely these areas we are trying to reach, and sometimes, we even manage to get food to people behind the lines. In the areas abandoned by the Russians, the damage is extensive, both in human lives and material terms. Much has been stolen or deliberately destroyed, so much help is needed there too. Here, too, Ukraine is showing its solidarity. Last weekend there were already ten thousand registered volunteers to help clean up the areas north of Kyiv. Among other things, we sent generators because the electricity supply is broken in many places. To be in the Netherlands is doubly bad. It doesn't feel good to be here because you want to do your part, but you also don't want to leave your family behind worrying about you. The fact that I can do more to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian army from the Netherlands than from Kyiv relieves this feeling. Besides thousands of human lives, this war is destroying so much

more. The future has become uncertain for millions of people. Like many of these people, I wonder what will be left when all this is over. My personal motto is, "prepare for the worse and hope for the best." Many people have already lost the little house or flat that they built up over many years. But of course, the fact that many people have lost their source of income also creates many problems. In Kyiv, there is plenty of food in the stores, but you need to be able to afford it. As a result, many people have become dependent on help from others. Many areas will take years to recover, so let's hope this recovery can begin soon. Do not underestimate the impact of this war on the rest of the world. We, too, through Kees Huizinga, have sought much media attention for the impact on the world's food supply. This is not only caused by a direct lack of grain but also by a shortage of fertilizer, high energy prices, and other commodity prices. Stichting De Leeuw Kyiv originally set up as a Dutch school in Kyiv, and we are currently using it for fundraising and to make sure everything is administratively correct. To create this base, we quickly changed the statutes and obtained an ANBI status. Of course, we need money to continue offering help, but the focus is also on collecting goods through the business community. Without these donations, we are unable to continue driving goods to Ukraine. The war is not over yet, and the need is far from over. Do you think you can help us with this, or do you have questions? Visit our website, www. deleeuwkyiv.nl or follow us on social media via Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook. Together, we want to provide humanitarian support to the Ukrainian people and help them regain their democracy, freedom, and humanity, a struggle of which people in the Netherlands are now also increasingly aware♦

GuidoEngelenvan

VAN VERRE MESSAGE

On the Thames? Not so much, because Russians don't live on the Thames. There are not such big houses there. But more on that later. Let me say first that I have both Russian and Ukrainian friends here in London, and with this piece I just want to paint a neutral picture of how super rich Russians, along with very rich Arabs and Chinese, have become part of the economy and social life in a metropolis like London.

BY IVO KNOTTNERUS (200010413)

In Russia's history, part of the elite (financial, intellectual) have chosen to leave for other cities like Paris, New York, and London, and today a cosmopolitan generation of, sometimes young, Russians and Ukrainians has joined them and thrives in European metropolis’. Here I will try to elaborate on the enrichment in the broadest sense that Russians bring to London and what impact that has on daily life. With more than 870,000 millionaires, no city worldwide has more wealthy individuals than London, according to a 2021 report by Knight Frank, a global broker. The city is also home to 61 billionaires, who have a combined wealth of $316 billion, according to Forbes.

RESIDENTIAL

London has evolved into a "service provider" that asks no questions of the elite. It offers access to capital markets, prime real estate, shopping at Harrods, dining at top establishments, illustrious private schools, lawyers for legal wrangling, accountants for tax tricks, and "reputation managers" for inconvenient backstories. It starts with a visa, the so-called "Golden Visa." Any foreigner with enough money can, or at least could, buy one by investing two million pounds in the UK. With ten million, you could buy a permanent residence permit, almost immediately. This seems like a lot of money, and, of course, it is, but for the wealthy elite it is a pittance and a wonderful route to another passport. Unfortunately the UK is now not part of the EU, but still, according to Transparency International there is at least £8 billion of Russian property in the UK, of which £1.5 billion is in London. The true amount is undoubtedly higher, but it is virtually impossible to determine, because so many of these transactions are obscured by layers of holding companies, corporate structures, and trusts. By the way, this visa route was quickly shut down last March. The houses for which the Russian billionaires compete are almost all in Belgravia, Kensington, and Knightsbridge. Eaton Square, an exclusive square with a private garden in the middle for residents, in Belgravia, is nicknamed "Red Square" because many of its residents are Russian billionaires. The square counts Sean Connery, Kate Winslet, and Elton John among some of its former homeowners, the Guardian reports. It was also home to Margaret Thatcher and two other British prime ministers. However, it's not the "ordinary" houses or apartments of one to two million pounds that the wealthy are competing for. We are talking full houses with four or five floors, or super apartments with six to seven bedrooms, starting at £10-15 million to mansions of many tens of millions of pounds right up to Abramovic’s 150 million house.

CULTURAL

Many Russians, and, of course, other wealthy elite, then want to get involved in London's cultural and artistic life. There are a remarkable number of Russian charitable foundations. Such a foundation then launches itself into a fashionable London event space at a posh address. A gallery full of art is ideal. There are many galleries full of art that have Russian ties or owners and hold regular exhibitions. The British capital hosts two Russian balls annually, and although tickets cost a few hundred pounds each, there is no problem selling them. There are regular exhibitions of works by the Russian artist Erik Bulatov, for example.

Moscow on the Thames or Londongrad?

Also, the Victoria and Albert Museum often has exhibitions devoted to the history of Russian avant-garde theater. The Sots-Art and Pop-Art exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, the tours of the Vakhtangov Theatre and the Dmitry Krymov Laboratory at Barbican are also events on an international level, where Russian culture and Russian achievements are seen in the context of world culture. More recently, the legendary Savoy Hotel hosted the fifth charity ball for Gift of Life, a foundation that helps Russian children with oncological and hematological diseases, fully funded by Abramovic and the Russian airline Aeroflot. Within a generation, several Russian families have become fixtures on the British social scene. They are unequivocally accepted as mainstays of high society, adorning the pages of tabloids and regulars at Henley, Ascot, and Annabel's, a very chic club in London's Mayfair with an extremely strict admission policy. Many members of the Russian elite eventually want to get their name on an institution, or be so closely associated with an institution that it is seen as being their institution. And soccer clubs, of course.

SPORT

In the UK, sport, and especially soccer, is dominated by wealthy Russians and Arabs. The most famous Russian club is surely Chelsea, owned by Abramovic. Chelsea's fans are also big fans of Abramovic. His generosity has resulted in transforming Chelsea from a moribund club to a Premier League championship-winner and Champions League-winning topper. These supporters seemed unfazed by the accusations against him in recent months. They were simply grateful for his generosity and sad to see him go, as Abramovic has put Chelsea up for sale. I'm sure there will be no shortage of potential buyers, but today, the British Government have banned the selling of the club and decent restrictions have been placed on it. Another example is Russian billionaire Usmanov, who, until 2018, was the largest shareholder in yet another major soccer club in London, Arsenal, and he is also a shareholder in Everton. He retained his deep ties to the Premier League until last month, when Liverpool-based soccer club Everton broke multimillion-dollar sponsorship deals with Russian companies linked to the oligarch. But it's certainly not just wealthy Russians. Last year Newcastle United was bought by a consortium of investors representing the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, chaired by Mohammed bin Salman. Burnley and Manchester City are also in Arab hands. The other wealthy elite that is absent from sports are the Chinese. You don't see them in sports, at least not in popular sports.

UNIVERSITIES

Substantial donations to universities don't seem to be very popular. Despite much media coverage lately of the Russian elite in London, the role of universities and individual academies seems to have received relatively little attention. It is certainly the case that some British universities have accepted funding from sources close to the Russian government. An obvious example is the role of the Russkiy Mir ("Russian World") Foundation, established in 2005 and formally adopted by decree by Vladimir Putin in 2007 as a government-backed body to promote Russian culture worldwide. The foundation provides funding for Russian centers, as well as grants to carry out research and other projects. At universities where you can do Russian studies, this may have had an impact. At this stage, a prudent university manager or leading academic might have decided it is time to cut ties with the foundation. The Princess Dashkova Centre at the University of Edinburgh, launched with the support of Russkiy Mir, no longer accepts scholarships from the foundation. There is otherwise little evidence that Russian money has flowed into university coffers.

POLITICS

The wealthy Russian elite is also deeply intertwined with the political landscape. Allegations of Russian ties to the Conservatives resurfaced this week, with allegations in The Times that fourteen ministers had taken money from the Russian elite. It went so far as to include a donation of £160,000 from a member of the Russian elite to play tennis with Johnson and his predecessor David Cameron. I'm not going to calculate what that must have cost per stroke. If the newspapers here are to be believed, it is certainly very likely that Russian oligarchs have donated millions of pounds to the Conservative Party and conscripted British gentlemen onto the boards of their companies. However, the Conservative Party flatly denies this, saying they can only accept donations from British citizens, which will be most of the billionaires, and not from foreigners.

WHAT DO YOU SEE IN EVERYDAY LIFE?

You notice very little of the presence of the super-rich Russians in everyday life in London. You don’t really encounter this or other very rich elite, including Chinese or Arabs, except if you regularly go to Harrods or a Russian art gallery to buy something. Or if you are often in the neighborhoods where they live you might see a blacked-out Range Rover, Lamborghini, or Ferrari passing by. Preferably with local license plates and therefore Russian, Arabic, or Chinese because that is the trend. An expensive car with English license plates is too easy. If you can import your car from your home country, you are the man. Also, if you dive into the nightlife yourself and have a chance to go to the clubs where these people go, of course you might run into them. But it's hard to get into those clubs. The easiest thing is to get on a guest list, you need to know someone who can put you on a guest list, and then once you're in, there's also a minimum you must spend, and that's easily £500 per person for one night. And that's just for the drinks. Second, many of these clubs are secret; you just don't know they exist so it's hard to go there anyway. I have both Russians and Ukrainians In my circle of friends, who work with each other in the same companies, volunteer together on certain boards or alumni associations, and go to each other's parties or celebrate New Year's Eve together. So, in that respect, not much has changed. ♦

Ivo Knottnerus

PITCH WITH JUSTIN LEEMKUIL (MBA):

GROW THE LEMON TREE!

What is good comes quickly. That is certainly true for Justin Leemkuil. He earned an MBA from the Technical University of Twente and did his supervisory director training (LDP) at Nyenrode. He was 25 years young. Now, three years later, he runs a thriving startup, Growing Lemon, in the business of growth marketing. That's something like targeted driving lessons for entrepreneurs who are not so skilled in the digital landscape!

the marketing & development team. The company offered me the chance to deepen my knowledge, and that's how I signed up for the NBU leadership program. That triggered me to start another business."

You're not really a person who just keeps dreaming then, are you?

JL: "Four months after my Leadership Program at Nyenrode, I was on vacation in Curaçao with my girlfriend, and I suddenly said, ‘I've decided, I'm going to start again on my own!’ I immediately wrote the entire business plan on the beach in Curaçao and registered my company with the KVK as soon as I landed back home. Within a month, I had my own office and my first intern. Fortunately, it all worked out well with Zolemba."

Can you provide an intermediate score for Growing Lemon?

The company offers three basic packages with names that indicate the execution of a growth strategy: Sprout, Seedling, and Tree.

How does this three-stage rocket work?

JL: "We think along with our client about the steps in the digital world, from building brand awareness to designing and executing complete marketing programs. We are always focused on the question, ‘Where is our client's growth?’ That's why I always say we are growth marketers. Our client works on their product or service, and we make sure it is in the right places with the target audience, surfacing on the internet. The three packages follow the client’s growth." With the education you received, you could have secured a very wellpaid job at a young age, yet you chose entrepreneurship. Why, exactly?

JL: "As a boy, I wanted to be an inventor. I like creating things that aren't there yet. With Growing Lemon, we are developing a unique business model based on innovation. During my studies, I already had small businesses for website design and internet SEO."

But you did have a job, even if it was short-lived?

JL: "I first worked at Zolemba, a fast-growing online label printing company. I was there from the beginning and helped set everything up. There was no sales department, so all growth was created through marketing. I became the manager of

JL: "At the moment, we have seven employees. We already have quite a few customers, for example, a South African bank, a cleaning company, a collection agency, a transport company, and the second largest game development agency in the Netherlands. We try to enter long-term partnerships with the higher segment of customers, i.e., with the ‘Tree’ packages. We aim for accounts with at least a million-euro turnover. We have not lost any major clients in the last two-and-a-half years. In a way, this shows that our long-term collaboration is working well. The sustainability of our relationship with clients and employees is very important to Growing Lemon."

Have you had no setbacks so far?

JL: "The whole Corona period has been a major setback. Attracting new customers was a lot harder as a result. Starting a conversation online is different than face-to-face. It's much easier to talk, and you notice that the Growing Lemon concept catches on better with potential clients. Online, it takes more time before they dare collaborate. While we were looking for new business, we noticed that we could continue with our existing clients. They even asked if we could make more hours. But you set yourself a revenue goal at the beginning of the year, and you want to meet that figure. So, the Corona period was a disappointment, and we really had to make the switch, but the team did a good job. Another setback was that my first real intern decided after a year that marketing was not his thing. It’s very unfortunate when you train someone all the way with the idea they are the first employee, and we would build the company together."

What are Growing Lemon’s USPs?

JL: "Our greatest strength lies in communication; being purely transparent to the client. We have a short line of communication with the client and like to change gear quickly. The second USP is that we are very strict in 'doing what we promise.' If we do not believe we can achieve what the client wants, we do not promise it. Expectation management is incredibly important."

Justin Leemkuil plants marketing seeds for his clients

What makes you happy?

JL: When my employees send me apps at night saying, 'I'm working on this, when can we get on with it?' Everyone has a tremendous urge to work hard, and that's nice to see. It's all up to them; I wouldn't oblige them to do that. I wouldn't have dared dream that even the interns would go along with this. During Corona, there has been more flexibility regarding working hours. I strongly believe in giving and taking. I think that if you dare to let go as a manager, you get a lot in return from your colleagues. You get a lot back from most people."

What is your ambition?

JL: "During my training at Nyenrode, I had to write a BHAG, and I wrote that I would have set up a large international organization in ten years. This was mainly because I would then be able to mean something to the world. I think that's a great goal. It is certainly my intention with the development of Growing Lemon. We are growing steadily, and every day, I try to get the most out of it. I aspire to have an international marketing agency. I think the biggest challenge will come when the team gets bigger. With growth, of course, you get into different phases and cultures. So how do you maintain a good working environment? Long-term relationships with employees are important to me."

How did NBU's leadership program contribute to your successful start?

JL: "The best thing you learn from Nyenrode is that it's not just about the theoretical knowledge. I think a good example is that they use actors. You are immediately put to work as a hotel director, for example, then you have to read up, and you have several conversations and good luck with it! One actor started crying, and then you knew immediately it was going to be a difficult conversation. The trick is to say the right things. That sensitive element is something you gain with experience, and Nyenrode certainly contributed to that, allowing emotions to enter a conversation. I quickly understood that it is a very important part of being a leader. At Growing Lemon, we don't look at hours; rather we work together towards a goal. In my previous managerial role, I didn't want to know. I knew hourly what each employee had to do. I knew what they were working on, and they had to report everything. I was a bit stuck in that way of leadership, although you can't really call it that anymore. At Nyenrode, my eyes were opened to the knowledge that leadership can be done in a completely different way."

What benefit do you get from the Nyenrode network?

JL: "You certainly have an advantage in new collaborations if you have both attended Nyenrode. It is a good icebreaker. You have something in common when you sit opposite each other for the first time, which immediately makes the conversation easier. I have two clients who also attended Nyenrode. It's special to see what an alumni network can mean to each other."

♦

COLUMN

Farewell column

This is my last column in Van Verre. After 28 years, I am calling it a day. The immediate cause is that my previous column, the penultimate one, about whether the reference of our associations VCV and NCV to the VOC (slavery, violence) is still acceptable, was refused. I was surprised, disappointed and angry. Surprised because I did not expect the column to cause such an uproar. I didn't insult anyone, nor did I incite hatred or violence, and the subject is topical but not sensational. Disappointed because I wrote it with the intention of encouraging the VCV community to engage with each other on this topic. And angry because I believe that a columnist has been given free space to express their opinion and to have it refused is simply censorship. I wanted to ring the bell, but now the bell has rung for the whistleblower himself. Too bad, but it's just an unwanted end to a long, wonderful period during which I was allowed to be your columnist. I am very grateful that for all these years I was given a platform to write about what it is like to be a Nyenrodian. This is an identity that was thrust upon me when I came through the gate in the fall of 1985, and which has never let go. Some years, I wished I had never chosen Nyenrode, while in other times I was as proud as a peacock. I have always felt supported by the network and that there was room for initiatives, like the cabaret performance with which Jasper Steutel (19850137) and I, having just finished with Nyenrode, toured the circles and recently the movement 'Forward for Good' with, among others, Vanessa Buisman (19910203) and in which we made an appeal for stewardship. And significantly, many small and great friendships have resulted. The column taught me how to write. In this, the editors-in-chief who encouraged me on the one hand and pointed unrelentingly to the death line on the other, gave me tremendous support. First, there was Nicoline Smoor (19840132), who waited impatiently on Kostverlorenkade in Amsterdam for me to arrive with the floppy disk.

Then came Cynthia Schalkwijk (19880160) who infallibly saw through my desperate attempts to stretch the death line and laughed bitterly at me when, to win a day and a night, I supposedly forgot the appendix. It was a great honor for me. I thank you all for your attention and for the compliments I received from time to time. I wish the association and the magazine and my eventual successor success and all the best. There will be a second booklet with selected columns from the past years. The successor of "One day you will become a Nyenrodian and stay that way for the rest of your life" will appear in the summer of this lustrum year. You can already sign up with the publisher for a copy. Leave a message on vanbrugboeken.nl or e-mail me: joep@joepstassen.nl ♦

JOEP STASSEN (19850083), BBA at Nyenrode, is Corporate Comedian: he holds up a mirror to organizations as a moderator, facilitator, and comedian.

The United States is a major draw for NBU alumni. Over 700 Nyenrodians are registered on the AFNU website. To survive in the American business world requires a winner's mentality. It means working very hard, being daring, and choosing words carefully. This is certainly true in New York. "If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere," sang Frank Sinatra. A career in the United States is an adventure that can end beautifully but is by no means without risk!

THEME: “If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.”

AmericanStories

* Bill Huber MBA on American Friends of Nyenrode University.

* Drs. Lisette Ditters/Signify: lamps and love.

* Alexander J. Roepers MBA: winner with Atlantic Investment Management!

* Robert Boerrigter MBA: cars with honeycomb paper.

* Matthy Welling MBA international fishmonger.

* East Coast Tripreport NBU delegation.

* Gerry Vos solo in The Big Apple.

* Andy Bender MBA prestige with Netherland America Foundation.

* Bob Ziegelaar ran Bangor airport.

* Bob Traa Ph.D. economist IMF.

* Top woman Dr. Manon Cox developed flu vaccine!

KOEN BECKING’S VISIT HAS

PROVIDED NEW ENERGY!

In the United States, nearly 700 Nyenrode alumni are registered on the website www.ANFU.net. It is the flywheel of the American Friends of Nyenrode University. This organization is IRS licensed as a "nonprofit all volunteer public charity corporation." Briefly, it revolves around bringing together alumni in the United States and supporting talented American, or of other nationality, students who come to do an exchange program at Nyenrode. Revolving Scholarships are also for Dutch students who want to study at Nyenrode.

ANew York alumnus Johan de Voogd (19650152) was the founding father of the AFNU. He started planning the website in 2010. This was after it turned out that the file of alumni living and/ or working in America, as submitted to the VCV, contained many mail addresses that were no longer valid. Apparently, the gap between the American reality of alumni and the connection with the alma mater was quite large at that time, at least, greater than it is today. The current president of AFNU a.i. Bill Huber (19780615) is playing an important role in the process of rapprochement between NBU, the VCV and AFNU.

Are all American NBU alumni now mapped on the website?

BH: "Supposedly, there are still about 200 alumni in the US that we haven't registered yet. We are still doing an active search on those. The AFNU board meets regularly using Zoom or Teams and we discuss new leads. By sending out an annual newsletter to all Nyenrode alumni in our database, we can not only bring in donations, but also encourage alumni to report alumni and their email addresses that are not yet known to us. Furthermore, there is no doubt that female alumni have married and now carry the name of their American spouse. There is certainly growth potential in that category. Further, of course, we use search engines to make the database more complete. Finally, we may also look to Canada to supplement the database."

What is the "core business" of AFNU?

BH: "The main tool for the fundraising activities is the annual newsletter in which we ask for donations. The motive is to give something back to Nyenrode Business University as successful alumni in the United States. We do this in the form of "revolving scholarships" for students from America and other nations. They can study at Nyenrode for a year. We want to give aspiring business leaders here the opportunity to

benefit from the ideal approach Nyenrode offers to cultivate a broad international orientation. To promote the scholarships, we regularly visit universities and business schools in the United States. In doing so, we also indicate that Nyenrode is the number one business school in the Netherlands. It is a program that has many American elements in it, like a campus system, a close focus case studies, and an attention to sport that has always been there."

How much attention do you give to AFNU yourself?

BH: "As interim chair, I work with the other eight board members, and normally we spend about two hours on a Sunday each month maintaining the database and discussing things like trade shows and social media meetings. Clearly, when we are planning a major event, like the recent Nyenrode delegation visit to the East Coast, we spend significantly more time planning for a successful outcome. Since I work for the Danish multinational, VELUX, I am regularly in Europe and in the Netherlands in particular. I have always liked maintaining contact with Nyenrode, but now I am extra involved. My wife is Dutch and we have an apartment in Rotterdam, from where I am doing this interview. We just had a little dinner with Rector Magnificus Koen Becking and his wife. That was very pleasant."

How can the relationship between NBU and its American alumni be strengthened?

BH: "The visit by Koen Becking, Bo van der Rhee, and Louise Out van Staveren really provided a new injection of energy. It was great to have such a significant turnout of alumni in four locations, New York, Boston, Washington DC, and Atlantam set up from our website and the subsequent invitation from the university. First, American alumni really appreciate getting a briefing from NBU's top people over a cocktail meeting or lunch. It was also a great opportunity for the alumni who attended to network. I expect we will be doing more regional meetings after this."

What is your vision for building a stronger AFNU?

BH: "Many active alumni live and work on the East Coast. The métropoles New York, Washington DC, and Boston are the frontrunners. When it comes to 'social gatherings,' the Atlanta and San Francisco regions are active. However, we can become even more active on the West Coast and possibly in states like Florida and Texas. The awarding of future scholarships may help in this regard. Furthermore, it would be supportive if Nyenrode professors were also given a chair at American business schools. For example, Bo van der Rhee lectures at the David Eccles Business School in Salt Lake City. Something like that here creates the right impression of Nyenrode as a 'leading international business school.'"

What has been your motivation for serving on the AFNU board?

BH: "I participated in the International Business & Economics

Exchange Program at Nyenrode in 1978. This gave me international experience and optics during my accountancy studies at the University of Georgia. The year at Nyenrode gave me an edge in later positions of international responsibility. I am highly motivated to give back to NBU for that."

How do you see the possibilities of making Nyenrode's alumni associations stronger together?

BH: "In this day of internet-driven communication, it would be a step forward if NBU's alumni organizations, like the VCV, AFNU and SNUF, started working together under an umbrella program with better 'outreach-efforts' for our global alumni. This will allow Nyenrode to have more international impact and will further engage the alumni at the alma mater."

How did your career go?

BH: "I started as an accountant at KPMG Peat Marwick, then worked for The Coca-Cola Company in financial and international management positions in Atlanta, the Netherlands, Germany, and Malaysia. Then I worked in the direct marketing fundraising business and for a pharmaceutical company in the USA. Since 2010, I have been the CFO of the VELUX Group USA. This makes me responsible as finance business partner for all VELUX activities outside Europe. My area of responsibility includes Canada, Chile, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and China. This also applied to Russia and Belarus, but because of the war in Ukraine we have just withdrawn from those two countries. I am also finance business partner for our company in Ukraine, which is still active and, of course, I hope for a quick peace agreement."

What does the business of VELUX look like?

BH : "VELUX is the global leader in roof windows, skylights, decorative blinds, sunshades, roller blinds, and intelligent interior solutions. The Danish entrepreneur, Villum Kann Rasmussen, was the founder in 1941. He was a great believer in the power of daylight and fresh air and designed a skylight that improved life in houses with pitched roofs. 'The rest is history' as they say. The various operating companies are hung up on a charitable foundation, VKR Holding A/S. VELUX Group USA is very important in terms of sales and profits, but VELUX does not publish specific sales figures. I can say that for the consumer market, VELUX is the premium brand in the United States. Sales are exclusively through premium hardware stores and wholesalers. We have less intention of selling directly to individuals via the Internet, but, of course, we do have an online presence in the US. Our mission, however, is to improve people's living environments, wherever they live, by optimally controlling the quality of daylight and air in the home. VELUX is very focused on well-being and we base our innovations on that. In the commercial market, our mission is to improve the working environment of people in offices, hospitals, and factories. We have a design department that designs tailor-made skylights. There, we do business directly with the customer and see ourselves as a partner to promote wellbeing in organizations. Further, we have manufacturing sites on the East Coast, and I can report that we have received the green light to build a new manufacturing site on the West Coast, location to be determined. This will greatly reduce our carbon footprint in the US."

Do you have any special additional duties?

BH: "My responsibility is to keep finance and controlling on the same international line. Furthermore, it's about teaching local finance directors to think more ahead and anticipate future opportunities and developments. That means paying attention to the financial "Predictive and Prescriptive modeling" of global economies that affect our business, where we want to be the best business partners for our organization as well as for the well-being of users of our products, which must come first. I organize an international meeting about once every two years where all the stakeholders come together for a week to discuss the future in a larger sense. Despite the distances between us, we have an important Kann Rasmussen family feeling. I am also the driver of USA acquisitions, for which we usually put together an acquisition team, in cooperation with the VKR acquisition team."

AmericanStories

How do the values and norms that Villum Kann Rasmussen imparted to VELUX work in the United States?

BH: "A significant portion of the profits go to our 'charitable foundation' in Denmark. Here in the US, we focus on supporting local communities around our facilities. For example, we have a plant in the state of Maine, where shellfish are traditionally fished all along the coast. We became intrigued by that craft and wondered where you could learn that craft. When it became apparent that the interest of the youth to train in this field was waning, we established a training center in partnership with the local community. So, we think innovatively, as we do with our products. We also give to other charities, such as United Way, Habitat for Humanity, and Youth Support programs in the US.

To return to the AFNU presidency for a moment; you are now ad interim. What does this mean for the near future?

BH: "The AFNU has established a regulatory procedure to elect the chairman of the board. It is conceivable that one or two more candidates will apply for the job, but I am very motivated to become the new chairman. I do think it will work out." ♦

BY OELE STEENKS

Bill Huber & Koen Becking

Bill Huber with wife & daughter

LISETTE DITTERS OF SIGNIFY

"I the American world of real estate developers, office operators, and commercial tenants, have a tough negotiator in Dr. Lisette Ditters (19930922) of Signify USA, the former lighting division of Philips. She doesn't go in as a woman, she tells herself, but she feels very comfortable in her role. She has marketed traditional lighting products, which are still widely used in American real estate. She was just appointed Head of Product Marketing LED & Conventional Lamps in North America. In doing so, she must achieve the best of two lighting technologies.

BY OELE STEENKS

Iworked for Philips in the 80s in the press information department as the communication department was called in those days. I had Leen Schoffelmeer as an internal client; he was the legendary president of the Light Division. Did you know him?

LD: "You mean old Mr. Schoffelmeer? No, that was before my time, but young Mr. Schoffelmeer has been a sales manager in the American Philips organization."

There weren't many women working in the lighting industry at the time. How did you get into it?

LD: "I did the HEAO, which required a six-month internship. Before that, I went to France for six months to work for the French Philips organization. I was immediately inspired by lighting technology. I found the whole game of light, lumens, and watts extremely interesting. You could say that I saw the light in Paris."

Still, you first did an IDP course in 1993 at Nyenrode?

LD: "I could have started directly at Philips in Eindhoven, but I decided to do a doctoral degree first. But, when I finished, I could go back to Philips and so I didn't leave there."

How did you end up in Bridgewater, New Jersey from Eindhoven?

LD: "Philips had an expat program where you could work in a foreign organization for three years to give your career an international foundation. So that's how I got to the US in 2003. There, I met someone with whom it clicked. He was an American man; that's how I stayed here."

The lighting division of Philips has since spun off and has been an AEX listed company since 2018 under the name Signify. What does that mean for your work at Signify USA?

LD: "Signify is a global leader in lighting, helping consumers, businesses, and cities reduce their electricity consumption and CO2 emissions with energy-efficient lighting products, systems, and services. In the EU market, traditional incandescent bulbs have long been banned from sale. Here in the United States, incandescent bulbs are still allowed to be used, although that may change slightly next year. But today, we control a large part of the US commercial replacement market. In it, we can deploy both incandescent and fluorescent tubes, and, more importantly, we make the appropriate fixtures to connect them to the US power grid. I was regional sales manager in the professional market in the US for a long time. I won numerous projects during that time to put better and more energy-efficient lighting in existing offices and factories."

So, you are doing business in a market that may be past its prime?

LD: "Conventional lighting is past its prime because there are much more sustainable alternative LED lighting solutions available, and in today's digital age smart, connected lighting is here to stay. Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at Signify. You have to look at it from the American reality. The sensitivity of the average American to the problem of climate change is less here than in the EU. For example, you hardly see any electric cars on the road here. Furthermore, there is environmental legislation per state, and that legislation follows, almost seamlessly, the political map of the US. The states that traditionally vote democratic are on the east and west coasts. These are at the forefront of addressing climate change. The southern states and the mid-west vote republican. There, new climate legislation doesn't really get off the ground. There is a huge difference between, for example, California where there are strict regulations for the standard of light quality, expressed in wattages per square meter, and the situation in Texas, where hardly anything changes."

Does this mean that the state of California, for example, is trying to steer the replacement market toward LED lighting?

LD: "Indeed. You must recognize that in the US there are energy saving contractors operating who have a technical audit done. This is an old-fashioned, physical exercise. Someone walks through an office and counts all the light points and the type of fittings on each floor, which is shown in the layout of the office. Then, we are invited to write a replacement plan using the latest generation of LED lights and fixtures. This results in considerable energy and maintenance savings. Now, in states like California, the energy company gives the investment back to the client to drive the modernization of the office environment. In that situation, you can really compete on quality. A state like Texas has almost no energy rebates, so there, it's competing on cost."

How does the commercial game play out in that replacement market?

LD: "It makes a difference which party is ultimately the financial decision-maker. You have to deal with the owner of an office building, the maintenance contractor, and, ultimately, the tenant or tenants. It depends on who is pulling the strings. For example, as a sales manager, I did a lot of business in Pennsylvania, primarily Philadelphia, where the contractors usually have the power. That produces old-fashioned price fights. On the other hand, I have done business in San Francisco where the influence of the users of an office building is much greater. There, special light designers work on office renovations that are focused on light quality and working comfort. So there, we can use the best quality products."

Does it help in negotiations that you are a woman?

LD "The professional lighting market in America, especially the commercial replacement market, is a man's world. It helps that I'm a woman in sales because every client remembers me. Especially when you consider that 80% of the business is done with existing clients. Now, after two years of Corona pandemic, it is important to travel a lot again, because this is a relationship business. 'Being in front of them,' as it is called here, is essential. However, I don't go into it as 'woman woman.' That's not my style. But I feel comfortable in that sales role, even though I just got a new position."

What does your new position entail?

LD: "I am now the US product manager for the lamps business, both LED and conventional lamps, for the professional market. We can still get by with traditional light products in the US in the replacement market. I am now the link between the factory and the sales teams. By the way, there are 200 people working here at the main office. In this job, I have to monitor our product portfolio, so, which products are we going to part with and what can we do about further innovation. In consultation with the sales teams, I have to determine where the growth lies and with which customers we can do business in the longer term with our lighting products. Then we also talk about the lighting systems that are applied in their retail chains. For example, there are chain stores that buy directly from us for all their locations in the United States. Signify is a total provider of lighting solutions, whether it's products, systems, or services. As a result, customers and end users benefit from unique lighting quality, people live safer and more comfortably, and businesses, cities, and stores become more productive and energy efficient."

But LED lighting product marketing is now on your business card. What is your experience with the trendy LED market?

LD: "As sales manager, I was also able to win some great projects for new buildings, because smart LED lighting is mainly used in the US too. You have to remember that LED lighting is based on chip technology that controls the lighting in a complete luminaire. Essentially, you don't have to change bulbs after installation. Signify proudly offers the best lighting brands worldwide including the Philips product brand for professional and consumer products and many innovative subbrands like Philips Hue for smart lighting in and around the home. You can compare our product-brand approach to that of Procter & Gamble. But to answer your question, we were able to win a big project in Los Angeles a few years ago. There, the municipality is going to equip all street and road lighting and other public spaces lighting with Interact connected lighting systems from Signify. All lampposts and lighting signs will be equipped with smart sensors connected to the Internet, which can capture things like nighttime traffic density, weather conditions, lighting operation and even the sound of gunshots. The system collects data through the sensors in the lighting in one dashboard. The data the system collects can be connected to other smart city solutions that allow the lighting to be controlled remotely and respond to real-time alerts. This is a big step forward, especially in terms of cost. Until recently, an individual had to call the municipality to say that the streetlight in front of their home was broken, and then a technician would come by separately to check the matter, after which the matter could be repaired. That is now a thing of the past. In this way, Interact lighting systems can also make a significant social contribution to safety in schools and universities by linking LED lighting to smartphones. Our sensors in the lighting have 'gunshot protection,' which allows us to respond to shooters and detect where the apps of pupils, students, and teachers are located through smartphone apps."

Thinking of America, I see skyscrapers lit up enchantingly. Is Signify also good in that market?

LD: "Absolutely! With the Interact Landmark system, we can remotely create and start entire light shows for skyscrapers and landmark buildings like museums and concert halls. For lighting effects, the Interact system works with our architectural product brand, Color Kinetics. In New York City, which is 45 minutes from here, the Empire State Building is lit with Signify lighting solutions. I am proud to have recently been awarded the lighting project of the bridge between New Jersey and Philadelphia. Many theaters and concert halls work with our Strand product brand, which is specifically tailored for stage lighting and allows all lighting to be linked to what's happening on stage and how visitors are moving from outside to inside. One dashboard fits all."

Finally, what is the indoor climate like at Signify America?

LD: "We are an innovative and contemporary company. We have flexible workstations and when I have found my desk for the day, it is automatically lit in the right way. If I go to a meeting, the light automatically fades, and when I come back, the light sensor has anticipated that. It creates a pleasant working atmosphere. What is certainly as important is that we have ambitious targets regarding inclusion and diversification in addition to sustainable goals. We walk the talk. Women and colleagues from minority groups can receive additional mentoring options. Our recruitment policy is aligned with this. I recently interviewed potential interns for my team. Those young people were all impressed with our human resources goals and activities. In today's tight staffing market, that's a differentiator for Signify that's clearly being picked up by recruitment agencies. The same goes for our contribution to a cleaner climate, by the way. " ♦

AmericanStories

"New York is a great city for people like me."

After getting a BBA at Nyenrode, one thing stood out for Alexander Roepers (19770094). He went to The Big Apple to join forces with millions of ambitious people who had gone before him. "If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere," sang Frank Sinatra. It helped tremendously that Alex managed to get an MBA from Harvard Business School. He was on payroll for four more years, but then he was ready. He started equity hedge fund firm Atlantic Investment Management. It is one of the greatest successes, achieved by an alumnus in the United States.

BY OELE STEENKS

How did you get to New York?

AJR: "I went to Nyenrode from 1977 to 1980. I had already done an internship at Universal Instruments, a division of Dover Corporation. That was in upstate New York in the town of Binghamton during the summer of 1979. Dover Corporation is a conglomerate primarily engaged in American businesses. That's where I went right after Nyenrode for two years. I had gone to look at the exchange programs that Nyenrode had running, but I wanted to aim higher. So, I had applied to Harvard Business School and a few other top universities in the USA. I was lucky enough to get admitted to Harvard via a deferred admission decision in June 1980 for entrance in September 1982. So, I worked in Binghamton for a couple of years as a bridge."

Was it exceptional for a Nyenrodian to get through to Harvard?

AJR: "I knew that seven students at Nyenrode had applied

Alexander J. Roepers, 'champion sailor' with son and daughters

for an entrance exam and I later understood that in the Netherlands a total of 50 applications had been made in my year. Only two students were eventually let in. Why? There was a bit of luck involved, but I think Harvard mainly looks at the non-quantitative part of your application. Furthermore, they will have looked at your references and the activities you did in addition to your studies. Furthermore, I already had some work experience in the USA. For that, a subjective assessment applies."

What was your next step with a Harvard MBA in your pocket?

AJR: "When I finished at Harvard, I again applied to Dover for a position in corporate development. However, my boss at the time introduced me to the ThyssenBornemisza Group (TBG) because he had worked there and because my fit for that European conglomerate was so good in New York. The top management of TBG was in the hands of Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen Bornemisza, with offices in Monaco, Amsterdam, and New York. It was a conglomeration of the Thyssen Bornemisza family and had sales of about three billion dollars, which was significant for the time. The company

was entirely privately owned by the family. I came into New York as the first junior executive hired through the head office in Monaco. The mission in New York for corporate development, which was my area of work, was to contribute to the repositioning of TBG and at the same time reduce its significant debt. We did this mainly by selling subsidiaries that added less value and no longer fit TBG's new strategy. At the same time, we analyzed new companies to acquire ones that were a better fit for the right business focus. 1984-1988 was a busy period, when leveraged buyouts began to emerge. American banker Michael Milken created a furor with junk bonds that allowed all kinds of private equity funds and corporate raiders to make acquisitions, including hostile deals. The New York Stock Exchange was also very positive until the 1987 crash on Black Monday, October 19. From TBG, we have been able to successfully list many companies or transfer them to other companies or private equity firms. For me, that was a fantastic period to observe such things up close."

Were you able to easily follow along at the Thyssen Bornemisza office?

AJR: "I haven't had much trouble adjusting to the business culture in New York; it's very European city in a way. People have a worldly attitude and life is dynamic there. That has always attracted me. For me, there was only one city in the US to live and work. In terms of business, it's like Frank Sinatra said, "if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere." I'm hugely competitive, whether it's business or my sailing. For me, everything is a kind of competition. New York is a good city for people like me."

As a Dutchman, do you have an edge in a city of constant competition?

AJR: "The Dutch were at the forefront of the United States with New Amsterdam. That influence can still be felt in New York. The influx manifests itself in a rather liberal and free-spirited attitude. Those principles have also permeated the Constitution of the United States. It is a city with social rules that allow for dynamic business. In terms of annual GDP, some one and a half trillion $GDP goes into New York City and 1.9 trillion $GDP is present in New York State, while countries like Russia and South Korea each come to 1.5 trillion $GDP. Think about it for a

moment. New York's economy is as large as that of all of Russia. It is an excellent city to do business in. Everything is so close together. It is not for nothing that so many Dutch and European multinationals have been attracted to New York, because you are already within walking distance of many of your colleagues, competitors, customers, service providers, lawyers, and accountants. Midtown Manhattan is a big village in that respect."

It also provided the challenge of standing on your own two feet. Can you elaborate on this?

AJR: "I started my own firm, Atlantic Investments, in 1988. It is a hedge fund with a very specific public equity investment style. On one side I have clients, and on the other side companies we invest in. It is currently 50% in the US, 30% in Europe, and 20% in Asia in terms of investments. On the client side, I have built a client portfolio over thirty years with high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and institutional investment companies. The portfolio is half European and half American. The family offices in Europe have always been an important group for me. I am regularly in Amsterdam, London, Geneva, and Zurich to maintain contact with clients and present the results. Incidentally, over the course of 30 years, I have hardly encountered any other Nyenrodians in this line of business. When I started, investing was based solely on buying stocks through the New York Stock Exchange. In 2003, due to considerable success in the US, we stopped taking on new investors; we voluntarily ‘closed for new investment money’ for our two US funds. We had reached the milestone of one and a half billion dollars in deposits; what we then estimated to be our capacity. We set up a mutual fund for Japan and Europe in 2003/2004. From there, we grew quickly to five billion dollars under management. Also, even though we only had a mandate to be in Europe from 2004 onwards, we start investing. We had been researching for years for European companies that fit our investment policy. We are not in the very largest companies,internationalbutmore

in the class below them. We are looking for companies that are undervalued at some point but have healthy growth potential. In general, we stay away from HiTech and BioTech companies, as we find ‘technological obsolesence’ unanalyzable. Furthermore, we continue to stay away from financial services companies, like banks and insurance companies, which we believe have a ‘lack of transparency.’ We operate in the two to twenty billion dollar market cap. Furthermore, we are focused on predictable and reliable cash generators that are always profitable. As "engaged shareholders," we are active in our key positions to push our agenda of "improved long term shareholder value enhancement, primarily through conversations with the CEO followed by letters to the CEO and board of directors. A key success factor for Atlantic is that we have a team of excellent analysts. However, it is a ship with one helmsman, and as the chief investment officer, the buck stops with me. Currently, Atlantic has fifteen team members and a billion and a half dollars under management. We've been a lot bigger, with thirty people on the payroll, but since the crash of 2008, and the last decade of fuss about HiTech, bitcoin, and growth stocks, which we, as value investors, are not in, it has been difficult so far to grow back to our peak in terms of power under management before the 2008 crash. There are eight senior equity analysts in the team and the rest are involved with finance, administration, marketing, and compliance. Atlantic is like a mini-United Nations: even though all the staff are New Yorkers, we have a German, a Russian, a Dutchman (that's me), two Japanese, a Ukrainian, and, of course, several Americans."

What are your best European holdings?

AJR: "The biggest company we have in Europe today is Rheinmetall from Düsseldorf, which mainly supplies the defense industry. That's quite good in the market now. Rheinmetall makes ammunition, tanks, troop carriers and so on. The decision of the Federal Republic to allocate an additional 100 billion euros to defense obviously has a very positive effect on Rheinmetall. The company is in exactly the sweet spot within the defense industry; they can

increase their production tremendously in the short term. Of course, I also hope that the conflict in Ukraine will end soon, but in any case, it is a huge wake-up call for Europe to do more on defense. Also, in France we are in the automotive parts company Faurecia which is a leader in car seats and the supply of other components to the automotive industry. The company just bought Germany's Hella, a leader in automotive lighting. In France, we are also in Rexel, an international wholesaler of electrical components. In Austria, we have shares in the Wienenberger company, which is in bricks and building materials. Furthermore, we have shares in SmurfIt Kappa, the Irish multinational packaging materials company. In Belgium, we have Bekaert in the portfolio, which does high-grade steel wire for the tire industry, among others. In that sector we also have the tire manufacturer Continental in Germany which is restructuring."

You employ two Japanese staff. Do you do China deals with them as well?

AJR: "We've been in China since 2003 in terms of research, and since 2008 with investing. It's kind of a niche activity, because we feel that we need to separate our China investments from the rest of our investments, given the risks related to the more challenging due diligence and China’s communist status. By the way, they still don't know what they are, a capitalist country or a communist regime. A little of both, in our opinion. However, that does not stop us from actively investing in mid-sized Chinese listed companies in certain growth markets that fit into the Atlantic investment universe. For example, we currently have shares in Chinese Dongfeng Motor which makes three and a half million cars a year. It has joint ventures with Honda, Nissan, and Peugeot. They also have a 6% stake in Stellantis.

That's the old Peugeot-Fiat concern now based in Amsterdam. Since 2021, that includes brands like Peugeot, Chrysler, Jeep, Opel, Citroën, and Dodge. Another company we have invested

Alexander J. Roepers

in, is called China Communication Services, where China's four largest telecom companies are both shareholders and customers. This company is involved in the rollout of China's 5G network and filling in telecom infrastructure of the country. Furthermore, we are in a company called CIMC Enric Holdings that does business in gas equipment and green hydrogen, among other things. These are great growth areas in China. We are also in Sinotruk and Shenzhen International Holdings, a Chinese conglomerate. The companies we do business with in China are obviously not on the US banned list. We keep an eye on Chinese developments, but it is not a problem for us so far. Furthermore, it is to be hoped that, vis-à-vis Russia's war against Ukraine, China will make it clear they are joining world opinion. President Xi Jinping seems to me to be a pragmatic man, eager to see the Chinese economy do well and the stock markets in China return to the plus. Of course, that would become more difficult if secondary sanctions were imposed on China by the US and the EU."

What are the opportunities for Atlantic to invest in India?

AJR: "Small. I have been there for research, my analysts go regularly, and we continue to look at opportunities to invest in India, in general there is not much for us to do. As I said, we stay away from the financial sector, including banks, and we are not interested in commodity companies either. Then you look further at the valuations of listed companies, and they are generally extremely high in India. So, for those reasons, there is almost nothing for us to buy. Those valuations probably include the idea that India is the country of the future."

How do you view the hype of SPACs?

AJR: "We also stay far away from Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs). There is something very wrong going on in the US market right now, with so much speculative money flying around, and SPACs are part of it. In most cases, there is hardly any value underpinning the company, or part of a conglomerate, that SPACs have taken over the last few years. It's a big bubble, which has already collapsed in the past year. Other bubbles in the US that have already considerably collapsed include the "disruptive technologies" sector with investor Cathy Wood as a figurehead who, with her investment firm Ark, has fallen by more than 50% within a year, the "meme-stock" zeal (e.g., Gamestop and AMC) and the US listed (ADRs) shares of Chinese tech companies that have also gone down more than 50%."

Are you happy with the interest rate hike that is coming up now?

AJR: "Oh, absolutely. Was long overdue and badly needed to fight inflation, but also from the perspective of a moral compass it is just wrong to have an interest rate of zero. By doing so, you encourage speculation and discourage the population from saving. You must be able to earn something on your savings. Two percent is the minimum you should receive. We have had as many as eight to nine years of extremely low interest rates from the US Federal Reserve. I think what former ECB President Draghi has done to the European interest rate at the ECB is just as idiotic. It led to investors driving up stock prices, which made the market valuation of growth stocks make no sense."

What is the current state of New York City?

AJR: "As a long time New Yorker, I have become quite concerned

about the city over the last eight to nine years, mainly because of the poor management of former Mayor Bill DiBlasio. We have had a new mayor since January 2022, Eric Adams, and it is to be hoped that he does better, but really, it can't be worse than DiBlasio. For twelve years before him we had Michael Bloomberg as mayor of New York, and he did a really great job. You must remember that it's almost impossible for a businessman to become mayor of New York. Most of New York's neighborhoods are so Democratic that a business-minded candidate, often a Republican, hardly has a chance. The workers councils are very influential here, and they are almost all anti-business. Furthermore, the Democratic establishment is so pro-leveling and pro-inclusion that it is difficult for many businesses to get well-motivated staff. Further, New York is not exactly a clean city. It ranks No. 29 out of the 50 largest US cities. Philadelphia is No. 50. We live in the Upper East side so it's not so bad there. The same goes for Midtown Manhattan."

What is your opinion of Joe Biden's Build Back Better America program?

AJR: "The president barely has a majority in the Senate and there are many who oppose this plan. Trump already provided a lot of stimulus during the Covid pandemic, and then Biden's infrastructure plan followed. So now we have to deal with Biden's Build Back Better America plan, which is already largely blocked. Most Americans feel that too much government money is being thrown away. Biden still has until November of this year to get parts of the plan through in Washington, but then congressional elections follow. I think Biden and the Democrats will then lose their majority in Congress."

Is the poor state of US infrastructure affecting your business?

AJR: "There are good examples of infrastructure in this country, but there are many cities and regions that can be identified with poor infrastructure. Of course, it's always good to work on that. Infrastructure is hugely important to the American economy."

How do you see the energy transition taking place in the USA?

AJR: "I am in favor of a gradual transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, but you can't keep subsidizing the new energy sources as heavily as you do now. We have now seen what the politics of a low defense budget, dependence on Russian natural gas, and forcing a green policy produces. Like the Europeans, Americans are suffering greatly from rapidly rising energy prices, and that's pretty much going to be a win for the Republicans in November. I know Trump is not popular in Europe, but many of his statements and action items were spot on. Among other things, he has warned time and again about the power Putin has over Western Europe with his natural gas policy."

What do you think of President Joe Biden's international response to the Ukraine crisis?

AJR: "You understand by now that I am more on the Republican side. A president who makes it so clear in a conflict like this what he will not do is an invitation for the dictators of this world to take advantage of it. That happened in the past with Kennedy, Carter, and Clinton. And, certainly, now with Joe Biden. The Russian invasion of Ukraine happened, I think, partly because he's in the White House. Last year's withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan was already a blameworthy one for US credibility. Here, many believe that Putin is, so far, walking all over Biden,

for example, the no fly zone that Biden will not allow and that the Ukrainians are begging for, is not there to attack Russia, but to keep an autonomous state from being destroyed and a democratic country from being pulled out of the Western sphere of influence."

During Obama's two terms in office, the US budget deficit doubled. What are the consequences of this?

AJR: "This country is really living on too big a foot. I understand that after the 2008 crash, and the subsequent recession, and during the Covid pandemic we had to pump money into the economy, but that Build Back Better America plan is just too much of a waste of government spending and taxpayer money. That long period of low interest rates, which created the idea that money is free, has gotten this country into trouble with budget deficits and an astronomical national debt.'

What do you think about the development of Nyenrode Business University?

AJR: "As far as I'm concerned, Nyenrode screwed up big time in the 1990s by cancelling the BBA study. As alumni, we all want to be proud of our alma mater, but that's where the connection with a real business school was lost. Surely, an international trading nation like the Netherlands should have one of the best business schools in the world. Now, Nyenrode is 'leading from behind' and trying to get back on track. In my opinion, a quality undergraduate program is necessary as a basis for a leading business school. I understand that the MBA studies are doing reasonably well and that the executive education programs are catching on. But, to become a top business school again, Nyenrode will need a solid ten-year plan based on a strong vision. The rector magnificus will have to operate on a more top-down level and communicate very clearly what the course is and what progress he intends to make. In the United States, alumni want to see the top man at work and be able to test his credibility. Then, they are willing to invest in their alma mater. That's what Nyenrode Business School should strive for as well." ♦

Alexander J. Roepers

When I stand at a traffic light, I see cars honeycombwithpaperAMERICANENTREPRENEURROBERTBOERRIGTER:

Alumnus Robert Boerrigter MBA (19800015) is not in an everyday business. That is, for the average Nyenrodian. He is the American champion of paper honeycomb. It sounds like something hobby-related to a layman, but that's for the ignorant among us. There's a good chance the floor of your car's trunk is constructed with his product: super light and blazingly strong! With that, Robert is working hard to make his American dream come true.

BY OELE STEENKS

Vaan from his hometown of Ringgold, Virginia, Robert lays out the veil of one and all. What exactly does he do with his company AXXOR USA?

RB: "Honeycomb paper is not an expensive material. The strength of the product is in its combination with other materials. I always ask two questions. The first is, ‘Why use honeycomb?’ Many manufacturers need to make their products lighter, and honeycomb paper can play an essential role in that. Sometimes, the reason is to make the product out of durable material. If you decide to use honeycomb material, the next question is, why would you want to use Axxor honeycomb paper? The answer is that we are on the high-quality side and are good at process control. We do engineered solutions. That means we work with customers to integrate honeycomb paper into their design and production process. So Axxor honeycomb paper is not something you just order on the Internet."

OK, honeycomb paper is light, but what makes it special?

RB: "Because of the vertical structure of our material, it has an enormous load-bearing capacity. For example, AXXOR honeycomb paper, from our Dutch parent company, is the main component of the shelves in IKEA bookcases and closets. IKEA works with what we call ‘high density fiberboard.’ Our product is joined with laminate, where all those little glued joints with our honeycomb structure provide very good bending strength. Our biggest customer of AXXOR in the USA is the automotive industry. Most of the trunk floors contain Axxor honeycomb paper. That is the largest application to date,

but we can also supply the material for sunroofs. Sliding roofs are often manufactured using our material. The latest development is that we are moving up to exterior materials in the application to cars. The new Ford Bronco that just went on sale here in the US includes removable exterior parts made with our material. Also, engine covers are starting to be coated with AXXOR honeycomb paper."

AXXOR is a small company with fifty employees but does business with the big boys in the automotive industry. How do you manage that? RB: "In the market chain, we work exclusively for supply companies that have most and the largest car brands as customers. These join plastics, honeycomb paper, and usually glass fiber into a unit, which is then pressed into a shape. Sometimes, further coatings or a textile are applied to this. The beauty of our material is that one can design it in a certain structure, with which a high load-bearing strength can be achieved through the right adhesive technique, but at the same time a kind of flexibility can be created so that it breaks at the right points in the design under extreme pressure. Think about the hood of a car. In a frontal collision, you don't want the hood to smash through the windshield as a complete component and threaten the lives of passengers. That's why engineers create certain breaking points, which make the hood break at the right time and in the right places. It is precisely this characteristic that makes our AXXOR honeycomb paper unique. When I stand at a stoplight and look around, I see several cars with our honeycomb paper incorporated. We are now in Volkswagen, BMW, all the brands of General Motors, and in Ford. I can intensely enjoy that."

Krista

AmericanStories

Dutchman Wieger Wiegersma founded AXXOR from Zwolle. He is the CEO of the Axxor Group and your business partner in the USA. For more than twenty years IKEA has been his main client. He also set up a production site in Poland, right next to the factory where IKEA manufactures most of its cabinets and bookcases, and expanded the business to supply packaging, doors, and the automotive industry. What about IKEA in the United States?

RB: "In 2007, IKEA set up a factory in the Danville, Virginia area. We were asked to set up a production facility next to that factory. IKEA could not close the business case for the factory here after about ten years. There were problems with materials, process control, and people. Therefore, they could not produce in a stable enough way. Unfortunately, IKEA decided to close the factory doors here in 2019. By the way, IKEA's stores are running fine in the US, but believe it or not, IKEA imports all the lightweight products from Europe. To be honest, I never really understood it. Surely such a large and successful company should be able to come up with a better solution. I still hope that IKEA decides that their carbon footprint could do better in the US and that they decide to restart production. That factory was in Danville, which is two miles from here. We could start up again in no time."

The loss of IKEA as a client must have hit hard. How is AXXOR doing?

RB: "We make about $15 million in sales in the US and have about fifty employees here. The business is 'expanding.' We managed to double sales last year. Right now, we are working on getting the financing in place so that by the end of this year we can double production capacity. For us, this is a giant step forward. To be honest, I expected it earlier, but it has taken some time to get the business up and running here. On the other hand, I am a bit conservative. We are a relatively small company and I wanted to first ensure that AXXOR is stable and financially sound in the US. Remember that most startups fail in their setup. I was 49 when I started setting up AXXOR in the US. I was too old to fail; I had a single opportunity and it had to be right the first time. We are now well established in automotive, furniture, interior doors, and transportation/ packaging. Those are our four avenues. Under-between we start looking at product engineering because there are potentially many applications of AXXOR honeycomb. Think ceiling panels, walls, car seats, and panels for kitchen countertops." How has your Nyenrode education helped you get through difficult circumstances?

RB: "If I now look back at the lessons I learned as an entrepreneur, it turns out that Nyenrode is a good basis for dealing with all sorts of business issues that you have to face. After my BBA, I continued with an MBA in strategic management at Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. Those courses are now very much proving their

worth. Furthermore, my career up to age 49 was preparation for this job. From CFO, to general management, and now to entrepreneurship."

Can you elaborate on that?

RB: "I have Dutch parents, but they lived in Brazil for seven years, where I was born. My father, Henk Boerrigter, was in the tobacco industry and was also a Nyenrodian from 1955. Then there is Jan Boerrigter, an uncle, who came to Nyenrode in 1967. I only lived in the Netherlands for fifteen years and now I have been in America for 35 years. I met my wife at Terry College of the University of Georgia. She also had an MBA and her own career at BellSouth in Atlanta. I started at Arthur Young, a precursor to Ernst & Young. I was in small business consulting there. However, I felt that I had to tell people what to do, based on management theory, while I had not yet achieved anything. So, in 1988, I switched to Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC, where I was first in finance and then moved into operations. My wife moved with me to Louisville, where our son Steven was born in 1989. Then, we moved for KFC to California, where we had two daughters. My wife then went on to devote herself to the family and did consulting jobs here and there. KFC (part of YUM Brands) was a great company, but it kept gnawing at me that I was working within a service model. In 2004, I became CFO of Lantech, which is the world leader in stretch-wrappers, film wrappers that you use to wrap products or to stack products on pallets. I became general manager of this multinational in 2007 in Europe. With that, I was already moving more towards the manufacturing industry, as I had to market all kinds of packaging machines. I loved it, working with customers to solve problems in packaging and logistics, setting up a production line, helping develop new machines, and selling a clear product. As wonderful as that was, it left one challenge: being an entrepreneur. In 2009, I launched AXXOR as president and co-entrepreneur. Now, when I see cars on the road with parts incorporating our honeycomb paper, my heart races. I love production floors. Every now and then I need to get some 'grease under the fingernails.' In recent years, my wife has been helping in the company where needed. She works on the HRM side, so hiring the people."

Do Presidents Trump and Biden's programs to strengthen the US economy affect the sense of urgency to innovate in US industry?

RB: "I think so. While the Netherlands has gone the way of the knowledge economy, the manufacturing industry in the US has remained important. Also, a lot of the employment is linked to the manufacturing industry. But competition has become international and many products that could be produced in the US are now imported. This has created a trade deficit; people just buy what is cheaper. Innovation is

important and American companies must stay alert and become sharper. For a while here, politicians, consumers, and trading companies thought it didn’t matter where it came from; if the open world economy works, it's all fine. As a result, whole industries have disappeared in the US and an awful lot of jobs have been lost. For example, there was a lot of furniture industry around here. Those companies have all moved overseas. China has taken over that industry. Another example, in this region there was a lot of textile industry, that has also been completely bought up by other countries. So, it's not surprising that the federal government is trying to use incentives to get American industry to innovate again."

Will America remain the land of unlimited opportunity?

HB: "When I was at Nyenrode, the influence of the United States was huge. For example, American business schools and their professors were leading in the world; we worked with American textbooks, we did a lot of case studies, and American professors came over to be guest lecturers. I certainly saw America as the land of limitless possibilities. I must say that this has changed over the years. The idea of Americans that they can do anything, that they have to put their shoulders to the wheel, that they have to work hard and win, that idea has changed. Now, under President Trump, there has been a realization that America

cannot be even more dependent on foreign countries, China in particular. There needs to be a better trade balance and American industry needs to regain its leadership role. More innovation is essential; that precedes making. For example, we find that all chips are made abroad, while chips are at the beginning of any modernization. If chip imports were blocked here, entire industries would grind to a halt. That should not happen. Some form of government support is desirable. For example, we have received subsidies to create new jobs, to invest in a new production sites and machinery. We have also been helped to get through the Covid pandemic. This kept us afloat, and everyone kept their jobs, instead of going into unemployment. This was a real win-win. Furthermore, we are seeing more focus on better education at 'community colleges,' so we are going to reap the benefits with better-trained factory staff. Although I must say, the level at secondary schools could do with a few more steps up. Most of the support programs come from the state of Virginia, but there is also a federal Small Business Administration program. When it comes to American industry as a whole, there is more support coming from Washington at the sector level, but American companies are also more actively supported to export. In this context, we have been able to appoint a salesman in Mexico, who ensures the best possible connection to suppliers for six Mexican car factories, which we had as customers from America."

You are optimistic about the innovation potential of AXXOR honeycomb paper. Can you give another example of that?

RB: "Here in the US, we are in a number of steel door designs for the commercial real estate market. That sounds like an unusual combination, but it works very well. The weight of a steel door is important, in connection with its transportation and installation. The quality of those steel doors is great because Axxor honeycomb ensures little twisting, because honeycomb paper is bonded to small cells everywhere."

Can you make use of the Nyenrode alumni network in the US?

RB: "I don't really use that much because I married an American and through my in-laws I got totally into American life. My children were born here, and as a family we have never lived outside America to live. All our friends come from American business schools. With that, I had a nice network here from the beginning. Now, I have more contact with the Netherlands through the AXXOR branch in Overijssel. I go there several times a year. So it's not that I'm losing contact with the Dutch on the human side, because I still talk to them daily via the Internet. I tried to teach my son, Steven, to speak Dutch, but that proved impossible."

How is your relationship with the founding father of AXXOR, Wieger Wiegersma?

RB: "My family is originally from Hengelo Overijssel. Wieger is also a native of the east. So we share that background. He set up the company from the cardboard industry. He was really driven by the product, I went more for the possibilities of honeycomb paper as a business model. We not only share our background,

but also the company values. We both want to build a beautiful company with a distinctive product that fits everywhere. And to bring family into it as well if we can. My son Steven is now in the business, and I hope he can take over the business from me."

Which business will you pass on to the next generation?

RB: "If we were to take investments from outside, we could probably grow much faster. It's not my dream to build a mega company. For me, it's about running a business where everyone likes to work and where we enjoy the results. The size of AXXOR is not the dream. At the same time, all my money is in AXXOR, so that is a permanent pressure. When IKEA disappeared as a customer, it really hurt! Then the story became not how do we grow, but how can we survive? Especially when the Covid pandemic hit. For the upcoming investment, I had to scrape together the funds, but I enjoy that. The honeycomb future is grand and we hope therein is a large role to play. . ♦

Robert Boerrigter with son Steven in the latest Ford Bronco

THE FISH WAS PAID FOR JUST FINE!

BY OELE STEENKS

The life of a Nyenrodian can be extraordinary. Together with Matthy Welling, I decided, after completing a BBA study in the United States, to obtain an MBA from the Catholic University of Leuven. The program had an excellent international reputation. I remember Matthy coming to pick me up in his duck, after which we steered towards Leuven to set ourselves up in simple 'kots.' It took some adjusting to find out where the lectures were taking place from a date on a notice board, if they took place at all. Most lectures were an unmitigated shock. An Einsteinlooking professor chalked mathematical formulas on the board that only a student with a math education could make sense of. It was more econometrics than business education. I stayed for one trimester, and then hired a car with a trailer to pack my belongings into from my room in the center of Leuven. I'm communicating with Matthy Welling again today through Teams in his American hometown of Seattle. A few years have slipped across his face since 1975, but he doesn't look much older. Within minutes, the alumnus's dry wit is back.

"My wife, Eli, is German and until recently, she taught aerobics here in Seattle. Of course, I had to make sure I could keep up with her. That's why I'm in the gym regularly. Other than that, we both love outdoor living, so we hike regularly and when the snow falls, we

can be found in the hills around the city on skis," Matthy says. I ask him how it had ended for him in Leuven. "I lasted another trimester, but then I had seen it too. I didn't understand a thing about it, either. It was also damn lonely in that dorm, especially compared with life on campus. I then went back to the University of Georgia and got an MBA there. That's where I met my Eli, by the way, who was studying German there. She found that so easy."

Matthy and his German love quickly agreed that they both wanted to go to the United States. My fellow Belgium-goer managed to land a job with an American food wholesaler, after a few applications. "I had to start trading fish. I did mention that I had no experience in that area, but that was no obstacle for the management to hire me. In that respect, Americans can be quite opportunistic. I would get the hang of the job soon enough. I think I fell in love with the job because, as a Nyenrodian, we learned to make contacts easily. I always had the idea that all American businessmen were rock-solid, but there wasn't much of that. Since I am optimistic by nature, the deal was quickly done.

Meanwhile, my wife and I gradually began to really get to know each other, which took a few years. After working in Atlanta for two years, I received an offer to work for a French company in San Diego. Among other things, that club had won the American license for Boursin and copied it neatly with the Rondelé brand. We immediately bought a house in San Diego. And there were children; four in fact, two boys and two girls. After almost six years, the French company turned out to be not so reliable and went bankrupt. Then we looked at each other and asked where did we really want to settle in the United States? It was a choice between Boston on the East Coast or Seattle on the Pacific. Unfortunately, this was accompanied by the stock market crash of 1987, when housing

Talking to Matthy Welling (19720069), MBA, about his company, Welmar Pacific, is like driving together in an old duck to Leuven. After all, Nyenrode creates bonds for life.

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prices in the United States plummeted. We had to leave San Diego with substantial debt." Mr. and Mrs. Welling eventually chose the city of Seattle, which, at the time was not very well known in Europe but has a strong economic foundation with companies like Boeing, Microsoft, and today, Amazon. There was clearly a tech bubble in the region. There was also quite a contingent of Dutch people there already. "I set up my first food wholesale business there, but it a little too opportunistic and I went bankrupt. Fortunately, American banks look at it somewhat differently than Dutch banks and financiers. Here, they see it as a lesson learned. So, I managed to restart Welmar Pacific in 1993. Fortunately, that went very well.

Matthy set up an international wholesale fish business, which he bought on the American west coast, but focused on the other side of the Pacific in Siberia, China, and Thailand. He got pollock from Alaska for kibbeling, a battered fish snack, and salmon and plaice. From Siberia, it was mainly salmon, from China, processed cod and flatfish, and from Thailand, mainly flatfish and salmon. " Of course, I didn't grow up in the fishing industry. Before I went to Nyenrode I planned to become a veterinarian. Well, the fish business comes somewhat close. I did have to pay the necessary learning fee, because you have to know the tricks in this trade. For example, it's often about water content in fish, making it weigh more than it should. You must also pay keen attention to chemicals that may be used in preserving fish. For years I spent half my time on airplanes buying fish. For example, I have just returned from Thailand. In the early years of Welmar Pacific, I supplied various fish processors in Europe. Before that, I had a business partner in the Netherlands. Now, I only do business directly with Welmar Seafood from Hendrik ido Ambacht, which has a fish processing company and shipping company, Vrolijk in IJmuiden. We operate under the name Welmar Pacific. That collaboration has given me essential stability. For example, Johma salmon salad is prepared with our salmon. Our products also end up on the shelves of AH, Jumbo, and Lidl. Many fish stalls sell our kibbeling. It's always important to look at batches of fish in person and show the traders how you want them filleted or packaged. Welmar Pacific has about $12 million in annual turnover, for which I am almost entirely responsible. We have been able to put some money aside.

Although I only have to travel a quarter of the time, my wife and I have agreed that we will always fly business class these days. That's a luxury we allow each other. Countless accumulated miles and points come in handy. At the time of this interview, she is on her way from Berlin to Seattle, as she also has an apartment in the German capital. At home, by the way, we speak German to each other, and one of my daughters also lives in Germany, where she is an electrician, which is nice to mention."

Matthy Welling has a house that overlooks the Port of Seattle, so he is close to the core business. One son still lives at home, and the other runs a local contracting company. "Unfortunately, things are not going so well with my son at home and we worry about that. That is a reason to stay here, although I also have an apartment in Heemstede and I'm proud of that."

Matthy has hardly any contact with other alumni in that part of the world, but is active in the circle of Dutch entrepreneurs and managers with a Dutch background. "In that respect, I certainly don't need to be homesick here. I work with the (former) Dutch honorary consul here in town. He pretended to have been to Nyenrode, but he just has a doctorate from Erasmus University." At the end of the conversation, he asks if I am still in publishing. To that I explain that I am now semi-retired and doing rehab at the Nyenrode Alumni VCV magazine Van Verre. ♦

Building bridges for exchanges, research, and international training

At the end of March, a small Nyenrode delegation visited the east coast of America. The delegation consisted of Rector Magnificus Koen Becking, research director Bo van der Rhee, and Louise Out van Staveren and Anouk Reitsma from Alumni Relations & Fundraising. The goal was to strengthen the relationship with alumni there and build bridges in the areas of exchanges, research, and international education. American Friends of Nyenrode University (AFNU) had engaged their network to make the visit possible.

In just one week, we visited the cities of New York, Atlanta, Washington, and Boston. Several alumni were hosts and ambassadors in each city.

In New York, the program included a reception at the home of alumnus Alex Roepers, where alumni from the area could meet each other. The foursome also interacted with the AFNU board at a luncheon hosted by Andy and Priscilla Bender.

TIGHTEN TIRES

In Atlanta, the delegation was invited by Consul General Ard van der Vorst. They also had an appointment with the dean of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia in Athens and made a stop at the development & alumni relations department there. "In the past, we have worked together on student and faculty exchanges. We are going to investigate whether we can re-establish those ties," says Out van Staveren, Director of Alumni Relations & Fundraising ad interim and herself an alumna of Nyenrode. Bill Huber, chairman of the AFNU Board, made this visit possible.

RESEARCH WITH IMPACT

In Washington, André Haspels, the Dutch ambassador to the United States, emphasized the importance of cooperation between American and Dutch universities for exchanges. A lunch with former Congressman Jim Slattery (alumnus 1969) was also on the program. Prof. Dr. Bo van der Rhee gave a speech during the reception at alumnus Jack Roepers and his partner, Nadereh, a member of the International Advisory Board, giving an insight into the impact we achieve through research. "With our impact cases, we show how our research contributes in a positive way to solving the problems of the 21st century."

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE

At the end of the trip, the group visited the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, a private research university founded in 1861. The week concluded with a gathering hosted by Ellen Teunissen - Kooloos where Becking engaged in conversation with the alumni in attendance. He looks back on a successful visit. "The stories in which alumni tell us that Nyenrode was a life-changing experience for them are wonderful to hear. It is nice to see that they also want to give students who do not have the financial means a chance to have that same experience."

AMERICAN FRIENDS OF NYENRODE (AFNU)

North America has approximately 700 Nyenrode alumni. AFNU plays an indispensable role in maintaining and expanding the local Nyenrode community. The organization's main role is to support the university's educational activities, raise funds for scholarships, and organize events where Nyenrode alumni can network with current students and faculty. ♦

PHOTO 1 New York City with host Alex

BronxvillePHOTORoepers2NY

AFNU Board Lunch with hosts Andy and Priscilla Bender

PHOTO Atlanta3with host Bill Huber, chairman AFNU

PHOTO Boston4with hosts Ernst and Ellen Teunissen - Kooloos

PHOTO 5 Terry Business School, Atlanta with host Bill Huber

PHOTO Boston6with hosts Ernst and Ellen Teunissen - Kooloos

PHOTO Washington7 DC with hosts Jack Roepers and Nadereh Chamlou

"I have become a true New Yorker."

What did your career path look like in NY city?

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Gerry Vos (19750072) arrived in New York with a role at ING-Barings. It took him a year and a half to get a handle on the city's culture. After suddenly being laid off early one Monday morning in 2008, he jumped in at the deep end with his one-man company, Gerry Vos LLC, international business consultant. That has worked out just fine. In 20 questions, he comes up with several tips and tricks for making it Manhattan.in

GV: "I continued in the international securities business at Brown Brothers Harriman from 2001 to 2003. I worked at Fulcrum Global Partners as an international business analyst until 2006, and then made a move to CRT Capital Group in Stamford Connecticut. There, I was called to the board early one Monday morning. Fifteen minutes later, I had lost my job. It wasn't personal, but at the beginning of the financial crisis, people just wanted to cut costs. That's normal in the United States. After this, I decided to setup for myself under the name Gerry Vos LLC. I am a global business consultant and I advise medium-sized companies on setting up strategic partnerships between companies in the United States and parties in Europe or other continents. In this way, I have done some work in the international agricultural sector. With that, I came to a second main activity, which is an Irish-Serbian company that specializes in IT, AI, and ML for the digitalization of agricultural processes, water management, and smart cities. I have been doing that for over four years now. I had to learn a lot for this business. It helps having a Nyenrode background and knowing you have to be able to make new steps every year."

What lessons have you learned?

GV: "When I started in New York, I spoke good English. It took me at least a year and a half to fully master New York/ American English. New Yorkers are basically very friendly, but also superficial in a way. They can also be very direct in their responses. You mustn't find anything personal in that. Everyone here is always very busy and in a hurry."

How did you end up in New York?

GV: "I had already had a twenty-year career in the Netherlands, mainly in insurance and securities. In 1994, I became senior vice president at Fortis Mees Pierson. That was the bank for larger IPOs in the Netherlands. Foreign banks and brokers were lining up to do business with us. That's how I came into contact with the big American commercial banks. I was impressed by their scope of business and their dynamics. New York began to attract me. A colleague at Goldman Sachs then introduced me to a headhunter in New York. That helped me get a job at ING-Barings LLC in New York."

How does the corporate culture in New York differ from Dutch corporate culture?

GV: "People still work very hard here. If you want to be successful in an office here, you must work sixty hours a week. I haven't experienced it to that extreme, but for many New Yorkers and Americans in general, there is an unwritten law that they are present before the boss appears and only go home when they leave the office. Furthermore, there is a strong hierarchy in most businesses. You really have to fight your way through the ranks here, from assistant manager to manager, from supervisor to vice president, from vice president to president. After that, comes member of the board. The difference in rank is also very visible; you really start to mean something here if you have a corner office. This hierarchy also means that many colleagues do not take risks with what they say so they are on their guard, much more than you would think of so-called "cheeky" New Yorkers. So, as a Dutchman, you have to be careful not to have a big mouth, because it can really damage you. Furthermore, it is helpful to know a lot about American sports and keep track of all kinds of sports statistics. That is a kind of safe area for getting along with people in the office. Furthermore, Americans really love children. You see family pictures on desks everywhere, so children are also a safe topic for conversation."

Is there a true New Yorker?

GV: "There will always be people coming to New York who want to make it here. Those people are willing to work day and night to be successful. For example, I get my morning coffee from an Afghan man around the corner; an entrepreneur in his own right who makes absolutely no bones about getting up at two o'clock in the morning to help his customers from 3 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. He's a great person to work with. Like him, there are so many people who want to work very hard to make their American dream come true. There are over 150 nationalities in New York, and almost all have the same attitude."

Does it still matter if a business associate or colleague is of Irish, Italian, Jewish, or Mexican descent?

GV: "It can sometimes make a difference. There are still whole sections of the city that are predominantly Jewish or Italian. These people know each other from childhood and continue to look up to each other within offices and in business. Conversely, there are so many nationalities, so many differences in ethnicity, and so many faiths represented here that New Yorkers are used to dealing well with this diversity in the workplace. After all, my wife is a Jewish American, while I was a Catholic Dutchman. I now have American citizenship. We have had a great time and a fantastic marriage for 24 years."

In movies and series, we often see companies and agencies making proposals & doing pitches to bring in business. Is that picture accurate?

GV: "It Is indeed true that New Yorkers find it normal for a potential supplier or an agency to make a pitch. The attitude here is that everyone is trying to get a business deal out of all kinds of contacts."

Another familiar image is when the top person is replaced, some of their team is also dismissed. Have you experienced anything like this?

GV: "I have not experienced the replacement of a CEO, although that is common when a company is sold or things change in the finance field. What I have seen in the banking business, however, is when a president moves to the competition, within a few months, some well-performing vice presidents move with them. When a top executive is brought in by a smaller party, it's mostly about that person bringing in new business. Usually such person gets some 'courtesy business' from good business associates, but otherwise they remain loyal to the big merchant banks like Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley."

What experiences do you have with customer contacts?

GV: "I have hardly ever experienced someone unwilling to make an appointment quickly. That doesn't just apply to the city of New York, by the way. If I want to make certain business contacts in other states or large cities in the USA, it is easy to organize such a coffee meeting. It is important to have a separate business license for each state, but these can be obtained by mail and internet. You have to take into account that the atmosphere outside New York can be very different and the focus on speed does not apply throughout the USA. It's already a world of difference in terms of state rule, if you just cross the Hudson to do business in New Jersey."

What are the highest paid positions in NY business?

GV: "Those can still be found at the big merchant banks, Wall Street stockbrokers, and financial firms. The salaries there are already sky high and the bonuses are usually unprecedented. The financial sector is the engine of New York. That's where the money is made, and that is why real estate in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens can be so expensive. Along with that is a world of eating out options, many shows running on Broadway, and the most expensive stores on Fifth Avenue."

Until what age, on average, can a NY executive last in The Big Apple?

GV: "If a manager does a lot of sports and is willing to learn continuously, for example, by getting certificates or licenses in banking, stockbroking, or insurance, they can last quite a long time as a senior manager here. It is certainly not the case that you have no opportunities after the age of forty, or even fifty. And the beauty of New York is that there are always new opportunities, but you always have to work hard for them."

Business contracts and legal advisors play an important role. Can you give examples of this from your experience?

GV: "When I was in investment banking, I dealt with sizeable deals. In terms of people and workload, the input of business lawyers is essential, and the importance of airtight contracts is self-evident. In large deals like mergers & acquisitions and IPOs, some 15% to 20% of the costs are legal.

Lunches & dinners seem to be important means of doing business in NY. Is that right?

GV: "New York has so many law firms, accounting firms, and management consulting firms that constantly host breakfast sessions, luncheons, and briefings that you can make business contacts at almost at any time in a working day. These are then put to good use, as New Yorkers are always on the lookout for opportunities. Through that networking, you can acquire new business partners quite efficiently, if you have something serious to offer. Furthermore, it is completely normal to call a prospect and make an appointment for a cup of coffee. That will take fifteen minutes or half an hour. The other party will then say, ‘We need to talk further,’ or, interestingly, ‘I'll put you down for possible further contact in the near future,’ or they will say that there is no immediate match. Of course, you have to be able to handle that directness."

How are most NY companies financed? Bank loans, private equity, family loans?

GV: "All of the above, I would say. There is a huge range of financing options here in New York. A good business proposition here can always produce a winner."

If you had to estimate the percentage of publicly traded companies in Manhattan, what would you come up with?

GV: "Hard to say. My personal estimate is that about a quarter of the business in Manhattan is stock market related."

Does it make a difference whether business associates are publicly traded or not?

"In principle, I don't think it makes that much difference. The point is that here, you have people from stock exchange funds, entrepreneurs, family offices, consultants, brokers, top analysts, accountants, and lawyers all within walking distance of each other. It's an incredibly busy world in which so many people can still have direct contact with each other. Personal trust and reputation are certainly as important as the company name."

How tough are the accounting and auditing rules in NY?

Are these nationwide, or are there also state rules (e.g., environmental and labor relations)?

GV: "The accounting rules are based on a federal law. Furthermore, it is true that each US state has its own legislation. So that applies to companies, entrepreneurs, and liberal professions. As mentioned, you always need different licenses. Furthermore, the legislation in the areas of employee policy, liability, environment, and auditing requirements differ considerably. This also applies to the city of New York, by the way. The previous mayor of New York, Di Blasio, introduced all kinds of social legislation, because of which companies have to deal very meticulously with dismissal procedures and rules of conduct on the shop floor. The general opinion in New York is that this has gone too far in the wrong direction. This city can be very demanding, but you can always start over."

What is the average cost of a flat in Manhattan?

GV: "For a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, you have to think about $3,000 a month; for a twobedroom apartment, we're talking from $5,000. Then there are a lot of additional costs for maintenance, a concierge, and cleaning. So, you can expect to spend between $60,000 and $80,000 a year just to live here. For the better neighborhoods in, say, Brooklyn, similar prices already apply. On top of that come all kinds of city and state taxes. For most newcomers, these costs are affordable if they come to work as double earners. The moment they want to start having children in Manhattan, it becomes very challenging financially. The better elementary schools are often private schools; expect about $30,000 per year in school costs per child. That's not even mentioning secondary education, let alone a good university."

What are the draws to life in Manhattan?

GV: "Life here is so dynamic and easy. When my wife Jennifer and I walk out of our door we have everything within walking distance. We don't have a car, which only results in parking costs here. We walk to the best stores, restaurants, and theaters in the world. I go to the gym regularly, which is minutes away from here. Within minutes we can walk through the park on weekends. What I enjoy most, however, are all the people who bring their nationalities and cultures. When I stand in line at my Afghan coffee shop in the morning, you see these people around you who are focused on succeeding. You get a lot of energy from that every day."

Once you get used to The Big Apple, life anywhere else can be boring. Agree?

GV: "I received American citizenship in 2006 and for the past 23 years I have not been bored a day here. We love Manhattan, NYC, and the USA. We have been able to set aside what we need for retirement.

As a result, I have no intention of returning to the Netherlands, although I still have a Dutch passport. I have become a true New Yorker. I also can't imagine what it's like not to grow old here."

Gerry Vos with AmericanJennifer.wife,

VOLUNTEER POSITION WITH PRESTIGE!

What began in 1921 as an initiative of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Hamilton Holt has grown into a thriving foundation. The later president of the United States would have been pleased with the status of his brainchild. We are talking about the Netherland-America Foundation, or NAF. This may not mean much to most Dutch people, but the Stuyvesant Ball was a household name in the Dutch society pages, especially since Princess Margriet and Pieter van Vollenhoven were both patrons and protectors of the Stuyvesant Ball. Chairing NAF is alumnus Andy Bender MBA (19830104); a volunteer position of great prestige!

BY OELE STEENKS - PHOTOGRAPHY NAF WEBSITE

Can you briefly explain the genesis of the NAF?

AB: "After World War I, the Netherlands was not very well regarded in the United States because of our country's neutrality. As a politician with Dutch roots, Roosevelt wanted to do something to improve bilateral relations. He found resonance with a group of Dutch entrepreneurs and businessmen with Dutch ancestors in the northeastern United States. A group of businessmen operating from the Netherlands also wanted to improve relations with America. The two groups found each other, and that formed the basis for the foundation which has existed since 1921. So, we just celebrated the centennial anniversary."

What does the NAF do?

AB: "The main objective is to improve relations between the United States and the Netherlands through an exchange of promising young academics, helping to find internships, promoting mutual cultural events, and supporting mutual performances by young artists. This was and remains the core activity. In 1980, the NAF became a lot more active in organizing the Stuyvesant Ball, which, incidentally, has been called the NAF Gala since 2020. In doing so, the foundation took a big step forward in attracting ‘funding’ for student exchange and bilateral cultural programs. The NAF works closely with the Fulbright Organization which offers promising young academics from America and 144 other countries the opportunity to receive a scholarship to an American or Dutch university. Based on background and performance, Fulbright makes a preselection for the Netherlands. The NAF selects and funds candidates from these. In this way, we finance fifteen to twenty Fulbright students every year to study in the USA or the Netherlands. Dutch nationals can thus attend top American universities that would otherwise be unaffordable. Conversely, the NAF also does fundraising in the Netherlands through Dutch companies and also has a ball, which this year will take place on June 11 at Paleis Het Loo. With that money we can, among other things, invite American trainees to the Netherlands. Thirty American students

will participate and we are currently working on the selection. We have been able to help thirty to fifty young academics a year find an internship in the United States for some time now. We donate $10,000 per person for the trip, applying for a visa, and finding an internship. The young people must arrange this themselves, as well as find a place to live. These are significant steps for students who are not so used to an international interpretation of their lives. One of our goals is to increase an interns' self-confidence. Most interns end up in New York, Boston, or Washington DC. "

In the meantime, it's not just about exchange programs, is it?

AB: "The other side of our activities takes place through our chapters in the United States. These are staffed by volunteers, operating mainly from metropolitan areas where many Dutch people work or where many business people with a Dutch background live. They are therefore concerned with improving Holland-America relations in their region. We offer a standard program from New York, but until now they have filled it in as they see fit. Chapters have also been established in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, West Michigan, Washington DC, New York, and Boston. There is also a chapter active in the Netherlands and there are two chapters in the formation stage. The coordinating board looks at the quality of leadership, the interest in such a cluster of people with a Dutch

NAF president Andy Bender with family

background, and the motivation to become seriously active. If there is sufficient support, a chapter agreement is drawn up. After signing this chapter agreement, those chapters get access to our services, which include the database, online programs, NAF content, and administrative support. In addition, they are asked to start a local NAF board."

You are chair of the federal NAF Board. How do you get such a great position?

AB: "I attended Nyenrode Business School from 1983 to 1987, after which I studied at Georgetown University where I earned a master’s degree in Foreign Service in two years. Back in the Netherlands, I worked for McKinsey in Amsterdam for two years. During that time, I applied for a Fulbright scholarship at Harvard Business School and I was awarded one. When I got to Harvard in 1991, there were two other Dutchmen, but I was the only one with a Fulbright scholarship from the NAF. So that's how I got personally acquainted with the NAF’s work at an early age. After a successful career, I was approached to take on the presidency."

Are you pursuing federal unity with chapters operating in the United States?

AB: "To date, activities differ from chapter to chapter. In some cities, King's Day is a big event. Take Atlanta, for example, where a wellattended lunch and drinks are organized. In San Francisco, King's Day is celebrated even more grandly with a day-long program that includes food trucks. The event is sponsored by Heineken and KLM. In Houston, the chapter is keeps an authentic Texas style with a Texas Chic Gala where male attendees appear wearing cowboy hats and the ladies come in gala dresses. And as is proper in Texas, dinner consists of a BBQ. Chapter Boston, on the other hand, does more cultural events. There, the emphasis is on a friendly, social base and relevant businesses are supported. I am trying to steer all the federal chapters more in the direction of fundraising, because right now, the chapters in Washington DC, New York, and the Netherlands are especially active in bringing in large fundraising sums. For example, companies like Heineken, KLM, Aegon, AON, Vermeer, Mars, and GATT-Tech are major sponsors. At the same time, we are working to increase the impact of the NAF. The main starting point for this is the Washington DC chapter, which organizes events in cooperation with the Dutch embassy with American policymakers and with American and Dutch companies. It's all about socializing, making contacts, and exchanging experiences. In San Francisco, the chapter is working with the Dutch consulate to set up a program called 'Holland in the Valley,' and we recently signed the program. This involves providing internships for Dutch academics in Silicon Valley and, of course, supporting the trade relationship between Dutch and high tech companies in the world center of high tech development. We expect this to bind Dutch technology companies to us as partners."

But the NAF Ball remains the highlight of the year?

AB: "We have a separate chairman for that in the person of Jurjan Wouda Kuijpers who worked for YE on the Luxembourg Desk here in New York. We have our own office with a staff of five people in New York. For the NAF Ball alone, we work with a team of twenty volunteers supported by the New York office. The NAF Ball and, formerly, the Stuyvesant Ball take place on the Friday before Thanksgiving Day. This year, the date will be November 18. The location is also always the same at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. Heineken and KLM are our regular sponsors. Now that the Covid troubles are behind us, we expect an attendance of 650 guests with a group of 130 to 150 participants flying in directly from Amsterdam.

Princess Margriet and Mr. Pieter van Vollehoven open the NAF Gala

Of course, they do not come just for the NAF Ball, but the occasion is the starting point for maintaining or establishing business contacts. We sell tables of ten to twelve people to participating sponsors, and businesspeople, academics, and students can also buy a single seat. There is a specialized group of volunteers who close sponsorship deals and provide a well-stocked ‘goody bag.’ What I always find impressive is the so-called 'color guard.' This involves a group of soldiers with flags who come to sing both the National Anthem and the Star Striped Banner."

You do all this work for the NAF now, but you didn't get into that position by yourself. Can you outline your career?

AB: " I met my American wife at Harvard. She returned with me to the Netherlands, because that was required based on the J1 visa I had obtained in America. The rule was that you had to return to the Netherlands for at least two years before you could look for work in the US. In Holland, with my Harvard MBA in my pocket, I found a job as a business consultant with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which had an office in Baarn at the time. I worked there for almost six years, when the entrepreneurial instinct started to kick in. My wife encouraged this, but she thought I had better chances as an entrepreneur in the US. To get up to speed in terms of housing and budget, I worked for Merck-Medco for six-months. It was the time of the Internet boom and I got involved with a start-up company in the creative design space that made videos for Nickelodeon and MTV, among other things. I saw how quickly such a business could explode, so I decided to start my own tech company in 2001 under the name Polaris. Polaris automated compliance processes for pharmaceutical companies. At the time, there was a lot going on around pharmaceutical companies paying doctors to prescribe drugs for diseases and ailments for which those drugs had not been tested and approved. In other words, these were false claims for which pharmaceutical companies were paying handsomely. Controlling legislation was quickly put in place in the US. The first fine issued from Washington DC was $875 million. This was followed by a whole administrative business in Health Care Law Compliance. It was quickly apparent to me that all pharmaceutical manufacturers were struggling with the same problems in handling the necessary administrative processes. I standardized and automated those processes and started selling them to the pharmaceutical industry in the form of software packages (Software as a Service - SaaS). I also provided audits, training, and reviews as additional services. I started on a shoestring with a good acquaintance of mine at his office in Union, New Jersey. I also started without any outside funding, and I had two software developers supporting me in India. Polaris was spot on in a tremendously fast-growing niche market and within a few years I had an office in Manhattan. There, I was closer to both the pharmaceutical giants and the in crowd of software developers.

I built up an office in New York City with 150 people on the staff including setting up centers for software development, hosting, and service desks. We expanded with Polaris offices in San Francisco and Boston, then we went international with offices in the Netherlands, Paris, and Hong Kong. At the height of Polaris, I was responsible for 1,200 people worldwide on our payroll. In the Far East, we visited major clients in Japan, South Korea, China, and Singapore. Although I had an excellent team around me in New

York, I lived under constant pressure. All those salaries had to be paid, of course. I thought about taking the company public for a while, but after seventeen years and several offers, I decided it was time to sell Polaris to a corporate development group here in the US. I spent two more years on the payroll buying and integrating companies. Since 2019, I have been working with my brother in the Netherlands on GATT-Tech, a medical device company. We are marketing my brother’s invention. He studied pharmacy in Utrecht. This is high quality tape that can be used in operations that involve heavy bleeding, such as incisions in the liver and pancreas resulting in damaged tissue that is difficult to sew or scorch. Our tape sticks to the tissue and stems the bleeding, then after four weeks, the tape is dissolved in the body. I took care of funding, rolling out a strategy, and building a team. For example, I managed to attract a CEO who previously managed Polaris in Europe. We are currently in negotiations with a potential buyer."

Will you ever come back to the Netherlands?

AB: "I still come to the Netherlands three or four times a year, but New York is our home base. I have three sons and have American girlfriends. The boys still have Dutch passports and speak Dutch, but do they feel Dutch? Now and then, I'd say, especially when we are in touch with family in Holland. Their future, however, lies here in the US. My oldest son is doing a masters in Artificial Intelligence & Robotics, so he is busy with drones and recognizing images. The second one is studying in St. Andrews, Scotland. He is doing Ancient History & Archeology, and the youngest is now going to boarding school at Phillips Exeter College. Partly thanks to the NAF, I keep in constant touch with the homeland myself.'♦

Prof. Dr. Leen Paape and Corina Blokland Chair HB/VCV

AmericanStories

The Nyenrodian who put

BY JAN VINCENT MEERTENS

When he was young, Bob W. Ziegelaar (19660118) arrived in the United States from Curaçao, Venezuela, and the Netherlands. He was a real expat child who, as a matter of course, regularly changed his residence, school, and friends. After high school in Zeist, he had only one goal: to go to America. Nyenrode was the ideal springboard and after his studies in Breukelen, he chose Bates College in Maine. He has never left and has put the town of Bangor on the world map.

terminal in LA, immediately take a cab or local transportation to one’s destination. We developed that traffic tremendously and in the peak year, 1994, we handled 4,000 international flights."

Yet despite your success in the public sector, you switched to the private sector.

BZ: "True. In those last years, airliners were getting more and more flying range, and with that, the stopovers became less and less necessary, including in Bangor. I then switched to a family business, Telford Aviation Services, where I became president. We flew small aircraft and did a lot of maintenance for the US military, both in America and abroad, especially Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2010, we sold the company to ACC Holding for a handsome sum. Since then, I have been working as a consultant for local companies, especially to help them internationalize further. I am now working on my last paid job and am also still active as an Angel Investor. Socially speaking, I am a member of the supervisory board of the local hospital."

At the end of the day, Maine is only small in an economic sense, and Dutch people always see opportunities?

Beforeyou came to Maine you had a real expat life. What did that look like?

BZ: "Yes, that's right. I was born in Leiden and my parents were both teachers. Shell needed teachers in Curaçao and South America. We went there when I was about six years old. I went to elementary school in Curaçao and later to Maracaibo, the second largest city in Venezuela. We also traveled in the area. The first time I went to New York I was only ten years old and later, I went back more often with my parents. I loved America; everything seemed possible."

But your parents thought a high school education in the Netherlands was better?

BZ: "They wanted me to do my HBS in the Netherlands, which I did in Zeist. But I had seen a lot by then and decided even in high school that I wanted to go back to America. I was looking for a continuation study that could take me abroad again. That's how I ended up at Nyenrode. I was very happy with the course, and I still am. It brought me a lot. I did my first internship in America, then I got a scholarship at a small, but nice, college in Lewiston, Maine, the Bates College, where I could do my Baccalaureate in English and Economics. Oregon, which already had ties to Nyenrode, was an alternative but I always knew I'd rather be in New England."

And then it became like a boy's adventure book. Young European puts Bangor on the world map. Many Nyenrodians will have been there?

BZ: "I think so, although the name Bangor may have faded somewhat. During that study I was asked to come and work at the local airport, a former strategic airbase that was closed and had been handed over to the local town called Bangor. They were looking for someone who spoke several languages and knew Europe. The plan was to develop the airport for the many transatlantic flights operating. In those days, it was necessary to make a stopover after crossing before you could fly on. We developed that base into a fairly well-known intermediate landing port. You have to think about refueling and catering. We created a customs area as an additional service for the passengers. If you had a flight from Frankfurt to Los Angeles, for example, the passengers went through customs in Bangor and the flight continued as a domestic flight. One could then, after arriving at the domestic

BZ: "During the time I ran the airport, I also looked for export opportunities for local companies. My motivation was to bring in air freight because I am ultimately more of an entrepreneur than a civil servant. For example, at the time, I advised a local canoe company, Old Town Canoe, to fly canoes from Bangor to Switzerland with Swissair. I had to convince them, though. They weren't so sure. But eventually, they sent half a dozen canoes to Switzerland. A wholesaler then wanted to import many more. It was a success, but it did require the Dutch spirit of commerce."

The success of Bangor Airport is already in the past as market conditions changed. Where are new opportunities in Maine?

BZ: "In Maine, we are behind in developing the tourism industry. We have beautiful lakes that are underutilized for tourism, like Moosehead Lake. For years, I have wondered why there is no sailing school there. There are many outdoor camps in Maine for children of families who live in the big cities in the northeast of the US. They come to Maine for three weeks in the summer. But these camps are small-scale. The US lags the Netherlands when it comes to entrepreneurship outside city limits. There are good opportunities here for Dutch entrepreneurs. For example, in Camden we have Natalie's, a frequently-awarded restaurant that capitalizes on the high-end tourism of the mega yachts that dock there. It's set up by Dutch people. We celebrated our wedding anniversary there. It was really good and arranged down to the last detail. That's when you see the Dutch influence."

What would you advise Dutch people to do to operate successfully in the US?

BZ: "The Dutch can, of course, be very candid, and Americans don't immediately understand that. You need to present your message in a more nuanced way than we are used to in the Netherlands. Americans in the Netherlands think that direct approach is best; they immediately know what we can do for them. But here, it's different. You have to adapt in that sense. I also had to do that. There is no Dutch community in Maine. Maine is much larger than the Netherlands and only 1.3 million people live there. It is sparsely populated, but Dutch people here quickly feel at home in the local society. We don't have much of a need for a club, but do come and have a look. Not only as a tourist, but also as an entrepreneur. The Dutch have advantages in certain branches like tourism. We see just a bit more trade opportunities than the Americans."

put Bangor on the flight map

You are now putting your knowledge and experience to work for start-ups in Maine?

BZ: "I started a local investment fund with a lawyer and a surgeon. We now have five funds. The goal is to invest in local start-ups. As a result, we are not talking about very large sums of money, but the first fund, which I am still managing, is now breaking even and I expect it to eventually turn a nice profit. The group currently consists of about twenty-five members and has invested in about twenty-five companies so far. These are very diverse, from a company that manufactures filtration systems to a marine fish farm. The group's priority is to invest in businesses in the Bangor area, but there are not enough local businesses likely to generate profits for the funds. So, we have invested in companies elsewhere, like Cognition Therapeutics in Pittsburgh, which is developing a potential drug for Alzheimer's, and Boston-based Siamab Therapeutics, which is developing treatments for cancer."

You've worked in both the public and private sectors. How do you look back on that?

BZ: "I look back on my work in both the public and private sectors with pleasure. I can see the benefits from both sides. Obviously in the private sector you have the most freedom of movement and that's also where I've had the most personal success, certainly in a financial sense. But I have to say that what I enjoyed most was developing the airport. I did that for the city. The whole state benefited and a lot of jobs were created. We did business with most of the major airlines. I'm proud that we managed to convince them to use Bangor as a hub. I was also given all the space by the city to do business and go out and get customers. It is important that people with an entrepreneurial spirit also serve the public cause. That encourages a more results-oriented approach and improves cooperation with the private sector."

Has that changing perspective changed the image you had of the United States as a young boy?

BZ: "As a young boy, of course, you only see what you want to see. If you want to get your hands dirty, anything is possible. But when you get older, you see other sides as well. You can see that clearly in the past six years there are certainly less positive sides to the country. Because of my background, I see more nuances than the average American, especially in international affairs. Did you know, only 37% of Americans have a valid passport? And that is mostly used to travel to Canada or Mexico. Many people don't know Europe at all and have a very limited view of what's going on there now. It is a challenge to explain to people that Europe is very diverse, and not an easily managed entity. But the other way around, the same is true. It's ignorance back and forth."

So you never left Maine, despite your early expat life. Your wife also traded London for Maine. What is the secret of Maine?

BZ: "My wife Susan and I met on a British Airways flight where she was a cabin crew member. I knew her for quite a few years since we first met and eventually, we got married and she moved from London to Maine. Originally, she is from Zimbabwe. Maine has a fantastic coastal area for sailing and otherwise beautiful and wild nature. We have a Dutch boat, a Rogger 35 from the 1970s, a Rhine-built motorsailer, which we have refurbished. Maine is, especially in the summer and fall, a beautiful area to stay and sail. Bangor is a 30-minute flight north of Boston and almost as far from Quebec and Montreal. It's a beautiful area and that's what has kept us there." ♦

Legendary Concorde has landed

Robert Ziegelaar 'in control'

Doing business with Air France

NOIB exposure 1966

BOB TRAA

BY MADELEINE KEMNA

Bob Traa Ph.D. (19770111) chose to join the exchange program with the University of Oregon after his first year of BBA. He planned to stay in America for a year but never left.

Through his global work for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bob grew into a renowned economist. Central bank presidents, finance ministers, and prime ministers pricked up their ears when hearing his analyses. He was even asked by a finance minister if he could come and explain his country's economy.

Howdid you end up at Nyenrode?

BT: "I have always had broad interests. I particularly strive to understand the background and origins of certain phenomena. As a teenager, I used the money from my newspaper round to buy a subscription to the American TIME magazine. My school English was often inadequate, but with a little persistence a new world opened for me with that magazine. As a boy in post-war Venlo, I was fascinated by the German economic miracle, and I was also intrigued by the resilience of the American economy. Nyenrode’s excellent and international reputation gave me the idea that I could do justice to my curiosity there so I chose Breukelen."

What brought you to Oregon?

BT: "The study at Nyenrode didn't go deep enough for my taste. There was, however, a fantastic exchange program that included the University of Oregon. One of my friends at Nyenrode was from there and made me excited to travel there. In Oregon, I was able to indulge my curiosity. It went so well that I was asked to stay and do a Ph.D. This was when the American economy was still globally dominant. For me, this was a great opportunity to learn more about that. I also got the opportunity to study philosophy, and that has always remained a passion of mine. Spinoza, in particular, fascinated me. He was born into a JewishPortuguese family that fled to tolerant Amsterdam in the seventeenth century. Unfortunately, that tolerance also had its limits; when Spinoza wrote about inconsistencies he discovered in the Bible, he was denied access to the synagogue. Spinoza argued that God did not create us in his image but that God is found in nature in a system that creates balance. I think that is beautiful; mother nature as God. Unfortunately, our society has cruelly disturbed the balance of mother nature with great consequences for the environment and climate. I am very concerned about that. In my work, by the way, I have always experienced that balance is very important. If a country pursues the wrong policies, the balance gets lost, and you get problems like high inflation, unemployment, or an unstable currency."

What was your dissertation about?

BT: "It focused on the discipline of International Monetary Economics. Together with Professor Ronald McKinnon from Stanford, I did research into the phenomenon of Indirect Currency Substitution. Since the oil crisis of the 1970s, we had

known a system of flexible exchange rates in which each country pursued a monetary policy tailored to its own situation. I showed econometrically that the American monetary policy strongly influenced the situation in other countries (taking the Netherlands as an example). This may sound very logical now, but in the early 1980s, this was still unknown territory. It was assumed that flexible exchange rates would create buffers to counteract these kinds of effects, but in practice, that turned out not to be the case."

Can you say a little more about the IMF?

BT: "After World War II, a system of fixed exchange rates (relative to the dollar exchangeable for gold) was introduced at the US Bretton Woods conference. The IMF and the World Bank were also established. The spiritual fathers were the economists John Maynard Keynes (for the UK) and Harry Dexter White (for the US). The IMF (a cooperative organization with 189 members) was given the role of identifying potential financial crises in time and intervening effectively. The World Bank focuses on financing investment in developing countries. In this way, it was hoped to prevent a repeat of the Great Depression of the 1930s. The subject of my dissertation is pre-eminently something the IMF is interested in. So, I was invited to come and talk and joined the so-called Economists Program (EP). In it are all Ph.D.s who get a contract for two years. For my first job, I was added to the delegation that went to Suriname for the Article 4 consultation. Article 4 refers to an annual visit where the IMF makes a report on the state of the economy in a country. I was amazed. At university, they teach you the techniques, but in the end, you only learn in practice how it really works. After I expressed my surprise to the leader of the delegation about the messy situation in Suriname, he told me I'd better get used to it because it's like that in many countries. Usually, you are involved in a country for two years, and then you are transferred to another team to study a new country. The advantage of this is that after a while, you have seen so much that you quickly recognize whether the picture is correct or not. Some countries really don't see the gaps in their own story; others deliberately try to put you on the wrong track. Misreporting is what we call it at the IMF."

How did your role within the IMF develop?

BT: "At the beginning of my career, I was involved in three

missions to Suriname. They liked an American-educated economist who could read documents in Dutch. Bouterse had just come to power, inflation was on the rise, and it was chaos. The challenge is to write something like that down neatly. As a Dutchman, you are used to simply naming things, but in the international monetary world, that does not always achieve the desired effect. In that context, you learn to indicate respectfully but clearly what is going on. You are dealing with famous economists, finance ministers, and heads of state, but ultimately, they all turn out to be normal people with power, but also feelings and their own doubts. The reports made in an Article 4 consultation are on the agenda of the IMF Executive Board. This also reveals the work of novice economists. If it turns out that you make correct diagnoses, you get bigger and more important countries to analyze."

Are there any salient details you can share with us?

BT: "After Suriname, I was asked to go to Yugoslavia. It was just before the federation fell apart. We sat as the IMF delegation on one side of the table, and on the other were all the representatives of the republics. I didn't speak Serbo-Croatian but based on the figures, I could see that they were lying to each other. My breakthrough at the IMF came when I got involved with Brazil in the early 1990s. At that time, the country had an inflation rate of 4,000%, and all prices were indexed. As a result, nothing was stopping inflation. The danger then is that you end up in a vicious circle: when there is chaos in the economy, politics often becomes a mess and vice versa. At the time, the turnover rate of finance ministers in Brazil was nine months. I was there for five years and became an expert in accounting in hyperinflation. It even went so far that a new finance minister called my boss and asked, ‘Can you send Bob Traa to explain to me how this works?’ Brazilians were worried that the economy would disrupt society and tried to freeze prices, but that always leads to disruptive effects. As a boy from a small town in Calvinist Holland, tutoring the finance minister of the largest economy in South America is a special feeling. Ultimately, the Brazilians developed their own solution to the inflation problem. They linked all prices to an index and froze it. As the IMF, we had our doubts at first, but it got the hyperinflation under control. Based on our experience, we warned that they would have a problem in the banking sector because financial institutions benefit from hyperinflation, which gives them a very peculiar business model with all small branches accepting deposits. When there is no more inflation, that is no longer possible, and it showed in Brazil, state-owned Banco do Brasil had to write off billions. For someone like me, who likes to understand everything in the world, such a country is like a petri dish. You see what works and what doesn't. Unfortunately, Brazil is still not out of the woods; Bolsonaro is

no economist, to put it kindly. Because of massive inequality and corruption, politics, as so often, gets in the way of the country's potential."

We have read in the newspapers that you played a special role in Greece. Can you tell us anything about that?

BT: "Greece initially benefited, as did Spain, Portugal, and Italy, from being able to borrow at much more attractive interest rates than they were used to after the advent of the euro. This was because the devaluation risk was suddenly much lower as the southern countries shared a currency with stable northern countries such as Germany and the Netherlands. As usually happens, this economic euphoria went into overdrive, and wages rose even more than in Germany and the Netherlands, making the Greek economy a lot less competitive. There was a chronic current account deficit making the country extremely dependent on foreign capital. At the time of the financial crisis in 2008, no one could ignore that Greece was still the weak brother in the eurozone, and interest rates shot up. The IMF asked me to look in 2009, and I immediately saw that the figures were wrong, a clear case of misreporting. It was a report that was on the agenda of the European Council, and I warned that the information they were going to meet on was not correct. After this, the Greeks stopped publishing fiscal figures altogether for a few months. The EU had the right approach, but the people involved had never had to deal with this kind of crisis. Although the Europeans were hesitant at first, in the end they were happy to use the IMF's expertise. This is how the so-called troika came about; the European Commission and the European Central Bank worked together with the IMF to find a solution and we learned from each other. Later, the IMF asked me to become a permanent representative in Greece. The central bank hosted me, and I was given a group of young, educated Greeks to work with. That's how I ended up living in Greece for three years. It was not easy. Some Greeks saw me as a steep Calvinist who stuck to rules too much. They came to my house to seek redress and I had to have several bodyguards around me permanently, wherever I went. Still, I appreciate the Greek people; they just have a different way of thinking about problems than we do in the north. I still follow the Greek economy closely. In 2020, I wrote a book about it, and I occasionally write articles for the site www.macropolis.gr."

How do you look at America now?

BT: "In my book, The Macroeconomy of the United States, I describe how America has been gradually losing its influence and standing in the world since the 1980s. The economy is mortgaged to the point of insolvency. Credit and debt are the cocaine of the economy created by Reaganomics. Every year, US officials publish detailed reports on the state of US financial

housekeeping and the treasury secretary says they are ‘pleased’ to offer these reports to the President and the presidents of the Senate and the House of Commons, but no one acknowledges that these officials are sounding the alarm. They write very clearly that current policies are unsustainable. Politicians just ignore this, and the citizens are asleep. The reports are open to everyone and make it clear that America is sleepwalking into accepting enormous risks."

Is it worse in America than elsewhere?

BT: "No. This also plays out in other countries, but they are often not so transparent with the figures. One advantage that America also has is that it still has a relatively decent population growth rate, which means that the aging population can be absorbed to some extent. If the tide turns against immigration, the picture will get worse for America as well."

How do you look at the IMF now?

BT: "The organization is highly politicized. America and Europe have had a great influence on it. Despite all our advice, Latin American countries didn't really manage to get out of trouble during the ’lost decade’ of the 1980s. Americans saw the region as their backyard and found it unpleasant that there was so much financial turmoil. They did not question the IMF's solutions but felt that the economists working there did not have enough ‘political finesse’ to ensure that the countries in question were implementing IMF programs properly. Europeans hooked into this by criticizing the way the IMF operated in Europe as well. Thus, America and Europe concluded that the IMF’s boss would be better as a politician than a central banker. All 189 members of the IMF have a financial stake in the organization in the form of quotas. We are talking about a large amount of money. That always attracts political interference, so politicians were very happy with this development. They find it unpleasant when they are told that there must be tax increases and cuts but prefer to postpone the solution by borrowing more. The ‘let-the-bombburst-but-when-I'm-away’ mentality. Politicians are usually more tolerant of this than central bankers. At one point, I was responsible for approving country reports before they went to the IMF board meeting. When a piece arrived on my desk that clearly contained misinformation, I refused to sign it. There was pressure on me to agree for ‘the sake of peace’ (‘pappen en nathouden’). No matter how I showed that the problems would only get worse if we let this pass, I was expected to have ‘political flexibility.’ I have great respect for the office of politicians and believe that they, as elected office holders, should decide what happens in their country, but I did not want to sign this flawed report. That was eventually done by someone else. I then left the IMF and am now an independent consultant."

What else would you like to give our readers?

BT: "What worries me enormously is that all over the world, politicians, including Macron and Draghi recently in The Financial Times, are arguing that we need to borrow (more debt!) to make investments for the benefit of the climate and the environment. For years, we have failed to recognize the effects of environmental pollution as debt, and now that we can no longer avoid it, politicians want to pass the financing on as debt to our children and grandchildren. We would do better to accept that in the future, we will have to deal with economies that are no longer growing because the labor force is shrinking almost everywhere due to the aging population. These smaller economies cannot handle that much debt. I am all for investing in the environment, but the money must come out of current taxes. I propose an intertemporal approach where the government takes an outline of where we want to be in a few decades and then works back to today to see what financial measures we need to take to get there. Politicians don't usually like long-term thinking." ♦

BOOKS BY BOB TRAA:

The Macroeconomy of the United States: Why the US Economy is Slowing and the US Federal Government is Insolvent. Notes for Discussion

The Macroeconomy of the Netherlands: What Future for the Polder Model? Notes for Discussion.

The Macroeconomy of Ecuador: Toward a Sustainable Future and Overcoming the Oil Curse.

The Macroeconomy of Greece: Odysseus' Plan for the Long Journey Back to Debt Sustainability.

The success woman behind the flu vaccine Flubok

Dr. Manon M.J. Cox (19960702), MBA is a well-known name in the vaccine world. She was President and CEO of Protein Sciences Corporation until the company was acquired by France's Sanofi. For twenty years she and her team worked on the development and approval of Flublok, the only FDA-approved recombinant influenza vaccine. A huge accomplishment that the French are now turning into a resounding marketing success. Manon took a step back and is a member of several scientific boards and actively participates in the discussion about the utility of the COVID-19 vaccine. She talks to Van Verre about her career, vaccines, Nyenrode and the best of both worlds, the Netherlands and the United States.

BY JAN VINCENT MEERTENS

Eand good basis

Manon studied molecular biology, genetics, and biochemistry in Nijmegen and later obtained her Ph.D. in Wageningen. She had already started a Ph.D. research directly after her first degree, but did not keep it up. "Scientific research was boring to me," she says. "Business seemed much more interesting and, after a year of scientific research, I started working in the R&D department at Gist Brocades, although I later went on to do my Ph.D. in Wageningen." The ten-plus years at Gist Brocades gave her the right foundation to become successful in America. "It was incredibly good for my career to work in a large company at that time. At Gist Brocades, there was a lot of focus on personal development. There are so many young people today who want a big job right away, but I think it's important to have the right experience to grow later. That you develop enough knowledge and self-confidence to be successful. It's nice to work in a small company and do a lot of things, but it's also good to have broad development in a big company. It ultimately makes you a better leader." Along with ten other young potentials, Manon stepped into a management development pool. "Gist Brocades wanted to make people more entrepreneurial. That included an MBA degree and that's how I ended up at Nyenrode. I also worked for nine months in different parts of the company. First, as assistant to the director, Auke Rottier, who taught me a lot about organizational culture and coaching leadership. In Belgium, I was head of the process development department and got involved in building a production facility for the product I had previously worked on in R&D. And finally, I got a business development position."

Gold standard

After ten years at Gist Brocades, her attention was drawn to the biotech industry in the US. She was out of a job with a large company and unattached. She packed her bags and joined Protein Sciences in 1998. Twenty fantastic years followed in which she combined entrepreneurship with in-depth research into new vaccine technology. "I found myself in a company that had thirty people working on twenty-five projects, and if I learned anything at Gist Brocades it was that you had to work as a team on one project and focus completely on the outcome." She shifted the focus of the entire company to the development of Flublok, a vaccine developed using

DNA recombination technology. A specific gene from the flu virus is inserted into a host cell, which is then prompted to make the protein in question. These genes carry the code for proteins that stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies that can eliminate a pathogenic organism, e.g., a virus. This process facilitates a significant acceleration of the production process because it is not limited by the selection of vaccine viruses adapted for growth in eggs or for cell culture-based development. Flublok has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Manon is ‘super proud’ of that. "We dragged a product through the FDA with a small team of about forty people. That was a wonderful experience. Flublok is the first recombinant vaccine to be approved by the FDA. We had received $150 million from the government to get it approved. The government also recognized that a recombinant vaccine could be developed very quickly, making it the ideal approach for fighting a pandemic. The product now sells very well and it is an important vaccine for Sanofi. Publications state that Flublok had significantly contributed to fewer hospitalizations of the elderly and vulnerable." Later, after the acquisition by Sanofi, the company was awarded $1.4 billion to develop a Corona vaccine. With the acquisition, everyone was initially very happy. Not only because of the bonuses, but also because Sanofi has a large sales network. "Five thousand sales reps who have more than just a single product in the bag." It was a match made in heaven.

Child with the bath water

It turned out differently for Manon and many of her team members. Flublok was a great success and the ‘gold standard for Sanofi, but in product development, which was the strength of Protein Sciences, came the draft, also with respect to the COVID vaccine. "You sell your car, but you cannot tell the buyer how to drive it," the then head of the vaccine division told Manon. Sanofi had thrown the baby out with the bathwater. "One of their mistakes was that our chairman andI were thrown out quickly after the acquisition. They didn't realize that I was the driver within the team of both product and business development. We had a lot of fighters in our team who only worked together when they were driven well, results-oriented and focused. That wasn't happening anymore; the culture had been affected. People were put in boxes. First, one person did five jobs, so to speak, while at Sanofi ten people just do the same job. That was

such a huge contrast, unbelievable. As a result, Sanofi missed the boat with a Corona vaccine." culture eats strategy for breakfast, as Peter Drucker described it.

No vaccination compulsion

Manon has served on several advisory boards around COVID-19. She spoke out in the media, including in discussions with Ab Osterhaus. "I believe that the world has reacted totally wrongly to COVID-19. No one knew how dangerous it was and yet it was immediately compared to SARS. With SARS, 30% of the people who get infected die. People get very sick, and you can then isolate them. With COVID, a lot more people get sick, but the majority don't get very sick. You can't control that large group." Manon thinks it's good that vaccines were available quickly. "

I only think that the mRNA is not a very good vaccine. The effect decreases very quickly, especially in older people. Almost everyone still gets COVID even after vaccination, especially with the current Omikron variant." She doubts that the mRNA vaccine has protected us from serious disease. But we will never know that for sure because the clinical studies needed for that knowledge were not done well enough. There wasn't time for that. "Natural immunity is better with a much broader effect than vaccine induced immunity because only a small particle of the virus is in the vaccine. Viruses normally become ‘weaker’ with time on the one hand because a virus has no interest in having its host die, it is after all a parasite, and on the other hand because more immunity develops in the population. Therefore, I disagree with the vaccination compulsion. People should be able to make their own decisions based on information."

I sometimes miss the sociability

After leaving Sanofi, Manon wanted to refocus and repackage. She was in no hurry to start working hard again. Besides, she still had financial interests at Sanofi. Now, together with her life partner and former Chairman of Protein Sciences, Dan Adams, she provides scientific and strategic knowledge to several biopharmaceutical companies through NextWaveBio. "Our mission is to help bridge the gap between preclinical and clinical development with knowledge of infrastructure and quality systems ultimately needed for manufacturing." She is also a member of the Board of the International Society for Vaccines. For a while, Manon thought about returning to the Netherlands, where she is still a regular and has a home. "But I think, in the end, I feel more at home here in East Haven, in America." She is comfortable there with her drive to achieve success and, above all, to celebrate it. "I sometimes hear that in America they have a postage stamp mentality, that they only do what they have to do. But I haven't experienced that. On top of that, at Protein Sciences we worked with 120 people from thirty-five different countries. I think many first-generation immigrants have a huge motivation to achieve success. You know, anything is possible here. I've met Nobel laureates. I've met President Clinton. If you work hard, you can achieve a lot." She honestly admits that her privileged position as an expat also opens doors. "You're part of a small community that has access to people and agencies that it's not always easy for locals to have. My membership on the board of the Netherland-America Foundation (NAF) definitely helps with that." Manon would quite like her social life to happen in the Netherlands. Most of her friends live in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, people value free time much more than in America. In America, she finds social life superficial. "You know the one. Hi! You should visit me! And then that's it. The most bizarre thing I experienced in America was that if a party or gettogether was organized and the invitation said from five to seven, everyone left at five minutes to seven. In the Netherlands we go on until eight or nine o'clock or sometimes later. I do miss the depth and, yes, the sociability."

Honorary Doctorate

But working in the Netherlands? No. "The optimism, that's central for me. Success is very much celebrated here, we really put people in the limelight. And we are proud of it. Americans dare to present themselves much better,

with their success too. If you could see how many awards I have received; that would never happen in the Netherlands." For example, Manon became Woman of Innovation at the Connecticut Council of Technology and has received an honorary doctorate from Saint Joseph University. "Yes, I'm very proud of that. Even though I received that award along with two other people, including Sakena Yacoobi from Afghanistan who fights for education for girls and women. I will never forget her speech. Very inspiring." Of course, Manon and America also had to get used to each other. Her direct and results-oriented leadership style was her strength, but in a cultural sense, also her weakness. "Here, they often think that I am too direct. Some people like that, but a lot of people find it difficult. Fortunately, I had an HR manager who pointed that out to me. But at the end of the day, I am who I am. I'm not able to change that. I did change certain words. I often used the word 'stupid', for example, a stupid decision. But 'stupid' was much harder to the Americans than 'stupid' is to the Dutch. It was a huge insult to them. Fortunately, everyone knew that I didn't mean it badly when I said it. Our team was strong enough for that. But in the end, Americans would rather you covered it all up a bit." But that covering is counterproductive when results need to be achieved, especially in complex procedures like those at the FDA. Then, Manon's direct approach was precisely what was needed, perhaps 'not so smart' rather than 'stupid', but without beating around the bush to expose the pain points. "When a performance review is given in America it only ends on a positive note. I am also a positive person and prefer to say positive things, but I also know that you only get further if you also dare to name the points of improvement." Manon cares little about the sexism she sometimes encountered. "Of course, I have personally experienced that a female CEO is not always appreciated. I remember a 'fundraising' meeting with a venture fund where the atmosphere became 'frosty' when it became clear that I was the CEO and not an assistant. Anyway, I personally don't care much about that. At Protein Sciences I worked with people from all these different cultural and religious backgrounds. Occasionally this led to 'conflicts'. But 'respect,' also towards women, was one of our fundamental team values. Look, in the end I think you should just appoint the best candidate for a position. Besides, there are also advantages to being a woman because you do stand out!"

Keeping donors friendly And then we come back to Nyenrode for a moment, to the power of awards and recognition. "Fifteen years ago, more or less by chance, I ended up at a Nyenrode reunion with Neelie Smit-Kroes as a guest. She introduced me to Lodewijk de Vink, who had made a very substantial donation to Nyenrode after a nice exit at pharmaceutical company Warner-Lambert following its takeover by Pfizer. What I do not understand is why the room that was named after Lodewijk has been renamed the Pfizer room; Lodewijks' traces seem to have been obliterated. In America, you keep donors friendly!" ♦

Manon Cox with Bill Clinton and partner Dan Adams

He is undoubtedly one of the best-known alumni, but it is conceivable that Fred Gehring (19730020) will go down in history as a bandleader rather than successful CEO of Tommy Hilfiger. He was obsessed with The Beatles as an adolescent and played in a band at Nyenrode that did many songs by the Fab Four. That passion got back into his head when he had done with business. Fred founded The Analogues. It is the only band that can play the best pop group of all time’s famous studio albums live. And do so exactly as the songs were recorded over half a century ago, using the same instruments. More importantly, they also sing like The Beatles

BANDLEADERsounded!

the US with The

FG: "I have found that being a CEO is a lot of fun, because you are direct. You have accountability to stakeholders, of course, but if you decide to turn left today, you can go to the office tomorrow and actually turn left. I had my finger continuously on the pulse of culture development and monitoring; implementing strategies and correcting initiatives that deviated from strategy. At Tommy Hilfiger, I was particularly concerned with monitoring the strategic discipline. After selling my stake in Hilfiger, I became an investor, among other things. Then you have to deal with management teams or boards that you usually meet once a month. I often sat in such meetings and wondered what had changed since the last time. Assessing companies purely from the outside, adjusting and correcting, is not something I'm really interested in."

You were CEO of 30,000 employees and now lead a band. What's the difference?

Fred: "The management of the band, despite its small scale, has all the characteristics of the management of a larger business. The Analogues, however you look at it, is ultimately a brand, which has to stand for something very clearly, with its own tone of voice and a certain balance. Again, it's about a creative charge and a team of people who bring that together. I tapped into all the things that I had to leverage in my business role for Tommy Hilfiger in the organization of the band, despite it being about a team of about thirty people."

The Analogues were able to perform on TV show De Wereld Draait Door. You stayed in the background as a drummer. Why?

FG: "I generally prefer to stay out of the press, because I don't like that quote-like sensationalism. But for the alumni, it’s different. I think I've managed to build a nice bridge to the general issue for many Nyenrodians: how do you deal with your energy later in life, which may or may not be business-related."

How long can The Anologues tarry on the anniversaries of The Beatles' studio albums?

FG: "You are right to raise the issue of continuity. That was already a hot issue before the Corona crisis broke out. For the proper explanation, I'll go back to the beginning for a moment. It's good to realize that The Analogues project was started purely based on a passion for the music of The Beatles. I never really looked at what it was going to cost me. I just looked at the level of quality. The concept implies that we needed all kinds of authentic instruments, which are also from the period of The Beatles' studio albums. Those

BY OELE STEENKS

"I'd secretly like to conquer The Analogues, I'd love that!"

instruments all had to be found and purchased. That alone cost quite a lot of money. The concept also demands that there be no digital shortcuts. If there has to be an orchestra, then there will be an orchestra on stage. If there is a harpist on the original tracks, there will also be a harpist. The same goes for an Indian tabla player. We said real is real, so no synthesizer solutions, although they might not have made much difference to the audience. Then suddenly, you have a group of thirty people and two trucks, because transportation to and from the theaters is quite an operation. At the first concerts there were almost more people on stage than there were in the auditorium. These are headache moments, because then there is the danger that such a project will become an over-the-top hobby-like experiment. It could have gone in the wrong direction, but fortunately we soon found ourselves on the DWDD TV show with our first show The Magical Mystery Tour. That's when the fire started to burn, and the theaters started to fill up. From The Magical Mystery Tour to Abbey Road I have always thought, just keep going. At some point, we have everything; the right instruments, scores, staging, light shows, and animations. We don't have to invest in those parts of the project then."

However, the question remains whether the concept of The Analogues will hold up?

FG: "Now, fortunately, we notice that enthusiasm for The Beatles music was not only related to the 50th anniversary of their legendary albums. Before those anniversaries there was already a stable interest and there is still no decline in The Beatles’ popularity. I don't think that will happen in the next fifty years either. Nor is it a typically Dutch phenomenon because The Beatles are appreciated worldwide, in Europe, in North America, in South America, in Asia and Japan. So, on paper, we have a concept that won't go out of style, just to go back to my core business. It's basically infinite and universal. With this project, we can enter a new phase. Inside, I call it The Analogues 2.0. We've finished the creative and reproducing phase; now we can start the operational phase. And that is just doing a lot of big shows. We are now doing that in Germany, France, and England. That's going very well, and it confirms that The Analogues is not founded purely on Dutch chauvinism. We see that our audience consists internationally of die-hard Beatles fans. We are not a visually-oriented tribute band; we are purely focused on audio. After we performed at the Palladium in London three years back, a journalist from The Daily Telegraph wrote: ‘Few of us can say that they saw The Beatles live, but after tonight, I can say that at least I heard them.’ That sums up in a single sentence what we do it for."

What does the business plan for The Anolgues look like now?

FG: "In 2019, the last year we were able to play full house, we had a total of 65,000 people in the venue. With that we became one of the bigger bands in the Netherlands. Tickets cost about fifty-five euros,

on average. That means a consumer turnover of three million euros with sixty-five shows a year. We work with a group of thirty freelancers. For all those people, The Analogues has become a big part of their income. Although they also do all kinds of other things. For example, the crew does work for other bands. The band members sometimes have jobs with big orchestras or play elsewhere as well. The band members teach, play in studio sessions, and/or compose music. In Germany, we can start our third tour. That's ten shows in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, and other big German cities. Those are all sold out in advance. The concept of The Analogues works well in Germany because we play in venues from 1,500 people up to halls of 3,000 people.

We were approached by the largest US talent management agency, William Morris Endeaver (WME) in Los Angeles who also have an office in London. They've approached us to get into the rest of Europe. It looks like it's going to work out, and we're probably going to get serious about that. Then we're going to start having regular substitutes for me, because I don't want to block the project because I can't do it myself. The same goes for America. There's interest in doing ten to fifteen shows, which you're probably not going to sell out the first time. You have to go there, charge money for the shows, and let the loss mount up because you also have to go back to Holland. It becomes even more expensive to do a second series of concerts there. But there is a special aspect to it for me. I lived in America for years, my wife is American, and I still have a house in New York. It's a dream that's in my system. I would love to win America. All other countries are approached rationally, but for America, I act partially on impulse. I just want to do that; it just seems crazy!" ♦

75 YEARS OF NYENRODE, CELEBRATE ON 4 JUNE!

75 years of Nyenrode, a historic moment. 75 years of leadership, entrepreneurship, and stewardship, values that, as in 1946, are more relevant than ever in 2022. We will celebrate this with an inspiration festival and anniversary party on Saturday, 4 June with students, staff, participants, and alumni of all Nyenrode programs.

AGENDAACTIVITIESLUSTRUM

Nyenrode Inspiration

Nyenrode 2022

INSPIRATION FESTIVAL “A REWARD FOR LIFE”

What does a ”Reward for life” mean to you? During the inspiration festival there are four central themes and we’ll cover them in a combination of academic theory, practical relevance, and personal development:

Societal impact - Digital transformation - Modern governance - Future finance

The conversation about a ”Reward for life” is facilitated and a stage is given to Nyenrodians who are connected through their entrepreneurial spirit. Inspire each other in different ways. By doing so, you will create added value for yourself, your company, and your environment.

AFTERNOON PROGRAM:

13.00 - 13.30: reception at the Castle 13:30 - 14:30: Opening with the three L.E.S. values, including Boudewijn Poelmann (19670100); owner of Novamedia (National Postcode Lottery)

15.00 - 17.45: during three time blocks you can choose from more than 12 sessions*. 17.45 - 18.30: drinks and finale in front of the castle

* There are more than 12 sessions in which many Nyenrode professors, such as Prof. Dr. mr. Désirée van Gorp LL.M.; (professor of international business), Prof. Dr. ir. André Nijhof; (professor of sustainable business & stewardship), Prof. Dr. ir. Henk Kievit; (professor of entrepreneurship and ecosystems), Prof. Dr. Roberto Flören; (professor of family businesses), and Prof. Dr. Leen Paape RA RO CIA; (professor of corporate governance), engage in discussions with numerous top speakers, entrepreneurs, and CEOs.

Consider:

• Hanneke Smits (19840086); CEO of US-based BNY Mellon Investment Management.

• Michiel de Haan (19840027); Managing Director of plant service partner and family business Royal Lemkes and co-owner of family-owned and international moving company De Haan.

• Tanja Dik (19920911); CEO of the Johan Cruijff ArenA.

• Conny Wenting (19880200); under Conny's leadership, the Invictus Games were recently organized in The Hague.

• Michiel de Wilde (19800132); formerly director of Goldschmeding Foundation and currently strategy and impact management from his own consulting company.

• Petri Hofsté (19790047); chairman of ’our’ Foundation Board, number 1 in the Top Hundred Commissioners and most influential woman in the Dutch business world according to Management Scope.

• Prof. Dr. Paul Hilbers; part-time professor at Nyenrode Business University, until 2020 Director of Financial Stability at De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and then elected as new administrator at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

• Marjolein Baghuis (19860005); 'Catalist for Positive Change' at The Terrace, strategy firm for communication and sustainability.

• Carola Wijdoogen (19850143); formerly Chief Sustainability Officer at the Dutch Railroads and currently director of Sustainability University, global platform For sustainability professionals and CSR managers.

• More speakers to follow!

'CELEBRATECELEBRATIONANNIVERSARYLIFE'

After the inspiration festival, the afternoon guests will meet the festival guests and the lustrum party will erupt around the castle. After renewing their acquaintance with friends and fellow students, and the impressive opening on the esplanade, all the guests will head for the festival tent where we will memorably celebrate 75 years of Nyenrode. With the castle as a backdrop, one of the Netherlands' best orchestras, The New Amsterdam Orchestra, will perform 75 years of history and music in a special and festive manner. This will be supported by video images of 75 years of Nyenrode by well-known artists! Candy Dulfer and top singer Ricardo (see also Can’t Stop The Feeling - Candy Dulfer, Ricardo & New Amsterdam Orchestra - YouTube) have been contracted and the Andre Hazes impersonator will, of course, also be present. The well-known female DJs from Dames Draaien Door will make the party complete.

AFTERPARTY

Celebrate Life we close in the Koetshuis with one of Holland's best party bands The Recipe, with, behind the drums, Nyenrodian Raimond van Maanen (19980095).

EVENING PROGRAM:

17.30: start of evening guests' reception on the forecourt of the castle

18:30: official opening party by spoken word artist Dichtwater

19.00: festival tent open for walking dinner and party

21:30 - 22:15: Show of force 75 years of Nyenrode with New Amsterdam Orchestra & Friends (including Candy Dulfer)

22:15 - 23:00: Ladies Turning on Last Set 23.00 - 01.00 : Afterparty at the Koetshuis with The Recipe

COLUMN

KAPÉ BREUKELAAR (19860015)

BBA Nyenrode is a partner of investment firm Amlon Capital. He previously wrote for eighteen years for The Telegraph and was a regular contri butor to the television program Kassa.

Taxation of wealth

In political The Hague, a debate has been going on for some time about the taxation of assets. The reason for this is a judgment by the Supreme Court, which ruled that savers paid too much tax in box 3 of the income tax. The tax should not exceed the actual return achieved. When the savings rate went towards zero percent, and even became negative, there was excessive taxation. The Supreme Court made short shrift of that. The Ministry of Finance must now come up with a solution for these cases. They are also thinking hard about a new system for taxing wealth. Wealth is taxed in Box 3 of the income tax in the current tax system. Excluded are the home, personal belongings, and the business. Anyone with assets exceeding the exemption of € 50,650 per person is taxed on the excess. First, a fixed return is calculated and then the tax is 30 percent. This fixed return increases in three steps to 5.53%. This high percentage applies to the part of the assets above €962,350 per person. At a tax rate of 30% you then pay 1.659% tax per year on the top of the assets. Regardless of the actual return achieved. Politicians sometimes get the heated debate completely wrong. Henk Nijboer, a member of the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA), claimed during a talk show that wealthy people were playing "tax tricks" by transferring their assets into a private company (BV). Those who bring their private assets into a BV exchange the taxation of box 3 for a combination of corporation tax and income tax in box 2. So how much tax do you pay if you make a five percent return on one million euros of assets contributed to a BV? From that € 50,000 return, 15% corporate income tax is first deducted. As soon as you distribute the remaining net profit of € 42,500 as dividend, you pay 26.9% tax on it in box 2. The net return is then € 31,067 and the tax authorities collect a total of €18,933.

That is almost 38% effective tax and 1.89% of the capital. Only for low-yielding assets, like savings and bonds, can a BV provide an advantage. Many politicians advocate a tax on actual returns. In doing so, not only the interest, dividend and rental income are taxed but also the capital gains realized. In itself, it is a fair system, but the implementation becomes very complex. In particular, the tax on capital gains makes it almost impossible to implement administratively. Real estate investors would have to keep track of all costs and investments made, while investors in securities would have to look at the historical purchase price to determine the profit. And do we use a FIFO system, a LIFO system or the average purchase price when selling securities? It also leads to undesirable behavior, such as delaying the realization of profits and accelerating the taking of deductible losses. The administrative burden will become enormous, and the tax benefits will fluctuate hugely. I would therefore like to argue for a simple solution, a minor adjustment to the current system. Anyone who can prove that the tax paid in box 3 in the last three years was more than 80% of the actual return achieved can get the excess back. By taking a period of three years you somewhat average out fluctuations in return. ♦

Kapé Breukelaar (19860015)

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Editor: Alumni Office - info@nyenrodealumni.nl

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Book that stands as an event!

ARGENTINE WINE IN PRIZES

The Pyros Limestone Hill Malbec 2018 has been named the best wine in Argentina. The label is owned by the Salentein Bodegas wine company, which was set up in Argentina by entrepreneur Mijndert Pon. The Dutch ceo is Sven Piederiet (19910337): "It's a huge honor. Fantastic! We've worked hard for years for this".

Under the inspiring leadership of Leon Kruitwagen (19850124), it's here: The Handbook of Strategic Event Marketing! It was created in collaboration with ten experts from the field, including Pieter Bas Boertje (19820013) and Norbert Pollemans (19960106). The book is an absolute must have for the event professional and student of the future.

A quarter century of Amstel LIVE!

Next year marks the 25th anniversary of De Vrienden van Amstel LIVE. In January, the biggest concert series

ever in the Netherlands will take place. To welcome as many friends as possible, Nl’s biggest Amstelpub will open its doors 20 times, together with the biggest artists of the country in a itatmosphere.fantasticForAhoy,isthelongestconcert

INVICTUS GAMES UNINTENTIONALLY TOPICAL!

CEO Invictus Games The Hague Conny Wenting (19880200) can look back on a successful event. With Prince Harry, the Royal couple and Prime Minister Marc Rutte, the Invictus Games were assured of international media attention. The Games were postponed twice due to the Corona pandemic, and this year the Games took place against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.

"We are grateful and touched by what a sporting event can contribute to the healing of physically and mentally wounded soldiers," said Conny Wenting.

series ever. Director Jolanda (20115705)Jansen is super excited to open the doors for Vrienden van Amstel. It will undoubtedly be a very special edition. It is also already as good as sold out! "

Galloping for Make a Wish

Frans Nijnens (19700064) is committed to Make-a-Wish and does so together with his Rotary Club International Hilversum. A few months ago, they organized a Riders for Good horse event, which raised more than 13,000 euros for MAW in one afternoon. Two of Holland's best riders were present, and, among other things, gave a clinic. Frans keeps galloping with new events!

BORN PERSONAL

Zeger Benjamin van Rijn 22-02-2022

Son of Mark van Rijn (20040096) and Jorinde Bauw and brother of Sterre and Vesper.

DECEASED

Reinier van Zuylen (19520096)

Kees de Kluyver (19670068)

Gaston Sporre (19670126)

Giel Coenjaarts (19610014)

Kelvin Vrede (20180093)

Mark Giesbers (19890047)

Joan Jannink (19540032)

Peter van Vugt (19700097)

Roef Hoeffelman (19520038)

Jan Jonkers (19460044)

Jan Wolff (19470087)

Hans Hilarius (19510027)

COLOPHON

VAN VERRE

VAN VERRE Is the official periodical of the Nyenrode Alumni Continuing Company of Distant Experience (VCV), Association of former students at Nyenrode and appears every three months in an edition of 5,900. 64th volume, May 2022, number 292

EDITORIAL Oele Steenks (19720057 BBA) - josteenks@planet.nl

ART DIRECTOR: Roos Jonker - ter Kuile

COORDINATION: Simone Daniëls (19960021)

EMPLOYEES

Liselotte van Dedem-Staal, Guido van Engelen (199200912), Madeleine Kemna (19850036 BBA), Ivo Knottnerus (200010413), Jan Meertens (19770073 BBA), Johannes van Wijk (20050348), Annemiek Wortel (19820136 BBA), LXXVIe Collegie der Heeren V, JCV Bestuur, VAS Bestuur

COLUMNISTS

Dr. Bo van der Rhee/NBU, Joep Stassen (19850083 BBA), Kape Breukelaar (19860015)

EDITORIAL ADDRESS AND SECRETARIAT Nyenrode Alumni VCV Office Nyenrode Business Universiteit Straatweg 25 3621 BG Breukelen t: (+31) 346 29 15 13 e:

IBAN:bank:w:info@nyenrodealumni.nlnyenrodealumni.nlINGBankBreukelenNL54INGB06573453 50, BIC: INGBNL2A

The membership fee is 75 euros per year, partner membership is 20 euros per year.

WHO IS DIGGING IN THE WOODS THERE?

ICT specialist Maurice Siteur (19790114) digs water channels and pits in the forest in his spare time: 'Not everyone understands why this is useful.' With his shovel he makes sure that the footpaths of the Klein Zwitserland forest, south of Amersfoort, are not washed away. He has been doing this for about five years. A very special activity!

ADS Nyenrode Alumni VCV Office t: (+31) 346 29 15 13 e: info@nyenrodealumni.nl

SUBSCRIPTION

As a member of Nyenrode Alumni VCV, you will receive Van Verre for free. ISSN 2405-626X

NUMBER 293 – DEADLINE July 25, 2022 – THEME Interest Rates & Inflation DEADLINE September 9, 2022

The digital editions of Van Verre in Dutch and English can be found at nyenrodealumni.nl. It is possible that the content of the magazine is indexed by search engines such as Google. On the platform you will also find the latest information. As a member you will also receive the digital newsletter eight times a year, which is complementary to this publication. The editors reserve the right at all times to refuse, shorten or otherwise edit copy. Placing copy does not imply that the editors always endorse the tenor of what is written. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an automatic database or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Nyenrode Alumni VCV.

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