Koen Eising

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Koen is the CSR Director at Alliander, one of the three major regional grid operators in the Netherlands, operating at the heart of the energy transition. Before joining Alliander, he worked for various consultancy firms at the intersection of organizational development and sustainability. Koen studied public administration and political science in Leiden and completed the post-academic program in Organization and Change Management at VU University. He recently finished the Comenius Philosophy Course. With this background, he is fascinated by how today’s large corporations dare to make significant decisions that are urgently needed. He is interested in understanding the leadership we should trust or distrust. Koen believes that public companies must play a leading role in the sustainable transition. He shapes this belief as the initiator of the Green Networks coalition, where 8 infrastructure companies collaborate intensively on climate, circular, biodiversity, and impact measurement. He is the chairman of the Infrastructure Value Theme Center of Next Generation Infra. Koen is also affiliated with the Impact Economy Foundation.

Personal motto

A sustainable world requires not money or technology but a different set of values.

Yente Morsink

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Professional Background

Since 2020, Yente has been working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Here, she primarily focuses on international corporate social responsibility. In the summer of 2022, she will embark on her first international assignment for the ministry. Yente’s academic background is in law. During her Master’s in Transnational Law at King’s College London, she specialized in human rights, specifically women’s rights and gender equality. She is particularly interested in topics such as diversity and inclusion.

Personal Motto 

Nee heb je, ja kan je krijgen.

Simone Filippini

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Professional Background

Simone Filippini is a former senior Dutch diplomat. Among others, she served as Head of the Gender and Women Rights department in the Netherlands MFA, Consul-General for the Southeastern US and Dutch Caribbean, and Dutch Ambassador to North Macedonia. In 2013 she became CEO of one of the largest Dutch humanitarian and development organizations Cordaid after which she served as interim ED of NIMD, the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy. In December 2018 Simone established the not-4-profit Leadership4SDGs Foundation which aims at capacitating and empowering government leadership to lead and drive achieving the SDGs.

Simone has been engaged in multiple voluntary functions and roles, including as the elected International Secretary of the National Board of Dutch political party D66, President of the Skopje International School, Board member of the CIDSE – together for Global Justice and of the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD). At present a.o. she is a member of the World Government Summit Dubai Global Council on SDG16, President of the UN Association for the Netherlands (UNANL), Member of the International Advisory Board of the Athena Management School in Mumbai, Member of the Supervisory Board of the Netherlands-African Business Council, President of the D66 local Chapter in her city of residence, and a regular contributor to Horasis. Mrs. Filippini is also a strategic adviser, communication expert, accomplished speaker (ZijSpreekt and Bookingworldspeakers.com), and facilitator.

Personal motto

If nothing is ventured, nothing is gained

Willem van Nieuwkerk

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Willem is currently serving as the Executive Director at the Center for International Legal Cooperation (CILC).

Professional Background

For the past 25 years, Willem has been involved in international cooperation projects in the public domain, with the last eight years specifically focused on the rule of law and international legal cooperation. He has extensive experience leading international teams and has lived abroad for twelve years. Willem has worked for the European Commission, and the German and French governments, and has also contributed to local NGOs. In his free time, Willem is the chairman of a large sports association with a significant community role. This allows him to be not only engaged in international work but also deeply connected to the local community. Willem believes in the power of engagement and connection, both internationally and locally.

Personal Motto

Start with individual strengths, but we achieve our goal together

Jack Cox

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Professional Background

Jack is the director/owner of Forza Asset Management, an independent asset management firm with offices in Maastricht, Eindhoven, and Apeldoorn. In 2018, he founded Econsenso with the aim of bringing attention to the financial aspect of sustainability. His book, “Butterfly Economy: From Growth to Development,” was published in 2019, describing the development of an economy that, following the laws of nature, transforms from a caterpillar, always wanting more, into a beautiful butterfly.

Personal Motto

We did not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.

Pieter Lossie

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Professional Background

Pieter is a political science student and works as a policy advisor at the VO-raad, where he is involved in shaping the future of education. Additionally, Pieter was one of the initiators of the large student strikes in 2019 advocating for more decisive climate policies. He served as the chairman of LAKS on behalf of secondary school students in the Netherlands for a year. He is part of Commission 2100, an initiative promoting the transition to broad prosperity. Lastly, Pieter is a social filmmaker.

Personal Motto

We zijn wel afgezonderd maar niet uitgezonderd.

Erik Breen

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Professional Background

Erik Breen is the founder of Infinsus and has the ambition to harness the power of capital for long-term value creation in a broad sense. He is dedicated to the integration of sustainability and finance. Erik has approximately 25 years of experience in institutional asset management, with a focus on impact investing, responsible investing, integration, and corporate governance. He has held various positions, including fund manager at Robeco and Triodos Investment Management, and has had additional roles at Eumedion, ICGN, and Integrated Reporting.

Personal Motto

“One color doesn’t make a rainbow.”

Ralien Bekkers

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Professional Background

After two years serving as the Dutch Youth Representative for Sustainable Development to the UN, from Rio+20 to COP20, Ralien Bekkers moved to the United States for a master’s program at Yale University. There, she worked on the agreement and implementation phase of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including at the office of the UN Secretary-General. Currently residing in Washington, Ralien works with an international coalition for the implementation of the Paris Agreement: NDC Partnership (ndcpartnership.org). From 2019-2021, the Netherlands co-chairs this coalition. Ralien collaborates with developing countries to accelerate the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), mobilize necessary financing, and enhance international ambition to implement climate actions in alignment with the SDGs.

Personal Motto 

“The greatest gift that life has to offer is the opportunity to work hard at work worth doing”
– Theodore Roosevelt

Marieke Rietbergen

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Professional Background

Marieke is the director and founder of Design Innovation Group (DIG). DIG is a strategic design consultancy dedicated to accelerating and improving transitions in organizations and society. The agency leverages creative intelligence, design thinking, and action, employing imaginative power, dialogue strength, and designing for behavior(change). This ensures a seamless integration of humans and technology.

Marieke studied occupational therapy (HvA) and political science (UvA) and previously worked at Nederland Kennisland, OMA – Office for Metropolitan Architecture, and as an independent professional for clients such as the creative industry top sector and Droog Design.

Marieke is a mother of two daughters and resides in Utrecht.

Personal Motto

Every day a wiser woman with beautiful stories.

Ewald Wermuth

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Ewald Wermuth is CEO of the European think and do tank ECDPM. ECDPM provides policy advice for governments and other institutions, especially on the field of EU-Africa relations. The think thank focuses on generating knowledge serving cohesive and inclusive development policy.

Professional background
Former positions were CEO International & Public Affairs at IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative and  permament representative at the UN organisations concerning food and agriculture, such as the FAO and IFAD. Next tot his, Ewald Wermuth held various positions in policy advising and management at various ministries and ambassies. He has gained much experience on developing partnerships with businesses during his time as Secretary-General of the MVO and IDH.

Personal motto
Policy matters!