Henk Hatzmann from Streetlife in Malmö has been a member since 2011 and we thought it was about time to learn more about him. 

How did you end up in Sweden?
In 2003 I went on a year-long backpacking trip to Australia during which I met my Swedish wife.
Since this trip we have been living in both Sweden and the Netherlands and in 2010 we decided to move to Malmö and try to build up a life here. In that period I was working as a design engineer for Streetlife in Leiden which is an outdoor furniture design company. As I was moving to Sweden the company showed interest in starting an office for the Nordic market and asked me to perform a market research. The research had interesting results and there seemed to be great potential for us to expand on the Nordic market. We officially started the office in January 2011 and since then I have been working on developing the business. 

What kind of company is Streetlife?
Streetlife designs and develops outdoor furniture like seating, planters, bicycle parking but also steel prefab pedestrian bridges.
Products are designed and produced in Holland. Part of our success besides the design is our flexibility to adjust our products to the plans of our clients.
Our clients are mostly municipalities, (landscape) architects, and housing corporations. Our products are placed on public squares, shopping streets and around universities, housing and commercial buildings.
Currently most specifiers know about Streetlife and most of the large Nordic cities are our clients. Because of the positive results Streetlife has used similar strategies to establish and develop in other countries/regions(EU/USA).
Besides being responsible for the Scandinavian office I am also Sales Manager for Europe and this function enables me to share my experiences and help increasing our presence in other European countries.

 Why did you become a member of the Dutch Chamber?
The Dutch chamber for me is a place to meet inspiring people and see career opportunities.
Our clients and specifiers are persons that work in various professional fields. Therefore the chance of meeting people at events that somehow are connected with our products is quite high.
 
/Marion Norman

At our Annual Meeting we elected three new board members: Håkan Westin (secretary), Annika Narling (communications) and Frank Cleeren (members and events). We asked Annika and Frank to introduce themselves below. Click here to read more about Håkan.  

On Thursday the 13th of February we combined our well-attended Annual Meeting with a very interesting keynote about the importance of the European Green Deals and mingle at the Residence organised by Ambassador Mrs. Ines Coppoolse.

During the formal part of the evening Chairman Maarten Merckx gave a.o. a further clarification of our activities in 2019, member development and operational result together with treasurer Rex Schothorst.
If you are interested to read more, use this link to get access to our Annual Report 2019.
With 44 participants of which 33 voting members and 4 proxy votes, the quorum agreed to discharge the board from their liability.  ​

On the 23rd of February, the Dutch Chamber organised its first event of the year in Malmö, region South. 
It was a great pleasure to welcome our members and guests to Starters Café Djäkne. Founder and speaker for the evening Marvin Bonsen treated us to an inspirational talk on his amazing entrepreneurial journey.
He told us about developing internet content platforms as an incubator and selling them off whenever they, as he himself states “are becoming somewhat more corporate and compliance takes over”.  He mentioned Hemnet as an example, which is well-known. 

Many questions triggered lively conversations. It shows  what a person can achieve whenever you put your mind to it, and emphasizes that determination and persistency combined with a bit of luck, feeling for what the future might hold and lots of blood, sweat and tears will lead to success.

During the evening Wouter Ridder  and Bram Nabuurs, under the watchful eye of our boardmember Els Berkers and the honorairy consul of the Netherlands in southern Sweden mrs Kerstin Lindell, introduced themselves as the new regional directors.

To those who missed this great event, stay tuned and make sure you sign up for the next one in region South.

​/Team South

Bart Berens: “Succeeding in business is all about making connections”.
Personally I believe that everyone you’ll ever meet knows something you don’t. That’s why I decided to join the Dutch Chamber of Commerce when I moved to Stockholm together with my wife last summer.
As a person I am passionate about travelling, food and retail. In my last job as Head of Operations I was responsible for 66 supermarkets at Vomar, a Dutch supermarket chain. My primary responsibility was to lead the expansion and conversion of the formula, manage the day to day operations and strengthen our existing market.

None of the above could have been achieved without my network. Making connections has always been one of my top priorities and I find it stimulating to go out in de field and put words into action. That’s why I’m excited to be assigned as the new Regional Director of the Dutch Chamber in Stockholm. I look forward to make a positive contribution to our region together with Stefanie.
Let us enrich your professional life!
​
/Bart Berens

Stefanie Brinkman: “Every interaction is an opportunity to learn”. 
​As an entrepreneur myself, I have experienced the great value of building and maintaining a network. From both a personal and business perspective it can be truly refreshing to meet others who show you a different perspective on reality. I have learned and moreover enjoyed ‘the unexpected to happen’ especially being inspired by people with different backgrounds and experiences.

Since I have always been highly driven by the development of people and teams in organizations, I started my own organizational development company 7 years ago. As a change facilitator I have supported many management teams and their employees in being successful in their strategy deployment. During the years I developed myself more in human interactions which made me focus on training and coaching in personal leadership and team development.

​In the beginning of November, I moved to Stockholm together with my boyfriend Rob van Brunschot. As a naturally curious women and open to one’s personal drive and motivation, I was looking forward starting this new adventure. With a smooth start I am grateful for the many interesting and caring people I already have met. And again ‘the unexpected happened’: the Dutch Chamber of Commerce came across. I am honored and excited to be assigned as Regional Director of the Dutch Chamber in Stockholm together with Bart. This will be a beautiful chance to contribute to many more valuable interactions and connections.
​
/Stefanie Brinkman

We, the nominating committee, - Jolande Svensson Klijn and Olle Jansson- started our work for the 2020 AGM in May,  shortly after current chairman, Maarten Merckx, had announced his resignation effective as of the AGM 2020.
Recently another director, secretary Annemieke Ålenius, has made the same announcement. We also anticipate that in a years’ time the position of treasurer will become open. The AGM 2020 will have to decide/vote on two new board members, the chair and the secretary.
The Board currently consists of four board members working together with and with the support of the Patron, Ambassador  Ines Coppoolse, the Advisory Board, regional Directors, Committees and other devoted people.
In a structured format we invited members, stakeholders, board members and others to share their views and suggestions for the succession of the current chair and the expectations for a future chair of the Dutch Chamber as well as the composition of the year 2020 Board of Directors. 
Several in person, in depth interviews with major stakeholders and the current Board members have been performed. Substantial progress has been made in formulating our proposal to the upcoming AGM.
Thus far we have decided to propose Els Berkers, current Member Director of the Board,  for the position of chairwoman.   

Our work will continue to find new candidates to replace Annemieke Ålenius at the AGM 2020 and the Treasurer, Rex Schothorst, at the AGM 2021. Together with the board we wish to create a list of  candidates in order to plan for a sustainable and long-term future succession plan . We welcome potential candidates to contact the nominating committee with their interest in board positions at nomcom@dutchchamber.se.

Jolande Svensson-Klijn and Olle Jansson

A few months ago, Rob van Brunschot was appointed as country manager for our corporate partner Signify. He is the successor of Flavio Santos (whom we interviewed in May this year). We asked Rob van Brunschot to introduce himself:

Before coming to Sweden, I have been the Head of E-commerce for Signify in the Benelux for the consumer lighting part of our organisation. For those who don´t know Signify, it is the new company name of the 128 years old Philips Lighting. I also started my career at Signify in 2008 and have been in various positions, ranging from B2B, B2C and OEM, but always closely related to customers.
 
What made you accept this challenge in a new country?
First of all because it is Sweden. In 2007 I studied for half a year in Sweden and fell in love with the country. But next to the country it was the position and the challenge of going to a new culture abroad to see if I can unlock the potential of others here too. The position of Country Manager was the next step I was looking for. It has a much broader scope than my previous position and it's still at the company that I love to work for. Also, in Sweden my personal values of entrepreneurship, winning and customer focus can be put into practice.
 
What are your expectations with regards to the development of Signify in Sweden?
Our organisation is going through a big transformation. When I started in 2008 it was about the rise of functional LED lighting, but now we move into a company that delivers complete IoT connected systems & services, using light as a data collector that generates value beyond just illumination.
That journey brings so many new opportunities and innovations, like LiFi for example: fast, reliable internet via light. But also new business models as Light-as-Service and circular lighting. I want to drive that change and set-up an organisation and a strong team to captures these completely new revenue sources.
 
How can the Dutch Chamber support you in achieving your professional life goals?
The Dutch Chamber is of essential importance to a Dutch company in Sweden and to myself. Having a network around Sweden to have the voice of your company heard and learn from other successful organisations to drive growth, I do look forward to get involved with the Dutch Chamber and all it has to offer in the coming years.

/Els Berkers