The Dutch Chamber celebrates 20 years of networking this year and this inspired us to interview former board members who were active in the founding period of the Chamber. We start off with Jasper van Dorrestein, former trade officer at The Netherlands embassy.

​How did you get involved with the Dutch Chamber and what was your role? 
Working for the Netherlands Embassy trade department, we noticed a need for Dutch entrepreneurs to congregate and rely on a pivotal point to meet with fellow professional country(wo)men and Swedish business counterparts. As a trade officer, I happened to be in the fortunate position to welcome many Dutch corporate professionals as well as entrepreneurs in Sweden and built an extensive network. 
It eventually ensued in forming the Dutch Chamber, together with a team of great people (the first Executive Board, Advisory Board and the Regional Managers): the founders of the Chamber with a total of 22 volunteers in seven subsidiary offices in Sweden and the Netherlands. 
 
What were the challenges faced during the first starting period of the DC?
Any new entity needs to create its place in a trade promoting constellation that, at that point, logically considers itself to be sufficient to its potential audience. It’s been a challenge to earn our birthright, convincing all parties, target audience and authorities involved of the Chamber’s right of existence and reason to be, its purpose and give evidence that there’s sufficient critical mass to found it. Today’s position of the Chamber proves that we weren’t totally wrong at the time and ‘were out and cycling’. 
 
What were your best memories from that period?
Undoubtedly, the very moment that I witnessed the Swedish Ambassador in the Netherlands and the Netherlands Ambassador to Sweden literally tied the knot on stage, marking the starting moment and recognition of the Chamber, with all 22 volunteers on stage and the Embassy ballroom full of some 150 supporting attendees. I extremely much enjoyed the passionate atmosphere and driven energy with all founders involved at the time, the great inspiring fun meetings we’ve had and the many good moments we spent together working at something great. Sounds a bit American, but that’s how we all lived it, I think. I’m also very grateful to the people and good friends that over the years presided over the Chamber, making it prosper.
 
What do you do nowadays?
After my unforgettable eight years in Sweden, I moved to work for the embassy in Brussels and ten years ago was asked to found the Netherlands Business Support Office in Barcelona for our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Having helped many companies over the years and building the professional network, becoming an international Business Development consultant was a given. I currently work as VP Global Sales for Rojo Consultancy, a Dutch IPaaS/software company with HQ in Breukelen, but based on the beach of Castelldefels, nearby our Barcelona branch office.  
​I’m a proud father of two 100% Dutch + 100% Swedish children of which one will assume her career with the Swedish Chamber in the Netherlands this Summer. In that respect, I can’t think of a more elegant and remarkable completion of the Swedish-Dutch trade promoting circle. 

​/M.N.

It was really great seeing each other in real life at our Dutch Chamber event on 3 March in Malmö. Stratiteq and its Dutch CEO Frank Hennekens hosted the evening and talked us through his experiences as leader in different settings and specifically in Sweden.
Frank told a very open and interesting story about making strategic choices and sticking to them, which being triggered by many questions. As always we ended the mingle with some drinks and warm Dutch treats.

We’ll look forward to see even more attendees on our Kings Day event in Malmö in April. Invites will be sent shortly.

/W.R.

The second Walk & Talk of 2022 in region West took place in the historical district of Haga in Gothenburg. A professional tour guide from Crime Walks shared stories about all the killings, fights, bank robberies and prostitution that took place in the neighbourhood back in the days.
She showed us a haunted house, prison and brothels. After all this dark and cold news, participants gathered in Le Pub, where Christiaan Winckel from Jaktia explained us how it is to be working for Sweden's largest retail chain for hunting and fishing equipment. 
We thank everybody for making this walk again a very inspiring meeting! 

This Walk and Talk was powered by our partner Philips, and every participant was offered a Philips light bulb to light up the dark days.

Join us for our next Walk and Talk on April 27 - a royal walk to celebrate King's Day. ​

/Team West

At the Annual General Meeting on 23 February two new board members were elected: Lotte van der Vaart and  Johannes Pastoor. Welcome to you both!
Re-elected for a 2 year period were chair Els Berkers, Frank Cleeren board member Events and Annika Närling, board member Communications. Manuel Harmsen did not have to be re-elected, as he was elected for a 2 year period last year.

We said good-bye to Olle Jansson and thanked him for his years in the nominating committee, Jacques Pellis has been voted as his successor. Our plans and budget for 2022 were approved. 
Thank you Kim de Jong Deputy Ambassador for the Netherlands in Sweden for your kind words on our cooperation and explaining the role of the Embassy towards businesses.

Events
Regional directors Stefanie Brinkman, Inge Vriese, Viola Pettersson Vergouwe, Esther Meulenberg, Bram Nabuurs and Wouter Ridder already planned 29 events for this year. They shared their favourite events with the audience.

Visit Sweden
Jeffrey Kusnadi from Visit Sweden in the Netherlands ended the meeting with a presentation of the Discover the originals campaign from Visit Sweden (look it up on youtube!) and showed how easy the use of Upplevelseguiden is to discover touristic destinations in Sweden.

​/Els Berkers

On Thursday 10 February we welcomed Laura Weller, intercultural business consultant, on the stage for an interactive webinar on cultural awareness and working successfully in a multicultural environment. 
In a group setting with participants with Swedish, Peruvian and Dutch nationality, we worked towards gaining a better understanding of the dimensions of culture and the impact of cultural diversity on business practice. Best practices and personal experiences were shared and Laura offered us the tools to ensure we use our cultural differences to improve our multicultural working relationships. 

We would like to thank Laura and all participants for an active, engaging and informative workshop! 

​/I.V.

What is Intertrust Group about? 
Intertrust Group is a leading global provider of quality expert management and administrative services, listed at Euronext in Amsterdam. Intertrust operates with over 4,000 professionals from 45 offices in 30 countries. This is amplified by the support we offer across our approved partner network which covers a further 100+ jurisdictions. Key elements for Intertrust are - and always will be - our professional and experienced staff, our personal approach to clients, our quality services, and our responsiveness. 
 
Intertrust Sweden is the largest Swedish professional service provider and operates with 70 employees in offices in Stockholm and Malmö serving over 800 client entities. Intertrust Sweden’s philosophy is to be a one stop shop for any legal or financial management or administrative need providing high-quality support at all levels. Our core business includes to incorporate, domicile (i.e. providing address and postal services), and manage companies and structures for our clients on a global or local level. The services further include the provision of board members, process agents and tax representatives, organisation of shareholders’ meetings and board meetings, administration of Incentive Programs/Share Plans, liquidation services, regular bookkeeping and statutory accounting, bank account set up and administration, escrow services, payroll administration, tax and employer registration as well as other services as required by our clients. 
 
In addition to our corporate services, we provide various other services including fund set-up and administration, foundation administration, agent and bondholder’s representative services, depository services, and private client services. We cooperate with major Swedish and international law firms, tax advisors, banks, and auditors, complementing each other’s services.
 
What could Intertrust Group offer our members?
Our connection to the Netherlands is strong, not least due to our Dutch heritage since our start of business in 1952, our listing at the Amsterdam stock exchange and our headquarter in Amsterdam. We also work closely with our 500+ Dutch colleagues as well as Dutch law firms, tax advisors, and banks that advise Dutch clients taking ventures abroad. For customers, this means that we work jointly as a one stop shop for Dutch companies taking their business to Sweden and the Nordics. 
 
Your last name sounds Dutch. What is your own connection with the Netherlands and Sweden? 
Originally, I am from Leiden in the Netherlands. My connection with Sweden actually started through the language rather than the country. At a young age, I picked up the sounds of the Swedish language. Out of curiosity, I taught myself Swedish in a natural way by reading books and watching television, until I was basically fluent. During my law studies at Leiden University, I simultaneously studied two years of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Amsterdam, with Swedish and Danish as main languages. I had a wish to do my master’s studies abroad, and a move to the Nordics felt logical. In 2015, I moved to Lund to study a master’s programme in law at Lund University. I stayed until 2019 and did amongst others an internship with the Netherlands Embassy in Copenhagen. Not totally unexpected, it has been easy to integrate as there has never been a language barrier for me in the Öresund region, and I felt very much at home. After a short period back in the Netherlands for a work opportunity, I felt that I was happier in Sweden and moved back to Lund. In 2021, I left Skåne for Stockholm to start working for Intertrust as a legal associate.
 
What are your expectations regarding your membership with the Dutch Chamber?
For Intertrust, we would like to maintain and expand our Dutch business network by meeting potential business partners and clients, and to share information with the members of the Dutch Chamber about possible solutions for Dutch businesses in the Nordics. We also look forward to participating in the variety of interesting events the Dutch Chamber organises.
Personally, I would like to broaden my professional network in Stockholm through the membership, as I am (relatively) new to the city. So far, I have already had the chance to meet a lot of nice people, working in many different sectors. I hope to be able to contribute to the members of the Dutch Chamber with my knowledge of both Dutch and Swedish corporate law. If your company has any questions about how to establish a company, or where to begin with setting up a business in Sweden (or in the Netherlands), I am always happy to meet up for a cup of coffee to share my knowledge.
 
/MN

Can you tell us more about Skeppsbron Skatt?
Skeppsbron Skatt is Sweden’s largest independent tax advisor with about 70 employees at our offices in Stockholm,  Malmö and Gothenburg. We are a full service advisor and we handle all types of tax issues for both large, small companies and individuals. Our consulting is independent from auditing and we offer a unique alternative to the tax advice provided by audit firms. 
Skeppsbron have the sector-specific expertise needed to provide advice that is tailored to our customers’ business – advice that adds value. We provide clear, specific advice, whatever the question is. We give honest answers and have long experience of advising on a broad spectrum of complex tax issues.

Skeppsbron Skatt is part of Taxand, the world’s leading international network of independent tax advisers, which currently includes over 2,000 tax consultants in about 60 countries. This enables us to offer high-quality advice regardless of where in the world you as a customer have your business. The connection with our network colleagues in the Netherlands is strong due to the large amount of Dutch individuals working in Sweden and vice versa. Through the merger with Aspia, we are now part of Sweden’s new leading business partner for business-related services. For you as a customer, this means that you get access to an additional 1,450 specialists in payroll management, accounting and consulting in more than 70 locations throughout Sweden and specialists throughout the Nordic region. In other words, a one stop shop for Dutch companies taking their business to Sweden and the Nordics.
 
Your last name sounds Dutch. What is your own connection with the Netherlands? 
I have a Dutch mother and have grown up with the Dutch language. I decided to take my mother’s surname to state my Dutch inheritance and ensure the survival of our branch of the family name, dating back to the 13th century. Whenever I come across a Dutch native, either via work or in the street, my heart beats a bit extra hard. Even though Dutch are all excellent English speakers, it gives that extra feeling and connection to be able to use the Dutch language. My call is and has always been to help and facilitate so that my clients can focus on what they do best. Tax is hard and tax is important. Being strategic up-front makes life simpler and even though most situations can be sorted out afterwards, the price and frustration connected to this, is preferably avoided. With Skeppsbron and Aspia’s broad offer, I hope to get to assist Dutch companies who wish to expand their business to Sweden and the Nordics and also the owners and employees of the business, to ensure full compliance across the whole organization.
 
What are your expectations regarding your membership with the Dutch Chamber?
For me the expectation is both from a personal and business level. I hope to make many new acquaintances via the Chamber to broaden my Dutch network. Firstly, as I have little close family left in the Netherlands I would like to build a new circle; make new Dutch friends to spend time with both here in Sweden and the Netherlands. Secondly, I hope to be able to be that supporting pillar that newly arrivers need in Sweden. Someone to explain the culture (both business and leisure), how to communicate with authorities, how not to get scared off by the “extreme” tax rates, someone who supports with all the millions forms etc. In short, someone to facilitate life in the Swedish (tax) environment.
 /M.N.

55 members and guests were welcomed on 7th December at the Armé Museum. A night to remember with lots of time to meet, connect and mingle.
Jeroen van Halder, metal conservator at the Museum introduced himself and the professional journey he made, ending with some anecdotes about the work at the museum.
Chair Els Berkers looked back on the good year for the Dutch Chamber with 25 events during the year and on 7 December 116 members, an unique moment in the history of the Dutch Chamber. 
Els announced as well how the DC is going to celebrate 20 years of Dutch Swedish business networking. The Dutch Chamber will organise 3 Anniversary dinners: in Stockholm on 13 May,  in Malmö on 2 September and in Göteborg 18 November 2022. There will be a day programme to make it attractive for members and network to travel to this city.
The Dutch Chamber said goodbye to Håkan Westin, our secretary for the last 2 years and to Norah Jing Chu, or online event manager who is moving to the Netherlands.
It was a pleasure that our ambassador Bengt van Loosdrecht was present and said a few words on the importance of innovation and taking risks.  Then the glasses were raised and we all toasted on a good year to come.

Almost 30 guests followed to the restaurant Artilleriet, where we had a lovely dinner and much more time to catch up.

We thank Jeroen van Halder for the very interesting presentation, Frank Cleeren for organising and Dirk Carlier for the help during the evening.