The Nominating Committee, consisting of Olle Jansson and Jolande Svensson-Klijn, has been working on the recruitment of a new Chairperson for the Dutch Chamber since before this summer. Our recent chairman Maarten Merckx announced in June that it is time for someone else to take over as Chairperson after this calendar year. Of course we want to thank him for the fantastic work he has done during the past ten years! 

The nominating committee has interviewed all current board members and is in the process of meeting with all advisory board members as well as other stakeholders.

All input with thoughts on a new Chairperson or other relevant constructive feedback in this process is appreciated and we also encourage members that are interested to get involved in the board of the Dutch Chamber to contact Olle or Jolande (nomcom@dutchchamber.se) because except for recruiting a new Chairperson, the nominating committee is always interested to get in touch with possible candidates.

Please get in touch with us! And we will of course keep you updated on the process!'

/Jolande Svensson-Klijn and Olle Jansson

On August 28th, we had our traditional Back-2-work mingle, a way of getting professionally ready for the second half of 2019. This time at cocktailbar The Nest, Downtown  Camper Hotel, close to T-Centralen in Stockholm.

Members, our friends from the Swedish Chamber of Commerce and some new and old friends joined us.
A nice mixture of Dutch and Swedish professionals exchanging business experiences and getting some ideas for new activities and events. 

Thanks for coming and if you did not join now, please be welcome on one of our other activities in the upcoming months.

//Els Berkers

Rob van Liefland and his company Young Medical B.V. recently joined the Chamber as SME-member. Young Medical provides modular building and equipment solutions for the healthcare sector. Although the company is situated in Amersfoort (NL), they have a focus on  the Scandinavian market and in particular on Sweden. 

Who is Rob van Liefland?
Bringing creative solutions to the healthcare sector is my business drive, but travelling to far away destinations with my wife and three sons, is fighting for the top #1 priority of things to do in life.  After some studies in the healthcare sector I found my holy grail in bringing better healthcare closer to the patient against affordable pricing. In the early nineties I started a mobile medical servicing company together with my US business partner. We ran mobile MRI and CT- scanners in a full-service model at that time, including technicians and reading services. Later, because Holland being too small for our business, we expanded into the Nordics, including Estonia. 

After having sold the business, I worked as a consultant for smaller businesses that needed an introduction to the healthcare arena. And more recently, I established Young Medical together with my business partner Arjan de Rijke, to serve hospitals with temporary and permanent modular facilities for the operating- and diagnostic departments. This year we e.g. design and deliver a minor injury facility for Edinburgh, a temporary operating theatre complex for Bergman Clinics in The Netherlands and a permanent operating theatre complex for the academic hospital in Malmö, Sweden. As we have great experience in building high care facilities, and because we are brand independent, hospitals trust our expertise and accept our advisory role in the creation of solutions to their needs. 

What are your ambitions in Sweden?
We expect a growing position in Sweden, as most operating theatres in Sweden are aging and need refurbishment or renewal within the next years. In both situations we can help, either with bringing our temporary solutions or with building permanent facilities. Our experience learns that the Swedes are open to innovations and because we bring novelties from all over Europe, we are a well seen spokes partner. The price level in Sweden is quite good compared to Holland, thus producing our products (modules) in The Netherlands and shipping them to Sweden brings additional profits, nevertheless the transport cost.

What made you become a member of the Dutch Chamber?
Our business is built on partnerships and collaborations with many parties in- and outside the healthcare sector. With becoming a member of the Dutch Chamber, we expect to establish connections with experienced father landers to help us broaden our network in this beautiful country. We hope to meet with you all during one of the upcoming events this autumn.


/Marion Norman

Last week, our event Challenges for Migrant Entrepreneurs in Sweden took place at the Dutch Embassy in Stockholm. The Ambassador of the Netherlands, Mrs Ines Coppoolse inspired with her introduction on the topic of the evening.
Natasha Webster and Karen Haandrikman, researchers from Stockholm University, presented their research about the challenges that women migrant entrepreneurs face when starting their business in Sweden.  We then listened to the personal stories of migrant entrepreneurs Virginie Garcia, and Wendy Heijne, exemplifying the research on its topics and emphasizing the need of being persistent and having a certain drive towards one’s goals. Being a bit “unswedish”.

The second panel with policy experts Sam Yildirim, Elisabeth Suzuki, Petya Thorne and Edgar Haverkamp went more into finding answers and opportunities, and the audience of around 45 people was engaged and eager to discuss with the panel. The evening as a whole was moderated by Ruben Brunsveld who asked thought-provoking questions and engaged the audience in a great way.  
Following the panel and the discussions, it seems Sweden as a country has some particular obstacles to overcome for migrant entrepreneurs. One of the discussions focused on the example of the mastery of Swedish language as being critical in order to be successful as a migrant entrepreneur in Sweden.

We look forward to continue the discussions and follow the development in this important field.
We thank the Embassy of the Netherlands, Stockholm University, the involved entrepreneurs and policy experts for making this event come true and all guests for coming and for engaging in the discussions!

/Els Berkers and Joep van Ool

A seminar report with more thorough information about this topic can be found at the website of the Dutch embassy. Read here.

Flavio Santos is the Swedish country manager of Signify (formerly known as the lighting division of Philips). They joined the Dutch Chamber this spring as a corporate member.   Some of our members might have met Flavio at the Annual Dinner in March. For those who didn't, we interviewed Flavio to find out more about him and Signify’s current relation to Philips. 

Who is Flavio Santos?
I am a Brazilian but have lived in Sweden for 21 years now, which I enjoy very much. I am currently the Country Manager and Professional Channel Director for Sweden at Signify. This means that I am responsible for the B2B part of the company where we address the customers in the private and public sector ranging from all types of lighting  applications in segments like industries, offices, retail stores, hospitals, roads, streets, parks and arenas.

Could you please tell us a bit more about Signify. What is the relation to Philips?
Signify is the new company name of the Lighting Division that spun off from Philips in 2016. Signify is an independent company listed on the stock exchange in Amsterdam (ticker LIGHT). We are the largest lighting company in the world and the leader in LED and connected light.
We have only changed the company name, we will still continue to sell and promote the world famous Philips brand in all our products, so for our customers the name change will not have any impact.

What is your experience with working with the Dutch?
From my experience there's a great fit with the Swedish business culture, where both cultures are for a more flat organisation and not so hierarchical. However, the Dutch are generally more aggressive and straight-forward in the way of doing business, which is inspiring and constructive.

How did you get in touch with the Dutch Chamber? 
Since we were part of Royal Philips, after we spun off from them, I was contacted by Maarten Merx and we started our discussions.

What are your expectations towards the Dutch Chamber of Commerce? How can the Dutch Chamber help you to achieve your ambitions?
It´s all about people! I expect that the Dutch Chamber will allow our company to be in touch with others that are looking for solutions or challenges where we can make a positive contribution. I also expect to be able to contribute to the network by sharing more knowledge about the lighting industry and how we can contribute to better well-being and a more sustainable world.

 /Els Berkers

Armand Scheijen recently joined the Gothenburg team and introduces himself here:

My name is Armand Scheijen and I will be supporting the Gothenburg team of the Dutch Chamber. 
Since I moved to Sweden in September 2014, being freshly graduated from Law school, several challenges and opportunities where served to me in a pretty short time.
Moving to Sweden and mastering the Swedish language was the first challenge, which opened more opportunities for me, of which a production and event management role within TEDxGothenburg was one.


​After 11 months in Copenhagen, I moved back to Gothenburg to start working with regulatory tasks at Volvo Cars headquarters. It's a role with international connections, a meeting place of different cultures and tons of legal challenges.
In the meanwhile enjoying the benefits of the Swedish work environment, the nature and all the good things Sweden has to offer. But still maintaining that bold and straightforward attitude the Dutch are known for.
 
Making new connections and increasing my network is something which gives me new energy and joy to develop myself and others to reach further than expected.
​
I am looking forward to meet you in the near future at one of the upcoming Dutch Chamber events.
​

For our event in Malmö on April 12 we decided to organize a good old Friday after Work with King's Day as a theme.
We turned out to be a very nice and enthusiastic group: attendees were dressed according to the theme and even though the event officially ended at 20.00, most of us stayed much longer!

More of these evenings to come after the summer! 
/Charlotta Feith