It is our great pleasure to invite you for the 2020 (Virtual) Netherlands India Business Meet (NIBM) scheduled on 22 October 2020 from 16.00-19.00 hrs CET in an online environment. The topic for this year will be “Operating in the ‘new normal’: the changed future of business & policy for the Netherlands-India business corridor”.
Each year NIBM attracts approximately 200 small-sized, medium-sized and multinational companies active in the Netherlands-India business area. Top level executives of leading companies in the field of Geopolitics, Education, IT will be our guest speakers to share their insights, latest developments and business prospects in our new shared reality shaped by COVID-19 and geo-political shifts.
We kindly ask you to Save the Date in your agenda:
Date: 22 October 2020
Time: 16.00-19.00 hrs CET
Venue: Online via Microsoft Teams
Within a couple of weeks you will receive your formal invitation with a detailed program and more information about our distinguished speakers.
Don’t miss this opportunity to take part in this flagship online business meeting within the Indo-Dutch business corridor.
We look forward to welcoming you on October, 22.
Please click on this link for the programand speaker overview.
Keep coming back to us, because we keep updating the program:
Theme: Operating in the ‘New Normal’: Changed Future of Business & Policy for The Netherlands-India Business Corridor
Date: Thursday 22 October 2020
Location: Online, MS Teams
Time: 16.00-19.00 hrs CET
Moderated by: Vidhya Sampath – Director Corporate Affairs Europe Tata Consultancy Services, VP Programs & Liaison to Advisory Board NICCT
16.00-16.05 Welcome by Edith Nordmann, Chairman NICCT (Managing Partner ACG International)
16.05-16.55 KEYNOTE SESSION
People across our 2 nations have spent the last months first accepting and processing then adapting as best as we could to the enormous impact of Covid-19- both immediate and ongoing. Experts now trace the onset of the pandemic to human activity and expect the present situation to continue well into 2021. Our previous ideas of normality in business, government and economic activity have changed, perhaps irrevocably. In this session we will focus on the theme topic for NIBM for this year: how business, government and political leaders in their professional capacities as well as individuals view the new normal and our future.
16.05-16.10 Keynote Address by Mona Keijzer – State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy
16.10-16.15 Address by H.E. Mr. Venu Rajamony – Ambassador of India to the Netherlands
16.15-16.20 Address by H.E. Mr. Marten van den Berg – Ambassador of the Netherlands to India
16.20-16.55 Panel discussion plus Q&A with keynote speakers and NICCT Patron members:
– Sudip Lahiri – Senior Vice President & Head Financial Services Europe – HCL Technologies
– Josu Devasia – Managing Director & Head – Tata Consultancy Services
– Vipin Moharir – Group CSO – Gateway Group
– Raymond Timmer – Senior Partner and Head of Strategy & Operations Advisory – KPMG The Netherlands
16.55-17.45 Policy Session
‘Shaping the new normal: How government policy and regulation will be redefined to support post-Covid India-NL business’
With Covid-19, the need for strong government institutions as well as regulation has never been more underlined since WW 2. With experts emphasizing that this may not be the last pandemic we will face, the need for international collaboration and coordination between governments on a number of areas becomes critical to building a resilient post-Covid world. How will the India-NL bilateral policy and trade relations have to be realigned to take the above into account. What will be the focus in the recovery period as well as in the ongoing building of a pandemic-resistant world.
Panel discussion:
- Jacco Vonhof – President of the Royal Dutch Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MKB-Nederland)
- Maria van der Heijden – Director MVO Nederland
- Harbeen Arora – Founder and Global Chairman – Women Economic Forum (WEF) & Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WICCI)
17.45-17.50 Pre-Recorded video – Sohang Sengupta – Founder Zero Dollar Security
17.50-18.40 Business Session
‘Shaping our new normal: Learnings from the business world’
The business world has suffered from the impact of Covid-19 but there have been many examples of resilience and innovation spurred on by this adversity. In this session we will focus on the practical learning from the last few months, the best cases and best practices which will be applied going forward into our new normal. What are the new opportunities and how businesses can take the learnings forwards to build more resilient companies/ organisations to better serve the India-NL business corridor.
Panel discussion:
- Opening address by Victor Everhardt – Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam
- Professor Dr. P.V. Aravind – University Groningen & Lead Negative Emission Program TU Delft
- Peeyush Kaushik – Head of Healthcare Innovation Centre & Business Leader – Philips
- Paul Schuilwerve – CEO & Country Head India – Rabobank
18.40-18.45 Vote of thanks and closing remarks
NIBM 2020 speakers are:
Mrs. Mona Keijzer – State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy
Mona Keijzer began her career in January 1991 as a legal policy officer serving the municipality of Waterland. From 1993 to 1994 she was a management trainee at Leiden University. She then held legal positions at the Gelderland Environment Inspectorate and the municipality of Almere.
In 1998 Ms Keijzer became a member of the municipal executive and deputy mayor of the municipality of Waterland. In 2006 she began working as a lawyer and certified mediator at the law firm Abma Schreurs Advocaten en Notarissen in Purmerend. In 2007 she became a member of the Purmerend municipal executive.
In 2012 Ms Keijzer became a member of parliament for the Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA), with policy responsibility for chronic care for older and disabled people, and later became spokesperson for hospital care and asylum, migration and integration policy.
On 26 October 2017 Mona Keijzer was appointed State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy in the third Rutte government.
H.E. Marten van den Berg – Ambassador of The Netherlands to India
Marten van den Berg is the Ambassador of the Netherlands to India, Nepal and Bhutan. Prior to his appointment as Ambassador, he served as the Director General, Foreign Economic Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands from 2015-2018.
Ambassador Van den Berg studied Economics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and was part of a Programme for Public Management at the University of Maryland, US and the Programme for Senior Executives of State and Local Government, John F. Kennedy School, Harvard University, USA.
His first entry into public life was as the Senior Policy Advisor of General Technology Policy, Ministry of Economic Affairs. His subsequent posts included, Deputy Chairman of the Working Group Technology Transfer at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Adjunct Secretary General at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Deputy Director Spatial Economic Policy. In 2001, he was appointed Economic Minister at the Netherlands Embassy in Washington; and returned to the Ministry of Economic Affairs as Deputy Director General of Foreign Economic Relations in 2004. In 2008, he was also appointed as the Director of Economic Diplomacy at the Ministry. In 2012, Ambassador Van den Berg was appointed as the Deputy Director General Foreign Economic Relations and then as the Director General Foreign Economic Relations in 2015.
H.E. Mr. Venu Rajamony – Ambassador of India to The Netherlands
H.E. Mr. Venu Rajamony is Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of the Netherlands since June 8, 2017. He is the Permanent Representative of India to the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and is also responsible for India’s relations with the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and other legal institutions in The Hague.
Ambassador Rajamony’s tenure of nearly three years has seen a vibrancy in India-Netherlands relations like never before with the exchange of several high level visits between the two countries including the first State Visit to India by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima in October 2019; Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s visit to India in 2018 ; Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Netherlands in 2017; visit by Indian Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishanker to the Netherlands; and visits to the Netherlands by Chief Ministers of Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal.
Ambassador Rajamony has authored much acclaimed books India and the Netherlands – Past, Present and Future (September 2019); What We Can Learn From The Dutch – Rebuilding Kerala post 2018 Floods (January 2019). The book on India and the Netherlands was released by the King of the Netherlands with the participation of the Queen of the Netherlands, Minister of Education and Culture and many other dignitaries. He has also to his credit an acclaimed monograph titled India-China-US Triangle: A Soft Balance of Power in the Making, and a coffee table book titled: India and the UAE: In Celebration of a Legendary Friendship.
Born on November 12, 1960, he holds degrees in Law from the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala; a Masters in International Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and a Certificate in Chinese language from University of Hong Kong. Mr.Venu Rajamony joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1986 and has served in Indian missions in Hong Kong, Beijing, Geneva and Washington, D.C. as well as the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. He was the Asia Foundation Fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC between 2001–2002; Consul General of India in Dubai from 2007 to 2010; and Joint Secretary and head of Multilateral Institutions Division of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Government of India from 2010-2012. He served as the Press Secretary to the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee for five years from August 2012- May 2017.
Venu Rajamony began his career as a journalist in Kochi with the English daily Indian Express, where he worked from 1983-86.
Mr. Venu Rajamony is married to Dr. Saroj Thapa, an educationist and has two sons.
Jacco Vonhof – President of the Royal Dutch Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MKB-Nederland)
Jacco Vonhof was previously chairman for the central region of the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW) and as such worked closely with his colleagues from MKB-Nederland in the region. In this role, he was a member of the executive committee of VNO-NCW.
Vonhof was also a member of the board of the OSB (cleaning companies) sector organisation, for which he was responsible for collective agreement negotiations, a member of the national advisory board of the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) and a member of the board of the Nazorgcentrum Intermezzo follow-up care centre in Zwolle.
Currently Jacco Vonhof is also Executive board member of the Social and Economic Council of The Netherlands (SER), Executive board member of the Labour Foundation (STvdA), Board member of the Bank Council of the Dutch Central Bank, Board member of the National Forum on the Payment System (MOB), Board member of the National Platform on Crime Control (NPC), Board member of the International Strategic Consultation (ISO NL) and Board member of the King Willem I Foundation.
Victor Everhardt – Deputy Mayor for Finance and Economic Affairs – City of Amsterdam
Victor Everhardt has been Deputy Mayor in Amsterdam since 2019, where he is responsible for Finance, Economic Affairs, Schiphol, Harbour, Zuidas, Municipal holdings and Marineterrein. Prior to becoming Deputy Mayor in Amsterdam, Mr. Everhardt was Deputy Mayor in Utrecht (2010-2019) . He was responsible for, among others, Public Health, Youth, Work and Income, Environment and Real Estate. In Utrecht he was also responsible for the redevelopment of the Station Area, including the development of the biggest bicycle parking of the world.
He was Chair of the Trimbos Institute Youth Centre (2006-2010) and held several policy positions at Dutch ministries. He holds degrees in Law and History from Utrecht University.
Edith Nordmann – Chairman – NICCT – Opening Plenary Session – Keynote address
Edith Nordmann is next to being the Chairman of NICCT also Managing Partner at ACG International in Amsterdam.
Edith has an expert qualification in employment law, and is experienced corporate and commercial litigator, who has been representing both companies and private individuals in highly complex matters. Her practice also covers cross-border transactions, contract disputes, and national and international litigation. In addition, she is a certified mediator, who assists her clients in finding amicable resolution of their disputes.
Being fluent in German (native speaker), English, Dutch, French and Italian, Edith is not only able to communicate with many of her international clients in their mother tongue, but also to understand the difference in mentality, culture and legal systems. This puts her in a unique position to resolve cross-border issues.
Edith successfully combines her professional career with numerous charitable and social organizations, where she uses her expertise, not only to help others but also to empower them in their endeavors. Among many other commitments, she is also Vice Chairman Supervisory Board of Housing Corporation Rochdale.
Sudip Lahiri – Senior Vice President & Head Financial Services Europe – HCL Technologies
Sudip Lahiri heads Financial Services Group in Europe with focus on Benelux, Nordics, DACH, France and South Europe for HCL Technologies. With over 24 years of experience in IT and 20 years in Europe market, Sudip has some significant contributions towards HCL’s Global Financial Services Business and in managing top FS customers.
Sudip is a self-motivated and accomplished professional with a responsibility to work closely with opinion leaders, product partners, sourcing advisors and analyst’s community to improve visibility of the organization and grow the business in Europe. He has put a great effort and his dynamic thinking to build cXstudio, Co-Innovation Labs and Nearshore Centers. He is also globally responsible for managing few of HCL’s top financial services customers.
Sudip has been working for HCL for the last 21 years and has been instrumental in setting up and growing HCL’s business in Continental Europe.
Sudip holds a Master’s from Johnson & Wales University and a Bachelor’s in Science from University of Calcutta. He also holds an MBA from University of New Hampshire.
Vidhya Sampath – Director Corporate Affairs Europe – Tata Consultancy Services – Day Moderator
Vidhya Sampath serves as the head of Corporate and European Affairs for Tata Consultancy Services across TCS’ European operations. Prior to this she served as the Director External Relations for Europe and as the Marketing Head for TCS Benelux, a period that saw exceptionally fast growth for TCS.
Vidhya has served as the Director of the Europe India Institute at Nyenrode Business University and initiated the Netherlands India Institute.
As a private consultant she advised several major corporates and public institutions in Europe on business collaboration with India and has orchestrated several high-level missions to India.
Vidhya serves presently as a Vice President on the board of the Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce and Trade and is on the advisory Board to the Europe India Chamber of Commerce.
Vidhya holds a Bachelors degree in Architecture (cum laude), a Masters degree in Urban development and Housing Studies and a MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management.Vidhya is a fully certified yoga teacher and enjoys teaching and practicing yoga on a daily basis.
Josu Devasia – Managing Director & Head – Tata Consultancy Services Netherlands
Josu Devasia is the Head of Tata Consultancy Service’s Dutch business, which has been in existence for over 28 years, servicing over 50 customers, generating over 600 Mil EUR in revenues and supported by over 10,000 employees. He oversees strategic, customer, organizational and operational functions. Under his leadership TCS Netherlands has achived No.1 In customer satisfaction as recognized by Quint Whitelane Survey as well as No.1 Top Employer in the ICT sector as recognized by Top Employers Institute in 2020.
Prior to his appointment as head of Dutch business in 2019, Josu was the head of Sales for Dutch Market where he oversaw emergence of TCS as the industry leading provider with addition of Top Logos like Royal Dutch Shell, Royal AholdDelhaize, AkzoNobel, DamenShipyards into the TCS Customer Portfolio and enabling their jounrneys of simplification and digital transformation. His extensive experience in leading global, diverse and multi-cultural teams and managing executive level relationships has had a notable impact on not just clients, but TCS as well.
Josu has been with TCS since 2004, and prior to his contribution in the Netherlands, he has worked to grow and transform businesses and build long-term partnerships in USA, France, South Africa and India.
Josu belives in maintaining proactive and productive client relationships. He enjoys the challenges that change and growth bring to business and strategy. Personally as well, his passion for long distance running compliments his agile mind-set. He participates in various long distance runs internationally, including the TCS Amsterdam Marathon and the TCS New York Marathon.
A Chartered Accountant by Qualification, he also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in International Business and Strategy from the University of Amsterdam.
He is based in Amsterdam, where he lives with his wife, two children and a dog.
Vipin Moharir – Group CSO – Gateway Group
Vipin Moharir is co-founder of The Gateway Corp. In his role as Group Chief Strategy Officer, he is responsible for Strategy, Execution and Results at The Gateway Corp, that includes multiple Brands and presence in 16 countries.
Vipin also heads Group’s venture funding activities through Quantum Growth Venture and is responsible for global inorganic initiatives (‘Buy & Build’) of The Gateway Corp.
With a unique blend of Indian background, combined with Dutch/International exposure, he has evolved into a serial entrepreneur at ‘heart and soul’.
Vipin is an ‘InspirAgent’ with over twenty five years of managerial and consulting experience. Vipin has (co-) founded several start-up’s in IT & other sectors. Vipin is known for his hands-on approach for business acceleration and innovation. Vipin has built and managed internationally diverse teams and business units in multiple countries.
He appears frequently in the media and regularly speaks at events. Vipin was involved in The Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce and Trade (NICCT) as an active Board Member (8 years) and as Chairman NICCT (2015-2017).
Vipin believes fervently that “There is no substitute for hard work”.
Raymond Timmer – Senior Partner and Head of Strategy & Operations Advisory – KPMG The Netherlands
Raymond Timmer has over 20 years experience in financial and strategic consulting at KPMG focusing on M&A, Growth and restructuring. He has worked on over 350 projects since joining KPMG in 2000. His project experience includes commercial due diligence, growth/expansion strategy, restructuring/turn-around, financial due diligence and business plan development/vendor assist.
Raymond Timmer started at financial due diligence and was part of the team that set up strategy within KPMG NL. Until 2012 he worked in the capacity as Advisory Lead at the India Desk. Between 2012-2016 he established the Turkish strategy team and came back to re-lead the Dutch Deal Strategy team in 2016. Currently he leads Strategy & Operations which includes specialised industry teams such as Healthcare, Financial Services and Public Sector as well as functional centres of excellence, such as People & Change, Customer & Brand Strategy and Deal Strategy.
Maria van der Heijden – Director – MVO Nederland
Set your goals high and you won’t miss them. It’s what Maria van der Heijden has been driving all her life. As a farmer’s daughter, she knows better than anyone the impact companies can have and the power to change they possess. She is convinced that companies should cooperate to make the world a better and fairer place. As an inspirer, connector and entrepreneur with (inter)national experience, she now leads MVO Nederland, Europe’s largest sustainable business network.
Maria previously shared her life motto in positions at large companies such as Rabobank and Randstad, but also in SME companies such as the Royal FloraHolland flower auction. As the responsible CEO of MVO Nederland, she is proficient in stakeholder management, governance, revenue models, corporate social responsibility and marketing. Maria is your speaker if you are looking for someone who knows everything about creating value for people and the environment, without losing sight of the traditional profit and loss account. Maria always thinks and acts in the interest of customers by working specifically on corporate social responsibility.
Another big and high-impact goal of Maria is to help one million women in the Indian countryside get a job. To make this a reality, she founded Women on Wings in 2007, together with Ellen Tacoma. As a result, more than a quarter of a million jobs have been created. It proves once again that setting high goals works.
Maria van der Heijden is a woman who follows her heart. That passion and pleasure is the guiding principle in her (business) life.
D. Paul Schuilwerve – CEO Country Head – Rabobank India
Mr. Schuilwerve has a masters in Business Administration – Erasmus University Rotterdam (specialization Marketing Management). He commenced his carreer at the Corporate & Investment Banking Group of Bank Mees & Hope in 1986. Since 1995, embarked upon an international career with a focus on Trade & Commodity Finance with secondments in Hong Kong / Shanghai, Londen and Singapore. From 1998-2003, he was appointed as deputy general manager of Fortis Bank, Singapore branch. In 2006, he was appointed as a Managing Director & Global Head of Commodities in Amsterdam. In 2008, he got appointed as Senior Managing Director of Merchant Banking Asia Pacific. In November 2008, he became CEO Asia Pacific at Fortis Bank Nederland & Country Executive Singapore. On July 1th 2010, he got appointed as Country Executive Singapore and Head of Merchant Banking Asia and a member of the ABN Amro Management Group. In 2011, he got appointed as MD & Head of Corporate Banking International at ABN Amro. In December 2017, he got appointed as CEO & Country Head India at Rabobank and as a member of the Asia Leadership Team. Mr. Schuilwerve holds board & advisory member positions with Singapore Flyer Pte LTD, Evo-Fenedex, Netherlands Council of Trade Promotion, International Chamber of Commerce Netherlands, Erasmus University – School of Economics Marketing, India Netherlands Business Association (Mumbia) and the WBCSD India.
Prof. Dr. P.V. Aravind – Professor of the Chair of Energy Conversion at University of Groningen & Process and Energy Lab of TU Delft
Prof. Dr. P.V. Aravind at the University of Groningen is appointed as the Professor of the Chair of Energy Conversion. He did his MSc thesis research at Delft University on “Generation of Electricity and Heat using Biomass Gasification, Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and Micro turbines” and received his MSc from University of Oldenburg, Germany. In 2007 he finished his PhD at TU Delft with a thesis titled “High-efficiency energy systems based on biomass gasifiers, SOFCs with Ni/GDC anodes and gas turbines”. He is involved in the supervision of research activities related to the development of fuel cell systems, electrochemistry of fuel oxidation at SOFC anodes, thermodynamic modeling of power plants, gasifier-fuel cell systems, biosyngas cleaning etc. He teaches courses on fuel cell systems and thermodynamics of energy conversion. He supervises a group of 10 PhD students and several researchers/ research students on topics related to fuel cells. He is a member of International Energy Agency SOC annex and acts as a member of the steering committee of European Energy Research Alliance Joint Program on Fuel Cells and Hydrogen. At Delft University of Technology, he is active in setting up the TU Delft “Negative Emissions” program.
Peeyush Kaushik – Head of Healthcare Innovation Centre & Business Leader – Philips
Peeyush, Global Mobile Surgery Business Leader and Head of Healthcare Innovation Centre Pune, joined Philips in 2017. Peeyush brings a broad range of strong leadership experiences in healthcare & heavy engineering industries while working in Stryker, GE, Cummins and Cargotec in past. Peeyush led diverse businesses in startup, growth, realignment & turnaround situations including setup a Global Technology Center in Pune, realignment of several Global R&D centers worldwide and turnaround the business by improving product profitability and operational efficiency. Peeyush started his career in GE as Design Engineer and worked in US and Europe earlier in his career.
Peeyush holds Masters of Technology from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur India and Leadership education from IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Peeyush loves reading business articles, listening Ghazals and spending time with his family.
Sohang Sengupta – Founder and CEO – ZeroDollarSecurity
Sohang is the Founder and CEO for ZeroDollarSecurity a Top 10 CyberSecurity Solution Providers in India, as regarded by CIO Insider India. A Final Year Engineering student with Computer Science majors, Sohang was a selected candidate for KWHS Global Young Leaders Academy, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania and also for Massachusettes Institute of Technology BootCamp for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. He has been a presenter at Cyber Secure Conclave, Indian Chamber of Commerce and Confederation of Indian Industries(East).
As an Undergraduate student, Sohang also Head’s the IEM-Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Cell, funded by Department of Science and Technology, Govt of India.
