Jochum Haakma
Chairman
Jochum Haakma, a lawyer by education, former career diplomat and expert in a.o. Trade and investment Promotion, served at a number of Dutch Embassies and Consulates General abroad, a.o. in 1986 as Commercial Counselor to The Netherlands Embassy in Jakarta. In 1989 he moved to the private sector, as Director of the Indonesian Netherlands Association (in fact the Indonesian-Netherlands Chamber of Commerce) in Jakarta.
In 1995 he followed a post-doctorate course at Harvard Business School.
From 1997 until 2006 he served as Consul General in Hong Kong/Macao and Shanghai respectively. In 2006 he was appointed Managing Director of the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), the executive organisation of the Ministry of Economic Affairs in The Netherlands.
In September 2007 he moved again to the private sector and was appointed Global Executive Director Business Development of the TMF Group BV in Amsterdam, where he was responsible for business development and branding of TMF worldwide. TMF Group is a global independent management and accounting outsourcing firm with more than 130 offices in over 80 countries. He resigned from TMF in 2018. Mr Haakma is also past Chairman of the China Group of the HFC (Holland Financial Centre) and past President of the Europe Council of the NCH. He is former Chief Advisor Public Affairs European Region for Huawei Technologies Co Ltd., one of the biggest telecom infrastructure suppliers in the world and for many years he wrote a monthly column about cultural differences in the China Times newspaper.
Concurrently he is Chairman of the Board of the EU-China Business Association (EUCBA) and Chairman of the Board of the NCBC (Netherlands China Business Council). Besides, he is one of the Vice Presidents of the Board of Directors of AmCham, Board member of ENACTUS, member of the International Steering Committee of Nyenrode University, Advisory Board Member of ChinaLux, Advisory Member of a number of China related institutions and a frequent guest speaker or commentator in the media on Asia related affairs.
He is also Non-Executive Director Amesto Global LLC and Member of the Board of Ambassadors of Hemingway (Corporate Finance Professionals).
In 2012 he received an honorary Doctorate Degree of the European University in Barcelona (Spain).
Boudewijn Poldermans
Vice Chairman
Boudewijn Poldermans is sinologist, entrepreneur and consultant. His career spans more than 40 years in academia and senior management positions in business- and financial advisory services, trade and investment consulting in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam, and strategic and political advice to European and Asian governments. Besides he was Honorary Consul to H.M. Queen Beatrix. He has represented and advised companies like Shell Chemicals, Dow Chemicals, Philips, AKZO, DSM, Damen Shipyards, IHC Holland, Gist Brocades, STORK, Océ, Wavin, Wessanen, Fokker, Lürssen and Heineken, and brings significant expertise to clients in research, M&A advisory services, lobbying, contract negotiations and out of court settlements. Since 2007 he has also advised many Chinese enterprises about forming strategic alliances, joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions. He has a vast network of personal relationships with top level business- and government contacts and is a regular speaker, lecturer or moderator at national and international universities, conferences and round tables involving management, economic, finance and political issues relating to China and Vietnam and is a regular radio and TV commentator. He has received broad education with multiple university degrees in Europe and Asia.
Jacco Bouw
Jacco Bouw founded Webpower in 1999. AgencyChina was incubated and spun out of WebPower, a marketing automation business.
During his professional career he focused on the development of the e-mail marketing and marketing automation-industry in The Netherlands and China. In China he collaborated with the Government to draft an anti-spam law for e-mail marketing and introduced the concept of marketing automation. Other concepts such outbound marketing and customer journey are also tailor made for Jacco.
AgencyChina was founded to help bridge the gap between what brands need when they’re in China, and what help they typically receive from service providers.
Today, AgencChina operates across China and Europe, with offices in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Amsterdam.
Its team in Amsterdam works to understand client ambitions and our teams in Shanghai and Hangzhou work to execute against these ambitions.
Floriske Deutman
Dutch Sino Business Promotions
Floriske Deutman-Bodisco Massink (1977) holds two master degrees in Sinology and International Business. During her studies, she lived in Shanghai for half a year.
She is managing partner Dutch Sino Business Promotions B.V., a consultancy firm specialized in building bridges between Dutch and Chinese businesses and governments. The international project team, consisting of 11 professionals in the DSBP offices in Rotterdam and Shanghai, has various expertise and skill across the focusing sectors, Governmental Relations, Horti-Agriculture and Environmental Resources Management.
Floriske has the ability to connect people and business. She has many years of experience in guiding and advising Dutch companies entering the Chinese market and vice versa, specifically in the areas of modern horticulture, sustainability and governmental relations. She is board member of Tomatoworld in Westland, a research and demonstration tomato greenhouse focusing on data-drive automated growing.
Floriske is politically active as a board member in the Working Group for Energy & Climate for political party D66 in the Netherlands and she is board member in the foundation Energytransition & Nuclear Energy (SEK).
Marie-Anne Souloumiac
Marie-Anne Souloumiac 高若兰 is a development and communications specialist with a Dutch, French and Chinese background. She graduated from Goldsmiths College, University of London with a Master’s degree in Visual Anthropology. Marie-Anne was previously the China coordinator for the Dutch Design Fashion Architecture government programme and the general manager of Perfect Crossovers the Paris – Beijing creative consultancy. She has been working in the creative sector across The Netherlands, France, The UK and China for the last fifteen years.
Marie-Anne founded Muzine consultancy in 2019 to stimulate best practices and new models between different cultures and disciplines with clients from both the government and private sector. She is a founding member of China Europe Design a platform which promotes joint green and social design initiatives between Europe and China. She regularly contributes to China related events as a curator, moderator and speaker.
Eduard Ma
Eduard Ma is a Computer Science graduate at TU Delft. Besides science and engineering, he has a strong interest in global politics and the Asian culture. Through extracurricular activities such as the Netherlands Asia Summer School and the Delegation program of United Netherlands, Eduard pursues a deep understanding of the Asian (business) culture with a view to contributing to mutual understanding between the West and the East.
Susanna Tang
Susanna Tang 邓家欢 is a lawyer with a Dutch and Chinese background. She completed her studies in Dutch law at Leiden University in 2014 and holds an LL.M. in Chinese Civil & Commercial Law ((Beijing Government Scholarship 2015) from Peking University.
In 2015, she was involved in the organizing committee of the Dutch Embassy for the Sino-Dutch trade dinner and business matchmaking during the Dutch trade mission to China, accompanied by His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima. Also, Susanna was Chairwoman of the Justitia Foundation from 2017 to 2018 and organized the annual Justitia event of the Amsterdam Bar Association.
Susanna is part of the China Practice Group at BUREN, an international corporate oriented law firm with 120 lawyers, tax advisers and civil-law notaries and having offices in Amsterdam, The Hague, Luxembourg, Beijing and Shanghai. BUREN has been active in China since 1995 and is the first Dutch law firm that opened an office in China with the approval of the Chinese Ministry of Justice (2004). BUREN has broad expertise in the fields of Corporate M&A, FDI, Dispute resolution, Technology Transfer & IP, Tax structuring and repatriation of profits, Agricultural and Employment.
John Lin
John Lin 林镇宇 is an expert on latest developments in high tech and on innovative solutions in China. He is capable of translating them into practical and workable solutions in Europe. John studied Innovation Management at Erasmus University in Rotterdam and the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and specializes in the platform economy and digitalization. He is a keynote speaker and a regular columnist for Twinkle Magazine, De Ondernemer, and a strategic advisor to BORG Consulting. Previously, he held positions as Lead Ecosystem Business Developer and Strategy Business Developer at bol.com. John’s mission is to bridge the gap between the East and the West, bringing them closer together and learn from each other.
Pieter Zhao
Pieter Zhao is a PhD Researcher at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. His areas of research include Modern History, International Relations, and Geopolitics, specifically concerning the maritime domain and the Indo-Pacific. After completing his BA and MA in History, he pursued a second Master’s degree in International Security Studies at Sciences Po, Paris, specializing in Strategic and Asian Studies. He completed part of his graduate studies at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Washington DC, focusing on US-China relations, maritime security, and nuclear proliferation.
In a world increasingly dominated by great power politics, Pieter hopes to contribute to mutual understanding between East and West by emphasizing the multiple perspectives within this increasingly volatile geopolitical environment. He has contributed to various China-related and other events as a host, moderator, and speaker; and his work has been published in the Naval War College Review, European Journal of East Asian Studies, Comparative Strategy, Militaire Spectator, and the Strategy Bridge.
Sofie Boom
Sofie Boom is a sustainable energy advisor with a deep interest in Asia, particularly China, and its role in global energy transition and innovation. She holds two Master’s degrees: MSc Environment and Resource Management and MA Politics, Society, and Economy of Asia. During her Bachelor’s in Chinese Studies, Sofie also studied at Xiamen University 厦门大学, where she immersed herself even more in Chinese language and culture.
One of Sofie’s academic research projects includes an in depth analysis of China’s renewable energy initiatives, which critically examines the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of China’s solar, wind, and hydro energy projects and highlights the complexities and trade-offs in China’s renewable energy policies.
Professionally, Sofie works as a sustainable energy advisor at the Dutch Enterprise Agency (RVO), where she is part of the sustainable energy team. She coordinates and leads the establishment of the Green Gas Expertise Centre, focusing on promoting sustainable practices and innovation in the energy sector.
In addition to her professional work, Sofie has chaired the Young China Circle and is part of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers. She also volunteers as a coach for the Dutch Refugee Council, underlining her dedication to impactful cross-cultural initiatives. Sofie continues to seek opportunities to combine her expertise in sustainability with her passion for cooperation and knowledge exchange, with her career highlighting a commitment to renewable energy and fostering knowledge exchange and collaboration between Europe and Asia, particularly in innovation and sustainability.