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About Us

PNBC wants to be the Dutch platform for and the voice of the Netherlands – Philippines business community. The PNBC believes in the potential of the Philippines. We facilitate the sharing of knowledge, skills and networks with and for anyone interested in doing business with the Philippines.

Objectives

  1. Strengthen our structure, visibility and community
  2. Partner with our counterpart in The Philippines (DCCP) and with other agencies and organizations working on Netherlands – Philippines business ties.
  3. Promote business opportunities and strengthen relations and cooperation between The Netherlands and The Philippines.
  4. Foster friendship and understanding between business communities of The Philippines and The Netherlands.

Mission

PNBC wants to be the Dutch platform for and the voice of the Netherlands – Philippines business community.

Vision

The Philippines Netherlands Business Council believes in the potential of the Philippines. We facilitate the sharing of knowledge, skills and networks with and for anyone interested in doing business with the Philippines

Meet the Board

Saskia de Lang

chair

After a diplomatic career of 40 years with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and upon completion of her tour of duty as ambassador of The Netherlands in The Philippines in 2022, Saskia E. de Lang joined the PNBC board as a member and accepted its chairmanship in July 2023. She holds an MA in Political Sciences from Leiden University and was awarded the Philippines’ Order of Sikatuna (Grand Cross).

Florisa Almodiel Luteijn

secretary

Born in the Philippines but living in the Netherlands for many years, Florisa is a highly experienced legal and development professional on EU & international law, technology & innovation, environment/sustainability, business and human rights. Besides her activities for PNBC she serves as Special Assistent to the Ambassador of the Philippines in the Netherlands and is also a Lecturer at Enderun Colleges, Taguig, NCR, Philippines.

Matthys van der Lely

treasurer
Matthys van der Lely was born in the Netherlands but spent most of his working life in South East Asia, including 5 years in the Philippines. He is now managing partner of AsiAspire, a strategic consulting company focussing on opening markets and creating sustainable growth in Asia.

Frank Meijer

board member
Frank has built his career in the international enterprise software industry, holding executive positions in sales and customer service for companies such as IBM, MAPICS and Infor Global Solutions. As an independent consultant he has been advising European companies finding and developing partnerships in Asia. In 2021, Frank accepted a position as Lecturer of International Business and Asia Expert at EuroCollege, a highly acclaimed private business school in the Netherlands.

Arthur Plugge

board member
Arthur spent the last 13 years abroad working for KLM in different countries, among which the last 4.5 years in the Philippines. Since September 2013 he has returned to the Netherlands as Global Account Director for Air France – KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. KLM is the oldest operating airline offering direct services between Amsterdam and Manila for close to 75 years. Very recently Air France started with direct flights between Paris and Manila as complementary service to the network. Additional to his role in aviation, Arthur acted as board member of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (DCCP), of which the last 2 years he had the honour to serve as president.

Jackie Lynn Hechanova

board member
Jackie Lynn Hechanova is a seasoned global finance executive and chartered accountant with over 19 years of progressive leadership experience across Global Business Services, Finance Operations and large-scale Business Transformations. At Unilever, Jackie played a pivotal role in the successful separation of its Tea Business and now serves as a key finance leader in The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC), in its establishment as a standalone Ice Cream business. Prior to this, she led global and regional finance operations across Asia and ANZ clusters, and held leadership roles on a global scale at multinational companies including 3M, Maersk, and Henkel.

Members of the Advisory Board

  • Albert Bos – Honorary Consul General of the Philippines, Rotterdam (STC International)

  • Eppo Horlings – Honorary Consul General of the Philippines, Amsterdam (Horatio Assurance BV)

  • John Lintjer – chair (Nulandia BV)

  • Maaike Groot – (Global Head Public Affairs and Communications at East-West Seed)

  • Rein Willems – member (previously Shell)

In Memoriam, Simon Groot