Linda van Beek, Global Compact NL

Linda van Beek (39 years old, married, 3 children)  is Executive Director of Global Compact Network Netherlands (GCNL). GCNL is one of the local networks of UN Global Compact. UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. It is a call to companies to align strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and to take actions that advance societal goals, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Before joining GCNL, Linda has served for more than twelve years for the Dutch Employers and Business federations (VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland). In the last 7 years Linda was leading the international affairs department and was responsible for topics like trade and development aid. She has been working for an optimal international business climate that will encourage Dutch entrepreneurs to make an optimal contribution to social challenges elsewhere in the world with their knowledge and skills. Linda has studied European Law and International Law (both at Tilburg University) and started her career in Brussels, where she has worked as a policy advisor to the European Parliament.

Sandra Pellegrom, SDG Coordinator of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Sandra Pellegrom is the National Coordinator for SDG implementation in the Netherlands. She has worked for the Dutch Foreign Ministry since 1996 focusing mostly on development and human rights as well as the Aid and Trade agenda. The past four years she worked at the Dutch Permanent Representation with the United Nations in New York, where she promoted SDG monitoring and implementation at the global level. She was involved in the first Dutch voluntary national review of the SDGs to the UN in 2017. As National SDG Coordinator she now works with all actors in Dutch society that want to achieve the SDGs.

J.P. Balkenende, Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition

Professor Jan Peter Balkenende was Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 2002 to 2010. He received a masters degree in both history and law at VU University Amsterdam, followed by a Ph.D. on government regulation and civil society organisations. From 2011 untill 2016, Balkenende worked as Partner at EY on corporate responsibility and international affairs. Since 2016, he has been working as External Senior Advisor to EY and since 2017 as a member of the Supervisory Board of ING. Currently, Balkenende chairs the Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition, the Major Alliance, the Noaber Foundation, the New Mobility Foundation and the SDG World Tour Supervisory Board. He is Professor of Governance, Institutions and Internationalisation at Erasmus University Rotterdam since 2010.

Coralie Bos, Sr Manager, Corporate Brand, Elsevier

Coralie Bos is Sr. Mgr. Corporate Brand at Elsevier. Within Global Communications, Coralie leads the development, implementation and governance of Elsevier’s integrated brand strategy. She is Board member of the United Nations Global Compact Network, Netherlands since 2018. She initiated and led the Sustainability Initiative at Elsevier from 2015 to 2017 and is since 2017 member of Elsevier’s Sustainability Board. She previously served as Program Manager of Elsevier’s Strategic Value Program and Manager of the Centre of Excellence, in which role she was responsible for operational excellence, process- and system innovations in E-Customer Services, globally.   Before this, Coralie served as Manager Business Intelligence in Corporate B2B Markets, EMEA at Infor and had roles in several other IT (Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system-, CRM- and Supply Chain Management) companies. Coralie Bos holds an MSc in Business Administration, graduating Cum Laude in Strategy from Erasmus University in The Netherlands, and holds a M.A. in Mixed Media and Design, from Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam, University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands.

Maria de Kleijn, SVP Analytical Services, Elsevier

Maria de Kleijn serves as SVP Analytical Services at Elsevier. Her team delivers research performance consultancy to universities and governments around the globe, and produces reports based on advanced analysis of text mined databases. She led Elsevier’s report on Artificial Intelligence, which has featured in the Financial Times and 24 other major media outlets, and is used by the European Commission. Most recently, Maria served as a director at Vattenfall. She was also a former project manager at Dutch Competition Authority and an associate at McKinsey & Company.

Peter Hein van Mulligen,  Chief Economist and Spokesperson, CBS

Jan Willem Scheijgrond, Chairman GCNL and VP Global Head of Government and Public Affairs, Philips

Mr. Scheijgrond currently serves as Vice President Global Government and Public Affairs at Royal Philips, where he heads up the global network within Philips that is responsible for the relations with governments and related stakeholders to address societal challenges in particular in the area of large scale health care transformations. He is also responsible for partnerships with international partners such as the United Nations and International donors. In that role Mr. Scheijgrond is focusing on partnerships that strengthen health systems in support of achieving Universal Health Coverage. Mr. Scheijgrond is a member of the Global Finance Facility Investors Group, member of the UHC 2030 Private Sector Constituency and Chairman of the UN Global Compact Netherlands. Mr. Scheijgrond joined Philips in 2009 as Senior Director as part of the Corporate Sustainability Office with responsibility for risk and reputation management. He started his career at the United Nations Environment Program, where he developed best practices guides related to cleaner production for emerging markets. Subsequently, he held a number of sustainability and government affairs related functions at the BLC Leather Confederation, Epson, and Hewlett-Packard. Mr. Scheijgrond holds a Masters degree in Environmental Technology from Wageningen University, the Neterlands, he is married and has two children.

Márcia Balisciano, Director of Corporate Responsibility, RELX

Since 2003, Márcia Balisciano has led corporate responsibility at RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics, and Elsevier’s parent company. Engaging colleagues throughout the business, she works to ensure RELX Group’s non-financial performance is a source of competitive advantage and stakeholder confidence. She is a member of the board of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, the United Nations Global Compact UK, and the UK National Crime Agency’s Child Rescue Alert Development Board. She is founding director of London museum and educational facility Benjamin Franklin House and previously was special advisor to the American Chamber of Commerce (UK). She is a member of the Conference Board’s Sustainability Council and Global Business Women Leaders Council. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, she holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago, and a PHD in Economic History from the London School of Economics. She was named Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s 2007 Birthday Honours List and lives in London with her husband and two boys.

Ole Lund Hansen, Chief Gobal Operations, Global Compact

In his role as Chief of Global Operations, Ole Hansen leads strategy, development and support for the 70+ Global Compact networks around the world, as well as for the Global Compact Cities Programme. Mr. Hansen joined the UN Global Compact in 2009 where he previously led different projects and programmes on the Sustainable Development Goals, Breakthrough Innovation, Board Adoption, Responsible Investment and Global Compact LEAD. Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Hansen was an International Business Development consultant based in Denmark, while also acting as the focal point for the Global Compact Nordic Network and the Danish Base of the Pyramid Learning Lab. Earlier, Mr. Hansen worked as a Senior Advisor on international trade and policy in the Confederation of Danish Industries, as a Political Risk Advisor in Global Mind and as a private sector consultant on environmental and development projects in Central America. Mr. Hansen holds a Master of Science in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Copenhagen.

Tracey Brown OBE, Director, Sense about Science

Tracey Brown has been the director of Sense about Science since 2002. Under her leadership, the charity has turned the case for sound science and evidence into popular campaigns to urge scientific thinking and questioning among the public and the people who answer to them. It has launched important initiatives including AllTrials, a global campaign for the reporting of all clinical trial outcomes; and the Ask for Evidence campaign, which engages the public in requesting evidence for claims. Tracey leads the Transparency of Evidence initiative, to get more of the evidence behind government decisions reported and published, and launched the first ever Evidence Week in the UK parliament. In 2010, the Times named Tracey as one of the ten most influential figures in science policy in Britain and in 2014 she was recognised by the Science Council for her work on evidence-based policy making. In June 2017 Tracey was made an OBE for services to science.

Ylann Schemm, Director of the Elsevier Foundation

As the Elsevier Foundation’s Director, Ylann Schemm drives technology-enabled partnerships to advance diversity in science, build research capacity and support global health across Africa, Europe and the US. Ylann also serves as the Director of External Partnerships within Elsevier Global Communications. Her work builds on 15 years in corporate relations and corporate responsibility and focuses on key technology, gender and sustainability collaborations. She serves as the Vice Chair of the for governing Executive Council of Research4Life, a UN-publisher partnership to bridge access gaps for researchers and doctors in developing countries. Prior to joining Elsevier in 2005, Ylann held various roles in publishing and the non-profit educational sector, representing the European Platform for Dutch Education at the European Commission. She started her career as a writer and researcher for Time Life Books and holds an MA in Film & Television Studies from the University of Amsterdam and a BA, magna cum laude in English from Amherst College in Massachusetts.  Ylann is both American and Dutch and based in Amsterdam.

Eva Roods, Director of the Positive Change Initiative, Rotterdam School of Management

Eva Rood is Director of the Positive Change Initiative at Rotterdam School of Management, the business school of Erasmus University Rotterdam and facilitates positive change through business development and innovation projects. She is project leader of the EU-co-funded European Network for the Advancement of Business and Landscape Education (ENABLE) and a member of the UN SDG:Learn Steering Group.

Eva has been a driving force behind numerous posititive change ventures across the university. In the past year alone, she has recorded 77 videos on business & the Sustainable Development Goals, coordinated the creation of RSM’s free online course (MOOC), Driving Business Towards the SDGs and ENABLE’s MOOC Business model innovation for sustainable landscape restoration, and devised the RSM Escape Room around SDG 12.

She set up the Erasmus Sustainability Hub, co-launched the Erasmus Honours Programme Grand Challenges, and worked on the launch of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Sustainability. She was awarded the University’s ‘Top support award’ in 2017 for these efforts. Eva holds a master in psychology from Utrecht University.

Cocky Booij, VHTO (National expert organization on girls/women in science/technology)

Cornelia (Cocky) Booij completed her PHD in Ethics (specialization Gender Studies) at VU University in Amsterdam. After coordinating a national program for girls and women for the Metal and Electrical Industry and leading the Equal Opportunity Unit at CINOP, the national innovation institute of vocational education in trade and industry, she became managing director of VHTO. Over the years Cocky has been involved in and managed several (innovative) projects in STEM education and she has been a member of various governmental and EU expert groups, advisory panels and committees.

Marleen Balvert, Zero Hunger Lab

Marleen Balvert is assistant professor in Operations Research at Tilburg University and a member of the Zero Hunger Lab. In 2017 she obtained her PhD at Tilburg University. After a postdoc in genome data analysis at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica and Utrecht University she moved back to Tilburg University. Her research focuses on the intersection between optimization and machine learning techniques and is application driven. Marleen develops optimization and machine learning algorithms for the analysis of large genome data, in particular for genotype-disease data. As a member of the Zero Hunger Lab she develops mathematical tools to help NGOs to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger.

Frans van Helden , Ortec

Frans van Helden is managing director at ORTEC’s Data Science & Consulting division. With 39 years in the field of Data Science and a team of 1,000 people working from 13 countries, ORTEC leverages data and mathematics to create value for businesses and society at large. Frans has been working 9 years at ORTEC, after obtaining a master’s degree in Applied Mathematics at Leiden University. ORTEC’s – and Frans’ – core purpose is to apply data and mathematics to improve the world. This is shown in projects that in general improve resource utilization, contributing to a lower footprint, but also in working with various NGO’s such as 510 and AMREF. We see every day that math and it’s application to a growing dataset is a very necessary tool to help reach the SDG’s.

Marco Swan, Program Manager, UN Global Compact Netherlands

Marco Swan is now working as a program manager at the UN Global Compact offices in the Netherlands. Throughout his B.A. in International Relations and International Organizations at the University of Groningen, Marco has developed a sense of global citizenship. Coupled with an internship at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Singapore, and experiences in international conferences, he had the chance to experience diverse cultures, which equipped him with a feeling of responsibility to make a difference in the world. Marco has worked for two years for the youth leadership movement AIESEC and has contributed directly to 300+ unique leadership experiences through (facilitating) cross-cultural exchange and personal growth. The work he did for AIESEC introduced him to the SDGs and their importance. The brave vision and idealism represented in the 2030 Agenda has driven him to strive towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals everyday at Global Compact Network Netherlands.

Philippe Terheggen, Managing Director, Journals

Philippe M.A.B. Terheggen PhD, is Managing Director for Journals at Elsevier since July 2013. Philippe served in the Royal Dutch army with active duty before studying Medical Biological Sciences at the Utrecht University. As biomedical researcher, he was active in the interaction of anti-cancer drugs with the human genome at the Amsterdam Cancer Institute, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and the Oxford University Hospital, the latter as fellow of the Queen Wilhelmina Cancer Fund. He did his PhD in 1989 at the medical faculty at Leiden University on cisplatin-DNA interaction and was author a series of articles counting to 273 citations in Scopus. Philippe joined Elsevier in 1991, as junior acquisition editor for books and journals, became Marketing Manager in 1994, was Director of Journal and Global Book Production in the UK in 1997, and Product Innovation in 2002. He became Director of Editorial Services in 2004. Between 2004 and 2013 he was appointed at several leadership positions in journal publishing. Philippe serves at the board of Publishers International Linking Association, a not-for-profit membership organization known in the industry for its services such as CrossRef, CrossMark and CrossCheck. He also served at the STM Board of the Dutch Publishers Association and was a Director for KeAi, a joint venture for journal publishing between the China Science Publishing and Media Ltd. and Elsevier.

Arman Aghahosseini, Elsevier Atlas Award Winner

Arman Aghahosseini is a doctoral student at the LUT University in Finland. His research focuses on the transition towards 100% renewable energy systems in all energy sectors for the Americas and the MENA region. He has a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the LUT University, and a Master’s degree in Geological Science from the Islamic Azad University, Tehran North Branch, Iran. Arman has contributed to 17 journal articles and 11 conference papers, mainly on renewable energy and the energy transition.

Vincent Oberdorf

Schooled as an international development specialist, now focussing on developing circular processes and systems, among others through the applications of Cirmar.

1.Where & when is the SDG Inspiration Day taking place?

The SDG Inspiration day is taking place at the SDG House of the KIT (Mauritskade 64, 1092 AD Amsterdam) on the 25th of November 2019.

2. Do I need to print a ticket?

No, you do not. You only need to register on the form in the section above.

3. Can I attend only part of the event?

Yes of course. We would be pleased to welcome you to any of our sessions.

4. Will pictures be taken?

Yes. If you have any problem with being on camera, please contact us.

5. Is the reception open to everyone?

Yes, as long as you are registered to attend the SDG Inspiration Day.