During this Visionary Circle, Erwin Nijsse, Director-General for Business and Innovation at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and Willemien Bosch, Director of Policy at VNO-NCW, will engage in a dialogue with you regarding the strategic sectors and companies that are of crucial importance to the Netherlands, and how the government and the business community can jointly invest to strengthen future earning capacity. We cordially invite you to participate in this dialogue.
CEOs and Supervisory Board
17:30 | Start of program (including presentation, discussion and 3-course dinner)
20:30 | End of formal program, opportunity for informal networking
Language: English
Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin, Noordwijk
Director-General for Business Policy and Innovation
Erwin Nijsse is Director-General for Business & Innovation at the Ministry of Economic Affairs. He worked for 25 years at Shell, both in the Netherlands and internationally, and was involved in complex projects such as the Sakhalin II project in Russia and the earthquake dossier of NAM. In 2020, he consciously transitioned to the public sector through the National Growth Fund. Since then, he has been committed to promoting innovation, simplifying policies for entrepreneurs, and strengthening international collaborations in science and technology. Erwin combines extensive experience in finance and corporate strategy with a strong focus on sustainable growth and societal impact.
Director of Policy
Willemien Bosch trained as an architect at Delft University of Technology. As Director of Policy, Bosch leads the division responsible for substantive policy development and advocacy towards politics and society. This division focuses on a broad range of themes, including economic development, European regulation, sustainability, digitalization, and international trade. Within the organization, she plays an important role in translating the interests and positions of entrepreneurs—ranging from small and medium-sized enterprises to large corporations—into concrete policy proposals and lobbying activities.
The government faces urgent strategic choices that will determine the future of our business and investment climate. The core question is how the Dutch business community can become more innovative and future-proof through targeted choices and joint investments.
The Netherlands possesses a world-class knowledge and innovation ecosystem, yet this strength is not yet sufficiently converted into scale and sustainable economic impact. Significant opportunities remain untapped, including in leading clusters such as Wageningen and Delft, and further cooperation is also required within a European context to increase strategic effectiveness. At the same time, societal developments such as an aging population, the energy transition, geopolitical dependencies, and pressure on public services necessitate sharp priorities and shared responsibility.
The Wennink Report emphasizes that structural economic growth is essential for maintaining our prosperity. This requires targeted investments in strategic, high-tech domains, ranging from digitalization and artificial intelligence to energy and climate innovation, and from security and resilience to life sciences and biotechnology. It is precisely in these sectors that the Netherlands can strengthen its international relevance and contribute to the major transitions of this century.
Public-private partnership is crucial in this regard. Framework conditions such as a reliable energy supply, minimal regulatory burden, talent development, and future-proof infrastructure are widely recognized, but the challenge now lies in translating these conditions into concrete investments, clear priorities, and long-term commitment.
During this Visionary Circle, Erwin Nijsse, Director-General for Business and Innovation at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and Willemien Bosch, Director of Policy at VNO-NCW, will engage in a dialogue with you regarding the strategic sectors and companies that are of crucial importance to the Netherlands, and how the government and the business community can jointly invest to strengthen future earning capacity. We cordially invite you to participate in this dialogue.
