About us

Chapter Zero Netherlands is the Dutch Chapter of the Climate Governance Initiative, an initiative in collaboration with the World Economic Forum – a growing community of Non-Executive Directors with chapters in over 50 countries. It helps educate, mobilise and equip boards with the tools they need to lead their organisations to a net-zero carbon economy. It was established to increase awareness of the business implications of climate change; to provide knowledge on the issues, as well as toolkits and frameworks; and to deliver seminars and modules for members, giving access to pools of experts and a network of other board directors. The goal is to ensure high quality and effective boardroom debates and decisions. The founding Partners for Chapter Zero Netherlands are Deloitte, Baker McKenzie, and the University of Groningen.  ​

The Initiative is formed by board members for board members, under the auspices of World Economic Forum. The members are key influencers in their board roles, and their engagement is vital if companies are going to fully assess their risks, identify and invest in the right opportunities, and develop their own business strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation. ​

Climate Governance Principles

The Climate Governance Initiative supports the establishment of regional Chapters to build a global network of Non-Executive Directors and to promote the implementation of the Principles for Effective Climate Governance.
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After launching its first local chapters in 2020, more than 100,000+ board members have joined regional Chapters. This rapid growth shows the non-executive community’s acknowledgement of the increasing urgency of climate change action.

The Initiative is formed by board members for board members, under the auspices of World Economic Forum. The members are key influencers in their board roles, and their engagement is vital if companies are going to fully assess their risks, identify and invest in the right opportunities, and develop their own business strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation. ​

The Climate Governance Initiative supports the establishment of regional Chapters to build a global network of Non-Executive Directors and to promote the implementation of the Principles for Effective Climate Governance.
​
After launching its first local chapters in 2020, more than 100,000+ board members have joined regional Chapters. This rapid growth shows the non-executive community’s acknowledgement of the increasing urgency of climate change action.

Governance

Chapter Zero Netherlands is hosted by Rijksuniversiteit Groningen and registered as a Foundation in the Netherlands. It is governed by a Foundation Board, an Advisory Board, and a Steering Committee. The Chapter is also championed by high-profile corporate, social and scientific leaders who act as its Ambassadors.

Director

Sylvia Robben

At Chapter Zero, Sylvia Robben her focus as the managing director is to lead our mission which is to mobilise boards to accelerate the transition to net zero and build climate resilience, which we do in close collaboration with non-executive directors and chairs.

At Chapter Zero, we focus on strengthening knowledge and awareness of sustainability within the top tier of Dutch business, specifically among the board members of the largest listed companies in the Netherlands.

We provide them with the tools and insights needed to fulfill their crucial role in the sustainable transition. Through collaborations with renowned partners, such as the University of Groningen Business School and Deloitte, we organize tailored courses, intimate roundtable discussions, and events where board members can share experiences and expertise.

Our information dissemination through LinkedIn, newsletters, and our website further supports this process, ensuring that board members are well-equipped to drive sustainable change within their organizations. Together, we are building a future where sustainability is at the core.

Over 15 years of experience including management consulting roles in the financial services industry, with BCS Consulting in London and Deloitte in Amsterdam. She holds a Master’s degree in International Business and Management from EM Lyon business school, France and Bradford school of management, UK and she is certified in Business Sustainability Management from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

Foundation board

Caroline Zegers

– Board member –

While at Deloitte, she held various management and board positions and led their Supervisory Board and the Executive Women programs.  In this role, Caroline successfully facilitated the journey of many female talents to the board room. She left Deloitte in 2022 to focus on her own board functions, and to provide advice on governance, remuneration and ESG. Currently, she holds various (advisory) board roles. Since 2023 she is the head of the corporate & executive reward team at NN Group. Caroline has built a large network of influential directors and supervisory board members. Caroline graduated cum laude as a tax lawyer.

Jolande Sap

– Board member –

In addition she is involved in a number of social initiatives, including chair of the Smoke free table of the Dutch National Prevention Agreement and the Springtij Forum.

Between 2008 and 2012, Jolande represented the Dutch Green Party, GroenLinks, in the lower house of the Dutch parliament, leading the party from 2010. Before that she worked as an economist in the fields of science, policy and business. She was a.o. head of the Incomes Policy department at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, and director of the LEEFtijd center of expertise, a consultancy for sustainable employment issues.

Peter Verhoef

– Board member –

He is also Professor of Marketing. He is the founder and was director of the University of Groningen Business School (UGBS) and the Groningen Digital Business Centre. He obtained his Ph.D. in 2001 at the School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands. His research interests concern customer management, customer loyalty, multi-channel issues, category management, and buying behavior of organic products. His impactful publications have appeared in journals, such as Journal of Marketing and Harvard Business Review, Marketing Letters, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and Journal of Retailing. Over the years, he has received multiple awards regarding his publications. He is currently an editorial board member of the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and the Journal of Interactive Marketing.

He has extensive teaching experience for undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. students. He is also involved in executive teaching contributing to multiple executive programs. He is the founder of the Customer Insights Center, University of Groningen. He currently is an EMAC fellow as well.

Ambassadors

Gisella Eikelenboom

– Board member –

She currently holds several non-executive roles as a Supervisory Board Member at ASR insurance, bunq, MUFG Bank Europe and Waarborgfonds Sociale Woningbouw (social housing guarantee fund). Gisella is also Council at the Commercial Court (Ondernemingskamer) Amsterdam Court of Law, and member of the Strategic Audit Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

After graduating from the University of Amsterdam as an actuary, she worked in the financial sector for over 25 years. She started her career at ING Group (Nationale-Nederlanden, Postbank and ING Bank) and worked in the areas of Employee Benefits, Product Management Insurance, Credit Risk management and Model Validation. Between 2013 and 2019 Gisella worked at De Nederlandsche Bank as Director Onsite Supervision Banks and as Director Supervision Pension Funds. Since 2023 Gisella is chair of Chapter Zero Netherlands. As she believes we all have to do what we can to create a sustainable future. This is her way to contribute and support other non-executives in their road to net-zero.

Pauline van der Meer Mohr

She also serves as deputy Chair on the Board of NN Group, an insurance company, and chairs the Remco of AholdDelhaize, a grocery retailer. Her previous board mandates include HSBC Holdings plc, ASML, Viatris Inc and DSM-Firmenich. Until 2023 she chaired the board of EY Netherlands as well as the Dutch Corporate Governance committee.

In 2016, she retired from her executive career spanning 30 years in various roles with Shell, ABNAMRO bank and lastly as President of Erasmus University Rotterdam.

He has extensive teaching experience for undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. students. He is also involved in executive teaching contributing to multiple executive programs. He is the founder of the Customer Insights Center, University of Groningen. He currently is an EMAC fellow as well.

Petri Hofste

Chair of the board of Nyenrode Foundation, Vereniging Hendrick de Keyser and Stichting Capital Amsterdam. Furthermore, Petri is amongst others active in the board of the Impact Economy Foundation, the advisory council of SER Topvrouwen and an advisory committee on financial reporting and accountancy of AFM, the Dutch Securities regulator.

Former roles include member of the supervisory boards of BNG Bank, Kasbank, Achmea Bank (chair) and Fugro, Chief financial and risk officer in APG Groep N.V. a major institution in the pension fund industry, Division director of the Banking supervision division of the Dutch Central Bank, CFO of RBS N.V., the legal successor to the former ABN AMRO Bank N.V., deputy CFO and head of Finance in the former ABN AMRO Group N.V., Partner at KPMG in the Netherlands Financial Services audit practice and partner in the KPMG’s international IFRS advisory and knowledge center group. Petri has studied Business (bachelors, Nyenrode University) and Business Economics (masters, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam) and Accountancy (certified accountant, Vrije Universiteit). She is married and has a daughter.

In 2016, she retired from her executive career spanning 30 years in various roles with Shell, ABNAMRO bank and lastly as President of Erasmus University Rotterdam.

He has extensive teaching experience for undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. students. He is also involved in executive teaching contributing to multiple executive programs. He is the founder of the Customer Insights Center, University of Groningen. He currently is an EMAC fellow as well.

Jaap Winter

He was President of The Executive Board of The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from December 2013 until December 2017. Before that, he was partner of the Amsterdam based law firm De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek. Jaap is professor of international company law at the University of Amsterdam and professor of Corporate Law, Governance and Behaviour at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

He was the chairman of the High Level Group of Company Law Experts that advised the EU Commission on Corporate Law and Corporate Governance in the EU in 2001-2002 and he was a member of the Tabaksblat Committee that drafted the Dutch Corporate Governance Code in 2003. Jaap is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Royal Schiphol Group, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Erasmus Universiteit and Board member of ASR Nederland Continuity Foundation.

Advisory Board

Frederic Barge

Frederic is a published author and recognised thought leader, who actively participates in sector discussions in the financial services industry in light of the guidelines from regulatory bodies on compensation, with particular expertise in: Executive remuneration, Private Equity compensation programmes, Equity plans, Corporate governance, HR aspects in M&A transactions, Performance assessment.

He was the chairman of the High Level Group of Company Law Experts that advised the EU Commission on Corporate Law and Corporate Governance in the EU in 2001-2002 and he was a member of the Tabaksblat Committee that drafted the Dutch Corporate Governance Code in 2003. Jaap is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Royal Schiphol Group, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Erasmus Universiteit and Board member of ASR Nederland Continuity Foundation.

Kirsten van Rooijen

She joined Georgeson in 2007 as an account manager to assist issuers with the engagement with investors, M&A transaction and hostile activist situations. She has held a variety of functions within Computershare throughout the years. She has a strong focus on ESG related matters with an investor angle and is focused on Boards understanding how institutional investors are behaving and ensures they are engaging to get to the best possible outcome. Kirsten holds a Company Law Degree.

He was the chairman of the High Level Group of Company Law Experts that advised the EU Commission on Corporate Law and Corporate Governance in the EU in 2001-2002 and he was a member of the Tabaksblat Committee that drafted the Dutch Corporate Governance Code in 2003. Jaap is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Royal Schiphol Group, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Erasmus Universiteit and Board member of ASR Nederland Continuity Foundation.

Maud C. de Vries

In this role Maud led several key strategic initiatives to design, redesign and strengthen the group’s global legal, compliance, governance, and HR frameworks. Maud was appointed Member of the Executive Board of OCI effective 1 June 2019 and is currently responsible for company’s Corporate Governance, Compliance, Legal, HR and Government & Public Affairs. Furthermore, Maud champions OCI’s global Diversity & Inclusion efforts to build inclusive teams that accelerate future growth and drive innovation to help advance OCI’s energy transition.

Maud serves as Executive Vice President of private investment company NNS Group (2018). In June 2022 she was appointed Supervisory Board Member of Majorel, an international service company that designs, builds and delivers next-generation end-to-end CX solutions for many of the world’s most respected digital-native and vertical leading brands, listed on Euronext Amsterdam, HQ in Luxembourg. She is member of the Nomination and Compensation Committee. In June 2022 she also was appointed General Board Member of VEUO, a representative organization of listed companies which looks after the interests of companies listed on Euronext Amsterdam, based in Amsterdam. Maud holds a law degree from the University of Leiden, the Netherlands, completed various executive leadership programs at INSEAD, among others, and speaks Dutch, English, Italian and French.

He was the chairman of the High Level Group of Company Law Experts that advised the EU Commission on Corporate Law and Corporate Governance in the EU in 2001-2002 and he was a member of the Tabaksblat Committee that drafted the Dutch Corporate Governance Code in 2003. Jaap is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Royal Schiphol Group, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Erasmus Universiteit and Board member of ASR Nederland Continuity Foundation.

Ivan Kukhnin

His work is in the field of quantitative analysis helping clients to really understand financial impact of climate and nature risks on their business. To provide tools and data to executives and management to make day to day decisions properly considering physical and transition risks. Once the risks are well-understood, considered and quantified, companies are  then supported to build in those into their enterprise risk management system and have them as part of their business strategy manifesting in a credible climate transition plan.

For Ivan, this is the biggest impact he can make as an individual to make sure that corporates are moving into the right direction of accurate measurement and quantification, supported by meaningful action, credible transition planning and realistic targets.

Louise Out van Staveren

As IBM executive she served large Banking and Insurance clients in the Financial Services sector aligning IT to their business objectives and implementing IT systems. Prior to that she was Marketing director for Benelux.

She is currently Advisory board member of VHTO, a Dutch organization that encourages and supports girls and women to explore their interests in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. She serves as a Boardmember of Talent naar de Top which aims to create a more diverse and inclusive leadership culture in the Netherlands. Louise is currently quatermaker, specializing in strategy setting and change management.

Maud serves as Executive Vice President of private investment company NNS Group (2018). In June 2022 she was appointed Supervisory Board Member of Majorel, an international service company that designs, builds and delivers next-generation end-to-end CX solutions for many of the world’s most respected digital-native and vertical leading brands, listed on Euronext Amsterdam, HQ in Luxembourg. She is member of the Nomination and Compensation Committee. In June 2022 she also was appointed General Board Member of VEUO, a representative organization of listed companies which looks after the interests of companies listed on Euronext Amsterdam, based in Amsterdam. Maud holds a law degree from the University of Leiden, the Netherlands, completed various executive leadership programs at INSEAD, among others, and speaks Dutch, English, Italian and French.

He was the chairman of the High Level Group of Company Law Experts that advised the EU Commission on Corporate Law and Corporate Governance in the EU in 2001-2002 and he was a member of the Tabaksblat Committee that drafted the Dutch Corporate Governance Code in 2003. Jaap is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Royal Schiphol Group, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Erasmus Universiteit and Board member of ASR Nederland Continuity Foundation.

Luke Disney

Luke is a member of the EU High Level Group on Financing the Green Deal, a faculty member of the European Centre for Executive Education (CEDEP) in Fontainebleau, France, and Advisor to the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Amsterdam. Prior to joining Rabobank, he was Executive Director of the INSEAD Social Innovation Centre and the Founding Executive Director of North Star Alliance. Luke was born and raised on the east coast of Canada, and currently lives in the Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Maud serves as Executive Vice President of private investment company NNS Group (2018). In June 2022 she was appointed Supervisory Board Member of Majorel, an international service company that designs, builds and delivers next-generation end-to-end CX solutions for many of the world’s most respected digital-native and vertical leading brands, listed on Euronext Amsterdam, HQ in Luxembourg. She is member of the Nomination and Compensation Committee. In June 2022 she also was appointed General Board Member of VEUO, a representative organization of listed companies which looks after the interests of companies listed on Euronext Amsterdam, based in Amsterdam. Maud holds a law degree from the University of Leiden, the Netherlands, completed various executive leadership programs at INSEAD, among others, and speaks Dutch, English, Italian and French.

He was the chairman of the High Level Group of Company Law Experts that advised the EU Commission on Corporate Law and Corporate Governance in the EU in 2001-2002 and he was a member of the Tabaksblat Committee that drafted the Dutch Corporate Governance Code in 2003. Jaap is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Royal Schiphol Group, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Erasmus Universiteit and Board member of ASR Nederland Continuity Foundation.

Steering committee

Kim Tan

He joined Baker McKenzie in 1999 and worked in the Firm’s Chicago office from 2006 to 2007. Kim became partner in 2008 and was appointed civil-law notary in 2013.

Kim’s expertise focuses on domestic and cross-border corporate reorganizations and he regularly advises on Dutch corporate law aspects of M&A, Private Equity and Capital Markets transactions as well as corporate governance issues, notably in the context of ESG related topics.

Kim and his team have worked on multiple reorganisations and transactions for multi-nationals with significant European operations. He is familiar with the objectives behind such reorganizations and transactions as well as the successful management of local law implementation issues

Maud serves as Executive Vice President of private investment company NNS Group (2018). In June 2022 she was appointed Supervisory Board Member of Majorel, an international service company that designs, builds and delivers next-generation end-to-end CX solutions for many of the world’s most respected digital-native and vertical leading brands, listed on Euronext Amsterdam, HQ in Luxembourg. She is member of the Nomination and Compensation Committee. In June 2022 she also was appointed General Board Member of VEUO, a representative organization of listed companies which looks after the interests of companies listed on Euronext Amsterdam, based in Amsterdam. Maud holds a law degree from the University of Leiden, the Netherlands, completed various executive leadership programs at INSEAD, among others, and speaks Dutch, English, Italian and French.

He was the chairman of the High Level Group of Company Law Experts that advised the EU Commission on Corporate Law and Corporate Governance in the EU in 2001-2002 and he was a member of the Tabaksblat Committee that drafted the Dutch Corporate Governance Code in 2003. Jaap is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Royal Schiphol Group, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Erasmus Universiteit and Board member of ASR Nederland Continuity Foundation.

Rebecca Kuijpers-Zimmerman

Rebecca began her career as a lawyer in 2008 and has worked for the Firm ever since. Rebecca focuses her practice on public and private M&A and equity capital markets. She has extensive experience in equity capital markets, public and private takeovers, (cross border) mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and corporate commercial work. Her clients include US and European multi-nationals.

Viorica Melenberg

In this role Viorica is focused on building relationships with public and private partners on key issues of social relevance.

Viorica has a MSc in Industrial Engineering and Management and has extensive experience in the process industry. In the last five years she set her career forward in the public domain focusing at first on purchasing specialized technology for automotive and ICT. As of 1st of October 2023 she holds her current position at the University of Groningen.

Oscar Snijders

Before joining the Executive board, Oscar was Managing Partner for Deloitte Financial Advisory, our world-leading M&A and Forensics practice. His professional background is in helping companies navigate the complex (stakeholder) environment following serious liquidity crises and finding solutions for a way forward. Oscar has more than 30 years of experience, of which more than 20 years as a professional advisor and 10 years as a CFO and entrepreneur.