The Netherlands

Head of Marketing & Communication at Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam. Chairman Platform Innovation in Marketing (PIM). Previously Director of Marketing & PR Europe for Dolce Hotels & Resorts and several marketing and sales positions in The Netherlands, UK and France (Paris).

Head of International, Trade Sales and Innovation in the Commercial Bank of ABN AMRO. Share holder representative EMS a joint venture between First Data and ABN AMRO Bank. Previously with ABN AMRO Bank and Fortis Mees Pierson in several International Management roles in Curaçao, Belgium and Luxembourg.

General Secretary KNVB

General secretary of the KNVB with a strong focus on the international strategy of the organisation and also the international events like Euro 2020, the UEFA Futsal Euro 2022 and the UEFA Women’s Champions League final 2023. Also UEFA delegate / FIFA match commissioner and member of the UEFA National Teams Competitions Department.

Gijs de Jong studied Public Administration at the University of Leiden from 1991 till 1996. Afterwards he became an event manager and consultant at the Amsterdam Arena. In 2003 he joined the KNVB as coordinator security affairs and public affairs. Among other things, he was responsible for safety and security in stadiums, stadium bans of supporters and the security of the Dutch national football team at major tournaments. In 2010 he became director of professional competitions at the KNVB. In 2014 he was promoted to project manager of the KNVB at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. De Jong is also a match delegate at UEFA, and previously he was delegate as match commissioner for FIFA. In addition, Gijs de Jong was a member of the Football Advisory Panel of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) for 6 years. IFAB manages, renews, and maintains the rules of football on behalf of the FIFA. De Jong is a member of the UEFA National Team Competitions Committee since 2017. In 2016 De Jong successfully completed the Advanced Strategic Management program at the business school International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne. In 2014 Gijs de Jong became Director of Operations of the KNVB. In September of 2017 he was appointed as General Secretary at the KNVB. The General Secretary at the KNVB is responsible for the international representation of the Dutch Football Association at FIFA and UEFA and contacts with fellow national football associations. International events are also within the duties of the General Secretary.
Additionally, the General Secretary is responsible of the international strategy of the KNVB. This international strategy focuses on competitive balance, innovation (development of football rules), events, World Coaches and New Business. Besides his position as General Secretary, Gijs de Jong is Director EURO2020 for the matches played in Amsterdam during the European Football Championship, to be held in 2021. Because of the 60th anniversary of the European Football Championship, the tournament will be played throughout Europe in 12 different stadiums. Amsterdam is one of the host cities. De Jong led the successful bid for the Futsal Euro 2022 in Amsterdam and Groningen. He was also responsible for the bid of the Women’s Champions League final 2023 in Eindhoven. This bid was assigned to the KNVB at the 44the UEFA Conference in Amsterdam.

CEO AGT Group (Netherlands) B.V. Previously deputy head of the Dutch Military Police Department, and Assistant to the Chairman of the Board of the Frontex Agency (management of external EU borders).

Julien is currently Senior Strategy Advisor with Shell in the Hague. He originally trained as an engineer in France, and focused on capital projects efficiency, first at the University of Texas at Austin and then at IPA, the benchmarking consultancy. With Shell since 2005, he has developed a broader understanding of what drives the energy business through several corporate and operational positions in the Netherlands and overseas.

Simidre Consulting & Development B.V.

Owner of Simidre Consulting & Development. Independent advisor to financial investors and digital start-ups, focusing on market & competitive strategy, commercial due diligence and business planning. André also scouts for an international venture capital firm and is opening up the impact investment channel for an international corporate finance boutique.

Previously, he set up and led a regional strategy practice at KPMG Advisory, after building his skills at OC&C Strategy Consultants and Cluster Consulting (now part of Oliver Wyman).
André is an economist who holds an MBA from IMD (1995) and an MSc from Erasmus University Rotterdam (1992). He publishes and speaks at industry conferences on the topic of “Gaining greater confidence in financial projections”.