Press Release - Two new members join ‘BenCham’ Board of Directors
Two new members join ‘BenCham’ Board of Directors
The Beijing Chapter of the Benelux Chamber of Commerce in China (BenCham) invited two new board members at its recent extended board meeting in Beijing on March 2nd, 2018. The decision to invite new members to the Board of Directors was made after several members retired from the board recently. Additionally, some changes were made pertaining the roles and functions of some existing board members as well.
New Board Members
Maurits Vedder - Tax Manager at PwC
Maurits is on secondment to PricewaterhouseCoopers in Beijing. His main role is assisting Chinese corporations with their investments and operations in Europe. Apart from that, as a member of PwC's European Business Group in China, Maurits acts as liaison and first point of contact for European clients with activities in China. Having know-how about ‘both sides’, BenCham is sure the presence of Maurits on the board will strengthen the Chamber’s ability to innovate in order to even better serve the interests of our Benelux and Chinese members.
Stephane Bernard - Plant Manager at IEE
Stephane is active for IEE, a leading company from Luxembourg that is all about cutting-edge technology. IEE is one of the leading worldwide manufacturers of sensing systems for major global automakers, hereby IEE is actively contributing to the safety of millions of drivers across the globe. Stephane is in charge of IEE’s plant in Langfang (south of Beijing), managing a major operation of 550 people at an area over 11,600 m2. BenCham is more than glad having Stephane joining its ranks, looking forward leveraging his extensive knowledge on high-tech industrial management in China.
Updates Existing Board Members:
Grace Shi - Partner at ECOVIS
Grace has been on the executive board of directors of BenCham since December 2016. With Hans-Joachim Sommer retiring as treasurer and board member, Grace will take over his responsibilities as interim treasurer of the Benelux Chamber of Commerce in China until the next AGM.
Tom Hoogendijk - Marketing Solutions Manager at JCDecaux
Tom was elected as board member during BenCham’s Annual General Meeting, May 2017. Having significantly contributed to BenCham’s new marketing and branding strategy since his presence on the board, the decision was made to invite Tom to the executive board of directors.
Retiring Board Members:
Berend Jan Kingma - Managing Director FrieslandHuishan
Berend Jan was elected as board member during BenCham’s Annual General Meeting, May 2017. Due to relocation to Shanghai Berend Jan has decided to retire from the board of BenCham in Beijing. The Chamber would like to thank Berend Jan for his efforts and wishes him all the best with his new position as Managing Director of the Sino-Dutch ‘FrieslandHuishan Diary’ joint venture.
“I would like to extend my thanks to the Bencham and my fellow board members; it was a privilege serving on the Bencham board and being part of the Bencham community. I am grateful for the support the Bencham has given our company and the wider Benelux community, and I wish the board and the members all the best for the future!”
Anne Hak - Director International Relations at Hutong School
Anne was elected as board member during BenCham’s Annual General Meeting, May 2016. She served as Vice President of the BenCham Beijing chapter for one year. The reason for retiring from the board is that Anne has recently relocated back to her home country of the Netherlands.
“I would like to thank Bencham team for the many years of support they have offered to the Benelux business community. I have been in Beijing for 6 years and have been actively cooperating with them during my time at Hutong School, resulting in a more active role as Vice-President and Member of the Board in 2017. It’s nice to see how Bencham has continue to strengthen itself and to see many new initiatives coming by. All the best to Bencham and its members!”
Hans-Joachim Sommer - Managing Director China & Japan at IEE
Hans-Joachim is a BenCham veteran that has been in the board for many years and has been serving has treasurer. As Hans-Joachim’s schedule did not longer allow him to dedicate himself to the board as he did in previous years, his colleague Stephane Bernard will take over his position at the Board of Directors.
“It was a great pleasure to serve as a Board Member and Treasurer of the BenCham for many years. These years have been truly rewarding and interesting for me. During my time as board member, I have seen the Chamber head towards a positive direction and together with the other board members and BenCham team I am confident to say that we can look back at many achievements. I also want to thank the BenCham members for their support and I wish the BenCham team good luck in the future!
BenCham, the Benelux Chamber of Commerce in China
BENCHAM is a member driven organization, providing the best business network to facilitate doing business between Benelux and China. Based in China, BENCHAM has three chapters in Beijing, Shanghai and PRD, providing its members with high-quality connections and shares knowledge and best practices to help improve their business in different areas in China. In 2005, the Beijing chapter was created with the support from a Board of Directors and an Advisory Board, all highly valued business people in the Benelux community in China.