American Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands (AmCham)

Earlier this month, the American Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands (AmCham) celebrated the beginning of the summer with its Members and Young Professionals. AmCham President Phaedra Kortekaas thanked all for the collaboration in past months and wished all Members a reinvigorating vacation during AmCham's Summer Reception at the Haagsche Club. On July 4, we celebrated #IndependenceDay with our Young Professionals network at the Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam, and later in the month together with the US Embassy The Hague and Public Matters, we ushered in the summer with our Government Affairs Community, on the sunny, seaside terrace of Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin. In September we will pick up the thread again with a very well-filled events calendar and impactful dialogue with the stakeholders in our network, including the new Dutch #kabinetSchoof. Be sure to check our website to see what's coming up: www.amcham.nl. A happy summer to all Members and friends of AmCham!

On June 13, the American Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands (AmCham) and its People Committee hosted a seminar on Creative Approaches for Hiring and Retaining Talent in a Highly Competitive Labor Market. The Dutch labor market remains tight for organizations in many sectors, and there isn't any indication that this will change in the foreseeable future. The seminar highlighted three pragmatic examples for resolving labor shortages, offering practical lessons for organizations to meet today's need for talent.   Luke Spencer, Manager Talent Acquisition EMEA at Palo Alto Networks spoke about the company's Cloud Academy where technical talent is given an opportunity to redirect their careers towards specialized sales roles. Oscar van Mourik, PhD, Senior Behavioral Scientist at Randstad shared an experimental approach for unlocking the potential of gamers by making their invisible skills developed while gaming visible to employers. Wieteke Graven, Founder of Het Potentieel Pakken, shared lessons from outside the private sector. She highlighted the importance of tapping into the full potential of people to resolve the persistent part-time gap in the social sector (including healthcare, childcare, education). She emphasized the need to engage in meaningful conversations with employees and new talent, asking the right questions to unlock their potential.   We cordially thank the speakers for their insights, Sophie Boucher of Palo Alto Networks for being such a wonderful host, Kayvan Kian for moderating the session, and Frank Veltkamp of Avery Dennison for generously supporting this event.  

On June 12, AmCham in collaboration with Hill & Knowlton, hosted a webinar to take a first look at the results of the #EU elections, focusing on their implications for Europe and the Netherlands. Hill & Knowlton's experts Lauren Clark (Senior Account Manager, Brussels), Thomas Tindemans (Chairman, Brussels), Sander van der Kaaij (Senior Consultant, The Hague), and Ties Lambermont (Senior Account Executive, Amsterdam), provided an insightful analysis of the election outcomes, the process now following and the significance for companies and organizations. The speakers emphasized the importance of engaging with newly elected MEPs and the permanent representation in Brussels at this critical time. Providing industry insights and sharing key issues and concerns can ensure that the private sector's voice is heard and taken into account in the new Commission's agenda. We cordially thank our speakers for the valuable insights and collaboration.

AmCham The Netherlands cordially thanks Bain & Company and in particular Marc Lino, Luka Zrnic and Kyle Weza for the exceptional collaboration on the Annual Investment Climate Study. See a few highlights below; the full publication of AmCham’s 2024 Investors’ Agenda of Priority Points & Investment Climate Study are available on the AmCham website - https://lnkd.in/e8fhwz_M

Each year, the American Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands (AmCham) publishes the Investors' Agenda of Priority Points ('Priority Points') and the Investment Climate Study. The Priority Points and the Investment Climate Study are at the basis of AmCham's advocacy work and will guide our dialogue with the Government in the months ahead. It is with great pleasure that we share the publication and the detailed study results with you! Visit our website for the publications: https://lnkd.in/ggTEbVqC What policy choices are fundamental for the long term welfare in the Netherlands, and how do we make these choices stick and acceptable for everyone? AmCham is always ready to play a positive role in this process and help the Netherlands excel as a ‘sophisticated economy’ with innovation as a driving force and sustainability as a guiding principle. In AmCham’s vision a future Dutch economy will be focused on the long term, based on pragmatic choices and with constructive intent. The Annual Investment Climate Study by Bain & Company provides a fact-driven foundation for the Priority Points and was presented in detail today during a webinar. Each year, Bain & Company collaborates closely with AmCham on this flagship report. The Netherlands is a highly successful country by all measures but what made the Netherlands successful in the past will not necessarily suffice in the future. Capturing the full benefits of key technologies is challenging and highly competitive, and will require unwavering pragmatism and a focus on talent as a key enabler. We need to ‘Choose’ where the Netherlands wants to be and then develop a clear and actionable plan for how to get there. And we will need to ‘Unlock’ the talent potential as a key enabler – with decisiveness and urgency. #investmentclimate #talent #futureeconomy Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat Ministerie van Financiën Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap

Today, the Young Professionals of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands (AmCham) gathered in Delft for the annual cultural event at the Royal Delft Museum. Royal Delft has been creating Delft Blue since 1653 and is the only remaining factory since the 17th century. During the tour, AmCham's YPs learned more about one of the most iconic and longest standing brands of the Netherlands, discovered the various crafts in the factory and admired the work of the artists in the painter’s room. Our sincere thanks goes out to the team at Royal Delft: Henk Schouten, Jeroen Puyman, Roel Beks, Giel Seppen and Sophie van de Ven-Standaart. It was wonderful being your guest today!

The American Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands (AmCham) is honored to announce that on May 22, Phaedra Kortekaas , Managing Director Benelux at SAS was elected President of the AmCham Board of Directors and succeeded Jasper van Ouwerkerk who had been leading the Chamber with great vision and dedication since 2019. It is with deep gratitude that we say farewell to Jasper and that we welcome Phaedra into this new role. Also stepping down during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) were AmCham Treasurer Marc Lino of Bain & Company and First Vice President Anton G van Beek of Dow. Both have been exceptional leaders within AmCham and we thank Marc and Anton for their great commitment to AmCham. During the Luncheon following the AGM, AmCham was honored to welcome Nicholas Vinocur, Editor-at-Large of POLITICO Europe as keynote speaker and the new Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Mission to the Netherlands, Marcus Micheli as Guest of Honor. AmCham cordially thanks all who joined. Our sincerest thanks also go out to Dow and Qlik for supporting the event, as well as the team at Kasteel de Wittenburg for the collaboration. Congratulations to our newly elected Board Members: Ralph Albus, Eva Beekman - Sillen, Frans De Beaufort, Peter Dekkers, Mark Esseboom, Hilke Őry, Joanna Price, Mark Milders, Tabita Verburg and Kyle Weza.

On May 7, the American Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands (AmCham) together with Plug and Play Europe, organized an exclusive event for executives to discuss effective #innovation strategies used by leading companies. Dr. Philipp Gneiting, Partner Open Innovation Services at Plug and Play Tech Center, shared Innovation Success Stories. He delved into how disruptive business leaders can position themselves ahead of the innovation curve, emphasizing the importance of nurturing a failure culture to sustain innovation. During the panel discussion, speakers drew from their diverse fields of expertise in policy-making, research, innovation and management to explore open innovation strategies and how Dutch businesses can positively impact the Netherlands' strategic innovation policy. Special thanks to the panelists Constantijn Van Oranje-Nassau, Special Envoy Techleap; Ester Barendregt, Chief Economist and Head Netherlands, Economics & Sustainability at RaboResearch; Ilknur Dönmez, MT Member at Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat; and Simone Vooijs, Director at Tata Steel Nederland. Also thanks to Omeed M., Managing Partner EMEA at Plug and Play for moderating the panel, and to Laurens Vanryckeghem for moderating the afternoon. It was an insightful event set against a backdrop of the Amsterdam skyline, visible from the rooftop of Capital C. We thank all who joined, and to all at Plug and Play Europe for the partnership - including Seena Amidi, Maria Zymnis, Carolina Ferreira da Silva.  

On April 19, the American Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands (AmCham) together with PwC Nederland hosted a session on the first lessons learned for implementing #CSRD. Per fiscal year 2024, the CSRD is in effect for the largest, listed companies. Our speakers also touched upon other recent and upcoming regulations that will be relevant, such as the #SEC Climate Disclosures, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (#CBAM) and the EU Deforestation Regulation (#EUDR). There were discussions around common challenges regarding data collection, documentation, and technology. All these requirements are comprehensive and specific and require a huge effort from companies to comply, but will eventually create value - more trust, more growth, less risk, lower cost.   For those responsible for the implementation of CSRD and related regulation, this session was a unique moment to exchange insights and get expert advice on these complex topics.   Very special thanks to PwC's Ellen McCready, Sebastiaan Nijhuis, Julian Swinkels, Claudia Buysing Damsté and Linda Thonen for sharing their expertise, and to Christine van den Bos for the pleasant collaboration.

Yesterday, the American Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands (AmCham) together with AMCHAM Luxembourg hosted a webinar in collaboration with SAS on #AI Measures in the US and EU and how businesses can prepare. The end of 2023 brought a variety of governmental measures aimed at regulating AI. In the US, President Biden issued the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence Executive Order, and the EU announced the upcoming Trustworthy AI Act. With Josefin Rosén, Trustworthy AI expert at SAS, and Reggie Townsend, Vice President of the Data Ethics Practice at SAS and Member of the US National AI Advisory Committee, we took a high-level look at these initiatives and explored how they compare or differ. Our speakers also explored some of the risks that can arise when AI models are built on flawed or biased data, and how to prevent harm before the first line of code is written.   We cordially thank Josefin Rosén and Reggie Townsend for their insights, and the team at SAS for the collaboration: Phaedra Kortekaas, Claire Hinnen, Gracy Poelman, Jori Besteman. Many thanks also to our colleagues in Luxemburg and our special guest Ambassador Cees Bansema of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Luxembourg.