


The Netherlands
Welcome to the IMD Alumni Club of the Netherlands
Founded in 1991, the IMD Alumni Club of The Netherlands encourages and facilitates continued learning and networking among IMD alumni based in The Netherlands.
Our club organises four to six events each year. These events help members to increase their network and gain the latest insights and thought-provoking ideas from leaders across different industries.
At some events IMD Professors join us to share their knowledge. We encourage an open dialogue and sharing experiences between members and speakers, similar to the IMD business school experience.
We welcome about 50 to 125 alumni per event.
Organizations and leaders who recently hosted alumni club events:
Booking.com (Arjan Dijk; joint event with CMOtalk), Eden McCallum (André Schuurman), Digibende (Pieter-Christiaan van Oranje), Lightyear (Marco Vrijburg), Crystal Clarity (Willie Beumer) and the Dutch Red Cross (Heleen van den Berg).
In 2022, we celebrated our club’s 35th anniversary with the ‘The World in 2050’ event in the Johan Cruyff ArenA.
We are always looking for new events and initiatives and invite members to make proposals for events at their own organizations.
Have you completed an IMD program (which meets the alumni eligibility criteria) but you are not yet a club member? Join us and expand your IMD experience by completing and returning the membership form to our club office ([email protected]). Should you have any questions or suggestions, please also let us know.
See you at the next alumni club event?
André Schuurman, Gijs de Jong, Julien Saillard, Pieter-Christiaan van Oranje, Mirjam van Gils, Yvonne Nassar
IMD Alumni Club of The Netherlands Board
If you are an IMD Alumnus/a, please log on to view all events, including those available to the IMD Alumni community only.

Have you completed an IMD programme (which meets the alumni eligibility criteria)? Then you’re an IMD alumnus/alumna. Join us and become a club member. Whatever your nationality is, you are welcome, provided that you are based in The Netherlands.
We typically organize four to six events per year. Our events are mostly conducted in English.
The membership fee is € 80 per year (by recurring direct debit).
Register now and expand the IMD experience.
Please contact our Club office via [email protected] if you have any questions.

Marketing, events & club office
Yvonne Nassar is part of the Van Gogh Museum management team heading up Marketing and Communication, overseeing the departments Insights, Brand, Digital, Corporate Communication & PR and Events. In addition, she is President of IMD Alumni Club Netherlands and Board Member at Dutch & Japanese Trade Federation (Dujat).
Connecting people to drive sustainable business growth for a colorful future for all – that is the personal mission of Yvonne. Having worked in Paris (France), UK and The Netherlands, she brings an international background.
Mirjam is the Managing Director of the Foundation for Natural Leadership, accelerating a more sustainable kind of leadership – both ecologically and sociologically – by facilitating Leadership Transformation Programs in the Wilderness. She facilitates these programs as well.
Mirjam has 25+ years of managerial experience in business at companies like KPN and Eneco. She holds a master’s degree in communication science and is an Internationally Certified NLP trainer. Mirjam gets energy from working alongside people and companies to create impact.
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”.