Experienced directors complete new management board at de Jong & Laan
Experienced directors complete new management board at de Jong & Laan
Vroomshoop, 19 August 2024
With the appointments of Jurgen van Breukelen as CEO and Jaap Witteveen as COO, effective 1 September, the new Executive Board of de Jong & Laan is now complete. They join previously appointed board members Jeroen Baake (CFO) and Marco Herder (CQO).
De Jong & Laan is on the cusp of a new phase in its development. Martin Zwiers, on behalf of the selection committee, stated: “De Jong & Laan is a stable and very healthy organisation, with quality, a people-oriented culture, and decisiveness forming the foundation of our collaboration and service to clients. De Jong & Laan is evolving into a national organisation, serving an increasing number of SME+ clients and making acquisitions that are shaping the future face of the firm. In recent months, we conducted a thorough selection process to establish a new Executive Board, considering both internal and external candidates for the first time. We are very pleased to welcome Jurgen and Jaap, in addition to Jeroen and Marco. Jurgen and Jaap bring extensive knowledge and experience from organisations such as KPMG, ABN AMRO and DAS, significantly strengthening and broadening our board.
Leadership and hands-on strategist
Jurgen (55) has extensive experience in the accountancy sector and a broad leadership background. He previously served as Chairman of the Executive Board of KPMG Netherlands, and as a member of both the Global Executive Team and the Global Board of KPMG, roles in which he was closely involved in numerous integration processes. Jurgen has also held several board and supervisory positions, including Chairman of the Board at Altice, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Van Gansewinkel Groep, Chairman of the Board at EDGE, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Royal Swinkels, and board member at VEUO.
Jurgen shares what inspired him to join de Jong & Laan:“The entrepreneurial spirit of the organisation resonates with me. There are many opportunities for innovation within the sector, and for enhancing and expanding our client services.”
Transformation and innovator in digitisation
Jaap (56) brings extensive experience as an operations director and IT transformation leader. Most recently, he served as Chief Transformation Officer and statutory director at DAS Holding, where he was responsible for ICT and Information Security Management. Under his leadership, DAS made significant progress in IT, including the development, implementation and modernisation of its IT infrastructure and the renewal of its telephony platform. Jaap also has considerable executive experience, having served as COO at Kas Bank and held various leadership roles at ABN AMRO and Theodoor Gilissen.
Jaap explains: “There are tremendous opportunities for further digitisation and governance at de Jong & Laan. Our clients and employees have to rely on us continuously building a solid foundation of people and technology. What's more, it's a prerequisite for successfully and efficiently integrating new acquisitions into the way of working, knowledge and quality standards of de Jong & Laan.”
Staying the course
As of 1 July 2024, Jeroen Baake and Marco Herder – respectively as CFO and CQO – assumed their board responsibilities from within the partner group. Where required, the new board members have already been reviewed and approved by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets.
With a combination of board members who have long been part of the organisation and those from outside, the firm now has a more well-balanced leadership team equipped with the experience needed to achieve the ambitions of a rapidly growing organisation.
The new board will continue the current ‘buy and build’ strategy, focusing on organisational growth, enhancement of service quality, and employee development, in close cooperation with private equity firm Waterland.
In the photo, from left to right: Jaap Witteveen, Marco Herder, Jeroen Baake and Jurgen van Breukelen
