Fleur will share how her company is preparing for the new opportunities of 5G.

About Fleur van Beem

Fleur joined VodafoneZiggo in October 2021. Before joining, Fleur was a partner at strategy consulting firm Bain&Company, working with clients across a broad spectrum of industries and part of the leadership team of Bains telecom practice. Fleur supported VodafoneZiggo during the set up of the JV and worked for a period of 8 years with Ziggo’s executive team pre-acquisition by Liberty. Fleur led Bain’s EMEA Customer strategy and marketing practice, gaining extensive expertise in customer-led digital transformations and CX. Fleur is passionate about diversity and inclusion (D&I), driving Bains efforts in this front for many years. On behalf of Bain, Fleur was part of TM Forums Diversity Council, supporting operators with their D&I challenge and  co-creator of IDS  (Inclusion and Diversity Score) enabling comparison across operators on D&I progress.

Fleur is married and mother of 4 boys and a girl. In her free time, she enjoys going to concerts, walking on the beach and long dinners with friends and family.

As founder of Digital Shapers, Marelle inspires people to look more creatively at digital changes and to increase their focus on this area. Marelle van Beerschoten graduated cum laude from the University of Amsterdam and University College Maastricht. She was already involved in a startup during her studies. During a trip to Silicon Valley the idea for her first company Applified was born. Gradually the focus changed from mobile enterprise apps to digital transformation and Digital Shapers was founded. With this community of 'born digitals' she mobilises companies to accelerate transformation and realise the imagined future. In recent years Marelle has been active as an advisor to StartupDelta. She is also part of the Advisory Board of the Amsterdam Business School and think tank Denkwerk. She is passionate about female entrepreneurship in tech and the collaboration between business and university to create more digital leadership in the Netherlands.

Wouter Kolk is CEO Europe and Indonesia of Ahold. (for our international students: that is the company behind Albert Heijn). Wouter Kolk will give his view on the future of retail, the strategy of Ahold and will also share some insight about his own career path.

About Wouter Kolk

Wouter Kolk started as Chief Executive Officer Europe and Indonesia on 1 October 2018. He had been Chief Operating Officer the Netherlands and Belgium and member of the Executive Committee of Ahold Delhaize since 8 September2017.
In 2013 Wouter re-joined Ahold as Executive Vice President Specialty Stores and New Markets at Albert Heijn following a six-year period as CEO of international retailer WE Fashion. He became CEO of Albert Heijn in January 2015.
In 1991 Wouter first started at Ahold as a management trainee. Over the next 16 years he served in several international commercial and general management roles, including Commercial Director Asia-Pacific based in Singapore, Regional Director Albert Heijn, General Manager Gall & Gall and General Manager of Etos. Wouter is a member of the supervisory board of concert hall Paradiso and board member of the Amsterdam Economic Board.

About Ward de Groote

Our second speaker is a true expert in the global coffee market, an industry with serious sustainability challenges and a huge contrast between the poverty of the farmers and the wealth of coffee consumers. Ward is responsible for coffee farmer selection, green coffee supply, blending, and quality assurance at Farmers Direct. He was one of the founders of UTZ Certified, now part of Rainforest Alliance. Interesting career fact: Ward de Groote started his career at Ahold.