Innofest

About us

These are the people that contribute to making an impact at Innofest.

Our team

Team Innofest

Tom van Wijk

Captains the ship

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Tom believes in the unique power of living labs, such as festivals, as fertile testing grounds for innovations that can be applied on a large scale in society. He can say this with confidence, thanks to his 14 years of experience in organising festivals at ID&T / Air Events. He has a creative entrepreneurial spirit and believes that breaking down ‘bubbles’ is essential for fostering innovation and building an accessible society. Tom has an open-minded outlook and enjoys making new connections. At Innofest Tom is committed to ensure accessibility to the Innofest methodology for all impact-entrepreneurs, so no sustainable and social solution for society is left untapped.

Benthe Valk

Leads the way

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Benthe loves to keep order. She likes to organize and plan everything to perfection. After founding her own social business LUST, her love and passion for entrepreneurship and innovation grew. Since then, she believes social entrepreneurship is the norm. As a project lead she makes sure everyone's job is stress-free so they are able to help the entrepreneurs as best as they can.

Elisha Weeber

Leads the way and scouts innovations

Mail Elisha

As a former entrepreneur, Elisha has experienced the importance of validating your prototype and wants to use her own experience to help other startups move forward. Her own company focused on reducing plastic consumption, but she has a broad interest in sustainability. At Innofest, she is active as Project Lead and Startup Scout and hopes to meet many inspiring sustainable entrepreneurs.

Marjolein Koornstra

Manages our social media

Mail Marjolein

Marjolein is co-responsible for communication at Innofest, where she manages the social media and website, highlighting our innovators. She derives the greatest satisfaction from creating impactful campaigns that promote sustainability, innovation, and positive change. With her strategic vision and passion for storytelling, she knows how to make complex topics accessible to a wide audience.

Friso Visser

Writes the method

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By day, the enthusiastic critic Friso is a communication strategist and by night, he is the innovation enabler. Because he often collaborates with education partners both by choice and by accident, he is the right person to scour the education sector for innovations to bring to the festivals. Friso also co-developed the Innofest testing method.

David Waterdrinker

Spots opportunities

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With his years of experience as a social entrepreneur and business developer, David has gained the necessary knowledge to help new partners of Innofest move towards a sustainable future. He uses his immense passion for sustainable innovations as fuel to work with business partners to find a fitting solution, creating as much impact as possible.

Robin Noordenbos

Producer

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Creativity is very important to Robin. Additionally, he is extremely enthusiastic about the events world. During his studies in Creative Business, he took his first steps into this world through a minor in event management and immediately knew: this is it. After his internship as an innovation scout, he started working with us as a project assistant. Later, he became our producer, ensuring that the test cases of entrepreneurs run smoothly and that everything related to production goes without a hitch.

Kjel Kuypers

Stimulates innovation

Mail Kjel

Kjel is adventurous, sporty, and entrepreneurial. With his background in strategic entrepreneurship, marketing, and consulting, he quickly strikes the right chord with the content. But this former tour leader also finds it important to have a good time. As an innovation expert, he helps entrepreneurs validate business plans, make strategic choices, and guides them in preparing for the test day. His practical approach ensures that ideas are quickly transformed into concrete test setups. Together, we learn what the best next step is for your business.

Neeltje Joekenel Leloux

Brings structure

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With a passion for sustainability and a drive to create positive change, Neeltje fills the role of project assistant at Innofest. Her interest in the world of sustainability began at a young age and developed further during her studies and involvement in various sustainability projects. She strongly believes in the potential of start-ups to contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive world. She loves working with passionate entrepreneurs who aim for a positive impact.

Cher Osinga

Puts innovators in the spotlight

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This passionate creative has a strong love for storytelling and excels in social media and content management. She brings ideas to life in an authentic and unique way. With her hands-on mentality and easygoing, creative mindset, Cher knows how to take quick action. At Innofest, she supports entrepreneurs in presenting their test cases and ensures that Innofest is brought to a broad audience's attention.

Niels Verschuijten

Scouts innovations

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Niels studies Communication and Multimedia Design at NHL Stenden and is doing an internship at Innofest as an innovation scout. His ambition is to support start-ups in their growth and help them enter the international market, seeing cultural exchange and collaboration as a crucial driver of innovation and inclusivity. He also believes that technology can contribute to a better world for future generations.

Isabel Post

Does creative

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Isabel is a driven and structured organizer with a passion for events and media. She is currently studying Creative Business at NHL Stenden in Leeuwarden. After specializing in Event Management, she is now an intern in communications at Innofest. With a sharp eye for detail and the ability to maintain an overview, Isabel brings structure where needed. Her enthusiasm for the media world and her interest in green solutions for the future drive her to continue growing.

Iris Heerschop

Brings structure

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Iris studies Environment & Society Studies at Radboud University and is doing an internship at Innofest in projects and communication. With her organizational skills and ability to maintain structure in her work, she keeps everything on track. Driven by her passion for sustainability and the ambition to make an impact, she strongly believes in the power of innovations to contribute to a more sustainable world.

Daan de Vries

Scouts innovations

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Daan studies Facility Management at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen and is doing an internship as an innovation scout and production assistant. During his minor in Event Management, he immediately knew that he wanted to continue in the events industry. He enjoys helping people and always tries to be there for others. That is why he wants to support startups in developing their innovations effectively and bring them to market successfully.

Founders

Anna van Nunen

Director Eurosonic Noorderslag

Mail Anna

Bianca Pander

Partner BKB | The Campaign bureau | founder Welcome to The Village

Mail Bianca

Ferry Roseboom

Founder Excelsior Recordings + proud member of team Into The Great Wide Open

Mail Ferry

Dago Houben

Previous managing director Eurosonic Noorderslag

Mail Dago

Sjoerd Bootsma

Artistic director LF2028

Mail Sjoerd

Supervisory board

Innofest has a (unpaid) Supervisory Board consisting of 5 members. The Supervisory Board has a supervisory, advisory, and employer role in relation to the director/CEO. Additionally, the Supervisory Board leverages its network to make connections with relevant organizations and Innofest.

The Supervisory Board has two committees: the audit committee and the remuneration committee. The Supervisory Board has a chairperson and four general members. The composition of the Supervisory Board is aimed at being diverse in terms of competencies, experience, and network. Members of the Supervisory Board are appointed for a period of 4 years, with the possibility of extending this for another 4 years.

Members of the supervisory board

Anneke Sipkens

Directeur-bestuurder ANBO

Arnout de la Houssaye

Hoofd Productie Into The Great Wide Open

Bertwin Kampman

Programmamanager Founded in Friesland

Barbara Vos

Creatieve lead Ambassy of Food

Sander Peltenburg

Start-en scale-up financiering Rabobank

Compensation

The foundation consists of a Supervisory Board, a director-manager, employees on a permanent contract, and freelance staff. Innofest also works with one or two interns per internship period. The Supervisory Board performs its function on a voluntary basis and does not receive a salary or any other compensation for the work carried out. Members of the Supervisory Board are entitled to a statutory expense reimbursement for costs incurred in the performance of their duties.

The foundation employs staff. Additionally, the director-manager, along with some other colleagues, is hired on a freelance basis. The compensation provided should be reasonably proportionate to the responsibility carried, the requirements of the position, and the time commitment. All rates are in line with the market.

At least once a year, all employees have an individual performance review. Based on this discussion and the possibilities provided by the budget, a new salary proposal is made. The chair of the Supervisory Board, together with another general member, is responsible for evaluating the manager within Innofest. The manager is responsible for evaluating the remaining employees.