The International Correspondent Issue #3

#3 SEPTEMBER /OCTOBER /NOVEMBER 2011 €5,99

WHAT TO WEAR TO WORK? 6 PAGES OF FASHION

Working in The Netherlands

DUTCH COMPANIES DESPERATELY SEEKING FOREIGN STAFF

EUROPE

END OF ΕΥΡΩ?

AMBASSADOR OF INDIA BHASWATI MUKHERJEE

FROM SECRETARY TO MEDIA MAGNATE ANNEMARIE VAN GAAL

58 73 What, where, when

Dutch Style

IDFA THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS

BAS KOSTERS DUTCH DESIGNER

8 717973 661238

14

Introducing

02

‘India will provide support for European recovery if...’

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Portuguese Perpetual Calendar, Reference IW502306, in 18 ct red gold with dark brown alligator strap

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s if life weren’t complicated enough ­already, our watchmakers develop me­ chanical complications that continue to break down barriers of what is technically feasible. It is a fascination with the perfectly smooth intermeshing of wheels, levers and springs that inspires our designers to achieve what lies way beyond the ordinary. IWC Schaffhausen has the capacity to develop and produce individual masterpieces of haute horlogerie such as the perpetual calendar, minute repeater and moon phase display from start to finish. This is the reason for its po­ sition as a leading international brand in the luxury watch segment. The Portuguese models are a far cry from the illustrious age in which Portuguese seafarers with their outstanding nautical expertise and ground­ breaking technical inventions, discovered new continents and oceans. Ever since the 1930s, when two Portuguese watch importers or­ dered wristwatches from IWC with the same precision as a deck watch, watchmaking achievement of the highest order has been part of the Portuguese watch family’s DNA.

One of the most intricate and admired com­ plications of them all is the precise repre­ sentation of the lunar period of 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3 seconds. The moon phase display on the Portuguese Per­ petual Calendar Reference 5023 depicts

both the current state of the moon and its mirror image, thus showing how it appears in both the northern and southern hemi­ spheres. In 577.5 years, the display diverges from the actual state of the moon by just one day. And that is an impressive achievement

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for a symbol on the dial that is around 700 million times smaller than the real thing. The countdown scale shows the number of days remaining before the next full moon. Another example of IWC’s mastery of movement in miniature is provided by the perpetual calen­ dar, which is mechanically programmed until the year 2499 and has displays for the seconds, minutes and hours, the day, date, month and the year in four digits. The bal­ ance completes over 12.5 billion oscillations before the century display moves just once.

The century slide transforms the change from one century to the next into a minor event in its own right.

For IWC, time is more than mere figures: time is a rhythm. Like the beating of our hearts.

Like a waxing and waning moon. Like the barely perceptible movement of the century slide. IWC watches transform the abstract notion of time into a sensory experience. And as complicated as our watches may be, the secret of their success is quite simple: they are among the best mechanical timepieces in the world. IWC. Engineered for men.

Contents 4 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

Fashion Special

Silly Questions

ABOUT THE BRITISH RIOTS

40

Dress for success ‘Fashion is getting more important in business.’

Similar unrest can flare up in The Netherlands, says Dr J. van de Sande, professor emeritus of social psychology at Groningen University.

11 Local Business ALMERE

The city has an image problem.

But foreign businesses are moving in and the local authority intends to turn Almere into the Manhattan or Shanghai of The Netherlands.

Personal Finance Book Review Debt: The first 5000 years

Top 10

48 50

52

10 Talking Heads The 10 most cited opinionmakers of the Netherlands. From the Prophet of Misery to the Dutch Godfather of Economics.

What,Where,When

57

The Cannes of Documentary - IDFA An interview with its founder Ally Derks

58

Chef’s Table Meat is on the ‘Chef’s table’

61

News Personal Finance Dutch Golf International Living Dutch Style Gadgets & Gizmos Testing, Testing,... 1,2,3

9 47 55 65 73 78 79

13 Introducing

ANNEMARIE VAN GAAL From secretary to the board of directors to media magnate.

14 Column

THE BIG ISSUE A Globalized Approach can cure the healthcare headache

16 Column

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

THE FIRST STEPS TO SUCCESS Clues are provided by Eppo Horlings, Director of Horatio Assurance Group, which gives advice to foreign companies and entrepreneurspolitics.

49

Short the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 5

Our leadership role in the world will change. The real economic powers get the position they deserve Indian Ambassador, Bhaswati Mukherjee, page 19

Q&A

Business

Feature

A Banker’s Solution to the Crisis

Dutch distillers

The Expat Work Ethic is in Demand

Increase inequality in Europe, suggests banker Anke Struijss. Lower salaries in southern Europe will make exports from those countries more attractive. Northern Europe needs to have higher salaries so as to raise labour productivity and increase consumer power.

We don’t drink it, but we sure sell it. Dutch distillers have winning strategies for selling products world-wide.

Foreign companies in the Netherlands are creating the most new jobs for native Dutch employees. But Dutch companies are desperately seeking foreigners to hire.

22 29 32

Het uitgesproken ontwerp met heldere, architecturale lijnen van de Hampton collectie voor hem en haar, belichaamt natuurlijke elegantie en benadrukt de kunst van het leven. www.baume-et-mercier.com

Voor verkoopinformatie in Benelux: Tel : +31 (0)20 342 86 43 • Fax : +31 (0)20 342 86 81 E-mail: info.benelux@baume-et-mercier.com

Editorial

Colophon

PHOTOGRAPHY MAARTEN BEZEM

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 7

Lady in Grey Double-speak over foreigners on the labour market ‘Storm-clouds are gathering around our country,’ said finance minister, Jan Kees De Jager, as he presented The Netherlands’ national budget at the end of September.

Budget Day (Prinsjesdag) is usually like the opening of Ascot. Extravagant headgear, the queen’s arrival in her golden carriage to give the Throne Speech... and then the political horses are off, racing to the year’s economic debate.

But, in 2011, the queen wore grey. The international crisis and European problems are weighing heavily on The Netherlands. We are losing 80 million euros every day. Despite budget cuts of 18 billion.

Floris Müller meets Dutch PM Mark Rutte

As an invitee to the grand opening of the year’s politics, I happened to witness the corridor encounter that reflected this year’s deliberations.

‘Economy is a Greek word,’ quipped Greek Ambassador, Loannis Economides.

‘Greece must observe the rules,’ returned Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte.

The gap in our budget is being placed at the gates of foreign countries by our government.

International business is sick, goes the official mantra, and, as a trading nation, The Netherlands is at risk of catching the disease.

‘We are a great supporter of Europe, but we’ve become more critical,’ said the Finance Minister. He drew fierce criticism in Brussels this summer when he said he was ‘taking into account a possible default by Greece’.

But he stuck by his guns and instructed his

ministerial experts to develop various scenarios on potential developments in the European Union.

We at The International Correspondent had already taken the same action. Our political editor, Mark Maathuis, presents our ironic findings in this issue of the magazine.

Not least of the issues facing the Dutch government is that of job growth. At the beginning of this year, unemployment stood at 4.3%, very low in comparison with the European average of 10%. In Spain, one in every five citizens is without employment.

‘We have free movement of people in the eurozone,’ stated minister of sociale affairs, Henk Kamp at the budget presentation. ‘But where work-seekers from outside Europe are concerned, we are being very cautious.

We are shutting the gates.’

This policy doesn’t apply to high-value foreign labour, though. ‘Knowledge-workers’, as they are called here, are very welcome indeed, according to Kamp himself. We have a dearth of talent to stock our universities, MBA schools and skilled service sector. The Netherlands is seeking skills from India, China, Japan, the US and Europe. This applies not just to the government, but to our private sector, which has shifted focus in the past decade from the national labour market to the international.

It follows that, in coming years, the number of internationals will grow at the top and at senior levels of companies. In this issue, whose theme is ‘Working in The Netherlands’, we focus on the possibilities for internationals in the Dutch employment market, and offer an overview of the most highly-positioned foreigners in Dutch business. And we note that foreign companies are currently the biggest source of job creation for Dutch citizens.

It reminds me of an old Dutch saying: everything good comes from far away. If The Netherlands wishes to remain at the top of the global ladder in the future, it needs to keep that adage in mind. And increase possibilities for newcomers.

Floris Müller, Publisher

THE INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT www.theinternationalcorrespondent.nl EDITION September/October/November 2011 Edition 3 PUBLISHER & EDITOR Floris Müller floris.muller@theinternationalcorrespondent.nl ADJUNCT EDITOR Niala Maharaj niala.maharaj@theinternationalcorrespondent.nl CONTRIBUTORS Hamlet Bueno, Thomas Dieben, Ellen Van Exter, Fenna Ferwerda, Eppo Horlings, Martin van Geest, Jeroen Jansen, David Lemereis, Jeroen Kamphorst, Joost van Kleef, Mark Maathuis, Paul Rodenburg, Dennis Roelofsen, Sanjay Sharma, Marco de Vries DESIGN AND ART DIRECTION POP www.popadores.com PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten Bezem SPECIAL THANKS TO Wendy van Bavel, Jolijn Besemer, Alvie Bhailal, Remco Buurman, Willem Elzenga, Jeroen van Evert, Ramon Groen, Natascha Heijstek, Marjolein Hof, Christiaan Huijg, Lilian Van der Steen, Andrew van der Ven, Sabine Wölfel, Emiel de Sevren Jacquet WEB DEVELOPMENT Sketches From Heaven SALES & MARKETING Ignace Breemer Ter Stege Ignace.Breemer@correspondentmedia.nl ACCOUNTANT IUS Statutory Audits PRINTING Westdeutsche Verlags- und Druckerei GmbH, Mörfelden-Walldorf, Germany DISTRIBUTION TO STORES Van Gelderen/ VanGelderen Inflight The International Correspondent is the business magazine for the international community in The Netherlands. It offers quality reports on finance and economics as well as expositions of Dutch politics, education, innovation and lifestyle. It also provides independent advice on living in, working in, and enjoying The Netherlands. The International Correspondent appears every two months and is published in collaboration with partners in business, government and the education sector. It is also distributed by AKO and Bruna bookshops and magazine stores in the Randstad and surrounding cities. The International Correspondent is not dependent on the government and receives no funding or other assistance from official sources.

The editors try to ensure the correctness of all information in this magazine. However, mistakes and omissions are, regrettably, possible. No rights may therefore be derived from the material published. We are perfectly willing to publish corrections in the following issue, if they are brought to our attention. For questions or information, please contact the publisher. All rights reserved. Nothing in this edition may be multiplied, stored in an automated database, or made public, in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher.

For more information about the partnership programme of The International Correspondent, contact partnerships@ correspondentmedia.nl The International Correspondent is published by Correspondent Media CORRESPONDENT MEDIA info@correspondentmedia.nl www.correspondentmedia.nl Postbus 75526 1070 AM Amsterdam The Netherlands Chamber of Commerce Nr. 34394092 Vat. No.:148998203B01 Rabobank Amsterdam 12.58.16.030

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the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 9

Prinsjesdag, Den Haag sept 20, 2011 On Prinsjesdag, Queen Beatrix reads the throne speech.It’s a day for wearing hats. photo: Marja van Bijsterveldt, Karla Peijs

PHOTOGRAPHY WFA /DIRK HOL

News

News 10 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

INSHORT

Euro-crisis starts to claim casualties

Government wounded; subidised Dutch lifestyle amputated With such a major financial storm raging around us, political and social collateral damage is to be expected. September’s budget presentation provided a preview.

DUTCH WELFARE STATE PAST ITS BEST-BY DATE After the wettest summer in a century, Minister of Finance Jan Kees de Jager noted that storm clouds were gathering, and launched 18 billion euros in budget cuts.

The subsidised Dutch lifestyle seems to be going the way of the dinosaurs.

Wilders had been mega-rude to everyone else during the budget debate, dubbing one parliamentary contribution ‘diarrea’, and repeatedly calling the opposition leader a poodle. But the final straw came when he told Rutte to ‘cool it’ as the PM tried to tick off the PVV for calling the Turkish prime minister an ‘Islamic ape’.

Costs of health insurance will rise by a third due to cuts in subsidies, and coverage will fall substantially. The handicapped and chronically-ill will lose rights to arrange their own care regimes. Museums, concerts and cabaret shows will become more expensive. Comedians might have to get dayjobs.

As with most marriages, the quarrel is really about money. Turkey imports 4 billion euros of goods from The Netherlands, and its economy is growing faster than those in Europe.

Apart from subsidised sex, the good times on the polder are over. How over is anybody’s guess.

IS THE GOVERNMENT PAST ITS ‘BEST-BY’ DATE? It was always meant to be just a marriage of convenience, this current governing coalition, pleaded Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, (aka Mr Congeniality) when the budget debate ended.

Mr Uncongeniality, aka Geert Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party (PVV), which currently keeps the cabinet afloat, had been rude to the PM in front of the entire nation.

The government has no choice but to go the course with the euro, since the economy depends on trade. Divorce is in the air.

AND WHO’S DATING WHO NOW? Dump Wilders and his PVV, the Financieele Dagblad newspaper has been urging the PM. Other political parties are lining up for the rebound action, if the press is to be believed. Which one will be chosen to replace the PVV in the governing menage-a-trois?

The Christian Unie has a nice virginal air about it. Ernest, well-meaning, well-spoken – a model of propriety. Would make a very decent consort. But then there’s the Green-Left party, which has been sidling rightwards. Would bring in high-earning, ecologically-tinted voters...

For continuing coverage of this soap, watch this space...

PHOTOGRAPHY WFA/BART MAAT

Child-care will cost child-creators more.

But the Dutch government habit of paying parents to bring up the fruits of their own loins, via a freebie called child-contribution, will remain intact. This is to placate Christian parties in Parliament. They regard ‘Go ye and multiply’ as a major Christian duty.

(It comes from the old days when Catholics and Protestants were trying to out-populate each other.)

But other financial rocks are looming in southern Europe to strand this now-inconvenient marriage. Greece is the word. Or ‘that garlic-country’ as Wilders prefers to call it.

The PVV says it won’t support any more bailouts... or eurobonds... or any other form of euro-meddling for that matter. Kick the garlic eaters out of the eurozone. Forget the euro entirely...

News the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 11

SILLYQUESTIONS ABOUT THE BRITISH RIOTS The riots that overtook Britain this summer didn’t surprise Dr J. van de Sande, professor emeritus of social psychology at Groningen University. Riots are a recurrent phenomenon, he says, and can be forcast. Similar unrest can flare up in The Netherlands.

It seems not only the underclass took part in these riots...

Young men long for war and competition. Particularly when they’re between 15 and 23 years old. That’s not necessarily attached to social class. Young men love to fight against a common enemy. These in Britain were well organised, with different people undertaking different functions. That means there’s room for negotiation with them about their demands.

Is this year a season for rioting? Earlier this year, we had youth on the streets of Madrid and now we have the Middle East...

The need for a peer-group enterprise binds the young people who are taking to the streets. But there is a big difference. The Arabic youth are focused on an external target: democratic progress. In Madrid it was about jobs. The youth in London are in a battle against boredom, and for material benefit. None of it has to do with the economic crisis.

The Netherlands is a pretty quiet place. We don’t have a history of rioting, do we?

Actually we do. I wrote a lot about the history of protests in The Netherlands between 1600 and 1800. Believe me, there was a lot of unrest here.

PHOTOGRAPHY WFA/AD TESTERS

So, according to your analysis, can we expect big riots in this country?

I believe in the periodicity of riots. Every thirty years, social unrest develops and major riots erupt. It happened all over Western Europe in the 1930s. And again just after the war, when communist labour unions brought out a lot of young people onto the streets.

Then, from 1970 to 1985, there were the emancipation struggles.

So we are on the cusp of a new round of unrest.

Business News 12 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

86%

€6.1 BILLION

MOST OF THE 6.1 BILLION EURO TRADE WITH TURKEY WAS ALSO COMPRISED OF EXPORTS

ING BANK: DUTCH ENTREPRENEURS MUST SEEK GROWTH IN EMERGING MARKETS Dutch entrepreneurs should orient themselves more to emerging markets if they want to grow, said Annerie Vreugdenhil, director of ING Commercial Banking Nederland in September. Currently, Dutch entrepreneurs are still looking at Europe when doing international business, she noted, but there’s little growth in this market because of the economic situation.

A recent survey carried out by ING Commercial Banking among 151 business clients revealed that Dutch companies are still mainly involved with neighbouring countries. Germany is the foremost partner, followed by Belgium and France. The US and China come after this, followed by a long line of other European countries. Nearly half of the entrepreneurs want to expand their activities in the countries where they are already active.

LOWER GROWTH IN EUROPE ‘The after-shocks of the financial crisis will cause growth in The Netherlands and its neighbours to be lower than we are used to,’ said Vreugdenhil. ‘For meaningful growth, Dutch entrepreneurs must look further away, particularly in Asia and Latin America.’

€25.8 BILLION

SAME GOES FOR ITALY, WHERE TRADE AMOUNTED TO A WHOPPING 25.8 BILLION EUROS

DISCUSSIONS STARTED ON REFORMING THE FINANCIAL SECTOR Leading Dutch economist H.H.F. “Herman” Wijffels was one of the initiators of the Sustainable Finance Lab in 2010. The Lab’s aim is to make the financial sector sustainable, stable and robust, able to contribute to an economy that serves people without exhausting the environment.

PHOTOGRAPHY WFA /DIRK HOL

IN 2010, OVER 86% OF DUTCH TRADE WITH GREECE (2.9 BILLION EUROS) WAS COMPRISED OF EXPORTS

She pointed to sectors like transport and storage, wholesale trade, the auto industry and agriculture.

NETHERLANDS-BRAZIL BUSINESS MEET 2011 The Netherlands is already the second largest investor in the Brazilian economy and the fourth largest export recipient of Brazilian produce. This October, efforts are being made to increase co-operation between the two countries. Brazil is one of the fastest growing markets in the world and offers many opportunities for investors in a wide range of sectors.

‘To prevent ourselves falling behind, it’s important to secure opportunities offered by emerging markets in a timely fashion. Multinationals have ample experience here, but mid-sized companies are still not used to this, and that can be a brake on their international growth.’

The Netherlands - Brazil Business Meet 2011 was held on October 3rd, sponsored by KPMG and Rabobank and organised in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, VNO-NCW, AkzoNobel and the Brasilian Embassy.

CULTURAL ISSUES Differences in culture, language, laws and rules are the biggest obstacles Dutch entrepreneurs find in doing business overseas, according to the ING survey. Some 40% of respondents said culture and language differences are their biggest challence, while 30% point to legal difficulties.

Wijffels has teamed up with Klaas van Egmond of the University of Utrecht and Peter Blom of Triodos Bank to bring together researchers from different disciplines to engender change in the financial system. This October and November, the Lab is holding a series of five discussions in Utrecht to put on the table issues necessary to reforming the financial sector. These discussions will involve people from the sector itself, politicians, government representatives, regulators and researchers.

TRADE WITH INDIA TO REACH 10 BILLION EUROS BY 2012 India’s Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, said in September he was confident that Indo-Dutch trade would reach 10 billion euros in the next two years. Chidambaram was speaking at the Netherlands India Business Meet organised by The Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce and Trade (NICCT), ING Bank and KPMG. Dutch Secretary of State for Trade, Frank Heemskerk, said The Netherlands could help India in its river water and port management. He also evinced interest in investment in the Indian agriculture sector.

Dutch companies have already developed a thousand-acre food park at Hyderabad. Six other parks are in the pipeline.

Philips, Shell, Heineken and Unilever are familiar names in India and several more are moving into the fields of R&D, bio-technology, food parks, ports, hotels and in the civil aviation sector.

‘In the banking sector, ING VYSYA BANK reflects a unique partnership between Dutch and Indian companies,’ observed Karthik Balachandran, of ING´S European desk. ING started its operations in India in 1992, and in 2002 it became the single largest shareholder of Vysya Bank – one of India´s oldest banks- by increasing its stake to 44 per cent.

Business News the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 13

Almere Ugly Duckling Determined to Grow into a Swan

PHOTOGRAPHY MAARTEN FEENSTRA

LOCALBUSINESS

Almere can be called the most Dutch city of all. Conjured out of thin air on reclaimed land in the Ijssel lake east of Amsterdam, it exudes Dutch inventiveness. Having acquired nearly 200,000 inhabitants in a mere 35 years, it is the fastest-growing part of The Netherlands, perhaps of the whole of Europe. But most Dutch people badmouth Almere. Its raw housing blocks and concrete centre are condemned as The Netherlands’ ugliest. But oddly enough, perhaps this is just what makes Almere so Dutch.

Although the city was founded only a few decades ago, the name Almere is centuries old. It was given to a tongue of water that extended into the Zuiderzee, providing access to the harbours of Amsterdam. During the Dutch Golden Age, thousands of ships laden with grain, wood and spices arrived via Almere from the farthest reaches of the globe. Galleons set sail from Almere to collect treasure in every corner of the world. These were full of traders and adventurers seeking their fortunes in distant lands.

Now, since the north-east marshes were drained (Almere lies four metres under sea level) and the town founded in 1975, pioneers are back. Low house prices and a sense of space are luring Amsterdammers and villagers from nearby t’ Gooi. And, increasingly, companies are discovering Almere as a place to set up their headquarters.

Civil-servants of the 1970s designed the town on their drawingboards. Almere was conceived as a model of Dutch social inventiveness, with precise proportions of housing, public space and industrial terrain. Nothing was left to chance; creativity was subjected to functionality. The new neighbourhoods, with their unimaginative names – city, harbour, outskirts, wood, gateway – were embodied in grey housing blocks divided by endless streets and sombre squares.

‘We have an image problem,’ admits Henk Weijschede of the Economic Development Board Almere (EDBA). ‘It’s mainly the inhabitants of the traditional Dutch cities that criticise us. I call those Alphacities. Almere is a Beta-city, designed around functionality and price, not history or charm.’

SPACE AND RULES Basically, Almere is a dormitory town. Most inhabitants wave it goodbye in the morning and return after work in the evening. But its economic importance has been growing rapidly in the last years. Nearly 15,000 firms are now registered there, 130 of them foreign firms.

‘Foreign companies find Almere particularly suitable for their European distribution centres,’ says Weijschede. ‘LG, Mitsubishi and

Caterpillar have been attracted by Almere’s central location and low price, but also because they have fewer government regulations to contend with here.’

Lifescience entrepreneurs are also honing in on Almere. The pharmaceutical giant, Roche, for instance.

‘We have few large multinationals,’ adds Weijschede. ‘But a hundred companies each have over a hundred employees here. Small and mid-sized firms are more prominent here than in other towns.’

The city’s authorities also realise that countering its concrete-jungle image has a positive effect in drawing businesses to Almere. They have visions of Almere becoming the Manhattan or Shanghai of The Netherlands, complete with futuristic skyline. The world-renowned Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas, who has been responsible for huge building projects in China, was brought in to create the design. Newlook Almere will have a modern shopping centre called Citadel, a gleaming glass office block called La Defense and Silverline, and a huge residential skyscraper that, on a clear day, will be visible from Amsterdam.

‘Almere has always been a growth centre,’ says Weijschede. ‘Such plans match our mentality. In other areas these kinds of modern buildings would spark more resistance.’

INTERNATIONALS A brand-new centre for international business is being developed at the WTC, close to the central station, where the city’s Expat Center is also being established. The International School Almere has been founded on the outskirts. Even a nursery school, Letterland, is geared to internationals. Social events are organised for international employees and expats. Organisations such as Meet Up Almere, Expat Almere and International Almere hold cocktail parties, trips and other festivities for newcomers. And the Bulldogs Rugby Club is well worth a visit.

Business News 14 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

INTRODUCING

ANNEMARIE VAN GAAL

Is there really a glass ceiling?

Or is it just a mirage?

Annemarie van Gaal started as a secretary to the board of directors of a Dutch publishing firm and is now a media magnate.

Annemarie van Gaal prefers to call herself an entrepreneur rather than a publisher.

She landed up in the media by happenstance.

‘My motivation is just to be successful,’ she says. ‘It’s an accident that I began at a company that produces publications.’

She began as secretary to the board of directors of the Dutch publisher VNU. ‘I got more and more responsibility and had to carry out increasingly difficult tasks.’

Her promotion to project manager now seems a logical step. At the beginning of the 1990s, soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Van Gaal was sent to Moscow with journalist Derk Sauer to explore publishing opportunities in the former east bloc.

‘Capitalist enterprise wasn’t understood there. It was really the Wild East. Everything was difficult, but nothing seemed impossible.’

When she managed to get it to work, she and her companion went further.

‘Once you persist and keep looking for unconventional solutions, plans work out eventually.’

EXPATS That confidence paid off in the end. In 1997 her new publishing firm, Independent Media, ran 20 magazines including (under licence) Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan, as well as their own launch, the Moscow Times.

‘Our competitors were expats sent to Russia by the big media giants. They saw their work in that country as a sacrifice to get a better job later on in a nicer place.’

million euros. With her share, Van Gaal started her own media firm in The Netherlands. Van Gaal & Company specializes in financial media products.

That was in sharp contrast with Gaal’s ambitions for her publishing company.

‘For us, our work was our life.’

‘We produce sponsored magazines, brochures, books, websites, and digital reports for banks and financial organisations.”

In 2005, the publishing house was sold to the Finnish Sanoma for an estimated 142

In recent years, she also writes hard-hitting columns in the Financieele Dagblad.

Why have so few new companies been born in the last years?

‘Production companies are capital intensive.

Banks and venture capitalists don’t have money at this moment. Without capital, the most you can do is start a local service company. With the rapid changes in technology in the last ten years, I foresee new forms of media in the next ten years. Apps are only the first challenge traditional publishers have to face.’

Business News the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 15

BUSINESSCALENDAR NOVEMBER

PHOTOGRAPHY WFA/PETER VAN OETELAAR

22-24

Sustainable Energy Fair

DETAF (Sustainable Energy, Technology and Agro Fuels) is the business fair for European bio-energy and the rest of the sustainable sector. Information, ideas and inspiration are traded here in a businesslike, professional and hospitable way and new contacts are made.

Visitors are selected by exhibitors themselves so the fair becomes a forum for a targetted public. It is geared towards energy professionals and decision-makers in business connected with the agricultural sector that are involved with sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship.

Are you actively involved, as producer or developer, in areas con-

OCTOBER Fitness & Health 6 - 8 Benelux The fitness and health sector is rapidly changing. Consumers’ needs demand changes in approach and service, as society grows more concerned about healthy lifestyles for young and old. After swimming and cycling, fitness training is the activity preferred by the largest group of Dutch citizens. This offers increased opportunities for fitness and wellness entrepreneurs.

LOCATION Jaarbeurs Utrecht Hall 3 & 4 ENTRY Free by invitation

OCTOBER

Design

19–23 Put it in your diary. On 19 – 23 October the 4th D-Day will be held in Maastricht. It’s the design event of the South. D-Day is an exhibition, fair and auction in one, a place where local and foreign designers display their products. Visitors can see the latest trends and developments, buy samples, and get inspiration. Unique products will be on display: furniture, clothing, accessories, jewelry and pottery.

Entry is free for both designers and visitors.

LOCATION MECC Forum 100 6229 GV Maastricht www.d-daydesignveiling.nl

nected with bio-energy or sustainability? Are you employed as a consultant, with the government, agriculture or education. Then DETAF offers a chance to make useful connections.

DATES AND OPENING HOURS Tuesday 22nd – Thursday 24th November 2-10 pm LOCATION Evenementenhal Venray Wattstraat 2 De Voorde 30, Oostrum) 5807 GB Venray www.detaf.nl

NOVEMBER Aquatech:

1- 4

The exhibition to be at!

In November 2011, the world of process water, drinking water and wastewater will come together in Amsterdam to celebrate the 23rd edition of Aquatech Amsterdam. Established in 1964, this thriving international trade exhibition is the only event for the global water industry with a focus exclusively on this precious resource.

Aquatech Amsterdam is much more than a product and services exhibition. It represents an ideal platform to exchange experiences, learn from other water professionals and best practices, and be inspired by the world’s leading water experts. www.internationalwaterweek.com

NOVEMBER Jazz

18 -19

International Rotterdam

The Rotterdam Jazz Festival offers international performances at various podia in the city. Tony Overwater, winner of last year’s VPRO/Boy Edgar Prize, has put this year’s programme together.

Bill Frisell 858 Quartet, Clazz Ensemble and Tin Men & the Telephone will perform this year.

LOCATION De Doelen & LantarenVenster Rotterdam www.jazzinternational.nl

Column The Big Issue

16 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

By Sanjay Sharma A rising number of people in The Netherlands cannot pay their health insurance premiums. Costs are skyrocketing as the population ages. It seems an intractable problem – if we continue to view it in the traditional way. But there are solutions.

Here’s a clue. Highly sophisticated procedures like open heart surgery are 80-90% cheaper in India than in the USA. The well-known journal Foreign Policy recently published an article on Russia’s health care system. It stated that a trip to the hospital may land you in the morgue –if you ever get to the hospital in the first place. It was quite shocking to read how Russia, once a health care leader with 22nd worldwide ranking, fell almost to the same ranks as Sudan. Then I stumbled on another report on the US, which spends over 17% of its GDP on health care – twice as much as many other mature economies – just to find that its Medicare still leaves nearly 46 million people, or 15% population without health insurance, and hence unserved.

I think these reports represent current global reality in general, rather than just isolated cases.

Amidst the cycle of wealth creation and wealth destruction, we stand at a very critical juncture of social transformation where governments – rich or poor face some tough challenges re-

PHOTOGRAPHY REUTERS/PICHI CHUANG

THE CURE FOR THE HEALTHCARE HEADACHE – A GLOBALIZED APPROACH garding healthcare e.g. how to finance (universal) health care, how to optimize the use of available resources and how to spare patients from financial burden.

This has become even trickier given the current financial crisis and diminishing prospects of wealth generation, especially in the short run, in most of the mature economies along with some emerging ones.

In Europe, thanks to economic prosperity, the average lifestyle attained envious heights but also put enormous strain on the health-care system due to increasing lifespan and decreasing workforce. The UK, for instance, which spends around $3,000 per capita on healthcare, cannot reduce the waiting list of NHS patients. France and Italy, once the top health-care providers in the world, are struggling to keep their economies intact. Currently, the Netherlands with about $3,900 per capita expenditure appears to offer the best balance in terms of efficiency, quality, and access to healthcare. But, in the wake of present debate on financial reforms and structural adjustments in the euro zone, one can easily envision unanticipated changes.

As for emerging economies, they seem to have recognized that their task is even more complex due to population size, and that it is vital to remain ‘healthy’quite literally – for sustainable growth. Thus, it is refreshing to note that many leading knowledge economies like Singapore, India, South Korea and Thailand are allocating sizeable resour-

ces for innovation and delivery of state-of-the-art facilities with world-class treatment by highly skilled doctors and health professionals trained in the West, at an incredibly low cost - which is also boosting medical tourism industry in the region. In India, for instance, quality healthcare for highly sophisticated procedures like open heart surgery, angioplasty, cancer therapy, knee/hip replacement, plastic/cosmetic surgery etc. is roughly 80-90% cheaper than in the USA. Some of the healthcare providers, for instance Arvind Eye Hospital, Apollo Hospital and Narayana Hrudayalaya in India, Parkway Health Group in Singapore and Bumrungrad Hospital in Thailand have become prominent case studies at business schools like Harvard, INSEAD and Hong Kong University. Although it is clear that they still have a long way to go, the inception of such centers of excellence calls for a critical appreciation. The recent shift in the global economic order already offers a clue about how, in the coming years, ultra-modern mobile technology, ubiquitous know-how, information dissemination and the constant rise in human mobility will transform the way healthcare services are consumed. I feel strongly that, within a vision of inclusive global growth that combines a vibrant economic environment and prudent government policies along with an energetic service sector, emerging and mature economies will find ample opportunities to enhance their present cooperation to newer heights for mutual learning and prosperity.

DR. SANJAY SHARMA, former director of Maastricht University India Institute and professor of international relations and Korean affairs, is a strategy advisor on global business and economy.

Dynamic Business center Vibrant and dynamic, an international business and conference center, a community with more than 352 businesses and 37 nationalities. A multicultural center of knowledge and the top in the area of commerce. Based at the heart of the financial center of the Netherlands. Only seven minutes from Schiphol Airport by train.

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where business comes to life

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 19

Q&A BRAIN GAIN ‘India will be prepared to provide every support necessary for European recovery if...’

PHOTOGRAPHY MAARTEN BEZEM

By Floris Müller Despite the economic crisis, India’s economy is still growing. The Asian tiger is thus claiming a greater role in international politics.

Indian Ambassador, Bhaswati Mukherjee, believes the centre of the world is shifting East, but remains very modest. The Netherlands doesn’t have to decline for India to grow, she says. The flood of knowledge workers from India offers Holland opportunities. Both India and The Netherlands will experience brain gain.

Q&A 20 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

THE ELITE MUST HAVE A SENSE OF THE LOCAL CULTURE AND HISTORY. YOU CAN ONLY DEVELOP AN ECONOMY IF YOU HAVE MADE NATIONAL VALUES YOUR OWN

YOU’VE BEEN IN THE NETHERLANDS FOR A YEAR, MADAM AMBASSADOR. DID YOU CHOOSE FOR THIS POSTING? As a diplomat, you don’t get to choose your posting. But my experience here has been very good. The Netherlands is a very developed country and accepts international responsibility. You see that in its approach to development assistance to the third world, particularly in the areas of health and literacy. But also in its approach to Europe.

The Netherlands readily agreed on aid to Greece. In other European countries there has been a lot of protest against the European course of action.

INTERESTING THAT YOU MENTION DUTCH DEVELOPMENT AID. MOST OF YOUR COLLEAGUES FOCUS ON THE NETHERLANDS AS A TRADING NATION. The Dutch are a very open people. And direct. Including when it comes to doing business. The Netherlands is striving for innovation and research to stimulate economic development. And the country has a marvellous infrastructure.

THAT SOUNDS RATHER POSITIVE. I am positive. Although I’m very critical about Dutch education. Cuts are being made there as a result of the crisis, although that area is so important for emerging from the crisis in good shape. You need a very skilled population to grow economically. The attitude regarding education isn’t optimal. Talent isn’t given the chance to develop. In India everyone tries to excel. In The Netherlands, being average is good enough.

THE SHRINKING TOP LAYER IN THE NETHERLANDS’ WORKFORCE IS OPENING THE WAY TO MANY INDIAN KNOWLEDGEWORKERS. A LOT OF YOUR NATIONALS HAVE BEEN ARRIVING HERE IN THE LAST YEARS. There are roughly three groups of Indians in The Netherlands. First, you have the Indian Surinamese who were brought to work on the sugar plantations in South America centuries ago. They’re well-integrated in The Netherlands now. They’re Dutch culturally, but they have a strong emotional relationship with India. Then, in the last century, a large group of knowledge workers arrived from India, mainly to work with IT multinationals like Shell and Philips. They are part of the elite in this country and are very well off financially. They promote cooperation between Dutch companies and their Indian counterparts via their networks in both countries. And, finally, we see a lot of Indian companies setting up shop in The Netherlands in recent years.

THAT’S PART OF THE DUTCH EFFORT TO INTERNATIONALISE THE EMPLOYMENT MARKET. A WELCOME DEVELOPMENT. Absolutely. The Netherlands must keep a grasp on its top talent. An international la-

bour market only functions if there is a national foundation.

WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT? A top layer of employees that has no national loyalty only seeks personal profit and looks only at their bank account. That’s not good.

Look at how the crisis in the US emerged out of the banking sector. The elite must have a sense of the local culture and history. You can only develop an economy if you have made national values your own. India thus encourages its migrants to embrace the culture in the countries where they are living.

THE DEMAND FOR KNOWLEDGE MIGRANTS IN THE NETHERLANDS AND ELSEWHERE IN THE WEST DOESN’T THREATEN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDIAN ECONOMY? Not at all. The number of skilled employees who leave India is just a small part of the total population. And they eventually return to India. The growth of the Asian economy makes it very lucrative for Indians to repatriate eventually. Hence it isn’t brain drain but brain gain.

IN 2008 YOUR PREDECESSOR SAID INDIA WOULDN’T BE AFFECTED BY THE ECONOMIC CRISIS. WAS THAT AN ACCURATE ASSESSMENT? India is still showing growth. But not as much as was predicted. India’s is an international economy, so it is affected by the crisis. But the economic pivot of the world is shifting East, so India is getting increasingly important.

AT THE COST OF THE WEST, INCLUDING THE NETHERLANDS? India still has relatively low labour costs, and a large number of highly-skilled employees.

Those are good conditions for growth. And we have a lot of natural resources. I don’t know if India’s growth will be at the West’s cost.

At the moment, the West profits from Asian growth: low production costs there makes it possible to continue to produce competitively for the local market.

India also offers a lot of investment potential for European and American business and banks.

SOME CALL INDIA AN OUT-SOURCING ECONOMY. WHAT SECTORS HAVE POTENTIAL FOR INDIA? That’s a very Western perspective. India isn’t dependent on European finance. Outsourcing doesn’t offer growth potential. And certainly not for the highly-educated middle class.

It’s a small part of the total economy. I see growth mainly in the services sector, industry and IT. BUT THAT’S DEPENDENT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORLD ECONOMY. WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN FOR THAT TO REMAIN HEALTHY?

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 21

PHOTOGRAPHY MAARTEN BEZEM

IF THE EURO FALLS, IT’S CURTAINS FOR THE ECONOMIES OF INDIVIDUAL EUROPEAN NATIONS

I think, at this moment, what is key is that Europe becomes stable in fiscal and monetary terms. That requires discipline. And commitment by European governments.

Which is difficult. Throughout Europe you are seeing, among national leaders, doubts developing about regional cooperation. It’s illogical, because without the regional currency, national growth becomes impossible.

If the euro falls, it’s curtains for the economies of individual European nations.

DOES THE CRITICISM BY INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES CLIP BRUSSELS’ WINGS? Yes. Europe is improving only very slowly, and that’s a pity. If they had agreed a year ago in Brussels that Greece’s debts should

be structurally wiped off the books, Europe would look different at this moment. There’s need for strong leadership in Europe to deal with the problems. If that should happen, India, as an important partner, would be prepared to provide every support necessary for recovery.

JUST SUPPORT? SHOULDN’T INDIA, AS A STRONGLY GROWING ECONOMIC POWER, ALSO SET TERMS TO EUROPE? THE VACUUM IN DECISION-MAKING IN BRUSSELS HAS ALSO AFFECTED GROWTH IN INDIA. We would do that if we had our legitimate place at the IMF, the World Bank and other economic institutions. I’m sure we’ll eventually have our position in those organs. Our

leadership role in the world will change. The real economic powers get the position they deserve. In reality, we already play such a role: our investment in emerging economies in the West are creating growth at this moment.

WHY SHOULD INDIA WAIT TILL IT GETS THE RECOGNITION IT DESERVES AS A MAJOR ECONOMY? We are in the G20, and we make policy in collaboration there. Maybe it’s a European custom to give advice to others about what to do about economic troubles. Asians are more reserved about this. We offer our opinion only when it is requested.

Q&A 22 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

ANKE STRUIJS is an economist at the Directorate for Information and Economic Research at Rabobank Nederland. She focuses on the Dutch economy and follows developments in economic growth, inflation, employment and government finances.

She is co-author of IN 2030: Four Prospects, a Rabobank evaluation of government policy.

Before joining the bank’s thinktank, she worked as policymaker at the directorate for Financial Markets at the Dutch Ministry of Finance and at the European Commission.

A Banker’s View

Reduction of Equality is the Solution for Europe

By Floris Müller The Dutch budget for 2012 was presented by the government at the end of September. But, according to Anke Struijss, economist at Rabobank, Dutch economic policy will only be effective if strict Europe-wide measures are taken to deal with the continent’s crisis. Increasing inequality in Europe is the solution to this crisis, she argues. Lower salaries in southern Europe will make exports from those countries more attractive. Northern Europe needs to have higher salaries so as to raise labour productivity and increase consumer power.

LOOKING AT THE MACRO-ECONOMIC FIGURES THE GOVERNMENT’S POLICY IS BASED ON, THE ECONOMY IS NOT REALLY IN A GOOD POSITION, IS IT? We are looking at economic growth of 1.5% this year and one percent next year. And it will weaken even further after that. It’s very clear temporary political impulses are wearing off. In addition, the interest-rate policy of central banks is also under strain.

SO, IF ECONOMIC GROWTH IS FALLING, DO THE GOVERNMENT’S POLITICAL MEASURES MAKE ANY SENSE? Yes, absolutely so. They’ve reduced the shock for companies and citizens. The government can limit the damage and spread costs over a longer period. The costs of the crisis have to be paid by companies and people, and the current cabinet policy has begun to ensure this.

ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNMENT, WORLD TRADE WILL SUFFER. ALL GROWTH IN THE DUTCH ECONOMY COMES FROM EXPORTS. DOESN’T THAT SUGGEST A DOUBLE DIP? Holland has a very open economy and growth is dependent on exports. So if international trade suffers, that has consequences for The Netherlands. The results are now very obvious in the internal market. More so than in exports.

IF YOU SAY THE SOLUTIONS REQUIRE COMBINED EUROPEAN POLICY, THEN

PRIME MINISTER RUTTE’S PLANS ARE WORTHLESS WITHOUT THIS. Absolutely. It’s a European crisis. National solutions are not enough. It’s time that European governments concretely support the euro. There’s too much talk and too little action. Eurobonds have to be issued to prevent worse problems. And the emergency fund has to be expanded. Central rules have to be set up for financial policy, and they have to be followed. Dutch finance minister, Jan Kees de Jager, has proposed a European commissioner for monetary control. That would be a good first step.

YOU ARE SUGGESTING THAT THE LONG TERM SOLUTION IS INCREASING INTERNAL INEQUALITY IN EUROPE...

I’ve said salaries in northern Europe should be raised to increase labour productivity and thus consumption. Exports will become more expensive, but sustainable growth requires strengthening the internal market.

Lowering salaries in southern Europe would make their exports cheaper. Southern Europe currently exports too little and imports too much.

IMBALANCE IN EUROPE IS NECESSARY? Indeed. That’s the case all over the world.

The US imports too much; China has little internal market and depends too heavily on exports. At the European level, it’s easier to deal with that imbalance. Salary levels are determined by politicians.

THE NETHERLANDS HAS A TRADITION OF INCOME-LEVELLING DURING TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES. SHOULD WE REVERSE THAT? We have a scarcity of labour. And that will increase with the ageing of our population. We need to raise productivity. That can only be done by raising salaries.

THERE’S LITTLE CONSENSUS IN BRUSSELS ON A CONSOLIDATED APPROACH TO THE CRISIS. DO YOU THINK IT WILL COME ABOUT? Difficult to say. I can’t imagine that Europe won’t come up with a solution. On the other hand, there has been little concrete co-operation in the past regarding this crisis. We have a crisis of confidence.

ISN’T THAT UNDERSTANDABLE? DUTCH POLITICIANS ARE GRIPING THAT SOUTH EUROPEAN COUNTRIES HAVEN’T KEPT TO THE RULES OF THE STABILITY PACT. Practically every country in the eurozone has deviated from the agreements of Maastricht and Amsterdam [ed.- 1993 Maastricht Treaty; 1999: Treaty of Amsterdam, Euro Stability Agreement] That includes even ‘goody-twoshoes’ Holland. Our macro-economic planning assumes a budget deficit of nearly 407 billion euros. That’s 66% of GNP – 6% over the European norm. Our budget deficit will reach 3.9% this year – nearly a whole percentage point above what is allowed.

HASN’T THE NETHERLANDS GOT INTO PROBLEMS BECAUSE OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES HAVEN’T HELD TO THE RULES? Nothern European countries have stronger economies, so when the rules are broken the results are less obvious than in poorer countries. Moreover, all southern European problems weren’t caused by ignoring the rules. In Spain, for instance, the real estate market has fallen drastically - and that has dragged the economy down. You hardly hear about these various causes in the media. Politicians and ordinary people often hear what they want to hear.

IN PRACTICAL TERMS - ISN’T IT EASIER TO PUT GREECE OUT OF THE EUROZONE THAN TO PUT INTO PLACE A BROAD EUROPEAN POLICY? The results of a fracture in the eurozone would be disastrous. For The Netherlands as well. Nearly 70% of Dutch trade is with Europe. If you start shaving bits off this, the country will have real problems. Also, if Greece leaves the euro, other countries will end up in problems. The euro is the crown on the European integration project. If it collapses, European countries will start protecting their individual markets. Exports will become more expensive, and that will also affect Dutch trade.

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the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 25

Politics

To be or not to be THAT’S THE QUESTION… FOR EUROPE

By Mark Maathuis ‘We’re looking into the abyss,’ stated leading economist, Pieter Korteweg, on The Netherlands’ most influential discussion programme, Buitenhof, in early September. What are we seeing in this abyss? Prognoses for the continent fall into three categories. Below, Mark Maathuis takes us on ironic tour through treatment plans being proposed.

Politics 26 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

Treatment Plan 1: DRIFTING AIMLESSLY

It`s not much of an option, but as long as it doesn’t lead to war, why not? After all, one reason to start the European adventure in 1952 was to work together in order to keep the peace. Or, as French foreign minister, Robert Schuman, said at the time, ‘to make war not only unthinkable, but materially impossible’. Yes, today this strategy will lead to more billions being spent on other governments’ mistakes, but it`s still cheaper to hand them money directly than to bring them back in line with tanks.

The downside of the path to ‘no war’ is that it leads nowhere – literally. We avoid real decisions and, when all goes back to normal, we struggle on, hoping never to see another crisis of this magnitude again. That wishful thinking may have worked in the past, but in this über-connected, internationalized world, all information is out there.

This lack of a common European vision and approach is perhaps best illustrated by the role European Council President, Herman Van Rompuy, has so played so far. Where his American counterpart communicates almost daily with his fellow citizens, Europeans can call themselves lucky if they get a presidential haiku every now and then. Next year, Van Rompuy will be up for re-election. And, unlike the last election, this one will matter. If he stays put, so will Europe.

Treatment Plan 2: GOING BACKWARDS

One of the most important insights that comes with this crisis is that Europe is leaderless. But one only has to take a look at recent national elections results to understand that there are plenty politicians who can`t wait to take the steering wheel. Only problem is: most of them want to navigate towards the cliff. It`s not that pulling the plug on Europe isn`t an option. We had our own countries before, we got by with our D-Marks, pesetas and guilders; we`ll do it again. It will also make a lot of voters happy. After all, they`re the ones who helped into power eurosceptic parties like the Dutch Freedom Party and the Danish People’s Party. Seeing real progress in the form of new border controls, a return to the national currency and an even more perfect version of ostrich politics: that`s exactly what they hoped to accomplish with their vote.

What this dissection will bring is probably best described as Belgium with a Vengeance

BELGIUM WITH A VENGEANCE What this dissection will bring is probably best described as Belgium with a Vengeance.

In recent years, Belgium has been focusing on its national differences so completely, it forgot to pay attention to anything else. The result: every problem is seen through the Flemish-Dutch lens and international affairs are measured against the language barrier.

Even the formation of something as basic as a daily government takes so much time that Belgium may now officially call itself the world-record-holder, beating Cambodia’s 353 days on June 1 this year.

A crucial role in this going-backwards option is – perhaps involuntarily - played by a Belgian, Bart De Wever, the president of N-VA, the Flemish party that strives for an independent Flanders. Though his party is pro-Europe, if his plans to slice up his country are executed, it will not only give eurosceptics some practical know-how, but will also be a great inspiration. We can see the terrain on which ‘Brussels’ is founded ripped apart before our very eyes.

Treatment Plan 3: EUROPE GOES FORTH

If the maxim ‘never let a good crisis go to waste’ has any value, Europe’s Golden Age is within reach. This crisis offers the chance to take off from where the Treaty of Maastricht left us in 1992. Then, European leaders agreed upon the monetary union, but failed to reach common ground on a political union.

So we started using euros based on a promise to one day ‘fix the business behind it’. As long as all member countries got their numbers straight, there was a silent agreement not to ask questions about how they were straightened out. But if the Enron scandal has taught us anything, it`s that you can deceive even the most hardened stock owners with a couple of actor-filled fake offices and some power-points.

So we could move toward a federal Europe with real power to act at national level if needed. The US came to this same conclusion when it tried to become a confederation after first gaining independence. Facing an existential discussion almost 70 years after kick-off is therefore not unique to Europe.

Discussions about the limits of Washington’s powers led to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.

WHO’S THE BEST MAN TO LEAD US? The person to kick-start this reach for the next level must have supranational DNA, a well-known name, financial expertise, plus the ability to reach across borders. And, given the seriousness of the situation, some battle scars might come in handy. This person not only exists, he has more than enough free time.

Enter stage left: Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Apart from the aforementioned qualities, DSK was widely supported on European oped pages while he was a suspect in a New York rape case. Many writers on the continent pointed towards American prudishness, the district attorney’s desire to ‘score’ for his re-election, and the bloodthirsty, omnipresent media. French people want to see DSK back in politics, but ‘not too soon’.

Why not next year for the European presidential election? Let`s not forget: DSK became the IMF’s managing director with the support of the 27-nation European Union, the US, most of Africa and new power-house, China.

Before being accused, DSK’s pursuit of financial stability included calls for a possible replacement of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. He has never been found guilty in a court of law. Whether you like him or not, compared to Van Rompuy, he`s got balls.

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 27

‘Resign!’

THE SOCIALISTS IN PARLIAMENT BELLOWED ‘Loss of confidence,’ ADDED THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS

PHOTOGRAPHY NOVUM FOTO

A mistake by the prime minister about The Netherlands’ share of EU financial assistance to Greece got him into hot water this summer. It wasn’t a matter of small change: Mark Rutte’s math was off by fifty billion. The Netherlands is guaranteeing 159 billion to the Greeks, plus bank loans, not 109 billion, as the PM stated.

COLUMN THE FIFTY-BILLION EURO MISTAKE

By Floris Müller

If you didn’t know better you would say the VVD premier had found himself in a tight spot. This slip could have started a slide for Rutte and his right-wing colleagues. The cabinet, comprised of economic liberals and christian democrats was already losing popularity due to budget cuts. And the neverending European crisis was bringing on a heap of criticism from their parliamentary supporter, the PVV, led by populist politician Geert Wilders, who abhors the euro, Europe and support for what he calls ‘garlic-states’.

The reality is otherwise. The cabinet is still firmly in place.

Rutte simply said sorry and all the flak subsided. Peace broke out in Parliament.

This rapid recovery is probably the result of the young premier’s eloquence. Rutte is good at explaining complicated policy in simple words and winning over both parliament and public. His lightfootedness earns him points in the polls.

In addition, there is tranquility within the ruling coalition.

The CDA is in free-fall: it doesn’t even want to hear the word ‘elections’ for the time being. And Wilders is busy building his party’s internal organisation so someday he can make a play for the prime minister’s post. Now is not the time to detonate any explosives under the cabinet of his former VVD comrade.

But the most important reason for the government’s stability is the divisions in the opposition. The social democrat PvdA , socialist SP, social liberal D66 and green Groenlinks have trouble getting their combined act together. Despite having almost a majority in parliament, and even trying last year to grab power by forming a ‘left-wing bloc’, they can’t seem to make a crack in the wall of the right-wing government.

Their biggest problem is opposition leader Job Cohen (PvdA).

Cohen, who was taken from his post as mayor of Amsterdam in early 2010 and crowned labour party leader with great pomp and ceremony, is a ditherer. No match for Rutte in economic debate. Rutte usually has his facts at his fingertips. Usually, not always. There’s that little matter of fifty billion...

While there’s rumbling in the PvdA, and, increasingly, senior figures in the party vent criticism of the leader and the entire opposition, the cabinet is safe. If it goes on like this, Rutte and his colleagues will last out their four-year term. Even plans for increased government cuts, above and beyond the current 18 billion-target, should be easy to realise because of the divisions in the opposition.

A 50 billion mistake has thus cost the premier very little.

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the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 29

Business

A BOTTLED HISTORY OF DUTCH DISTILLING

By Martin van Geest The French distill cognac because of the taste; the Russians distill vodka to get drunk. The Dutch, however, will distill anything alcoholic as long as they can turn a profit. In the last 50 years, as the home consumer got too rich and snooty to drink hard liquor, Dutch distillers turned their attention overseas. Their winning strategies could be a marketing casestudy, Martin van Geest reveals.

Business 30 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

The Dutch liquor industry started back in the Middle Ages… but not because producers wanted to create a great-tasting product. The first Dutch distillers refined stale beer into malt wine so they could recoup lost excise taxes. Typical for a country that has always taken pride in its thriftiness. The distillates, often enriched with herbs, were mainly used for medicinal purposes and gained wide popularity as several plague epidemics swept over the country. Around 1600, juniper-berry-flavored spirits called jenever became a favorite among innkeepers and their guests.

At first, only small quantities of jenever were shipped abroad. Belgians and Germans shared the Dutch liking for it, but produced their own supply. The French, Spanish and Portuguese had their wine-based distillates. England imported some, but preferred cognac and brandy.

HOORAY FOR RELIGIOUS STRIFE This all changed in 1689, when the Protestant couple, William III of Orange and Mary Stuart, ascended the British throne. They levied huge import duties on spirits from Catholic countries, making jenever relatively cheap and hence hugely popular with poor Englishmen. Distillers, cask- makers and liquor-traders all made fortunes. During this export-fueled jenever boom, some of the best-known Dutch liquor families entered the business, including Nolet and De Kuyper.

But England soon started producing its own jenever – by then called gin. The next hundred years or so would be lacklustre for the Dutch liquor industry.

Luckily for Bols, Nolet, De Kuyper and their peers, jenever gained new traction in the 19th century. The advent of local alternatives to barley, including sugar beet, corn, potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes, made alcohol distillation much cheaper. By the second half of the nineteenth century, jenever was so cheap that it became the most popular alcoholic drink, surpassing beer. Domestic consumption, including that by women and babies, soared to 9.5 litres per capita per year. Even though the Dutch government regularly raised excise taxes on hard liquor, which slightly curbed sales, jenever managed to remain the leading drink in The Netherlands well into the twentieth century.

Dutch distillers thrived.

But after World War II, drinking preferences shifted. The middle class – and women in particular – discovered sherry and wine.

Young people chose beer over jenever, which started to be seen as a blue-collared old man’s drink. And, thanks to rising incomes in the sixties, drinkers who wanted something more potent could now afford foreign luxuries like whisky and cognac. Dutch liquor producers tried to capture their share of the luxury market by introducing imitation cognac – called vieux – made from grain alcohol

IN HOLLAND, HARDLY ANYONE DRANK VODKA AT THE TIME, BUT THE NOLETS SET OUT TO CREATE A DUTCH VODKA. TO LEND IT AN AURA OF AUTHENTICITY, THEY CHRISTENED IT KETEL ONE, AFTER KETEL 1, THEIR PREMIUM JENEVER BRAND and artificial flavors. But they still saw their business steadily declining and had to devise a new strategy.

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING… ABROAD Once again, just like in the seventeenth century, Dutch distillers they looked outward.

Exports could make up for lower domestic sales. They had a slight problem, though.

Because of its rather harsh taste, jenever didn’t go down very well outside its native land. The solution: produce something else that foreigners would appreciate.

The Nolet family has been by far the most successful. In the eighties, Carel Nolet sr. and Carel Nolet jr., the tenth and eleventh generation of the centuries-old jenever producing clan, zeroed in on the United States, where vodka was and still is the most popular spirit. In Holland, hardly anyone drank vodka at the time, but the Nolets set out to create a Dutch vodka. To lend it an aura of authenticity, they christened it Ketel One, after Ketel 1, their premium jenever brand.

Instead of introducing the new product with fanfare and advertisement, they devised a very low-key stealth marketing strategy. The Nolets visited the renowned BIX Restaurant

in San Francisco, and let the owner taste their concoction. He liked it, bought a case of Ketel One, and started recommending the drink to customers and fellow restaurant owners. More tasting sessions throughout the country followed, and Dutch vodka conquered America one restaurant and bar at a time. Ketel One became something of a cult hit and, because the Nolets refused to sell their product to anyone they hadn’t met, many bar and restaurant owners begged them to pay a visit to their venue.

By 1996, Nolet sold 100,000 cases of Ketel One Vodka containing twelve bottles each.

In 2003, sales surged to well over a million cases and Ketel One had become the third imported vodka brand in the United States.

In 2008, beverage behemoth Diageo (Smirnoff, Baileys, Guinness) made the Nolet family an offer they couldn’t refuse. The company would pay $900 million to become the world’s exclusive distributor of Ketel One Vodka. The Nolets would keep ownership of the brand name and retain the eternal right to distill the vodka in their South-Holland hometown of Schiedam. By then, production of Ketel One had reached almost two million cases, and vodka accounted for 95 percent of their sales. Diageo now aggressively markets Ketel One in over fifty coun-

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 31

DUTCH COURAGE The term Dutch courage originated in the Eighty Years’ War, when English soldiers fighting against Spanish troops in the Low Countries discovered jenever’s calming effect before battle.

DUTCH DISTILLERS ROYAL DE KUYPER tries and considers the brand to be one of its key assets.

PRODUCTS UNKNOWN AT HOME Other Dutch distillers have thrived because of exports. All have one thing in common: the drinks they ship overseas are very different from the ones they produce for their home market. Herman Jansen, which in Holland is known for Sonnema Beerenburg, a jägermeister-like concoction, has entered the US market with Sonnema VodkaHerb, a herbinfused vodka totally different from its native original. De Kuyper and Bols did well by focusing on liqueurs. De Kuyper made a big hit in 1984 with Peachtree peach schnapps, which inspired the ‘fuzzy navel’ cocktail. Two years later, the De Kuyper family sold to Jim Beam the right to manufacture and market all its products in the USA for $86 million. Back home, no one had even heard of Peachtree.

Over three-quarters of De Kuyper’s turnover is now generated outside Holland.

Around the same time, Bols became the worldwide market leader in liqueurs for mixing. Any bar patron recognizes the brightly coloured bottles that are a favorite of cocktail makers around the world, from Albania to Zimbabwe. Exports now make up 70% of sales. Even Hooghoudt, a family-owned dis-

tillery based in the northernmost reaches of Groningen, which nurtures its rural image, has started producing a chic vodka for export named Royalty. Of the 25.7 million litres of pure alcohol produced by Dutch distillers last year, only 10.7 million litres disappeared down Dutch throats. The rest, nearly 60%, was shipped abroad.

And jenever? Though it still is the most widely consumed hard liquor in Holland, its consumption is rapidly declining. In 2001, the Dutch drank about 23 million litres of the stuff, but in just one decade consumption has almost halved to a meagre 13.5 million litres.

Bols tried to revive interest in jenever in the US in 2008 by introducing an ultra-premium brand called Genever, primarily geared toward women. Who knows? It might work.

After all, forty years ago in the West, vodka wasn’t considered a smart and stylish spirit, but an acetone-like plonk that only a Russian alcoholic would imbibe. It might take some clever product placement in a James Bond movie, though, before sophisticated barhoppers in New York and Hong Kong start to order a jenever straight-up.

Owners: De Kuyper family Since: 1695 Brands: De Kuyper liqueurs, Peachtree, Mandarine Napoléon

NOLET DISTILLERY Owners: Nolet family Since: 1691 Brands: Ketel 1 jenever, Ketel One Vodka

LUCAS BOLS Owners: AAC Capital Partners Since: 1575 Big brands: Bols liqueurs, Bokma jenever, Pisang Ambon

HERMAN JANSEN Owners: Jansen family Since: 1777 Brands: Sonnema, Joseph Guy cognac, Notaris jenever

HOOGHOUDT Owners: Hooghoudt family Since: 1888 Big brands: Hooghoudt jenever, Royalty vodka, El Picu

PHOTOGRAPHY MAARTEN BEZEM

32 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 33

Feature

THIS COUNTRY NEEDS YOU HIGHLY SKILLED FOREIGNERS

By Niala Maharaj

Foreign companies are the main job creators for native Dutch citizens in The Netherlands. Meanwhile Dutch companies are hiring more foreigners than ever before. The ‘expat work ethic’ is in demand.

But which foreigners are The Chosen Ones?

Feature

PHOTOGRAPHY WFA/REIN VAN ZANEN

34 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

THE OLD DUTCH MAGIC IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE HASN’T LOST ITS POWER. HOLLAND IS NOW THIRD AMONGST MIGRATION DESTINATIONS FOR ASIANS, AFTER THE US AND SWITZERLAND. IT HAS THE LARGEST INDIAN POPULATION IN EUROPE, SECOND ONLY TO INDIA’S FORMER COLONISER, GREAT BRITAIN

It began with language. In the last decade of the 20th century, the internationalisation of business in The Netherlands generated a rush for employees with languages other than Dutch, principally English. Specialised recruitment companies shot from the ground like mushrooms in the fall.

Turner. ‘They aren’t afraid to try new things.

That’s a quality employers value.’

But it didn’t end with language, say these recruitment firms. Companies also wanted ‘the expat work ethic’.

‘The repatriates understand the local culture as well as international business norms,’ says Evans. ‘They are more valuable to employers than expats straight off the plane. If any recruiter tells you their business hasn’t fallen drastically, they’re having you on.’

‘Among Dutch employees, there’s tremendous stress on work-life balance,’ observes Maureen Adams, managing director of Adams Recruitment. ‘Foreigners are much more flexible. They don’t have a nine-to-five mentality. I have human resources officers asking for English secretaries because they will make coffee in addition to their other duties.’

‘Expats are hungry,’ adds Tristan Turner, Marketing and Communications Officer of Blue Lynx Recruitment, which supplies staff to international companies. ‘When I arrived here from the UK, for instance, I had 600 euros in my pocket. I had to get a job fast, and hold on to it. I didn’t have access to the dole.’

His managing director, Tina Evans, believes Dutch-speaking employees have more opportunities in Holland, so they are under less pressure to be flexible. But some are also adopting the international work ethic, she says. They want to be part of the highly-skilled globalised work force, to travel and take up positions elsewhere.

‘They are seeking for something,’ explains

But once the economic crisis hit in 2008, the job market shrank, say the recruiters. Dutch expatriates, who had been working elsewhere, began returning to The Netherlands.

‘It’s now become a mature employment market,’ said another recruiter. ‘Human resources officers are now actively scouring the internet for potential employees, by-passing the recruitment bureaus.’

GO EAST, YOUNG RECRUITER But that’s only a small part of the picture.

Dutch employers are actually hiring expats more than ever before – 106,000 between 2000 and 2007 by one estimate. But recruitment has shifted to Asia. 28% of the foreigners who got work visas last year were Chinese, double the number of those from the US. Immigration statistics say 32% of 2010’s ‘knowledge migrants’ were Indian - 1,750 compared with 750 Americans.

Asians aren’t cheaper to hire. ‘Knowledge migrants’ aged over 30 must be paid at least 50,000 euros a year to qualify for the term.

The difference lies in skills and work attitudes.

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 35

CHINA IS A HUGE TALENT POOL. ONE MILLION ENGINEERING GRADUATES ARE PRODUCED THERE EVERY YEAR. THEIR ENGLISH-LANGUAGE SKILLS ARE IMPROVING AND THEY ARE VERY AMBITIOUS. THEY WANT TO GO ABROAD. AND ASIAN PROFESSIONALS WORK HARD. Rosalie Greven

According to a study by the Dutch Social and Economic Research bureau (SEO), Americans traditionally migrate to Holland for its social climate. They prefer its liberal mores to those of the US. Work-life balance, among other things. Asians, on the other hand, migrate to further their careers.

And the social climate of The Netherlands has changed. The Dutch government has recognised that a ‘knowledge-based’ economy delivers high quality jobs and products, offering more sustainable economic growth. It is thus seeking highly-skilled migrants in order to transform the economy into a technologically-based one.

INCREASING EMPLOYMENT IN FOREIGN-OWNED COMPANIES 2000 –2007

Miscellaneous Trade Transport Retail Finance and service sector 1

Source: CBS

2

3

4

5

Greven relates to this. At the age of 27, she also wanted to go abroad, work hard and be enterprising. So, in 2007, she set up a recruitment agency called International Top Talent (ITT) together with Rina Joosten, a former employee of the technology company, DSM. Joosten had noticed the discrepancy between the need for talent in the Netherlands and the potential of human capital in China.

THE BATTLE FOR BRAINS ‘For universities and research institutes -for instance our technology universities in Delft and Eindhoven- it’s very important to attract top-level skills,’ says Greven, who has just returned from a 4-year stint in Shanghai. ‘If you want to be at the top as a country, you need international talent. Universities need renowned professors in their fields to attract good researchers. And Chinese universities have been moving up the rung of international education achievement.’

Industry

0

‘China is a huge talent pool,’ says Rosalie Greven, a former Economic Policy Advisor with the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.

‘One million engineering graduates are produced there every year. Their English-language skills are improving and they are very ambitious. They want to go abroad. And Asian professionals work hard.’

6 X 10 000

ITT now recruits about 40 Chinese professionals per year for Dutch universities and high-tech companies. It maintains an office in Shanghai with Chinese staff, as well as one on Amsterdam’s Bethovenstraat, and organises Human Capital Days in China for specialised sectors of Dutch industry such as medical technology. It has joined forces

with Nyenrode Business University to create an Intercultural Programme that offers ‘soft skills’ to Asian executives working for western companies: how to communicate with support staff and colleagues according to western business norms.

Expensive recruitment procedures. The need for Chinese staff must be urgent to justify it.

‘Many Dutch companies want to go to China, both to access the market there and to produce goods for the international market,’ Greven explains. ‘Often they design products here but production takes place in China.

They need people who can bridge communication gaps, who understand the needs of the Dutch company and also understand production conditions in China. But they have problems finding talent there. It’s a huge country. They don’t know where to start looking.’

And there’s competition among western

FOREIGN COMPANIES IN THE NETHERLANDS: SMALL NUMBER, LARGE TURNOVER One percent of companies registered in The Netherlands has foreign ownership. But these firms contribute more than is proportional to the Dutch economy. They employ nearly 17% of the country’s workforce and generate 32% of total business. Particularly in industry is the share of foreign business high.

Central Statistical Bureau July 2011

Feature 36 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

countries for Asian talent. Most think of the US or UK when they want to go abroad. The Netherlands has to ‘brand’ itself as a migration destination. Companies, universities and the government have to band together, as in the old VOC (colonial) days, to bring valuable human resources back home. The government has shifted policy. Instead of giving subsidies to business, it’s now focused on ‘economic diplomacy’.

That’s working. The old Dutch magic in international trade hasn’t lost its power. Holland is now third amongst migration destinations for Asians, after the US and Switzerland. It has the largest Indian population in Europe, second only to India’s former coloniser, Great Britain. The Indian embassy puts their number at 20,000, but the city council of The Hague claims on its website that there are 40,000 Indians in that area alone.

FOREIGNERS CREATE JOBS And the Indians don’t only accept jobs in The Netherlands - at the universities, in industry and finance. They create them as well. Indian businesses have invested over 11 billion dollars in The Netherlands in the last 15 years.

American, French and German companies are still generating the most new jobs in the Dutch market, but the Indians and Chinese are gaining ground fast, stated Minister of Economic Affairs, Maxine Verhagen in a letter to Parliament last July.

‘Foreign companies generated 132,000 new jobs for native Dutch people between 2000 and 2007,’ said Verhagen. ‘Dutch companies,

‘Many Dutch companies want to go to China, both to access the market there and to produce goods for the international market’ Rosalie Greven

by contrast, lost 146,000 jobs held by them.’

Foreign companies also create more highpaying jobs than Dutch ones. And, for every ten jobs a foreign company creates, eight indirect ones are born in surrounding service and supply sectors.

‘If it weren’t for us, companies in The Netherlands would have shifted their IT departments out of the country already,’ says Chris Maagd of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in Amsterdam.

By ‘us’ he means Indian IT firms that have set up their European headquarters here.

‘Big corporate houses like TCS, HCL, Wipro, Infosys, Satyam, Moser Baer, Safal, Suzlon, ONGC Videsh, to name a few, have already based their Europe-wide operations and have impressive business portfolios in the Netherlands,’ notes the website of the Indian Embassy.

‘There has also been some Merger and Acquisitions activity with acquisitions like that of [steel-giant] Corus by Tatas, Dutch tyre maker Vredestein by Apollo Tyres and Nederlandse Radiateuren Fabriek (NRF) by the Indian firm Banco Products.’

Last year TCS was rated as a Top Employer in its field in The Netherlands. It provides services to companies like ABN AMRO, Philips, ING, KLM and NXP Semi-conductors.

‘We are successful both because of the high quality of our employees and the high num-

EMPLOYMENT DIVIDED

BY FIRMS’ COUNTRY OF OWNERSHIP

ber of them,’ says Maagd. ‘We have 180,000 people available to get cracking on a project at a moment’s notice.’

Only 500 of those are actually in Amsterdam, and 80-90% of these are imported from India.

But TCS is registered as a Dutch company, generating business in The Netherlands.

This year’s Amsterdam Marathon, due to be run on October 16, will be called the TCS Amsterdam Marathon.

‘The city of Amsterdam is proud that a prestigious international company like Tata Consultancy Services has chosen to sponsor this marathon,’ said Eberhard van der Laan, Mayor of Amsterdam on August 29. ‘This sponsorship will further strengthen the relationship between the city and TCS.’ A week after the marathon, the cities of Amsterdam and adjoining Amstelveen will, for the third year running, sponsor the most important annual Indian festival, Divali, alongside the major American tax company, KPMG. This ‘festival of lights’ with its worship of Laxmi, the goddess of (ahem!) prosperity, has been growing in recent years as Amstelveen became dubbed ‘Little India’ for its plethora of ‘knowledge migrants’. Dutch dignitaries have been coming out in their numbers to celebrate with the Indians ‘the triumph of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance’.

Who are we to do otherwise?

Shub Divali,

from The International Correspondent.

10,4%

6,3%

83,3%

THE NETHERLANDS EU, EXCLUDING THE NETHERLANDS OTHER

Source: CBS

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 37

VACANCIES FOR HIGHLY-SKILLED STAFF TO MULTIPLY –DELOITTE Demand for highly-skilled staff will grow on the Dutch labour market in the coming decade, states a study by Deloitte published in September. Europe-wide labour shortages are growing particularly in technical and medical sectors, but also in education, and will become acute between 2020 and 2040.

‘Companies will therefore increasingly recruit foreign staff,’ stated Ardie van Berkel, partner at Deloitte Human Capital in early September. ‘Em-

ployees will not only become more diverse in age, but also more mobile in working across national borders. Dutch organisations will have to adjust their policies accordingly.’

These shortages have arisen because of ageing populations in Europe, states the study. It recommends that companies change their employment terms for older employees to encourage them to stay in employment longer.

EMPLOYMENT BY FOREIGN AND DUTCH COMPANIES IN NL X 100 000

X 10 000

45

80

44

70

43

60

42

50

41

40

40

30

39

20

38

10

37

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

0

DUTCH INTERNATIONAL

Source: CBS

KNOWLEDGE MIGRANTS “The knowledge migrant scheme of the Netherlands - which was introduced by the Dutch government as a work authorisation programme for highly skilled foreign workers has turned into a very popular scheme for young Indians.

This programme was meant to attract young, highly skilled professionals to the Netherlands by introducing simple requirements and allowing for expedited processing of work permit applications through the Dutch Immigration Department’s (IND) desk for knowledge and labour migration.

Under the system, visa applications of skilled professionals and their families are

dealt with quickly and they can often come and settle down in the Netherlands within two weeks.

With the KM scheme becoming more and more popular, the number of foreign nationals who went to the Netherlands in 2007 under it was 5,251, compared to 3,592 the previous year. With the minimum starting salary requirement for foreign graduates under the scheme also being lowered from Euro 43,130 to Euro 25,000, it will become even more attractive for Indian students. Students will have to be able to support themselves financially while looking for work. “ The Times of India

ATTRACTING SKILLED STAFF REQUIRES EXPERIENCE ‘20 percent of the Dutch working population will retire in the next three years, says Christiaan van der Sluijs of Hawk Investment Cycle Solutions This will present a serious challenge to Dutch and international companies here. Van der Sluijs, who is experienced in the financial sector and IT, says that demographic change will create particular shortages in specialists, highly-skilled and adequately experienced staff. ‘The stock of new human resources being trained for the labour market is a bit smaller than the group that will depart it,’ he notes. ‘And they will have less experience and be less suited to fit into certain functions.’

Many companies are now turning to international employees, says van der Sluijs. Scores of small and large firms are active in the recruitment sector, searching for staff to fill the developing vacancies.

‘Not all recruiters are the same, though.

Companies experience major damage when there is insufficient quality in the recruitment and selection process. Good employees leave when they have to work with unsuitable colleagues, and you end up with a double problem.’

Van der Sluijs has placed staff at various departments of Major Banks and Investment Managers over the past years. Before that, he has been working with ABNAMRO for 8 years after being a management consultant for 10 years.

It is crucial to identify what the specifications are for a particular job in terms of knowledge, capabilities and personality, to find the right candidate. Many recruiters don’t have that experience.’

Speaking the language of recruitees is also important, he says.

Contact Hawk for further information on the services and market insights of Hawk Investment Cycle Solutions.

Different Angle 38 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

FIRST-CLASS FOREIGNERS HOW TO MAKE

your

NAME IN THE NETHERLANDS More than half the companies listed on the Dutch stock market (AEX) are governed by foreign board members. Most are from France, the UK and the US. To become a board member or CEO of a Dutch company you obviously need senior level and executive experience on an international scale. To have studied economics and business is a also big plus. So is being a male. Only seven out of the 113 board members in the top 25 AEX companies are women. (And only one of these is Dutch!) Here are seven CVs. JEAN-FRANÇOIS VAN BOXMEER (HEINEKEN) Named the best CEO in the Netherlands by business magazine Quote last year, Jean-François van Boxmeer is also one of the youngest and highest-earning. The name ‘Van Boxmeer’ sounds Dutch, but the 51-year-old is of Belgian descent. He got his masters degree in economics from the Facultés Universitaires Notre Dame de la Paix S.J. in Namur in 1984. Since then, he has been working his way to the top of the brewery group. He started as a trainee in production, then became a sales and marketing manager in Rwanda and Congo, both former Belgian colonies and (from 1994) president of Zywiec Breweries in Poland. After four years as General Manager of Heineken Italy, Van Boxmeer was appointed a board member in 2001. Four years later, he became Heineken’s first non-Dutch Chief Executive. Asked

by Quote how he achieved that, he told the magazine: ‘By taking one step at a time, and make the best of every job you do.’

Calculated Compensation in 2010: €3,315,000 (BusinessWeek)

NANCY MCKINSTRY (WOLTERS-KLUWER) Nancy McKinstry (52) is currently the only female CEO of companies listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. Since 2003 she has been Chairman of the Executive Board of Wolters Kluwer, a multimedia publisher. After a BA in economics, US-born McKinstry did an MBA at Columbia University (finance and marketing) and joined Booz Allen Hamilton, an international advisory firm, concentrating on media and technology assignments. She then joined CCH Chicago, now a part of Wolters Kluwer, heading up the legal publishing and tax and accounting divisions. After running Wolters Kluwer’s North American operations, she became a member of the Executive Board (2001).

Two years later, she took over from Dutchman Rob Pieterse as CEO. Under her direction, Wolters Kluwer shifted its focus from printdriven publishing to cutting-edge digital offerings and embedded workflow solutions. In 2007, McKinstry was ranked in the top ten of

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 39

the most powerful women in Europe by the Financial Times. Two years later, she was on the Forbes list of 100 most powerful women in the world (rank 43). In 2009, she told the New York Times: “What I’ve learned in Holland is that if you invest a lot of time up front to explain what you’re trying to accomplish and get people’s feedback, the time to implementation is really fast. But if you don’t invest that time up front, you’re going to get such resistance that you’ll never get to the end.”

He thus brought with him extensive international finance experience. Prior to joining Corus, he held a number of senior finance positions within the Dutch TNT Post Group.

He was Chief Financial Officer and Member of the Management Board of Akzo Nobel since May 2008. Akzo Nobel is the world’s largest paint and coatings company and is a leading producer of specialty chemicals. Nichols is member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers and holds the MTC Advanced Diploma.

Calculated Compensation in 2010: €2,755,017 (BusinessWeek).

Calculated Compensation in 2010: €2,214,000 (BusinessWeek).

insurance giant, ING, said it would offer its future Finance Director, Patrick Flynn, a package of 100,000 shares, with a potential value of 1.3 million euros. That was in 2009. Then Finance Minister, Wouter Bos, reacted angrily to the news, noting that ING had been the beneficiary of a 10-billion-euro capital injection from the government in November 2008. Irish-born Flynn (51) started his career at the auditing firm, KPMG, and later became Chief Financial Officer of HSBC’s global insurance business based in London. He also served as CFO for HSBC’s banking and insurance operations in South America. Mr. Flynn holds a bachelor’s degree in business studies from Trinity College, Dublin. To access his 1.3 million euros, Mr. Flynn has to stay in office until April 2012.

NANCY MCKINSTRY (WOLTERS-KLUWER) ERIC MEURICE (ASML) In appointing Frenchman Eric Meurice as its new President and Chief Executive Officer in 2004, Dutch high-tech giant, ASML Holding NV, obtained a real heavyweight. Meurice (55) has a master’s degree in applied economics from the Sorbonne, a master’s degree in mechanics and energy, and an MBA from Stanford. After his studies, he gained extensive technology experience in the semiconductor industry at ITT Semiconductors Group and Intel Corporation. He then served as Vice President for Dell Computers. In 2001, he became Executive Vice President of Thomson Television Worldwide, a post he held till joining ASML in 2004.

ASML is the world’s largest supplier of photolithography systems for the semiconductor industry. Its headquarters is in Veldhoven, Noord-Brabant. When Meurice was appointed as CEO, his predecessor, Doug Dunn, told the press: “Throughout his career Eric Meurice has distinguished himself through leadership, teamwork and measurable results, and we believe he will contribute strongly to ASML’s pursuit of operational excellence.”

Calculated Compensation in 2010: €2,570,828 (Forbes).

KEITH NICHOLS (AKZO NOBEL) Before Keith Nichols (51) joined Akzo Nobel in 2005, he was familiar with Dutch business.

He had come from the Corus Group, where he had held the position of Group Treasurer,

PHOTOGRAPHY WFA/DIJKSTRA

PHOTOGRAPHY WFA/DIJKSTRA

PHOTOGRAPHY WFA/DIJKSTRA

Calculated Compensation in 2010: €1,484,000 (BusinessWeek).

KEITH NICHOLS (AKZO NOBEL MARIE-CHRISTINE LOMBARD (TNT EXPRESS) In May 2011, Marie-Christine Lombard became Chief Executive of TNT Express, an international delivery company formed after Dutch postal group TNT split in two (the other part being local postal operation PostNL). From 1997 to 1999 Lombard (53) led the French express company, Jet Services, as Managing Director. After TNT acquired Jet Services in 1999, she became Chairman and Managing Director of TNT Express France. From 2004 until May 2011 she held the position of Group Managing Director, Express and was a member of the TNT N.V. Board of Management.

She holds an MBA from the prestigious French business school, ESSEC. In July 2011, she told the Financial Times: “I have my own strong views, but I never make a decision without co-ordination. That fits the stereotype about women as CEOs. I don’t shy away from forcing decisions but I believe you gain time if you get buy-in at the outset. By forcing the solution, you may feel you have won but people will resist. Then it becomes a guerrilla war, which lasts much longer than a regular war. So it’s a matter of efficiency.

Total Calculated Compensation in 2010: €1,842,017 (BusinessWeek).

PATRICK FLYNN (ING GROUP) Controversy erupted after Dutch banking and

PATRICK FLYNN (ING GROUP) ROLF-DIETER SCHWALB (DSM) In 2009, German-born Rolf-Dieter Schwalb was named Chief Financial Officer of the year. Mr. Schwalb (59) studied mathematics and business administration at the University of Giessen in Germany. In 1976, he joined Procter & Gamble Germany, where he held various positions in the IT and Finance disciplines. In 1991, he joined the European headquarters of Procter & Gamble in Brussels, where he was responsible for the planning and controlling of all European activities.

After a long career with Procter & Gamble, he joined Beiersdorf AG in Hamburg (1994).

In October 2000 he was appointed CFO and Member of the Executive Board of Beiersdorf AG. Six years later, he became CFO and a member of DSM’s Managing Board. Royal DSM N.V. is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials.

Mr. Schwalb lives in Germany (Royal DSM is based near the German border in the province of Limburg) which makes him only half expat.

Total Calculated Compensation in 2010: €1,029,130 (BusinessWeek).

40 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

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the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 41

THE DUTCH WAY

YOU HAVE TO DRESS FOR SUCCESS IN THE NETHERLANDS AS MUCH AS ANYWHERE ELSE. THE INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT PRESENTS BUSINESS STYLE FOR 2012. IN THE DUTCH SETTING. Photography Maarten Bezem Stylist Jeroen Kamphorst Visagie Ellen Van Exter Model Hamlet Bueno Text Floris M端ller

42 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

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WATCH ON STYLIST Roger Dubuis, 25.850, www.rogerdubuis.com

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 43

SUIT Ermenegildo Zegna, €1.400 www.zegna.com TIE Zegna, €125 www.zegna.com SHIRT Zegna, €250 www.zegna.com VEST Circle of Gentlemen,€179,95 www.circleofgentlemen.com WATCH IWC, €11.900 www.iwc.com

PHOTOGRAPHY MAARTEN BEZEM

BOOTS Boss Selection, €489 www.hugoboss.com

44 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

SUIT Red by Oger, €368 www.oger.nl SHIRT Van Gils, €79,95 www.vangils.eu

POCKETSQUARE Oger, €28 www.oger.nl SHOES Van Bommel, €239,95 www.vanbommel.com WATCH Baume & Mercier, €2.892 www.baume-et-mercier.com

PHOTOGRAPHY MAARTEN BEZEM

TIE Breuer by Oger, €118 www.oger.nl

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 45

SUIT Canali, €1.450 www.canali.it SHIRT Profuomo, €99,95 www.profuomo.com TIE Canali, €90 www.canali.it POCKETSQUARE Canali, €40, www.canali.it WATCH Montblanc, €4.390 www.montblanc.com

About the model Hamlet Bueno (30) Is Banker, analyst Lives in Amsterdam Is Single Born in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) Living in The Netherlands since: 1990 ‘I’m not an expat but I feel international. I was born in the Dominican Republic. At the age of ten I arrived in Rotterdam with my Dutch stepfather and Dominican mother.

Quite an adventure. At the beginning, all I noticed was how cold it was. It rained so much! But I also found a lot of advantages to coming here. There are a lot of opportunities.

And the difference between rich and poor is smaller than in DR. I’ve always been attracted to the outside world. If I live too long anywhere I become restless. That probably comes from the great relocation of my youth.

PHOTOGRAPHY MAARTEN BEZEM

That’s probably why I studied International Business and Management in Paris and at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Such studies offer possibilities of an international career. I now work as an analyst at a large Dutch bank. If I get the opportunity, I would like to do a stint in New York, Rio de Janeiro or Hong Kong.

Regarding fashion: I was conservative for a long time. But now I’m getting more flexible. I notice that fashion is getting more important in business. The Netherland is perhaps not known for this, but it’s really a very fashion-conscious country. And certainly in business. I see that at top levels.

But also with youngsters just starting out.

I’ve heard of young professionals who spend up to three months’ pay on a new suit.

Of course, in business, quality is the most important factor. But how you present yourself tells about how you want to be seen. It suggests that you take good care of yourself. And you just feel more assured if you look good.

And, with self-confidence, comes better performance in business

World Trade Center Amsterdam - Strawinskylaan 231 1077 XX Amsterdam T 020 – 675 02 01 M 06 – 14 43 33 20 www.slfmd.com

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 47

Personal Finance AMSTERDAM MARKETS HIT HARDER The Amsterdam stock market (AEX) has lost nearly a fifth (18%) of its value in 3 months time.

This is higher than elsewhere.

London’s FTSE lost 14.5% between July and October and the Dow Jones lost 13%.

48 49 Column PAUL RODENBURG

Column EPPO HORLINGS CPA

50

Book Talk

PHOTOGRAPHY WFA/MICHAEL JACOBS

Since early July the AEX has been dropping sharply: from roughly 340 points to 280 (October 5). September 22 registered the deepest loss, of 22 points, closing at 266.

Personal Finance 48 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

COLUMN THE PERFECT HEIST

By Paul Rodenburg

Since the beginning of August we have been witnessing a massive slide of all equity prices due to political instability in the U.S. and Europe. During the first days of the losses, one particular share listed on the Amsterdam exchange stood out in a negative way.

Fugro, a Dutch exploration company that is of great value to the entire oil industry, seemed to be leading the way downhill with losses up to 9% per day.

There was no notable news about Fugro, so I was flabbergasted by the monstrous hits their share price was taking. Especially when you consider that their Beta (systematic risk, in comparison to the market (AEX) as a whole –ed.) over the last 5 years has been around 1,173. This means that, if the AEX Index lost 10%, they should lose around 11.7%. But this was far from being the case. For instance, on August 4th, the AEX lost 3.19% the same day Fugro had a whopping loss of 8.55%.

I just couldn’t get my head around the dazzling 22.8% loss the share had taken

between the 1st and 11th of August, over the same period the AEX had lost 13%. If you use the 5-year Beta, a loss of 15.2% could be expected, but the difference was just too big. Especially when one takes into account that, in the previous weeks, their price target had been raised by several banks.

On August 12th the smoke cleared. That day Fugro announced their earnings over the first half year. The earnings had dropped and the outlook was negative. This time, I could understand the 4% loss. But I couldn’t understand the 5% rebound the next day. In the days that followed, Fugro didn’t deviate from its beta as much.

I am not accusing anyone of insider trading, I wouldn’t even know who to accuse! But what I am saying is that if I had been working for the AFM (the Dutch regulator of financial markets) I would take a closer look into this.

In such unusual market conditions, however, such a crime is almost impossible to prove.

This just might have been a perfect heist!

Personal Finance the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 49

COLUMN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

THE FIRST STEPS TO SUCCESS

By Eppo Horlings CPA

If you can succeed in The Netherlands, you can succeed anywhere. Thus goes a local saying. But there are opportunities in Holland, says Eppo Horlings, Director of Horatio Assurance Group, which gives advice to foreign companies and entrepreneurs. Here, we offer clues as to the first steps necessary to building a business in The Netherlands.

ture with big harbours in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and Schiphol international airport. A lot of companies have thus chosen Holland as their base for trade with the rest of Europe.

Horlings also praises the attitude of the Dutch tax authorities.

try, which are supposed to expand contacts between foreigners and Dutch financiers, it’s difficult to access capital on the Dutch market, he notes.

‘There, also, investors examine the entrepreneur’s history. ‘

‘The fiscal authorities are more involved with citizens than in other countries,’ he notes.

‘They are prepared to assist companies in You probably don’t know the name Rat- planning for international expansion. The Netan Chadha, but you know his fashion label: therlands has fiscal arrangements with pracMexx. At the beginning of the 1970s, India- tically all countries in the world.’ born Chadha arrived in The Netherlands with, according to rumour, 500 euros in his The legal sector is also attractive to starters, pocket. In less than 30 years, his import and he says. retail company bloomed from a cheap textiles business to a fashion chain with shops in 50 ‘There is a lot of knowledge about internatiocountries. Mexx is now one of the 30 largest nal business,’ he says, ‘and intellectual profashion brands in Europe. When Chadha sold perty is well-organised here.’ his company in 2001, it was worth hundreds of millions of euros.

But there are hindrances, he admits.

‘The local market is small,’ he says. ‘There’s Chadha’s success wasn’t accidental, says a lot of competition. Distribution for existing Eppo Horlings. He used precisely the advan- products seems to be divided among large tages The Netherlands offers. players. Especially now, with the economic crisis, it isn’t easy to carve out space there.’

‘Holland is, more than any other country in Europe, a trading nation,’ Horlings points out. Financing new enterprises is also not easy.

‘New companies can blossom here if they are focused on import and sales.’

‘That doesn’t apply just to The Netherlands, though. All over the world, banks are being Dutch flexibility is the reason for this. conservative at the moment. Dutch banks, like their colleagues elsewhere, need to see ‘This is a relatively small country, so the Dutch a track record of business success. Proof that have always been oriented towards trade with money lent will be in good hands. As a foreigsurrounding countries,’ says Horlings. ‘Ger- ner entering a new market, that’s hard to promany, France, England and countries further duce.’ away. The Dutch are accustomed focusing on other languages and cultures.’

Despite the many international chambers This has created a well-developed infrastruc- of commerce in diverse parts of the coun-

The Netherlands is a ‘subsidy-state’. For practically all sectors, there are foundations and funds that can put money into an enterprise. But Horlings doesn’t recommend depending on subsidies.

‘The Netherlands is high up with respect to the number of subsidies,’ he says. ‘But not when it comes to getting access to them. It takes a long time before you can lay your hands on money from a particular pot. And these are mainly intended for Dutch purposes. Also, public opinion has forced the politicians to abandon the wanton distribution of subsidies. All that is available to foreigners without capital is access to a direct network of distributors.’

Networks are important though.

‘You have to be brave as an entrepreneur,’ says Horlings. ‘The Dutch market looks very closed, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities.’

Once again, he points to Rattan Chadha. After Chadha sold his fashion firm, he moved into the hotel sector and had reasonable success. There are now three branches of his CitizinM-hotels ‘for the modern traveller’ in The Netherlands and in the UK. ‘Starting in The Netherlands is starting in Europe,’ he says.

Personal Finance 50 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

BOOKTALK DEBT: THE FIRST 5000 YEARS

David Graeber Debt: The first 5000 years.

Melville House. € 31,99

By Martin van Geest

Debt figures on the front pages of newspapers these days. But what is it? When did it make its first appearance? Someone somewhere must have been the first to invent the concept of debt and credit. And, from that point, how did debt evolve into the hypercomplex financial instuments that nearly brought the financial world to total collapse two years ago?

I picked up Debt: The first 5000 years by David Graeber, anthropologist at Goldsmiths, University of London, expecting it to be a history of debt from its very origins to the present day. By the end, however, I found the book to be more of a political manifesto. It tries to convince the reader that debt and credit as we know it are social constructs intrinsically connected to violence that have distorted the development of human morality over the centuries.

I give five stars to the beginning of the book.

The author relates the factual history of debt, money and markets with fascinating anecdotes and anthropological evidence. Not only is this part highly informative. It also offers a totally new perspective on the origins of money.

Common wisdom has it that people first traded by exchanging one good for another in the form of barter; a chicken for three amphoras of wine, for example. Then, they found out that using cowrie shells, beads or pieces of precious metal could be used as universal means of exchange, making trading much more efficient. And then, somehow, someone thought up the concept of debt.

But Graeber convincingly argues that those supposed ‘barter societies’ never really existed and that it was debt that came first. Money is merely a more recent invention to repay one’s debts. I must add that the book is well-written. The graphic stories from ear-

lier millennia, involving temple prostitutes, Irish farmers and Nigerian slave traders, are a pleasure to read.

However, as a whole I rate the book three stars. At the end, the author takes 400 pages to make one fundamental point: that our present concept of credit is perverse and the system should be – or by way of self-destruction will be – abolished. This makes the book weaker in two ways. First, it makes the historical and factual part of the book less compelling. Did the author just select anecdotes that fit his own line of reasoning and did he leave out other historical evidence because it didn’t suit his ideas? The impression that the entire book works up to a certain conclusion made me wonder whether I have been given the whole story. Secondly, the reasoning and logic Graeber uses to argue that our debt system is immoral is sometimes seriously flawed. In the last chapter, he compares paying off student debt with being mugged. ”Cancel all student loan debt? But that would be unfair to all those people who struggled for years to pay back their student loans!” Let me assure the reader that [… ] this argument makes about as much sense as saying it would be “unfair” to a mugging victim not to mug their neighbors too.

But if one equates paying off debt with being mugged, not paying off a student loan would mean that someone else – the lender – got mugged because you went to school without paying for it. Does that feel fair?

Would I pick up this book again? No. As much as I like part of it, in the end Debt: The first 5000 years does not deliver on the promise that its title makes. Also, the book hasn’t given me any new insights into the current financial crisis. Then again, I doubt whether the author feels he owes me anything in exchange for the 32 euros I spent on his book.

Takeadvant ageofoneoft hemos t cos t ef f ect i vet ool sf oryourbus i nes s

Top10

10 52 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

TALKING HEADS

AN INTRODUCTION TO OPINION LEADERS IN THE NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands, everyone has an opinion about everything. But only few of us have the privilege of giving his or her comments in the media. Don’t ask why, but when it comes to economics and finance, the number of smarty-pants has grown incredibly over the last three years. One in five talkshow guests is a professor of (financial) economics or a financial journalist. Most of them are both. The International Correspondent introduces the 10 most cited opinion-makers of the Netherlands. From the Prophet of Doom to the Dutch Godfather of Economics.

1 / Esther-Mirjam Sent

PHOTOGRAPHY WFA/DIRK HOL

According to this professor of economic theory and policy, the financial crisis is a direct result of typically-male tendencies, such as risk-taking and unrealistic optimism. Sent (44) was the winner of the Frans Duynsteebokaal in 2010. This award is presented annually to the staff member of the Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen who appeared most frequently in the media. Judging from her more recent television and radio appearances, she is a strong contender for this year’s award as well.

2 / Sylvester Eijffinger

The financial crisis is a direct result of typically male features, such as taking risks and an unrealistic optimism

For a professor of Financial Economics these are golden times. Eijffinger (57) has been making headlines since the beginning of the financial crisis. Nearly every day journalists are knocking on the doors of Tilburg University to ask his opinion. Look on Eijffinger’s website (www.sylvestereijffinger.com) for his commentaries on the latest financial developments. According to him, the US dollar has not yet hit rock bottom. He also advises strongly against the purchase of stocks (although he believes in the Asian markets) and criticizes the indecisive policy of European countries when it comes to tackling the debt crisis. To put the economy back on track, Prof. Eijffinger says, the EU would need to double its bailout fund from 750 billion euros to 1,500 billion.

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 53

From 1980 to 1992, Prof. Dr Sweder van Wijnbergen (50) worked as an economist at the World Bank. Since 1992, he has been a professor at the University of Amsterdam, interrupted by a period when he was Secretary-General at the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Over the last decades, ‘Baron’ van Wijnbergen has published extensively in the areas of international economics and public finance. He used to be a worthy consultant for the Dutch government, but as a member of labour party, PVDA, Wijnbergen obviously doesn’t agree with the current right-wing government. About the latest economic measures, he recently said: “This must be the most conservative and anti-reform economic programme we have had in the past 40 years.”

4 / Alexander Rinnooy Kan

PHOTOGRAPHY WFA/DIRK HOL

Rinnooy Kan (62) is President of the Dutch Social and Economic Council (SER), a major economic advisory body for the Dutch government, and, in recent times, not a very happy one. He used to work at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, where he became Director of the Econometric Institute in 1983 and Rector Magnificus in 1986. He was also visiting professor at Berkeley, California and MIT, Boston. As head of the SER, Rinnooy Kan is particularly frustrated by the way his council is being ignored by our rightwing government. He is considered to be the most influential person in the Netherlands, but seems unable to convince policy-makers to invest in our knowledge economy. The Netherlands is far behind innovation leaders like Sweden and Finland.

5 / Jort Kelder

PHOTOGRAPHY WFA/REIN VAN ZAANEN

The celebrity among all ‘analysts’, Kelder (47) hosts several TV shows. He presents the Dutch version of Dragon’s Den and Bij ons in the BV, a program about the value of money.

In Bij ons in de PC, he follows the rich and wealthy visitors of the PC Hooftstraat, the Netherland’s most decadent shopping boulevard. Kelder is also a regular sidekick on the De Wereld Draait Door. This former editor-in-chief of business magazine, Quote, is one of the most fashionable and outspoken opinion makers around.

Calling top lawyer Bram Moszkowicz a ‘friend of the mafia’ brought him to court, but Moszkowicz’ case was dismissed. Kelder’s pet topic is the installation of a cabinet of entrepreneurs, from which the Dutch knowledge economy ‘will surely benefit’.

6 / Henriëtte Prast

The first woman on this list is also the first economist with a particular interest in the emotional side of economics. Prast (56) is a professor of personal financial planning at Tilburg University. Since April 2000, she writes a weekly column on economics and psychology in the financial newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad. Her expertise is behavioral economics and its policy implications, with a focus on personal finance (pensions, ageing and retirement), health-related behavior and sustai-

nability. Prast’s books includes Money & Hapiness and Money & Feeling. This emo-economist is a regular guest on the television program Alles draait om geld (It’s all about the money).

7 / Willem Vermeend

In his columns for De Telegraaf, The Netherland’s leading newspaper, Willem Vermeend (63) doesn’t mince words. According to him, Greece should be thrown out of the euro-zone. Not that Greece cares, because Vermeend is no longer part of the Dutch government. He was, from 1994 until 2002, first as State Secretary for Finance, and from 2002 as Minister of Social Affairs. Vermeed is a commissioner and board member of many companies, including Mitsubishi Motors Europe, internet company Jitscale, cross-media company TSS and Randstad Holding. This professor of fiscal law at Maastricht University is often called a ‘Fiscal Whizzkid’ and is known for his extensive knowledge and sharp opinions, combined with a lot of humour.

8 / Lans Bovenberg

Bovenberg (53) is an important Dutch economist, known mainly for his contribution to the Dutch debate on population ageing, pension reforms and public finances. After he graduated from Berkeley University in the United States in 1984, he worked for some years with the International Monetary Fund. Back in the Netherlands he became a professor of economics and deputy director at the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis. Since April 2004 he has been scientific director of the research institute, Netspar, which he himself founded. As an evangelical Christian, touched by faith while he studied in California, Bovenberg is a popular guest for the evangelical broadcasting company, EO. He plans to become a part-time preacher next year.

9 / Willem Middelkoop

He predicted the financial crisis, then told the Dutch not to worry. By the end of 2008, Willem Middelkoop was a regular guest on De Wereld Draait Door, Hollands most popular talkshow. Three years later, he thinks that the worst is yet to come. According to this doomsayer, Greece, Portugal and Ireland will abandon the euro within one year and the price of oil will rise beyond imagination. Middelkoop (49) started his career as a photojournalist and later became a stockmarket analyst and writer on financial matters. His first book was published in 2007. Als de dollar valt (When the Dollar Falls) marked his status as guru. In his third book, How to Survive the Financial Crisis, he advises readers to invest in gold. Unsurprisingly, Middelkoop is co-founder of the Gold & Discovery Fund.

10 / Arnold Heertje

Generations of Dutch scholars were brought up with Heertje’s economic lessons. In his bestseller, Elementaire Economie, he taught us the principles. Heertje’s interest in economics grew while he was given shelter by a number of families during the Second World War (because of his Jewish roots). These families were all very poor and Heertje decided to study economics to find out where this poverty came from.

He became professor emeritus of Political Economy at the University of Amsterdam. Heertje (71) is also known as a politically-involved writer and columnist. The Dutch Godfather of Economics is a firm supporter of investments in sustainability. He writes a column for the website of RTLz, a news program broadcast on RTL7.

PHOTOGRAPHY WFA OSCAR BOUWER

3 / Sweder van Wijnbergen

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the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 55

SWEET SPOT HOLLAND

GOLF DOWN SOUTH Back in the 13th century, in Loenen aan de Vecht (near Utrecht), some aristocrats played a game with a stick and a leather ball. The objective was to put the ball into a certain target with the least number of strokes. Some say this is the origin of the game of golf.Nowadays Holland is not often mentioned for its golf courses. But with more than 150 courses, there is a lot to choose from. In this column I will provide a short introduction to three great courses in the Maastricht region to the south of the Netherlands.

MAASTRICHT INTERNATIONAL GOLF In the far south of the Netherlands, in the province of Limburg, near the Belgian border, you will find the Maastricht International Golf Course. This attractive course is beautifully appointed in the hills of Limburg with views over Belgium. It is definitely worth the long drive. The course is called international because five of its holes are located in Belgium. Maastricht International Golf offers different packages to combine a green fee with dinner or lunch.

Maastricht International Golf, Dousbergweg 90 , 6216 GC Maastricht, 043-3281740 www.migolf.nl

PHOTOGRAPHY WFA/ KEYSER

DE GOLFHORST In the North of Limburg, about 20 minutes from Eindhoven Golf course, there’s a nice spot for a day of golf. De Golfhorst’s course is quite attractive due to height differences, the views and the flora and fauna. It has good restaurant, pro shop and practice facilities.

De Golfhorst, Raamweg 8, 5966 RM America, 077 - 4649070 www.degolfhorst.nl BURGGOLF HERKENBOSCH Another great course in Limburg is BurgGolf Herkenbosch. It’s located next to a Nature Reserve and the 18 holes are in the middle of the woods. Playing golf at this course is like being on holiday as it has a non-Dutch character. Next to the 18-hole Championship course there is a par 3 practice area.

BurgGolf Herkenbosch offers a package including coffee and tea upon arrival, 18 holes green fee and a three-course dinner.

BurgGolf Herkenbosch, Stationsweg 100, 6075 CD Herkenbosch, 0475-529529 www.burggolfherkenbosch.nl

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the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 57

THE BUTCHER’S GRANDDAUGHTER WILMAR TE WINKEL Page 61

PHOTOGRAPHY MAARTEN BEZEM

What Where When

What Where When 58 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

Window to the world

THE INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL(IDFA) We are not very good at film-making, but when it comes to documentary the Netherlands is, and always has been, gifted with talent. And we organise the world’s largest documentary festival. IDFA is often called The ‘Cannes of Documentary’ and takes place in 18 cinemas from 16 to 27 November. The International Correspondent talked to Ally Derks, who initiated IDFA and watches over 700 documentaries per year.

YOU STARTED IDFA IN 1988. NEXT YEAR THE FESTIVAL WILL CELEBRATE ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY. WHAT HAS CHANGED OVER THE LAST 24 YEARS? “What hasn’t? When I started in 1988, I had one employee and two trainees. Now, IDFA has 25 full-time employees, with another 50 employees and 350 volunteers in the last two months before the festival takes place.

In the beginning, we showed about 50 documentaries, as against more than 300 now.

We used to work with 35mm film, which is quite expensive to transport.

Now all films are shown on DVD, sometimes in ten cinemas at the same time. Last year, we had 250,000 visitors and 3,000 guests; from producers to tv-companies, festival directors and buyers all over the world. Also, our budget grew from €100,000 to 4.5 million. The number of cinemas from one to eighteen. In short: we are much bigger and much more important now.”

HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS SUCCESS? “We started at the right time. From 1988, the popularity of documentaries grew substantially. Before that, the word ‘documentary’ was almost an invective. They simply were not shown on television. But after 1988 you saw a number of new, thematic tv-channels, like National Geographic and Discovery Channel. These channels needed content, so filmmakers were encouraged to make more documentaries. At the same

time, the demand for depth and reflection grew. More and more people not only wanted to see the news in soundbites, but also the stories behind the news.”

NOW IDFA IS THE LARGEST DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD. YOU WOULD EXPECT SUCH A FESTIVAL IN THE UNITED STATES, OR MAYBE THE UNITED KINGDOM, BUT NOT IN THE NETHERLANDS. “Why not? We have a great reputation when it comes to documentary. When I started in 1988, I asked myself: why isn’t there a festival just for documentaries here? We had some film festivals, we still have, but compared to the United States, the UK, France, Spain and Germany, our film-industry is pretty poor. Tsjechov isn’t born in Holland.

We are no people of great and dramatic stories, this is a country of columnists and realists, of vicars and colonists. And of great documentary-makers as well. Of Joris Ivens, Bert Haanstra, Heddy Honigmann, Louis van Gasteren and many more.”

SO, IN THE WEEKS BEFORE THE FESTIVAL, YOU SEE NEARLY 700 DOCUMENTARIES? “Yes. But don’t think it’s a burden to be me.

It’s my job and I like it. It’s not that you have to like documentaries, you have to like being informed about what’s going on in the world.

These films are a window to the world. You learn a lot from them.”

HOW MANY DOCUMENTARIES ARE SUBMITTED FOR THE FESTIVAL? “Around 3,500. Only eight percent makes it to the actual festival.”

WHAT ARE YOUR CRITERIA? WHEN IS A DOCUMENTARY GOOD ENOUGH? “When it provokes a debate. Just being artistic isn’t good enough for us. IDFA is more political than other festivals. We are looking for controversy and discussion. For example, I just saw a film about the Pink Ribbon campaign against breast cancer. It shows how little money actually is used for fighting cancer.

More than 80 percent of the money sticks to the fingers. That’s an important matter, because many people donate money to the Pink Ribbon campaign. We also have a documentary about Sarah Palin, which also engages in discussion. What if she becomes the next president of the United States? It’s important to ask questions, that’s why there is a Q&A after each documentary, with the possibility to interview the filmmakers. Our visitors are usually very critical.”

HOW DOES THE SELECTION TAKE PLACE? “These 3,500 films are watched by 15 viewers. They make a first selection of 600 to 700 documentaries. I make the final selection.”

WHAT DOCUMENTARIES MADE A HUGE IMPRESSION ON YOU IN THE PAST? “Oooh, that’s so difficult to answer. There are so many wonderful documentaries. For example, I will never forget Gimme Shel-

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 59

ter, one of the greatest rock documentaries ever, about the fatal Rolling Stones concert in 1969, when a concertgoer was stabbed to death by the Hell’s Angels. I very much liked Near Death (1989), from Frederick Wiseman, a six hour documentary which shows us how we face death. And how can I forget Shoah, not only a documentary of the Holocaust, but a monument in the history of filmmaking.

But there are more recent ones as well. I just saw The Kingdom of Survival, an impressive documentary. That one is about destroying our planet and where we will be in 40 years time. It’s shocking, an absolute must-see.”

DO YOU PREFER FICTION?

WHAT OTHER FILMS DO WE HAVE TO SEE AT THIS YEARS’ IDFA? “I can recommend Sarah Palin as well. And Mama Africa, a beautiful portrait of Miriam Makeba (the South African singer and civil rights activist -ed.). Putin’s Kiss is a shocking documentary about the fascist youth movement in Russia. But we have some great Dutch films as well. There is one of Kyteman (a Dutch hiphop artist and trumpet player ed.) and one documentary about the prostitutes of Amsterdam, some of them being over 70 years old. But believe me, there are many, many more.”

If documentary isn’t your thing, but fiction is, then skip IDFA and visit the Leids Film Festival (LFF) in the city of Leiden, from 25 to 30 October. The programme includes a wide variety of films from all over the world, ten of which will compete for the award of the LFF – the ‘Iron Herring’. A second Iron Herring award is reserved for new Dutch talent. The choice will be made from our ‘Hollandse Nieuwe’ shorts competition. The festival has a strong emphasis on Russian films and, in collaboration with the Japan Foundation and the Sieboldhuis (a museum dedicated to modern Japanese culture), Japanese cinema. Outside the traditional movie theatres, our visitors can experience film in a different way, with lectures, concerts and workshops - all film related.

More info on www.leidsfilmfestival.nl

For the full program and information about tickets and times, visit www.idfa.nl.

Don’t think it’s a burden to be me Ally Derks

What Where When 60 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

Ads, ads and more ads You don’t have to work in advertising to enjoy Amsterdam’s Night of the AdEeaters (12, 13 and 14 October). This mindblowing festival is all about the most intriguing, shocking, funny and compelling commercials around, brought to you on the big screen of Tuschinski Theatre. Over the last 30 years, Night of the AdEaters has become an international phenomenon, celebrated in over 50 countries and more than 160 cities, from France to South Korea and from New York to Amsterdam, attracting hundreds of thousands of ad industry folks, creative professionals, as well as people of all ages interested in arts and culture. Night of the AdEaters was invented by Jean Marie Boursicot, owner of the biggest film library in the world dedicated to TV and cinema commercials. For this festival, he selected 360 commercials out of a total of 1,2 million. During the night, there is also room for live entertainment, dance and drinks.

www.adeaters.nl

Now that’s Design!

From October 22 through October 30, the city of Eindhoven will be transformed into the capital of design. Eindhoven’s ‘Dutch Design Week’ (DDW) represents the largest design event in the Netherlands. This tenth edition ensures a balanced mix of up-and-coming talent, established designers, renowned bureaus, the manufacturing industry and various knowledge institutes. Over nine days numerous exhibitions and openings, seminars and workshops, product launches and presentations will be held around Stadhuisplein, Central Station, the Strijp area and on other locations. Highlights are the Graduation Show of the Design Academy Eindhoven, full of conceptual work by no less than 150 designers and the Dutch Design Awards ceremony (for the best design in various categories).

The Eindhoven University of Technology will present several objects and there is an extensive exhibition in the Klokgebouw, presenting work by established and upcoming designers, companies and the manufacturing industry.

www.ddw.nl

The best from the press Since last year an entertaining photo festival contributes to the cultural diversity of the city of Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands. Clear Fotofestival Groningen, from 3 - 27 November, is particularly dedicated to press photography. Not only will there be a World Press Photo Exhibition in the Aa-kerk, but also a Zilveren Camera Exhibition, an overview of contemporary Dutch press photography and portraits. The World Press Photo exhibit is based on an annual contest. Winning pictures are compiled into a yearbook and traveling exhibition. It is displayed in ninety cities worldwide, including Groningen. During the festival, a number of ancillary exhibits will be held at Boekhandel Van der Velde and Puur! Natural Food restaurant.

www.stichtingclear.com Credit: Daniele Tamagni, Italy Info: The Flying Cholitas, Bolivia: Lucha libre (Bolivian wrestling) is one of the most popular sports in the country. Women wrestlers are known as cholitas and have in the last ten years become popular in the sport. Here, Carmen Rosa and Yulia la Pacena perform in a benefit show to raise money for the bathrooms of a school in La Paz, Bolivia, 26 June

What Where When the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 61

Chef ’s Table

WHO KNOWS THE MOST ABOUT MEAT? THE BUTCHER’S GRANDDAUGHTER, OF COURSE

PHOTOGRAPHY MAARTEN BEZEM

By Marco de Vries

Ask Wilmar te Winkel what’s important about meat and she can talk for hours. If she’s got the time to do that. She’s a busy lady. Blond, with red lips, high-heeled shoes, tight black designer pants and a stylish white shirt, she doesn’t really look like the granddaughter of a butcher. But she is.

‘One thing I will never forget is the smell of fresh meat. That is anchored so deep in my memory that even just looking at meat from a distance brings back the smell.’

While waiting for Wilmar in her restaurant opposite Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, we had plenty of time to watch the cooks preparing the meat. First, slicing off strips of fat with razor-sharp knives and then giving it a quick roast before it disappeared into the Swiss ‘cook and hold’ machine. There, the juices condense and the meat rests before being cooked later in the evening.

‘It is pretty simple,’ Wilmar says. ‘Fresh meat should be hung for quite a while. The best meat is air-dried. The longer the better, because the longer it is exposed to the air the better and tastier it gets. The meat also becomes more veined and darker because of all the oxygen it’s exposed to. And shrinks quite a bit and loses weight. During the process, is also becomes a bit yellow.

To people who don’t know about meat, that might look strange. But it’s best like that.’

JAPANESE WAGYU MEAT. SO TENDER! Which cows produce the best beef?

Over half the guests at restaurant L’Entrecôte et les Dames choose the meat menu instead of fish. It’s not surprising in a restaurant with an unmistakably meaty name and only two menus to choose from. Marco de Vries spoke with owner Wilmar te Winkel about meat and more.

‘I would love to serve our customers Japanese Wagyu meat, which, in my eyes, is the best. So tender! But then, the cows get the best treatment in the world. Some even have a daily massage. Too bad it’s so expensive (up to €1,000 per kilo) that I would end up with a restaurant without guests. But there are plenty of other good breeds to choose from. Take Simmental, for instance. A Swiss breed that is internationally very successful.

It comes with a bone and, if hung for 21 days in the cold storage, makes a very good entrecôte.’

Finding the best meat these days is not the easiest thing to do. Once Wilmar tasted meat from Paraguay.

‘I didn’t like the taste at all. It was really dry, more like a curtain then a piece of meat. In the end I found out that the meat came from a kind of water buffalo and not a real cow.

And although meat from Argentina has got quite a name, I am suspicious. Why? When shipped overseas, it goes into a ship frozen solid and has about six weeks to defrost. I just don’t like the idea of that. And because Argentina is frequently ‘sealed off from the world’ because of cattle diseases, I do not fully trust the meat in the end’.

MAKES US FEEL LESS SORRY For quite a while now Wilmar has been serving meat from the Maas Rijnland IJssel (MRIJ) breed.

‘As far as I am aware, this Dutch breed pro-

duces the best meat at the moment. But again, only when well-hung. Obviously, I would prefer to serve this kind of meat airdried, but then it becomes too expensive.’

A good thing about MRIJ meat is that it lives up to the expectations the Dutch have about the meat on their plate.

‘It is a sentimental thing, I know. But we want our meat treated in a humane way.

That they live a good life whilst on four feet grazing in the fields. That makes us feel less sorry for them, I suppose. And the MRIJ scores very well in that respect. So ask your butcher if he has Maas Rijnland IJssel meat.

My cooks cut up close to 200 kilos of meat, which makes 800 couverts per week. And we hardly get any complaints. So it is worth the try.’

L’Entrecôte et les Dames Van Baerlestraat 47-49 1071 AP Amsterdam Phone: 020-679 8888 www.entrecote-et-les-dames.nl Dinner: three course menu, meat or fish: €23.50 Reservations only possible for groups of 7–10 guests.

What Where When 62 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

WE RECOMMEND TWO HOTELS AND A RESTAURANT

Notting Hill

Kasteel Altembrouck

Strandlodge

Last June the beautiful Notting Hill hotel in Amsterdam opened its doors almost too discreetly. With 67 rooms and its own restaurant, it certainly has the feel of a boutique hotel, though you feel at home the minute you walk through the door. This is precisely what interior designer Wim Hoopman wanted to achieve.

This is a 300-acre rural park with the largest variety of fauna in Flanders. The views from the castle-like hotel - of the surrounding park, ponds and forests- are breathtaking.

You can even spot deer, badgers and wild boar from your large, luxurious, Flemish country-style room. All this is even more astonishing when you bear in mind that Maastricht, Aachen and Liege are less than 20 minutes away.

Ever heard of Winterswijk? No? We’re not surprised. Because it’s way deep in the Achterhoek, about 45 minutes east of Arnhem.

And yes, the locals like to have things their own way over there. So when the legendary huge open fresh-water swimming pool was under threat of being demolished, they decided to take action.

Although, initially, the idea was that Hoopman would only ‘do’ one room, in the end he was responsible for almost everything you see and touch in the hotel. ‘Only then can you leave behind your signature,’ he says.

In his case this is a Coco Chanel style, loads of art with a touch of humour, and, of course, the best materials you can think of. The statue of the imaginary character, Monsieur Notting Hill, welcomes you in the lobby. With worn-out leather bags, Hoopman built a wall behind the desk in the lobby. The hotel is just around the corner of the Utrechtsestraat and the multiculti –Notting Hill like- Pijp neighbourhood, with the Museum district just a short walk away.

Westeinde 26 1017 ZP Amsterdam 020 523 10 30 Doubles from € 150, depending on the season www.hotelnottinghill.nl

It’s the brainchild of serial entrepreneur Wim Claessen, who has also created his own agricultural miracle. Almost everything you eat while staying at Altembrouck comes fresh from its own farms. So taste the homemade marmalades, the smoked trout from the ponds and the incomparable pastrami made of the legendary Altembrouck Wagyu beef.

Sustainability, by the way, is not simply a slogan here. Altembrouck operates an advanced ecological heating system, where the residual wood from the forests and orchards is processed. Your stay is completely CO2 neutral. So there is no need to leave this lovely place feeling guilty for all the luxury you enjoyed. Even your bathwater is biologically purified in the reed lands.

3798 ‘s Gravenvoeren Belgium +32 4268 0336 Doubles from € 125 www.erfgoedlogies.nl

Within weeks, a foundation was established and eventually the so-called Strandbad was saved. Restoration of this film-set-like ‘zwembad’ from the fifties could start. Luckily Mike Vrijdag, the well-known chef of hotel Ruimzicht in Doetinchem, and his wife Sabine, were looking for a new challenge. So restaurant Strandlodge was born.

Open since June, it has already quite a following in these parts of Holland. When the weather allows it, you can enjoy your sundowner on the terrace, have dinner inside and afterwards relax in front of the fireplace.

They also do cooking classes and run a kids club. So while they play you can enjoy the culinary wonders of Mike Vrijdag and his team.

Badweg 4 7102 EG Winterswijk 0543-769037 Dinner: 3-course menu from: € 32,50 Lunch from € 19,50 www.slww.nl

Rotterdam International Secondary School

Bentincklaan 294, 3039 KK Rotterdam +31 (0) 10 890 7744, info.riss@wolfert.nl, www.wolfert.nl/riss

R E V O C S I D O A WORLD T

Fully accredited secondary school for bilingual havo and vwo

Discover Wolfert Tweetalig With over 750 students, the Wolfert Tweetalig HAVO & VWO is the largest and most prominent bilingual secondary school in the greater Rotterdam area. Our education has a strong international focus where the English language is the key ingredient. Wolfert Tweetalig students can achieve their HAVO and VWO diplomas as well as a certificate for the International Baccalaureate in English. Our pupils not only develop outstanding linguistic qualifications, but they gain a stable foundation to evolve as responsible citizens.

The bilingual programme encompasses comprehensive educational practices that encourage a collaborative working atmosphere where skills, training, and project work promote an active and independent attitude toward learning. Our accredited programme has been proven through the excellent national exam results.

A way of living!

Why bilingual education?

Wolfert Tweetalig offers a challenging, internationally oriented programme with a demanding curriculum for the motivated student. We maintain intensive international contact through student travel trips, exchange programmes, and cultural activities.

Alongside the basic studies programme, students can expect to follow a broad range of classes such as Global Studies, Art & Design, Art History, Drama and Theory of Knowledge. By the time our students graduate, they will have achieved the fluency level of near native or even native speaker.

For more information: www.wolfert.nl/tweetalig, tweetalig@wolfert.nl, +31 (0)10 890 77 66

A FREE ONE NIGHT STAY in one of our apartments to test our service, quality and discuss corporate discounts if you are a TravelMobility- or HR manager in the Amsterdam region.

Please contact: reservations@a-partments.com tot make the appointment. www.servicedcorporateapartment.com

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 65

International Living

STATELY VILLA NEAR THE CITY CENTER OF MAASTRICHT

By Marco de Vries

INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE AT ITS BEST

International Living 66 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

I won’t be so bold to say that Maastricht is the best city in Holland to live, but it might as well just be the truth. Already the Romans thought that the hills surrounding the Maas river was one of the best spots to stay and control the area and at the same time very pleasant to stay. They laid the foundations – literally- for what is now Holland’s chiquest and friendliest shopping destination. With a city Centre full of historic and listed buildings built in the beautiful locally found sandstone.

Only minutes from the city center on one side and sloping pastures on the other side lays the Brusselseweg. The moment you enter the stately gate of number 520 and drive up to the impressive house you ‘smell’ the grandeur of the early years of the 20th century.

If you like a park full with old trees and big enough to go for a stroll with your friends or guests then there is the danger you might be temped to decide that this is where you are going to live. Even without having seen the house itself. Which is something you definitely should do!

With 525 square meters living space it is big enough for a family but that’s not what sets Villa Abri apart from other villas you might have seen. Built in 1913, it is way different from contemporary built villas. Think about baroque elements, the huge, richly decorated wooden staircase in the hall, several fireplaces, the impressive cassette ceiling in one of the rooms and you know this is a different cup of tea. Needless to say that the house has been equipped with among others a state of the art heating system, heated floors, and a CCTV-system.

Entering the house the grand staircase is the first thing you’ll notice. But there is more to show on the ground floor. A huge kitchen, a

features

Location Close to the city centre of Maastricht.

Germany and Belgium just a couple of car minutes away.

Property type Listed villa Year built 1913 (recently renovated) Lot size 8.775 m² Volume 1.800 m³ Living space 525 m²

Number of rooms 9 rooms (5 bedrooms) Extras - Separate garage for 2 cars - Sauna - Park like garden Asking price € 1.850.000

For more information and photos please contact Santen&Gastille Makelaars, Plein 2 2291 CC Wateringen phone: 0174-297741 www.santen-gasille.nl

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 67

dining room, the salon with a split level, and a spacious garden room. All the rooms on this level are connected to the two terraces (55m² and 63m²) and steps that surround the house.

The first floor has three bedrooms. With two of them having adjacent luxurious bathrooms and a terrace. On the second floor you’ll find two more bedrooms. With a dressing room and a bathroom. The basement houses five separate multi-usable rooms that you could turn into a wine cellar, bar, library, wellness area, office or a practice. So living and working in this striking villa is very feasible.

What I like most about this property is the park surrounding the stately villa. You’ll find century old trees, large ponds, and covered lanes inside the walled garden. And when illuminated in the evening the park becomes a fairytale. That’s where I should want to live!

International Living the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 69

Nostal-chic

Cuddly clock

In the past ten years, the Dutch postal service has changed names three times. In 2002, good old PTT Post was rebranded into TPG Post, which subsequently became TNT Post in 2005. Since May this year the company is called PostNL. Studio Diezijn has found a new use for the mailbags that carry the old brand names by turning them into furniture, including lampshades, pillowcases and notice boards. Our favorite is this sturdy footstool.

PTT Postzak hocker, €195, www.studiodiezijn.nl

This clock will puzzle your friends: is it made of fabric? Its prototype was first stitched in cotton by Dutch designer Kiki van Eijk, who then took moulds from the fabric model so the clock could be cast in highquality ceramic. The wrinkles and creases of the original still show, so it looks like it’s soft and pliable. The ‘soft clock’ comes in either white or black, but is also available in glamorous gold and striking silver.

Soft clock, 394 (white and black), 835 (gold and silver),

www.moooi.nl

It rocks!

We all hate waiting rooms, but this swinging seat by Teun Fleskens actually makes waiting fun. Once you sit down, the furniture and everyone sitting on it is brought into motion, which makes for a laugh and breaks the ice. Total strangers start communicating as they try to rebalance the seat. The fake tree in the middle adds a comical touch, especially with several rocking seats in one space. CHITCHAT seats up to seven people.

CHITCHAT, price on request, www.ghyczy.nl

Moodng lighti

Eindhoven used to be known for its light bulb production. Even though the incandescent bulb has been largely phased out, the city still deserves its epithet ‘City of Light’ thanks to the prominence of the many local designers specializing in peculiar lamps. The Glassbulb Light by Guido Ooms is a fine example of a modern Eindhoven creation. Shaped like a wineglass and filled with twenty LED’s, it offers perfect lighting for a long romantic evening accompanied by a nice Bordeaux.

Glassbulb Light,€ 59, www.oooms.nl

Valuing language In today’s modern world being able to converse in another language is an increasingly vital skill. Educating students for an international future is crucial and lies at the root of why The British School in The Netherlands (BSN) considers language learning to be such an essential part of its students’ lives.

With over eighty nationalities at the school, it is no surprise that the BSN places such emphasis on language learning at both its junior and senior schools. The BSN is currently offering students the opportunity to study, or sit exams in a staggering 32 different languages at various levels. This variety demonstrates the importance placed by the school not only on modern foreign language learning, but on nurturing mother tongue language development.

Dutch is formally taught from age 5 onwards and during the final year at junior school students are introduced to lessons in French, German and Spanish, which are taught by specialist language teachers from the BSN Senior School.

Photography: Christel Van Meeuwen

Further linguistic opportunities are available in the form of BSN After School Language Clubs which are available at a range of levels and languages including anything from mother tongue French or Russian, to German or Portuguese for beginners.

The British School fully recognises the importance of languages to help prepare students for a global workforce that’s becoming increasingly mobile. This is demonstrated by the significant level of investment and commitment the school dedicates in this area, setting BSN apart from other schools.

The BSN’s approach is clear, as John Coombes, Head of Modern Foreign Languages at the Senior School explains: “We place equal emphasis on maintaining and developing a

mother tongue language as well as learning new languages – we want our students to become linguists, not just language learners.”

The Modern Foreign Language Department is the largest faculty at the Senior School with a team of 24 staff. The prioritisation of languages within the curriculum and beyond is evident when you see the exam results which, last year, saw 85% of students achieving A* and A grades at GCSE, AS and A level.

Ex student Warren Rieutort-Louis, who attended the BSN from age 3 to 18 and now speaks seven languages, is studying for a PhD at Princeton University in the US. He is under no illusions about the value of his linguistic skills; “I really cherish the opportunities I had to learn so many languages at the BSN, they have been an invaluable asset to me and I believe they give me a real advantage in the world’s workplace.”

Interested? Call us on 070 315 4077 to arrange a personal visit or come to one of our Open Days: Open Day for Parent’s of Under 5s 9 - 10 November 2011 Senior School Open Day 8 February 2012 Junior School Open Day 7 March 2012

See www.britishschool.nl for details

concepts print studio web media [ PRINT ING PROFESSIONALS ]

A D D R ESS

SA L ES & ST U D I O

EMA I L & WE B

Prinsengracht 384 1016 JB Amsterdam

+31 [0]20 530 44 44 +31 [0]20 530 44 55

mail@elcobv.nl www.elcobv.nl

the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 73

Dutch Style BAS KOSTERS DUTCH DESIGNER By fashion editor Dennis Roelofsen There is nothing in Bas Kosters studio that hides the fact that he is much more than a fashion designer. He is more the paterfamilias of the Bas Kosters family, a highly creative bunch that celebrates individuality through fashion, music and art.

HOW DID YOU BECOME A DESIGNER? I’ve enjoyed a variety of fashion educations.

After that I found myself in the lucky position of winning an award and collaborating with Bugaboo (high-end baby strollers) That really gave my design career a spark.

WHAT DO YOU MAKE? Aside from designing clothes, I DJ, paint, illustrate, make dolls, objects, art installations, music and do performances.

WHY IS THAT SPECIAL? It is all very multi-disciplinary and I like to look at our work as avantgardistic, colourful and enthusing.

FOR WHOM DO YOU MAKE IT? We’ve never looked at target groups or customers. Of course we sell products too, but we prefer to focus on telling our story right.

PHOTOGRAPHY MAARTEN BEZEM

WHERE IS YOUR BUSINESS IN 5 YEARS? I’ve always been inspired by other artists, big or small. I really want to leave a footprint for future generations. Therefore I don’t hurry to present a new collection every half-year, that fashion pace doesn’t fit me. Gradually, I am trying to building an oeuvre that is relevant as a whole.

BORN Zutphen, 1977 NATIONALITY Dutch EDUCATION Fashion & Clothing: Rijn IJssel College Arnhem, Fashion Design at AKI Academy of Fine Arts in Enschede and a master’s course at Fashion Institute Arnhem.

AWARDS Robijn Fashion Award / professional jury price 2003 BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT “The fact that me and my brand are still alive. Life is not a walk in the park you know.” ULTIMATE GOAL “Immortality! I want to leave a footprint.”

www.greve.nl

Stapel op Greve

locatie: schoenenfabriek Greve Waalwijk 2010

Dutch Style the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 75

FAST LADIES Price €219,00

www.spijkersenspijkers.com Once again, Dutch twin sisters Truus en Riet Spijkers have taken strong and pioneering women as an inspiration for their SIS FW11/12 collection. The first women to explore racing and aviation in the ‘20s and ‘30s creates a theme of adventure and eccentricity. Amelia Earhart, the first female aviatrix to cross the Atlantic Ocean in 1932, was the muse for this ‘Fast Ladies’ collection. Slim tailored wool jersey tops and dresses with Monaco rally prints in ArtDeco style are an unexpected way to express femininity.

FROM BACKSTREET TO CATWALK Price €150,00

www.eastpak.com As Artistic Director for Dior Homme, Kris Van Assche is highly celebrated. Take his luxury and sophistication and combine it with Eastpak’s near-military robustness and you’ve got something very unusual: street-cred and fashion-cred in one and the same collection.

The Belgian designer gave a total of seven products a completely new look. Three combinations of materials and colours echo the black/grey/natural colour pallet of Van Assche’s own FW11/12 collection. Indeed, the bags also reflect certain other recurring themes in the fashion designer’s own work - such as sobriety, internal structure and pure lines.

THE UNPREDICTABLE WEATHER Price on request

www.transitions.com Nothing is more unpredictable than the weather in The Netherlands.

Using intuitive, photochromic technology, Transitions lenses activate in the presence of natural light. These are designed to be worn indoors, but darken automatically when you step outside on a bright day. Just like skin, eyes need protection from the sun’s harmful rays. Transitions lenses block 100% of UVA and UVB rays. We think that these cool lenses in a hot Tom Davies’ frame will be our next gift to….ourselves.

DRY DENIM FROM A WET COUNTRY Price Nagasaki Sven Dry Denim €259,00

www.bluebloodbrand.com

Haiku about dry denims by Blue Blood: wear but never wash dry denim from low wet lands for our friends out there The Blue Blood brand was founded in 2003 by true denim lovers in The Netherlands.

The item shown is a dry Japanese denim available in 4 Blue Blood monobrand stores in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

SHOE SHINE BOYS Price €229,90

www.florisvanbommel.com Dutch shoe designer Floris van Bommel has combined the workmanship of his ancestors’ trade with the playful sophistication that he picked up on his voyages. All eyes will be watching where you place your feet.

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EXPATDESK ROTTERDAM WORLD TRADE CENTER ROOM 337 / 338 BEURSPLEIN 37 ROTTERDAM PHONE +31 (0)10 – 205 28 29 +31 (0)10 – 205 37 49 EXPATDESK@ROTTERDAM.NL WWW.ROTTERDAM.NL/EXPATDESK

Gadgets & gizmos 78 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

BIGGER AND BETTER Asus’ Eee Pad Slider offers the benefits of laptop functionality with the form of a touchscreen tablet. The slide-out keyboard can be used for typing and navigating with Android 3.1 (upgradeable to 3.2). Compared to the iPad2, this tablet is a bit faster and offers a bigger touchscreen (10.1 inch) with higher resolution (1280x800).

The Slider comes with 16 or 32GB of SSD storage, a 5-megapixel rear camera and 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, as well as a built-in speaker and microphone, GPS and one USB-port. Its battery delivers up to 8 hours of 720p video playback. Prior to its official launch, the Eee Pad Slider was awarded the International Design Excellence Award 2011.

Price: € 479,- (16GB) and € 599,- (32GB)

www.asuseeepadslider.com

MORE SPEED, MORE PIXELS Apple’s Thunderbolt Display is the world’s first to include a Thunderbolt port. Thunderbolt is a very fast connection (two-way 10Gbps), which means you can move data between your devices and your computer with unprecedented speed (up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0 and up to 12 times faster than FireWire 800). Just a single cable to your MacBook or iMac gets you 27 additional inches of screen real estate (with an astonishing 2560x1440 resolution), as well as a FaceTime HD camera, 2.1 speaker system, three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, a Gigabit Ethernet port and an integrated MagSafe charger.

Price: € 999,-

www.apple.com

PORTABLE ESPRESSO MACHINE Does the coffee in your office taste like ditchwater? Then bring in the Mypressi Twist V2, the world’s first hand-held espresso maker that delivers the ideal pressure for easy espresso extraction. The Twist produces single or double shots from either fresh-ground coffee or ESE pods, and requires no external power. Just insert a pod or ground coffee, pour in hot water and pull the trigger. Inside you will find a recyclable pressure cartridge with sufficient pressure to make up to four double shots and eight single shots of espresso.

Add a simple milk frother to create an array of espresso-based drinks, such as lattes, cappuccinos, mochas and more.

Price: € 149,95

http://mypressi.com

Testing, Testing,...1,2,3 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT 79

THE BEST CAMERA IS THE ONE YOU ALWAYS HAVE WITH YOU Excellent picture quality requires a serious camera but who is willing to lug a bulky and expensive DSLR camera around? Three easy-to-carry cameras offer the usability of a compact with the performance of a DSLR. By electronics and gadgets editor David Lemereis The saying ‘the best camera is the one you have always with you’ is true, but it is usually your smartphone and the picture quality is mediocre at best. A compact camera is a better option. However, if you demand the best quality image you’re going to be stuck with an expensive, heavy and bulky digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera the pros carry around.

Luckily, a new breed of camera may be the answer for the serious amateur photographer or the architect, real estate agent, laywer or project developer demanding the best image quality. The first EVIL

PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-G3

(Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lenses) cameras appeared three years ago. You won’t find the term EVIL in any camera brochure but it’s a popular term on the web for cameras that got rid of the the mechanical mirror system found in DLSR, yet still offered a large camera sensor and interchangeable lenses. These camera bodies are only slightly larger than a compact but offer creative control and image quality close to those of the bulky DSLRs. Here are two EVIL cameras and a compact of unrivaled performance that are a great compromise between portability and quality.

OLYMPUS PEN EP-3

FUJIFILM X100

Panasonic and Olympus started the EVIL revolution in 2008 under the name Micro Four Thirds system. The latest model, the award winning EISA Panasonic G3 is about 25% smaller and 9% lighter than its predecessor, the G2, weighing 340 grams. Yet the G3 shoots images that rival DSLRs thanks to the large 15.8 megapixel sensor. With a choice of interchangeable lenses you have more creative controls, such as Program, Shutter, Aperture, Priority and Manual via the 3-inch articulated touchscreen LCD. The G3 goes up to 6400 ISO, has built-in flash, shoots RAW, 1080i Full HD video at 60 fps and allows for continous focus during filming. The G3 is a bargain for a great carryeverywhere camera.

In 2009, Olympus introduced the PEN E-P1 with the retro look of the once so popular Olympus Pen camera of the sixties. The all new 12.3-megapixel EP-3 Micro Four Thirds camera makes up for all the shortcomings of the EP-1 and EP-2. It finally has built-in, pop-up flash, a much brighter and detailed 610k OLED LCD with touchscreen controls, built-in image stabilizer, quieter lenses, stereo microphones which enhances 1080i video and iso up from 6400 to 12800. Most impressive, however, is the E-P3’s autofocus speed. With a system that focuses at 120 times a second, you never miss that oncein-a-lifetime shot. Very impressive but a bit pricey.

Remarkably, the most expensive of the three is not an EVIL but a compact that was one of 2011 most anticipated cameras. The X100 is styled on the rangefinder Leica-like camera’s of the fifties. It has a fixed semiwide-angle lens with a fast F2 aperture and, incredibly, a 12.3 megapixel APS-C sensor that you normally find in a DLSR. The picture quality of this compact surpasses many mid-range DSLR’s. The X100 sports classic analogue camera controls for total creative control. Unique is its hybrid viewfinder, which combines the best of the old and the new worlds; the classical optical rangefinder overlaid with an electronic viewfinder and a 2.8 460k LCD . The X100’s price is steep, but the unrivalled image quality and unique design really sets this camera apart, though it does require knowledge of photography.

Body-only 599 euros 699 euros with 14-42mm lens kit

Body only 820 euros 920 euros with 14-42mm lenskit

expected price aprox. 1,000 euros

www.panasonic.nl

www.Olympus.nl

www.fujifilm.nl

Column 80 the INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

Talking about Strauss-Kahn…

By Fenna Ferweda

Fenna works as a corporate lawyer for an international firm at the Zuidas, Amsterdam’s financial heart. Sometimes amused, sometimes bewildered, she observes the comings and goings in this square kilometre of Dutch high-rise. Fenna is not her real name.

It happens just a little too often that one of the older partners at my firm makes a witty remark about the length of my skirt. Sure, it’s a bit short. But it’s not that short, I assure you. And by the way, it’s 2011.

Whatever may be the real story behind the whole Dominique Strauss-Kahn episode, at least it has put back sexual harassment on the agenda. At Amsterdam’s Zuidas, this is one of the most bizarre taboos. Though everyone knows it’s happening, the whole office gossips about it and female colleagues warn each other about well-known offenders, it still isn’t a subject one likes to bring up during the coffee break. This is a direct result of the fact that the partner who always asks about your sex life is also responsible for your appraisal and therefore, for your success within the firm.

When I first started working, some of my colleagues used to joke about Andrew, one of the older partners in my department. Story went that he wasn’t allowed to hire any new female trainees because he would try to seduce them, things would inevitably end badly and yet another talented young female trainee would leave the office within a year.

After his seventh victim, the firm took measures to prevent this from happening over and over again, and forbade him to hire any more female trainees. Of course, Andrew was quite frustrated about this, and the fact that he couldn’t work with women on a fulltime basis any more just made him more inventive. Not being one of the old chaps with a total disdain for modern technology, Andrew had become pretty handy with our internal instant messaging application. This nifty program was meant to reduce email clutter in your inbox, but to Andrew, instant messaging unveiled a world in which he could experience the joys of writing every-

thing that would be considered slightly out of line without his messages ever leaving behind any evidence.

One late Thursday night, I was just typing away on an email when suddenly, an instant message popped up on my screen. ‘Hey Fenna, what’s up? Care for a beer with me sometime?’ Not surprisingly, it was Andrew.

Apparently, he had designated me as his next chat victim. So what do you answer to that? On the one hand, I really like Andrew.

I admire him as a professional and we get along great. We’d been drinking beer together before at the Friday evening drinks with the office, nothing weird about that. But to ask me if I wanted to go out and have a drink with just him felt a little odd to me. I had been warned about him and his obsession for sending instant messages to female trainees.

After weighing out my options, I sent him a short message back. ‘Sure Andrew, if it’s just about having a beer, then I’m game.’ He couldn’t possibly back off now, as this would imply that his proposal wasn’t about a carefree beer in a bar. So he replied that of course it was just about the beer. By the way, didn’t I know his reputation was entirely based on false rumours and evil gossip?

How foolish of me to believe all that nonsense! Well, this was certainly reassuring.

Our chat conversation finally resulted in the two of us drinking beer and playing chess in a small café in De Pijp. Cool enough, I actually beat him at chess. I hope this doesn’t jeopardize my career - thankfully, he was better at drinking.

Strauss-Kahn left me wondering whether my conversation with Andrew was based on a different view on the matter. Maybe he really was interested in my character. Or maybe I should blame the skirt instead of Andrew. In fact, it is just a little on the short side.

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