NR 3 2014
AMS Amsterdam in business
The creativity network Doing business at Amsterdam Dance Event ID&T founder Duncan Stutterheim
EDITORIAL
CONTENTS
Eberhard van der Laan, Mayor of Amsterdam
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New in Amsterdam
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LONG STAY
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Inspiring new businesses, initiatives and organisations
Thomas Jin, deputy general manager Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
The DNA of Amsterdam
Journalist and author Russell Shorto on what makes this city tick
12 NETWORKS Amsterdam, creative hub
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industry update
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Images of Amsterdam
Meeting potential in the conference industry
32 ICON & EVENTS
The world-famous Concertgebouw celebrated 125 years of harmonious relationships in 2013
38 Workplace
Vodafone Netherlands’ mobile, collaborative headquarters
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Going Dutch
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IT STARTED IN AMSTERDAM
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Context: Amsterdam Dance Event
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AAA location
Blogger and author Colleen Geske on the quirky habits of the Dutch
Duncan Stutterheim, CEO ID&T dance event company
Richard Zijlma, founder of ADE
The Port of Amsterdam
56 born & bred 59 FACTS Casper Reinders, HORECA entrepreneur
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AMS
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KLM’s World Business Class Dutch icon Hella Jongerius’s sustainable design
amsterdam inbusiness
What we can do for you
EXPATCENTER
Cutting through the red tape of relocation
A big place in a small space
Amsterdam is one of the world’s creative capitals. According to Richard Florida, the American scientist who developed the theory that a creative city is the ultimate driving force of economic growth, it’s actually the fourth most creative. What a fantastic achievement, certainly given that only 800,000 people live here. Even if we include everyone living in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, we only just reach the two million mark. Amsterdam is not your average city either. The Dutch government, parliament and the ministries have their seat elsewhere (in The Hague), which means we’ve never been able to experience the ‘flourishing’ effect this can have on a city’s international character. The fact that Amsterdam is up there amongst the most creative cities in the world in spite of this is because our city is both cosmopolitan and compact. Yet what we lack in terms of size, we make up for through greater transparency, diversity, manageability, openness and accessibility. Amsterdam excels as a melting pot of unique spirits from diverse backgrounds, who meet from all corners of the city and push each other to break with convention and step outside the box. It was the same in the Golden Age, when Amsterdam was the business and intellectual capital of the world. I’m told that the value of this comparative advantage will soar in the coming years, and as I flick through this new issue of AMS magazine, which is our attempt to inform you about what’s going on in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area and how foreign investors are faring here, my conviction about this grows. Because what underpins all the stories – particularly those from many newcomers – is that Amsterdam’s distinctive strength lies in its unique atmosphere and accessibility. I myself am an adopted Amsterdammer and I’ve experienced this first-hand. ‘Amsterdam’ makes it much easier for you to broaden your horizons, challenge yourself through new encounters and make contact with people.
Eberhard van der Laan Mayor of Amsterdam
AMS
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Amsterdam advertising agencies continue to flourish Korean advertising agency Cheil Worldwide established an office in Amsterdam in 2013, where it produces international campaigns for Samsung, among other clients. Cheil joined a group of industry-leading agencies already established here, such as Anomaly, Arnold, Perfect Fools, StrawberryFrog and Amsterdam Worldwide. Catalysed by a renowned pool of creative talent, proximity to clients and the city’s cosmopolitan atmosphere, Amsterdam’s creative sector is flourishing. This positive business experience is reflected in the success that Amsterdam-based advertising agencies enjoyed at the 2013 Cannes Lions awards, with agencies based in the area bringing home 19 trophies. Ogilvy & Mather Amsterdam received a Silver Lion for their work with financial cooperative DELA, while Wieden+Kennedy took the Grand Prix for their work for another Amsterdam icon: Heineken.
New institute houses companies active in the field of applied games On 7 April 2014, Henk Kamp, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, officially opened the Center for Applied Games in Amsterdam. The opening is a further boost for the already blossoming gaming industry in the Amsterdam Area. Within this new institute, applied gaming companies working in the fields of education, training and health therapies can find financing, development and distribution partners. It is expected that it will positively contribute to the economic development of the gaming sector, acting as a hub for innovation, R&D and aiding international expansion. www.immovator.nl
text Eline Ronner
American bank joins a pool of financial specialists
Inspiring new businesses, initiatives and organisations. New this issue: a bitcoin ‘bank’; a luxury hotel atop a crane; an applied games institute and a Chinese IT services provider come to town
Ultrapower Software establishes office in Metropolitan Area
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Chinese IT services provider opens first European office here Beijing Ultrapower Software Co. Ltd, a leading solution provider in China with more than ten years of professional experience in telecommunications, internet software and mobile gaming services, has set up an office in Hoofddorp. This new base is the company’s first European office from where Ultrapower will serve the entire European market and expand further. David Yu, corporate VP for Europe and CIS region, explains why his company set up in the Amsterdam Area: ‘Amsterdam is connected very well to other European cities and China by Schiphol, which makes it convenient to do business. The creativity of Amsterdam attracts creative talents. We are searching for new opportunities to design and market games, to serve both the European and Chinese markets with the best of both worlds.’ http://ultrapower.com.cn
Goldman Sachs opens asset management office
BitPay opens European headquarters in Amsterdam
Amsterdam welcomes American company specialising in bitcoin payment processing Bitcoin is a virtual currency used in a peer-to-peer electronic payment system, not controlled by any central bank or other formal entity. Since its popularity increased exponentially in 2013, many providers of bitcoinrelated services have been established all over the world. From its new Amsterdam headquarters, Atlanta-based BitPay will service all its European customers. In a press statement, Marcel Roelants from BitPay’s Board of Advisors comments: ‘As the world of payments is changing rapidly, BitPay is at the forefront offering technology and support to merchants. Establishing its headquarters in Amsterdam is a great way to be closer to its European customers.’ https://bitpay.com
Waldorf Astoria opens in Amsterdam The legendary brand opens in six historic canal houses in the city centre
On 1 May 2014, Hilton Worldwide’s Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts opened a new property in Amsterdam, offering 93 guest rooms and suites, as well as various dining options and a bar located inside the former vault of a bank. In a press statement, Simon Vincent, area president at Hilton Worldwide, said: ‘With Europe’s fourth largest airport and nearly six million international visitors a year, Amsterdam is a thriving tourist destination. At Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam, those travellers now have a world-class luxury hotel to experience.’ The demand for hotel rooms in Amsterdam in the coming years is expected to increase by an average of 4% per year. To meet this demand, the City of Amsterdam is working to add thousands of new hotel rooms by 2015. www.waldorfastoria.com/amsterdam
The American investment bank Goldman Sachs has established an asset management office in the Zuidas financial district of Amsterdam. The Goldman Sachs Group is a renowned specialist in global investment banking and securities, and is an investment management firm. They provide a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions and governments. The firm, which is headquartered in New York, maintains offices in all major finance centres around the world. The recently established office in Amsterdam primarily focuses on the Dutch pension sector. With more than 450 pension funds managing a total of €790 billion, the Dutch pension sector ranks first among the euro area nations. Most of the funds operate from the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, making the region a hub of expertise for pan-European pension asset management. www.goldmansachs.com
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AMS NEW IN
Creative success
Center for Applied Games opens in Amsterdam
Study finds a dynamic Dutch innovation hub
The Netherlands has risen two spots to fourth place on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2013, compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Cornell University and the INSEAD business school. The top ten countries in the index are the same as last year but their positions have shifted. Singapore dropped out of the top three while the USA and the Netherlands both climbed the rankings. The Netherlands’ significant climb on the Global Innovation Index can be explained in part by the sharp increase in international filings for patents in the Netherlands. WIPO reports that international patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) increased by 6.6% compared to 2011 figures. The Netherlands reported the fastest growth in filings, reflecting the innovative resilience of the country.
A creative and diverse capital
Amsterdam ranks fourth in global city rankings
Digital Realty to build data centre Region’s tech credentials increase
According to research carried out by the Martin Prosperity Institute, Amsterdam is one of the best developed cities in the world based on ‘the three “T”s of economic development: tolerance, talent and technology’. Out of the 61 global cities studied by the institute, Amsterdam was ranked fourth.
Digital Realty has announced plans to build a new 15,900 square metre data centre complex in Hoofddorp, joining a successful group of data centres and tech companies that are already active in the region. Bernard Geoghegan, Digital Realty managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, noted: ‘Amsterdam is ideally located at the heart of the demand we are seeing for today’s networked data centre requirements across Europe.’
http://martinprosperity.org
www.digitalrealty.com
Amsterdam ranks consistently highly on Global Cities Index In the 2014 Global Cities Index Amsterdam retained 26th position
www.globalinnovationindex.org
Faralda NDSM Crane Hotel Amsterdam opens New hotel in the city’s creative hotspot is located at the top of a former industrial crane
The concept of a room with a view just got taken to a whole new level with the launch of Faralda, the luxury hotel that swings 50m over the skyline of Amsterdam-Noord, atop a crane at the former ship-building yard of NDSM. There are three suites available, the rate for which includes time in the development’s rooftop, airborne Jacuzzi. The crane will also host the Faralda Television Studio & Facilities and the Faralda Television & Music / Events productions, in keeping with the area’s reputation as a creative hotspot.
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www.faralda.com
Twitter opens sales office
Social media giant arrives Owing to its high penetration rate in the Netherlands, Twitter has opened a new office in Amsterdam. Almost the entire population of Dutch internet users accesses social media (96 per cent), which ranks the country number one worldwide in internet penetration for both Twitter and LinkedIn. More than one in four Dutch internet users visit these sites every month. Twitter’s new base in Amsterdam will be used as a sales office. From here, advertising space will be sold to diverse Dutch companies.
Consultancy firm AT Kearny’s Global Cities Index ranks 84 cities from all over the globe according to how globally engaged they are. Global engagement is measured in terms of business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience and political engagement. New York City tops the list. Amsterdam scores very well on both business activity and information exchange. This is illustrated by the many global players in the fields of professional services present in Amsterdam, covering legal affairs, media, ICT, pensions and tax consultancy. Another big plus is the well-developed supply-chain industry. All of these factors ensure that the more than 2,500 international businesses in the area are served efficiently. www.atkearney.com
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AMS NEW IN
The Netherlands rises on innovation index
‘This is the London Financial Times. I read it almost every day.’
‘This is the Chinese character “FU）”, which means “good fortune” or “blessing”. What’s remarkable is that this scroll consists of 100 different writing styles of the character “FU” – some of which date back two or three thousand years.’
‘My wife, Jingchun Weng.’
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International residents photographed in their own homes Thomas Jin, deputy general manager of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Amsterdam Branch Originates from Guandong Province, southern China. In Amsterdam since January 2011
‘My son, Hankai Jin. He goes to the British School in The Netherlands in The Hague.’
‘We bought this picture [Mona Lisa] in the Louvre, Paris. It is a favourite picture of my wife’s. She has been enchanted by this picture since her adolescence.’
‘These are small souvenirs we’ve collected when we’ve travelled to different countries in Europe – including Belgium, Italy, Germany, France and Switzerland.’
‘This desk was shipped from China for a banking exhibition in the RAI. It was going to be destroyed because the costs of shipping it back to China were too high.’
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LONG STAY
LONG STAY
Russell Shorto
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text Megan Roberts photo Marcel Bakker
The deputy general manager of the Amsterdam branch of ICBC talks about the ease of living and working in the Netherlands.
Mr Jin plans to remain in Amsterdam at least until his 15-year-old son finishes studying. ‘Amsterdam is a very nice city, a very understanding and friendly city. Dutch people are very kind to foreigners – and of course it helps that they speak very good English. My When Thomas Jin and his family moved to the family enjoys living here too.’ Netherlands in 2011, they joined a growing community of Chinese expatriates, estimated to ICBC Amsterdam has expanded quickly since its arrival, and is based in the Museum Quarter. number 5,000 in the Amsterdam Metropolitan ‘Our office is on Museumplein. I always like to Area. China’s spectacular economic growth over the past 30 years has seen increased foreign say that we are neighbours of the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Royal investment in the country. At the same time, as Concertgebouw,’ says Mr Jin. Chinese firms become increasingly global in ‘Doing business here is easy. Dutch people have outlook, executives such as Mr Jin have moved good traditions of doing business, inherited abroad to establish branch offices of Chinese from the Golden Age in the 17th century. I companies across the world. ‘The Netherlands is the second largest Chinese always say that most Dutch people are masters at business. It is not difficult to find a business trade partner in Europe, ranking only behind partner here.’ Germany – and look at the comparative sizes In 2012, ICBC found a perfect partnership of those countries,’ Mr Jin explains over green tea at his apartment in the south of Amsterdam, with the City of Amsterdam and amsterdam inbusiness, the Netherlands’ official foreign where he lives with his wife and son. ‘The relationship is reciprocal: the Netherlands is the investment agency. Together they organised the China Holland Business Summit to help third largest EU investor in China.’ Chinese companies do business in Europe, Mr Jin moved to Amsterdam in 2011 when and to match Dutch businesses with strong the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Chinese partners. It was a great success. (ICBC) opened an Amsterdam office in the city’s prestigious Museumplein neighbourhood. As for the future, Mr Jin is confident that – with the support of amsterdam inbusiness ICBC is the largest publicly traded bank in the – Dutch-Chinese trade and investment will world in terms of assets, core capital, deposits continue to grow. ‘Trading dropped by 0.8 and profit. The Amsterdam branch focuses per cent in 2012 – unsurprising given the primarily on Chinese and Dutch companies economy. But, Chinese trade relations with operating in China. the rest of Europe dropped by 4 per cent. When Mr Jin arrived in Amsterdam, it was the The Netherlands remains a strong trading first time he had ever been here. Luckily, he was favourably impressed from the very start of partner for China – now and in the future.’ Mr Jin concludes: ‘I often meet the Mayor of the relocation process. ‘We went to the Dutch Amsterdam, and he says: “If you have any embassy in China, and after we submitted our complaints about living here, tell me about visa application, it only took three or four days them.” I always say, “I’ll have to think very for the embassy to grant the visa. It was a very hard to find one.”’ < efficient and friendly service.’
The archetype of urban creativity There is what you might call a conundrum of creativity. Creativity is the most intimate and individual thing: it starts with the firing of synapses in one person’s mind. And yet creativity feeds on inspiration. As Isaac Newton said, ‘If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.’ The individual creator needs a community of other individual creators. Amsterdam developed in such a way that it became the archetype of urban creativity. This came about precisely because the city fostered, in a unique way, the interaction between the individual and the community. Amsterdam’s origins are all about water. Medieval inhabitants of the Dutch provinces, trying to survive in what is essentially a vast river delta, built dykes, dams, canals and mills to control the water that flowed all around them. In doing so, they unwittingly crafted a unique society. Where elsewhere the system was one in which property was owned by Church and nobility, in which everyone had a fixed place, the inhabitants of these low-lying provinces created something other. The land that they brought into being by reclaiming it from sea and rivers did not belong to a nobleman or the Church; it belonged to the individuals who banded together to create it. They divided it into lots, which gave their individual owners a kind of power that others in Europe could not dream of possessing. Land ownership brought a sense of identity. This, in turn, spurred creativity. At the same time, the individualism inherent in this real-estate-based model of creativity was only possible because of the collective action of a community: the decision to band together to do the back-breaking work of building dams and dykes. And once new land was available, this same community commitment kept the dams and dykes in good repair. The dynamic between individual and community was set.
The feeling that an individual is in control of his or her destiny fuels innovation. As Amsterdam developed in the 16th and 17th centuries, its inhabitants spawned a historic series of innovations. The city became the world centre of publishing: one third of all books published globally in the 17th century came out of Amsterdam’s publishing houses. It was similarly the centre of mapmaking and map publishing. The city led the way in the secularisation of art, pulling it away from Church patronage and religious themes. Rembrandt became a sensation most of all for his portraiture. The Amsterdammers who lined up to commission him to paint themselves and their family members did so because he seemed to them to paint not just what they looked like but who they were. These were individuals, with rich interior lives, and this artist portrayed their individuality. The city’s physical structure benefitted from this explosion of creativity. Amsterdam became the first city with street lighting, the first with a modern fire department. When Peter the Great of Russia visited in 1697, it was to see what was already talked about all over the continent: a ‘city of the future’, in which everything was organised for the efficiency and pleasure of its inhabitants. Having been in essence the spark of the entire modern notion of creativity, the city surely can’t keep its position at the forefront. What was once unique to Amsterdam is now acknowledged as the ambition of every modern city. And yet, Amsterdam today is a centre of dance, music, design and fashion, the epicentre of Europe’s digital start-up scene, a leader in developing sustainable technologies. The key to its continued success may lie in the old saw that history is destiny. Where in other places ‘creativity’ might be a mere mantra, the recipe for creativity – a balance between the individual and the community – is inbuilt into Amsterdam’s very core. <
The DNA of A’dam Russell Shorto (1959) is an American author, historian and journalist, best known for his book on the Dutch origins of New York City, The Island at the Center of the World. He is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and is the former director of The John Adams Institute in Amsterdam, where he lived between 2007 and 2014. In 2009, Russell received a Dutch knighthood in the Order of Orange-Nassau. His most recent book, Amsterdam: A History of the World’s Most Liberal City, was published by Doubleday in October 2013. photo Robin de Puy
‘Amsterdam developed in such a way that it became the archetype of urban creativity’
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‘Amsterdam is a very understanding and friendly city’
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‘Amsterdam’s renown as a centre of creative excellence has helped us attract global clients’
Statistics show that creative industries account for a considerable percentage of the added value of the Amsterdam economy. There’s no doubt about it: creativity is fuelling the economic growth of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area
Joep Beving, global business & strategy director, MassiveMusic
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text Hans Kops & Mark Smith photography Amke
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Renny Ramakers, co-founder & director Droog ‘I find Amsterdam creatively inspiring. It’s not necessarily for the reasons you might imagine – the wealth of architecture and art that abounds here – although of course that helps. For me it’s as much to do with the international crowd in Amsterdam. We receive job applications from young people all around the world. At Hôtel Droog, which is our headquarters in the city centre, I insist that we hold our lectures and debates in English rather than Dutch because there are always internationals in the audience and for most Dutch people it’s no problem whatsoever to work and socialise in English. It’s nice to work in such a cosmopolitan cultural infrastructure.’
Clay Mills, MD Wieden+Kennedy
Jeroen van Erp, creative director Fabrique
Renny Ramakers, co-founder & director Droog
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‘Because the average size of organisations here is relatively small, contacts are easily made and contracts just as easily closed, making Amsterdam a creativity network on a city scale’ (Jeroen van Erp, creative director Fabrique)
CREATIVE CORE The name says it all: advertising agency Anomaly has made its name by doing things differently. After opening offices in New York and London, and being named among the 50 most innovative companies in the world, Anomaly chose Amsterdam as its third creative pillar, with Toronto and Shanghai following soon after. ‘Amsterdam fits Anomaly and vice versa,’ says Hazelle Klønhammer, president of the Amsterdam outpost. Born in Australia, Klønhammer has 15 years of ad agency experience in the city. ‘We like to break with the traditional ways of our trade. One of the key principles from our founders is that we don’t ever sell time. Time is a commoditising force: all agencies are not equal. We’d rather embrace mechanisms that reward the quality of our ideas than be compensated for the time or the number of people it takes to deliver them. We just do whatever it takes to deliver outstanding results. We’re truly committed to the outcome.’ Those ‘outcomes’ that Anomaly reaches are a long way from the clichés of traditional advertising, and often include brand consultancy, guerrilla marketing techniques, the creation of new corporate identities and the development and launch of their own intellectual property – such as beauty products and television series. Anomaly also co-owns a content production company. Anomaly’s business model depends upon the company having access to a huge and diverse pool of strategic and creative talent, which in turn thrives when stimulated and challenged by its environment. Which is why Anomaly is based in a beautiful 385-year-old Amsterdam canal house. ‘It was a no-brainer to open an Anomaly office here. Amsterdam is a cultural and economic gateway to the rest of continental Europe; there is an excellent Dutch and international talent pool and the type of clients the city attracts are usually very open-minded and receptive to good creativity,’ concludes Klønhammer.
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Clay Mills, managing director Wieden+Kennedy ‘The Dutch are the original exporters of concepts. The Golden Age was, at its essence, the creation of an international market of ideas, and I think you can see that international perspective in the make-up of our agency. I joke that it’s the UN of advertising: we’ve got a Russian copywriter, creatives who are Egyptian, one who’s half-Persian, half-German. The list goes on. This fosters creative work with a truly global perspective – I know we wouldn’t get the same results were we based in the US or the UK. As an American who’d been working in London, coming to Amsterdam was a very attractive prospect. There’s a wonderful quality of life here, of course, but there’s also the prospect of working with global clients – the likes of Heineken and Booking.com – who are practically in your back garden. That can only be a good thing.’
Hazelle Klønhammer, president Anomaly
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‘Advertising is a digital business but your physical location still counts. You need a place where the best talents and your clients enjoy to be‘ (Brian Elliott, co-founder Amsterdam Worldwide)
A GLOBAL CREATIVE VILLAGE There are many more creative companies in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, most of them in the segment of creative business services. The same advantages that attracted Klønhammer and her colleagues have seen established advertising companies thrive. Ever more newcomers – such as Sid Lee, Arnold and Amsterdam Worldwide – have chosen Amsterdam as either head office or European outpost, especially in the last decade. Many of these are mid-sized companies with an international focus, multinational clientele and a multi-channel concept. Between them they create, develop and direct worldwide campaigns for Red Bull, Adidas and Volvo from the global village of Amsterdam. Brian Elliott, the Canadian co-founder of Amsterdam Worldwide (formerly Strawberry Frog) said of his decision to ‘regroup’ in Amsterdam: ‘This is a digital business and the world is your market. But your physical location still counts. You need a place where the best talents and your clients enjoy to be. The scale of things and the existence of a worldwide network aren’t the dominant factors any more.’ Just as the advertising industry thrives and grows (in terms of both numbers and results), so are the many other layers of Amsterdam’s creative cluster blossoming. There is a rich seam of industrial and fashion designers based in the city (including, to name but a few, international icons of Dutch design Marcel Wanders and Hella Jongerius). Worldrenowned architects and music producers call Amsterdam their home, and the gaming industry is booming here in spite of the recession. Not to mention that Amsterdam is effectively the birthplace of the reality TV format that dominates prime-time schedules around the world: Big Brother originated here, as did The Voice. A relatively new branch of commercial creativity, the dance-music industry, effectively originated here – the history of house music being written largely with Dutch names: Joost van Bellen, Eddie de Clerq, Tiësto, Fedde le Grand, Ferry Corsten, Armin van Buuren – the list goes on.
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CREATIVE COMMERCIALISM The Netherlands – and Amsterdam in particular – has a rich history of artistic patronage and appreciation. The world-famous Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum of contemporary art are situated within a mile of where the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the National Ballet have their home bases, in the heart of the neighbourhood where most creative companies have their offices. All these factors contribute to a bustling creative industry, with more than 30,000 companies operational in creative business services, media and entertainment and in art-related activities, providing work for at least 55,000 professionals. Better still, Amsterdam’s creative core is the best guarantee for future economic growth and prosperity for the entire Amsterdam Area, according to the theories of American socio-economist Richard Florida. Florida, whose 2012 book The Rise of the Creative Class Revisited proposes ways to turn an emerging creative economy into an enduring creative society, was the theoretical inspiration for researchers Olaf Koops and Paul Rutten in their annual survey of the development of the creative sector, the Creativity Monitor. ‘A region with a developed and dynamic creative core is more innovative and competitive than others in today’s knowledge-based economy,’ they write. ‘The existence of a rich source of new ideas and concepts attracts new business and makes it more appealing for international headquarters to settle. Moreover, creative professionals hub easier from one employer or business contact to the other, thus
Top: Fabrique Bottom: Wieden+Kennedy
‘The Dutch are the original exporters of concepts. The Golden Age was, at its essence, the creation of an international market of ideas’ (Clay Mills, managing director Wieden+Kennedy )
Hermen Hulst, managing director & co-founder, Guerrilla Games ‘For me, being based in Amsterdam represents a European lifestyle in a context where it’s possible to maintain a North American-style work ethic. When I worked in Silicon Valley, I was impressed by the level of commitment and dedication that developers there have towards their output. Now I see that dedication on our creative shop floor too. Amsterdam has a really independent mind set – it’s a place where for centuries people haven’t been scared to innovate. Newcomers are inspired by that spirit of independent thinking. I think it’s what drove me and my friends to set up Guerrilla Games in the first place. We have some 26 nationalities working here in our Amsterdam office. As an employer, I find it easy to attract people from overseas because people are attracted by the quality of life. Take my commute to work; a ten-minute walk along the canals, dropping my kids off at school on the way!’
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NETWORKING IS EASY This many-layered creative cluster is powered by one of the best-connected ICT networks in the world and inspired by a charming manageability of scale. As Amsterdam Worldwide’s Brian Elliott says: ‘Networking is easy when you bump into people on almost every street corner.’ Jeroen van Erp, creative director of industrial design agency Fabrique and member of The Dutch Creative Industries Council, which advises public and private decision-makers on how to create the conditions that help the creative industry prosper, agrees. ‘In Amsterdam, you meet people in your favourite café or in one of the incubators for fresh start-ups that are created everywhere in the city. Every creative segment has its own platforms and events nowadays – like Amsterdam Fashion Week or the What Design Can Do! conference. And because the average size of organisations here is relatively small, contacts are easily made and contracts just as easily closed, making Amsterdam a creativity network on a city scale.’
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A NEW GOLDEN AGE Creativity has historically been at the core of Amsterdam’s commercial success. The Amsterdam of the Golden Age remains for many the paragon of the first creative city. American urban designer and best-selling author Leo Hollis writes in his latest book, Cities Are Good forYou – the Genius of the Metropolis: ‘The unique mixture of different nationalities, religions and cultural backgrounds in a city of overseeable size has always been Amsterdam’s forte. The social complexity and cultural controversy that is the result, is the best guarantee for out-of-the-box ideas and the entrepreneurial spirit to embrace this. Old Amsterdam prospered because of it and new Amsterdam is building a future on it.’ But Amsterdam has another historical advantages – although it was not always seen as such – that has continually ranked the city among the five most creative cities in the world, together with cultural heavyweights such as New York, Los Angeles, London and Milan. Amsterdam has never been the administrative centre of the Netherlands. Amsterdammers had to find other sources of income and inspiration. And they did so very successfully, finds Fabrique’s Jeroen van Erp: ‘Originally Fabrique is rooted in Delft: all the founders have a degree in industrial design engineering from the Technical University there. And although it’s only 50 minutes by train, it was not until we opened a branch in Amsterdam that the best talents in the creative industry wanted to work for and with us. Just a couple of months after we opened an office here, we were given assignments by Amsterdam-based clients. To have your agency close at hand matters, I suppose, and an address in Amsterdam is also an asset in the eyes of international clients. We are proud to say that we
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Droog
Wieden+Kennedy Massive Music
Wieden + Kennedy
‘Amsterdam is a creative and economic gateway to the rest of continental Europe’ (Hazelle Klønhammer, president Anomaly Amsterdam)
Erik t’ Sas, general manager mobile, KIXEYE ‘After considering multiple options in the region, Amsterdam scored the highest for combining a business-friendly environment with a rich creative context, which is vital to KIXEYE as a creative company. Amsterdam has the distinct advantage of allowing access to a deep, diverse and high-quality talent pool in creative and business disciplines. Another major advantage for us as a company doing business worldwide is proximity to a major international airport.’
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creating an extra flow in the exchange of knowledge and expertise and opening up to combinations that might never have been considered otherwise. The attractiveness of the establishment climate and the present and future economic growth of the Amsterdam Area is therefore for the greater part fuelled by its creative core.’
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Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, founder The Next Web ‘Not many people realise that The Next Web and its founders are all based in the Netherlands. Less than 2 per cent of our readers come from the Netherlands and most people assume we’re a US company, but it really all started here, in Amsterdam. Amsterdam has always been a place that has attracted the creative people in the world. We seem to not only tolerate “differentness” but to enjoy and encourage it. That is a great environment for people who think differently. The web technology scene here is small but strong, which means you don’t just bump into a potential exit partner at a random party. The advantage of that is that it helps you focus on quality and not worry about networking so much.’
were asked to redesign the website of the Rijksmuseum and that we work on projects for, among others, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol,’ he says. ‘Additionally, coming to Amsterdam challenged us to create new partnerships. For instance, we closely operate with Dawn – which, like Anomaly, is an ad agency that is constantly challenging existing structures and looking for new ways of delivering the message. They know everything about advertising and we are well informed on and adapted to social media. Combined we can deliver an integrated multimedia and multi-channel solution that is rather unique.’ The next challenge for Amsterdam is to scale up the networks. To service international companies on a truly global scale means that new partnerships must be formed between various creative disciplines. ‘For that, you need an open mind, and that is what the reputation of Amsterdam is based on,’ concludes Van Erp. The beginnings are already there: advertising companies work closely with game developers to create a three-dimensional digital world for their multimedia campaigns; designers combine new technologies to make products more appealing and appropriate for consumers all over the world. Pushing boundaries and breaking new creative ground is in Amsterdam’s DNA, and perfectly epitomised by an ongoing initiative from DUS Architects. Utilising the latest technological advances, they are 3D printing a complete four-storey Amsterdam canal house, beside the Buiksloterkanaal in trendy Amsterdam-Noord. It will serve as living proof of where old creative Amsterdam meets the new.<
Hosting more than 120 world-class conventions and events each year, Amsterdam is an ideal conference destination. As infrastructure is further developed and hotel capacity increased with characteristic entrepreneurial vision, Amsterdam remains a top international conference city
Meeting potential
text Tom Wolters
Amsterdam ArenA
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‘Amsterdam scored the highest for combining both a business-friendly environment with a rich creative context that is vital to KIXEYE as a creative company’ (Erik t’ Sas, general manager mobile, KIXEYE)
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INDUSTRY UPDATE
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Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and other travel service providers (including hotels, convention centres and public transport companies). The goal of the Task Force is to field multiple bids for large conference proposals in an efficient way, with one common bid procedure. By joining forces, the members of the Task Force share a common goal to: • Respond to clients within 24 hours • Arrange joint promotional campaigns • Attract large conventions to Amsterdam For more information, please email acb@iamsterdam.com
Amsterdam RAI
BUILDING ON THE SUCCESSES OF 2013 In addition to hosting a wealth of cultural milestones and celebrations, 2013 also proved to be an excellent year for Amsterdam as an international conference destination. More international meetings and conventions were organised in the city than in the previous year, with figures showing a significant increase of 16% compared to 2012 across both corporate and non-corporate meetings. This was the perfect building block for 2014, where in the first six months, large associations including Intertraffic, the European Society for Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy
(ESSKA) and the European Renal Association – European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA) held conventions in the city. Alongside the rise in the number of conventions, recent figures also indicate a notable 26% rise in the number of ‘participant days’, a quantitative unit of measurement that assesses two significant conference factors: the duration of the meeting and the number of participants. This increase can primarily be attributed to the addition of several citywide conventions, including the Congress of the European Society of Cardiology (30,000 participants), the European Cancer Congress (nearly 16,000 participants) and the International Liver Congress (nearly 10,000 participants). The ‘participant days’ figure provides a sound indication of the economic potential generated by facilitating international association meetings. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Already home to unique conference locations – from cutting-edge to more traditional – some of Amsterdam’s best venues keep upping the ante with improved facilities and even new buildings. The Amsterdam RAI is already the city’s largest conference venue, but the construction of a new multi-use addition, scheduled to open in May
2015, will cement the venue’s industry-leading reputation. The new building will incorporate the most advanced sustainability techniques, aiming to achieve a BREEAM-NL excellent level, the sustainability seal of approval from the Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC). Another iconic Amsterdam location suitable for hosting international conferences with up to 1,000 participants (and dinners for up to 1,200 guests) is the atmospheric Beurs van Berlage. Designed by Hendrik Petrus Berlage and completed in 1903, this neo-Romanesque red brick monument is located in the historic centre of Amsterdam, just a short walk from Central Station and within 15 minutes of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol by train.
being improved, and the ambitious ‘Red Carpet’ project sees the renovation of one of the city’s main thoroughfares to create a new entrance to the city centre. Part of the wider redesign of the public spaces above the North-South metro line, the Red Carpet will make more space A world-class congress city for pedestrians on this busy The International Conference & Convention thoroughfare between Central Association (ICCA) compiles an annual Station and Dam square. inventory of all international association And the new, warm welcome congresses held around the world. begins at Central Station, where a Amsterdam traditionally achieves a high new entrance has been created. The ranking within the top of the world’s most important and successful congress cities. new design gives an impression of how the future stations of the North-South metro line will look. ICCA Congress Cities Rankings 2013 This subway line will connect City Rank Amsterdam along the north-south Paris 1 COLLABORATING FOR SUCCESS axis and is expected to open in Madrid 2 A collaboration between Amsterdam Marketing, 2017. ‘With the arrival of the Vienna 3 Amsterdam RAI and various hotels has West Passage and the first part of Barcelona 4 resulted in a new quality seal, the ‘I amsterdam the IJ-hall, travellers are going to Berlin 5 approved’ label. This collaboration guarantees experience the allure of the new ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... organisers of international, citywide conferences Amsterdam Central experience,’ Istanbul 9 the availability of a maximum of 16,000 hotel promises Irma Winkenius, project Seoul 9 rooms in Amsterdam, all quality-assured. director at Amsterdam Central Prague 11 train stations. The renovation AMSTERDAM 12 INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS includes a wide range of amenities (Source: International Conference & Convention Association, 2013) Amsterdam’s solid infrastructure is constantly for travellers. <
Artist‘s impression of Amsterdam‘s new ‘Red Carpet‘
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AN INNOVATIVE, CREATIVE CONVENTION CITY Amsterdam’s DNA is characterised by creativity, innovation and commercial spirit: three core values that also typify the city’s meetings industry. Annually, Amsterdam hosts numerous new congresses as well as recurring events – both corporate and non-corporate – encompassing a wide range of themes, from ICT to medicine and from technology to security. It is testament to Amsterdam’s reputation as a world-class conference destination that the city Task force welcomes numerous large-scale, international The Task Force for Citywide Congresses is a congresses that return annually, including collaborative venture between Amsterdam the IBC (55,000 participants) and Integrated Marketing, the City of Amsterdam, Systems Europe (35,000 participants) in 2013.
IMAGES
Amsterdam, A Metropolitan Village
Familiar yet surprising Photographer Ewout Huibers (Arnhem, 1969) studied graphic design and photography in Ghent, Belgium. The following images of Amsterdam come from the book Amsterdam, A Metropolitan Village, a tribute to the great diversity of the ultimate global village. www.ewout.tv
This page: Westerdok, Western Islands. In this reconstructed docklands area the latest architectural trends are born, and formerly industrial buildings are now being turned into desirable apartment blocks. Pages 28-29: Westerpark. This former gasworks is now a cultural hotspot, featuring galleries, bars, restaurants and
a cinema, and a popular park. Pages 30-31: Intersection of Prinsengracht and Reguliersgracht. At two miles, the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Princesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Canalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, named for the Prince of Orange, is the longest of the main canals in Amsterdam. The houses that line if were built during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century.
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ICON
Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw – one of the world’s most cherished performance venues – celebrated its 125th birthday in 2013. Director Simon Reinink talked us through the harmonious partnerships that allow creativity to flourish
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text Mark Smith photography Massimo Catarinella
Summer 2013 saw the celebration of another Concertgebouw photo Fred George milestone, with the anniversary of the venue’s collaboration with Robeco, the Dutch-founded asset management firm whose name has preceded a series of special summer concerts for just over a quarter of a century: ‘Our involvement with Robeco was extremely innovative when it began, and it marked the start of a fruitful relationship with local and international business communities,’ says Reinink. ‘It started because Robeco were experts in direct marketing. Over the years the partnership has evolved into a much more grown-up affair.’ In 2011 the Concertgebouw inked a deal with a new headline partner, Deutsche Bank: ‘They are our sponsor on a corporate level, helping us with financial support for the education and outreach projects that are so important for us to build the audience of the future,’ says Reinink. Other sponsors include Anglo-Dutch consumer goods HARMONIOUS PARTNERSHIPS company Unilever and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. KLM is To this day, despite having undergone an extensive – not to entrusted with transporting the musicians and instruments mention expensive – programme of renovation, the concert of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra around the world hall remains almost entirely self-sufficient, with only 6 per – an especially important job in 2013, when the orchestra cent of its revenues originating from state subsidies. The building works hard, of course, hosting some 900 events per embarked on an anniversary world tour taking in six continents. year, of which Reinink estimates half are organised by the institution itself, at its own risk: ‘The other 50 per cent of the Meanwhile, affiliations with other companies are helping the time we are renting the space to orchestras and friends such director to achieve his goal of a sustainable Concertgebouw: ‘Philips, for example, have supplied us with LED bulbs as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the Saturday Mati- which have significantly reduced electricity waste without affecting the atmosphere.’ Reinink is keen to stress that nee programme by broadcaster NTR, to name but a few.’ According to the director, being open to external promoters even the tiniest change to the Concertgebouw has to be brings creative, as well as financial, benefits: ‘The standard ORCHESTRAL SCORE scrutinised in order to ensure that of the artists who travel to perform here never ceases 126: years since first concert it won’t affect the acoustics for to amaze me. I can go to the concert of a world music 1,974: seats in the Main Hall which this neoclassical building is performer I’ve never heard of, and be completely blown 3: number of concert halls within famed: ‘That unparalleled quality away,’ he enthuses. the Concertgebouw of sound is our biggest asset, and To celebrate its big birthday in 2013, the Concertgebouw 150: seats in the recently we will never forget that.’ < hosted a series of special big-name performances – some opened Choir Hall of them three years in the planning – in its main and recital 750,000: visitors per year halls. November saw the return of Bernard Haitink, the man 13,000: members of the venue’s who memorably described the Concertgebouw as the best ‘cultural friends’ association instrument of the orchestra it houses. The veteran conductor 32,000: fans on Facebook lead the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in an evening of 20: percentage of revenue from Brahms. hospitality
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Musical superstar
CULTURE THROUGH COMMERCE Since his days as a guitar musicology student at the University of Utrecht, Simon Reinink has rarely played his classical guitar in public, preferring to leave the performing to the thousands of world-class professionals who grace the Concertgebouw concert hall each year. Yet 8 January 2013 saw Reinink taking to a balcony of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange for an unusual musical turn. After a short performance by the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the former lawyer from Utrecht struck the exchange’s gong above the assembled crowds. The moment marked the start of another day’s trading, but also the beginning of a landmark jubilee year for the Royal Concertgebouw – which, at 126 years old, has been one of the world’s most revered venues for music of all kinds since it emerged from the swampy fields just outside Amsterdam towards the close of the 19th century. For Reinink, a mini concert in the heart of the world’s oldest stock exchange made perfect sense: ‘From the very first day in 1888, it was in the Concertgebouw’s DNA to make its own money, to support itself,’ he says from his office, whose walls are lined with hundreds of CDs, many of which were recorded on-site. ‘The Concertgebouw was never a project funded by the government or the city; it was an initiative undertaken by civilians. That’s very much in the spirit of Amsterdam. The open-mindedness of this city – that tradition of doing business with everybody – has led to a wonderful cultural climate, too.’
Never before have so many artworks from New York’s Guggenheim Museum been shown in the Netherlands. Thirteen of the 51 pieces now on loan at the Amstelveen museum of modern art were exhibited together during the opening of the legendary New York museum in 1959. It’s the first time since the 1950s that Europe has seen many of the paintings by CoBrA artists including Appel, Jorn and Alechinsky. The artists who made them were dubbed the ‘Tastebreakers’ by Guggenheim director James Johnson Sweeney, who believed they would redefine the boundaries of art. And they did. Until 31 August | www.cobra-museum.nl
IBC IBC, originally the International Broadcasting Convention, launched in 1967 when television was just moving into colour. It came to the Amsterdam RAI in 1992, and has been coming back ever since. This year, IBC will attract more than 50,000 of the industry’s sharpest minds, hosting a mix of firms that includes the likes of Sony, Microsoft and the BBC. The invite-only Leaders’ Summit gathers ‘the most influential and visionary people at the top of the electronic media and entertainment industry’, while the Rising Stars programme engages with those who may replace them a few years down the line.
More than 1,000 athletes from all over the world will come to Amsterdam for the premier rowing event of the year: the World Rowing Championships. The championships feature a total of 27 events, including five para-rowing races. The programme will be complemented by various music performances and sports-related activities, plus food stalls, beer gardens and picnic areas.
From the Guggenheim Collection
24-31 August | www.amsterdamrowing.com
Until 31
World Rowing Championship 2014
15-24
Haarlem Jazz City
August 13-16
MercedesBenz Fashion Week Amsterdam
July 4-14
Until 29 Aug
28 Robeco SummerNights
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June
24-31
Conference 11-15 Sep; Exhibition 12-16 Sep | www.ibc.org
4-14 July | www.fashionweek.nl
World Rowing Championships 2014
September
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Photo Bron Edo Landwehr
Photo E Van Eis
Exhibition
13-16 August | www.haarlemjazzandmore.nl
Strike a pose for Amsterdam’s top fashion fest. For ten days this summer, Amsterdammers will be inspired by the city’s biannual Fashion Week. Among others, Danish accountant-turned-fashion designer Claes Iversen will show his classy couture on the (invite-only) catwalk. If you’re not fashion royalty and haven’t received an invitation, there’s always the Downtown programme, where you can partake in a workshop inspired by fashion and Van Gogh, check out multiple fashion-themed exhibitions and dance the night away in style.
15-24 August | www.grachtenfestival.nl
IBC
Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Amsterdam
From the Guggenheim Collection
12-16
28 June-29 Aug | www.concertgebouw.nl/en/robeco-summernights
The biggest free jazz festival on the continent takes place in the historic city centre of Haarlem, a hop skip and a jump from Amsterdam. National and international artists and DJs play jazz, funk, soul, hip hop, R&B and electro at five stages across the city, each themed by genre. Puerto Rican Gabriel Ríos brings his pan-cultural electronic pop approach embracing elements of rock, hip hop and salsa, while pint-sized Dutch singer-songwriter VanVelzen, who has supported Kelly Clarkson and Bon Jovi on tour, is sure to give a great live performance. Soulstress Sabrina Stark, reggae/hip hop outfit Postmen and Dutch-Belgian jazz duo Gare Du Nord are also set to perform.
Sam Francis, Shining Back, 1958
Conference
During July and August, Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw hosts two months of exceptional music – from classical to jazz and from cabaret to film scores – during Robeco SummerNights. Some 80 concerts feature internationally renowned orchestras and soloists (think: Swedish clarinettist Martin Fröst, Macedonian classical pianist Simon Trpčeski and Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma, pictured) with programmes of Mozart, Mahler and more. But it’s not all classical music. American Grammy-award-winning jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove celebrates the fourth of July with the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw and some big band classics. Elsewhere, Hollywood villains and heroes are celebrated across time by the Dutch Symphony Orchestra, led by Ernst van Tiel.
Haarlem Jazz City
IBC
Robeco SummerNights
In a unique – and uniquely accessible – celebration of both classical music and Amsterdam’s distinctive architecture, the annual Grachtenfestival takes classical music out of the concert hall and into unique locations around the city, welcoming some 60,000 visitors each year. A platform for talented young musicians, Grachtenfestival Amsterdam also opens classical music up to a new audience with affordable tickets and plenty of free performances in unique and unexpected locations – from canal-house rooftops to urban marine land and nightlife Mecca Rembrandtplein. The festival’s most popular event, the Prinsengracht Concert, is free for all and performed on a floating pontoon against a backdrop of 17th-century canal houses.
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Photo Otto van den Toorn
Grachtenfestival Amsterdam
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text Megan Roberts
Grachtenfestival Amsterdam
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ADE: Amsterdam Dance Event The world’s biggest club festival and Europe’s leading electronic music conference, Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) is a true dance lovers’ Mecca. While 2,000 world-class DJs entertain some 300,000 clubbers by night at venues across the city, the business of future trends and technological advances takes place in broad daylight. Confirmed speakers this year include legendary French electro composer Jean-Michel Jarre, who will be interviewed by one of the most successful Dutch DJs and producers: Armin van Buuren.
Amsterdam Light Festival
EVENTS IN
15-19 October | www.amsterdam-dance-event.nl
Integrated Systems Europe
The world’s best-attended tradeshow for the professional AV and electronic systems industry returns to Amsterdam RAI for three days of global new technology launches, world-class education and countless new business and networking opportunities. 4-6 February | www.iseurope.org
Everything is illuminated for the third edition of the Amsterdam Light Festival, which puts some of the city centre’s most beautiful and historical locations in the spotlight during six of the bleakest winter weeks. Art installations, light exhibits, a canal parade and illuminated walking routes explore and celebrate the play of light and water that so enchanted some of the city’s Golden Age artists.
National Tulip Day Every year, an estimated 1.7 billion Dutch tulips bring a welcome touch of spring to households and businesses all over the globe. National Tulip Day sees Dutch tulip growers create a massive temporary garden on Dam square, bursting with around 200,000 tulips. More than 10,000 people come along to pick up their own free tulip as a kind of rite of spring.
27 November-18 January | www.amsterdamlightfestival.com
January 2015 | www.iamsterdam.com
Broadband World Forum
December
January TBA
Until 18 Jan
Amsterdam Light Festival
27
IDFA
November
19-30
Broadband World Forum
21-23
Diwali Festival Amstelveen
18
15-19
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October
21-23 October | www.broadbandworldforum.com
ADE Amsterdam Dance Event
19-30 November | www.idfa.nl
photo: Janus van den Eijnden
February
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18 October | www.diwalifestival.nl
‘Powering digital innovation through connectivity and collaboration’, the world’s largest broadband event provides a platform for networking and reflection on the latest developments taking place in the sector across the globe. Keynote speakers from industry innovators such as BitTorrent, Linux, Deutsche Telekom and the United Nations share their knowledge with 8,000 decision-makers from across the globe. Alongside the conference will be an exhibition featuring 200+ leading industry solution and technology providers. The show floor will be buzzing with content hubs, dedicated networking zones and more.
Integrated Systems Europe
The world’s biggest and most dynamic documentary film festival takes over cinemas and other venues in the heart of Amsterdam, bringing new perspectives on hot topics and sparking intelligent debate. All films are subtitled in English, which is great news for expats and film industry delegates alike.
Celebrating the strong ties between the Indian community and the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, Amstelveen’s city square and shopping area will be transformed into a colourful festival area in honour of the Diwali Festival of Lights. Traditionally celebrated on Amavasya – the 15th day of the dark fortnight of the Hindu month of Ashwin (October/ November) – the Amstelveen Diwali Festival is a beacon of light, with plenty of Indian food and drink, plus live performances such as traditional Indian music and dance (Bollywood and classical).
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IDFA
National Tulip Day
Diwali Festival Amstelveen
WORKPLACE
A global, mobile, collaborative business model text Megan Roberts photography Marcel Bakker
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At telecom giant Vodafone Netherlands’ headquarters, a new workplace strategy has resulted in a ground-breaking office space: no assigned workspaces, an open, collaborative layout and everyone – from the CEO to the most junior employee – working alongside one another. Property manager Nataschja Zaal explains
THE WORKPLACE OF THE FUTURE When Vodafone’s Amsterdam headquarters opened in Oosterdokseiland, within walking distance of Amsterdam Central Station, it set a benchmark for modern workplace design. ‘We needed to make a big step forward in our work space to break out from traditional offices to something fresh, new, even heretical,’ said Jens Schulte Bockum, former CEO of Vodafone NL when announcing the new office six years ago. Designed by OCS Workplaces, which specialises in combining architecture, furniture and technology in a cohesive way, the office actively encourages collaborative, social and, appropriately, mobile working methods. The creative use of space has nurtured a new work culture: with no assigned desks, people are closer to one another, explains property manager Nataschja Zaal. ‘People communicate more regularly and more informally, which adds to productivity and innovation.’ With an estimated 80 per cent of work completed in a collaborative manner, a flexible working area with spaces to host everything from conference-style meetings to more casual, intimate brainstorming sessions was key to the office design. These include private calling booths so employees don’t disturb their neighbours, glass-encased ‘concentration cubicles’ for intense collaboration, a café-cumlate-night club where you can pay using your mobile, a silent library, ‘media: scape’ spaces where documents and presentations can be projected and shared with ease and an informal lounge – all with fully adjustable desk and chair heights. It goes without saying that the latest technology is integrated throughout the building. The office, which houses the marketing and
Colleen Geske sales departments of Vodafone Netherlands totalling some 500 employees, is a physical manifestation of the company’s sustainability policy. ‘Technology is taking over from paper,’ says Zaal, ‘which of course as a mobile communications company, we gladly endorse. Everything in our Amsterdam headquarters enables us to work in a paperless way.’ She continues: ‘We always inform visitors that we have a strict “green policy”. Parking a car is at their expense, because we encourage visitors and employees to come by public transport.’ And the new office structure has had other cost-reduction benefits, too. ‘We’ve reduced our real-estate footprint because we no longer have to provide a rigid workplace for every employee. We have a ratio of 60 per cent, so we save 40 per cent on the square footage. Plus, highly advanced video conferencing facilities mean we save on both national and international travel costs.’ A symbolic sustainability icon, a large wallmounted Vodafone logo made from moss, absorbs CO2 and monitors the office climate – ‘just like in the past in coal mines with the bird in a cage,’ says Zaal. ‘We endorse the cradle to cradle cycle, which means that, for example, our desks, chairs and carpet in this building can be used, recycled and used again without losing any material quality.’ The building’s sixth floor is reserved for an especially innovative purpose: Startupbootcamp, an accelerator for global start-ups in which Vodafone is a shareholder. ‘Vodafone’s innovation strategy is based upon open innovation in which co-operating with start-ups is an important part,’ says Zaal. ‘The initiative connects us with the Amsterdam ICT community and supports Vodafone’s positioning as a playful and connected brand, encouraging interaction between Vodafone employees and start-ups to co-develop propositions.’ Success came quickly. ‘The programme is now in its third year. The 2013 class has been really successful. Between them, the nine start-ups have got some €3.8 million in funding.’ As companies around the world scramble to adapt to a more global, mobile and collaborative business model, Vodafone Netherlands is leading the way with a working space that enables the company to attract and retain top talent and live the brand by showcasing Vodafone products and mobile work. There’s only one downside, according to Zaal: ‘We have to bring sun cream to the office, because when we have a meeting on the roof terrace, we do tend to get burned…’ <
‘Vodafone’s innovation strategy is based upon open innovation in which co-operating with start-ups is an important part’
Vodafone Netherlands One of the world’s biggest international mobile telecom companies, with offices in more than 30 countries on five continents and 97,700 employees, Vodafone PLC has more than 434 million customers across the globe. In the Netherlands, Vodafone provides communication solutions to 5.3 million customers, employing some 3,200 people at corporate offices and in point-of-sale shops.
Let them eat cake After celebrating many a birthday abroad, I have come to realise that celebrations in a foreign land often tend to be a crash course in cultural discovery. If you’re lucky enough to spend some time in the Lowlands you’ll quickly find out that the Dutch celebrate birthdays in a series of weird and wacky ways. But before they celebrate them, they first have to remember them. After all, everyone’s got one, so how are you expected to keep all those birthdays straight? The alwaysinnovative Dutch have a very simple invention for that: enter the omnipresent birthday calendar. Now this calendar isn’t exactly what you probably have in mind. Firstly, it generally resides in a pretty unusual place – a place often referred to as the smallest room in the house. Yes: the Dutch birthday calendar is proudly hung in the toilet. The Dutch are above all practical, and where else would such an item be sure to not go overlooked? Nor is this calendar your everyday agenda. It is not for recording your next dental appointment or that upcoming dinner date at your colleague’s house: its sole purpose is to record the birthdays of all and sundry. In fact it’s a perpetual calendar, without date or year, forsaking the pesky need to purchase or re-update one every year. Trust the Dutch to come up with an efficient and thrifty solution.
(congratulations), so if you’re new to the language best practice your pronunciation a little first. Chances are you’re going to need to say it over and over and over again… When your own big day rolls around, there’s one particular cultural quirk you’ll need to observe: the provision of cake. Do not assume your colleagues have bought you sweet treats on your special day – but more importantly, do not think you can quietly avoid this office tradition. You will certainly not make any new friends or impress your workmates by attempting to evade this everimportant socio-cultural norm. Bring your cake, take in all the gefeliciteerds, do a lot of smoochy air-kissing and enjoy yourself, Dutch-style.
SEEING ABRAHAM By the time I reach my 50th birthday I plan to be either back in my native Canada or happily retired on a tropical island somewhere (a girl can dream…) but spending the big day in the Netherlands would come a close second. Of all the unusual birthday traditions, that of the Dutch half-century is the most odd. When a Dutch man or woman turns 50 they are said to be either ‘seeing Abraham’ or ‘seeing Sara’ – a biblical reference of much debated origin and meaning. Fiftieth birthday celebrations once included a cake or pastry in the likeness of the birthday boy CONGRATULATING THE CROWDS or girl, and evolved over time into a life-size If you happen to attend a Dutch birthday doll made to resemble the guest of honour. party, be sure you’re well prepared. You’ll be This tradition has lost some steam in the expected to congratulate the birthday boy/ past few years, but don’t be surprised if you girl, of course – but then each guest goes see a five-metre tall balloon figure of a greyaround the entire room and congratulates ing woman (aka Sara) in your neighbour’s everyone else. The whole affair is rather yard. It might be one of the traditions I try jolly, though somewhat time-consuming. A to take with me when I eventually leave the typical Dutch birthday party is soundtracked Lowlands – that and my trusty birthday by a continual hum of throaty ‘gefeliciteerd’s calendar, of course. <
Going Dutch Colleen Geske is the author of the blog and book Stuff Dutch People Like, which celebrates, questions and pokes fun at all things Dutch (http://stuffdutchpeoplelike.com). photo Robin de Puy
‘When your own big day rolls around, there’s one particular cultural quirk you’ll need to observe: the provision of cake. You won’t make friends if you fail to deliver the (baked) goods’
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WORKPLACE
IT STARTED IN AMSTERDAM
Duncan Stutterheim, CEO ID&T
As experts value the global industry at €4.2 billion annually, electronic dance music continues its invasion of the mainstream – and Dutch talent is leading the charge
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text Megan Roberts photography Ilja Meefout
Dancing to a different beat
IT STARTED IN AMSTERDAM
Back in 1992, three young Amsterdammers organised an openinvite high-school graduation party. Inspired by the underground raves taking the UK by storm – and using funds borrowed from their parents – they hoped 5,000 revellers would come. More than 12,000 turned up. One of those young men was then21-year-old Duncan Stutterheim, and that party marked the beginning of ID&T, the dance event company he sold a 75 per cent stake in for $102 million (approximately €77.4 m) in 2013. In the 20-odd years since the company was founded, electronic dance music (EDM) has come of age, and ID&T has become a household name, the creative and commercial force behind global events including flagship stadium party Sensation (catering for some 40,000 revellers each edition), outdoor festivals Mysteryland and Tomorrowland (which made its US debut in September 2013 as TomorrowWorld; Disney owns the rights to ‘Tomorrowland’ in America’) and many more. In March 2013, ID&T announced a deal with the American company SFX, which valued the company at approximately $130 million. SFX is spearheaded by Robert FX Sillerman, the man who corporatized the live music industry in the 1990s, pre-Live Nation – which, not coincidentally, has also expanded into EDM. SFX has announced plans to invest $1 billion in EDM acquisitions. The partnership with ID&T gives the company a major foothold in the global festival industry. It’s a timely move. After decades in the cultural shadows, EDM has exploded in an age of social media, cheap music technology and mega-festivals, making steady inroads into everything from mainstream radio stations to TV commercials – not unlike the way hip hop ‘crossed over’ in the late ’90s. And of course, the world’s biggest entertainment moguls have heard the sirens calling. While ID&T had already begun to expand globally over the last decade, exporting its leading events to some 20 different countries (including a very successful Sensation debut in New York), ‘independently,’ says Stutterheim, ‘ID&T just didn’t have the financial power to embrace the fact that our industry is becoming global. With this partnership in place, we can focus on the creative side of things, which has always been our strength.’ Sillerman’s SFX, in addition to capital, provides a unifying global
platform for companies like ID&T. ‘We’ve had partners over the past ten years – we work with other companies internationally – so we’re used to working with other people,’ says Stutterheim. ‘This was just on a much larger scale. It was a pretty scary decision, but so far it’s proved to be a great combination. We remain relatively independent: SFX aren’t telling me to make this flag green or whatever. They know what we’re good at and they let us get on with it – that’s why they wanted to work with us.’ EARLY ADOPTERS Despite the company now being in American hands, ID&T remains headquartered in Amsterdam – ‘I love living in this city,’ says Stutterheim, ‘this is my city’ – and the creative concepts are developed from here. Stutterheim is currently pioneering the regeneration of the Overhoeks Tower located opposite Amsterdam Central Station across the River IJ, which will house ID&T HQ, as well as an incubator for new creative talents in the music industry, a hotel, restaurants and of course a nightclub – or two, rather: Heaven on the top floor and Hell in the basement. ‘Holland is a really competitive market in the EDM world,’ confirms Stutterheim. ‘That means there’s a lot of talent and creativity here, and that makes our lives a lot easier.’ As for why the country is such a hotbed for EDM, with a €586.9 million annual turnover according to Dutch consultancy firm EVAR: ‘Holland – and Amsterdam in particular – is a kind of test market, because EDM has been popular here for more than 20 years.’ It’s no wonder so many of the world’s top DJs are Dutch, he says: ‘They grew up listening to these sounds. It’s in their DNA. ‘Also, there’s a really healthy club climate here,’ he says, ‘and the government is supportive. It just all comes together. There’s 25 years of EDM history, and in some ways the industry has been built around that.
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‘People love to come to Amsterdam, and the atmosphere is so relaxed that business kind of happens naturally’
THE BUSINESS OF ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC
IT STARTED IN AMSTERDAM
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SUPERSTAR DJS Parallel to the popularisation of dance music is the birth of the superstar DJ. In 2012 The Wall Street Journal estimated that Dutch DJ Tiësto – MixMag’s ‘Greatest DJ of All Time’ – had an annual income of $20 million, now believed to be nearer $32 million. The 13 artists on FORBES 2013 DJ list pulled in a combined $265 million over a year-long period. In Las Vegas, ID&T top DJs – including Tiësto – regularly Started in the early 1990s, and book multimillionnamed for the initials of the dollar residencies three founders, ID&T is now at the nightclubs one of the largest dance party organisers in the Netherlands. The company’s flagship event, Sensation, is organised annually in the Amsterdam ArenA with 40,000 attendees, and is also held in 25 countries globally. www.id-t.com
‘There’s a really healthy club climate here, and the government is supportive. It just all comes together’
Focus on Eastern Asia, ADE 2013. Photo Henri Blommers
Cas Kerkwijk at Hoja Label Night, Supperclub, ADE 2013
Psyko Punkz at Melkweg, ADE 2013. Photo Nelson Peterson
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Amsterdam’s reach is huge. Our festival Tomorrowland has 5.6 million social media followers, and some 70 million people watched the after-movie of the concert online. We’re in the world spotlight for the EDM industry.’ That is never truer than during the two weeks of the Amsterdam Dance Event, one of the biggest showcase festivals in the world and arguably the most important international electronic music conference, period. Such is ADE’s importance, in 2013 ID&T announced a brand new event for the occasion. ‘ADE is amazing. It’s a really important week for us – and for everyone in the industry. Literally everyone is here, the entire industry is on our doorstep. We do a lot of business at ADE. People love to come to Amsterdam, and the atmosphere is so relaxed that business kind of happens naturally. You don’t really get that at other EDM conferences like Miami.’ The Dutch are known for their comfort at the cutting edge, and in the case of EDM – a genre so inherently linked to technology – the internet was the most natural marketing platform. As Danny White, brand director of the international dance club brand Pacha has said: ‘Our musical genre embraced the internet, all other genres fought it.’ DJs were early adopters of the free music model, making their money from old-school, low-cost touring, and the Dutch were early adopters of the internet.
attached to major casinos once the preserve of rock stars and magicians. The American DJ Skrillex won three Grammys in 2012 and another in 2013 – and has even made music for Disney’s animated WreckIt Ralph. And while some worry that this marks the commodification of EDM – corporate music for corporate theme parks, or ‘Disney does dance’ (literally in Skrillex’s case) – Stutterheim remains upbeat. ‘All the large-scale events and festivals sold out in Holland this year. Every year there are more and more EDM festivals, and every year they sell out. Even more people are discovering EDM – you even hear it on the mainstream radio stations these days. Demand outstrips supply. But at the same time, there remains an underground element – the techno scene, for example. EDM manages that rare thing: to straddle the commercial and underground worlds.’ And while EDM is arguably close to tipping point in some places, there are whole continents yet to be conquered. ‘There are so many spots around the world where EDM is just starting to become popular – the US, for example, and Asia. We held our first ever event in Africa in 2013, the sold-out Sensation in South Africa.’ As to whether that can continue: ‘Quality will be the deciding factor. Our clients are discerning: they expect the best, they deserve the best – and we plan to continue giving it to them. ‘Our clients, our consumers, have an average age of 24. People that age are always looking for the next thing, the newest thing. To stay at the top of our industry, we have to provide that. At ID&T we have two nonprofit organisations dedicated to innovation: the ID&T Lab, which focuses on innovation and sustainability, and the club Studio 80, an EDM venue that pioneers and develops young talent. Basically, the job of every person in our offices is to look for – and find – the next big thing.’ His party may have started more than 20 years ago, but Stutterheim shows no sign of calling it a night just yet. <
CONTEXT
Richard Zijlma, MD Amsterdam Dance Event
Amsterdam Dance Event has become the world’s largest clubbased festival. While the event draws 300,000 partygoers every year, ADE is also a conference where 4,000 industry experts meet and do business
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text Christiaan de Wit photos Mike Roelofs
‘Amsterdam is for dance music what Cannes is for the film industry’
CONTEXT
In 2014, the dance-music industry is about much more than just record deals; event organisers, manufacturers of DJ equipment and music publishers from over 65 different countries find travelling to Amsterdam in the middle of October a worthwhile business investment. AMS spoke to Richard Zijlma, ADE’s managing director since its third edition in 1997, to find out why.
What was the initial idea behind ADE? ‘ADE started in 1995, seven years after house music arrived in the Netherlands. The dance music scene here started to show signs of maturity around that time; an industry was beginning to emerge. But there was no real connection between the traditional music industry and the people working with electronic music. The major labels ignored electronic music. So we decided to create a networking infrastructure to give the industry an extra impulse.’ What makes Amsterdam a suitable location for ADE? ‘Amsterdam is like your favourite jacket: it fits perfectly. That’s what it feels like at the moment. There were times, though, when things were looking less bright in Amsterdam. After 1999, when Amsterdam’s thenlegendary club RoXY burned down, the city experienced a period of cultural poverty. There weren’t many places in town to party at that time. Things changed for the better when Club 11 opened next to Central Station in 2006. All of a sudden entrepreneurs felt like creating beautiful things again. We are now blessed with a range of clubs such as Trouw, Sugar Factory and AIR in the city – Amsterdam is now the perfect location to organise an event like ADE.’
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Would it be possible to set up an ADE for London, Berlin or Chicago? ‘People sometimes ask me if I’d be interested in organising an event somewhere else, but an event like ADE is not easily transferable to another location. In this city, a lot of people work with dance music in a way that’s
How is ADE different from other music conferences in the world? ‘Our main advantage is the fact that ADE incorporates more aspects of the dance-music industry than any other event – compared to the Winter Music Conference in Miami and Sonar in Barcelona, for example. Miami has a strong focus on mainstream dance music while Sonar acts on a level that’s more underground. We do it all; you’ll find everything at ADE that Sonar and WMC have to offer. ‘That’s where we’re at genre-wise. When it comes to the variety of activities, we also lead the market. I expect our international internship programme to generate a spin-off we haven’t seen before. ADE is so much more than a random collection of expert panels. Timing-wise, the WMC and ADE are six months apart; it makes sense for a lot of people to visit both events.’ What is your mission? ‘We aim to be the leading platform for the dance-music industry. We like to think that we are for dance music what Cannes is for the film industry and what Frankfurt is for the world of book publishing. We facilitate the needs of artists as well as young entrepreneurs, but also the highest level executives of the industry. A few years ago we started international internship programmes for students aspiring to work in the industry – we’re sending people to global dance music
hotspots such as Miami, Las Vegas and Ibiza.’ How does the Dutch dance music industry benefit from ADE? ‘Companies in the Netherlands basically find themselves in a position where they’re a goal up before the game has even started. The networking potential at ADE is enormous, with delegates of companies based in 65 different countries coming to Amsterdam to meet people, which means Dutch companies don’t have to travel to all of these countries to meet everybody. There’s a feeling of being right on top of it all when you run a business here.’ In what ways do people do business during ADE? ‘Because of the private and informal nature of these interactions, I don’t always keep track of what’s going on, that’s impossible. But of course deals are being made here all the time. Somebody came up to me once in the middle of the night to thank me. “Thanks to you I’m a rich man now,” he said. ‘We’ve got 4,000 people visiting the conference and some of them schedule meetings every 15 minutes in order to take maximum advantage of the fact that the whole international dance-music scene is attending our event at this one location. People perceive ADE as a place worth going to because a visit is likely to help their business grow. ADE boosted the careers of many successful artists: Tiësto secured his first international record deal here and Armin van Buuren got his first gig abroad at ADE. These people have seen their careers turn from national to international ones at ADE.’ Can you give us some examples of the type of deals that are being made at ADE? ‘When we started, ADE was a place where many licencing deals were being made. There was a big market for compilation albums back then. Licencing has now partly shifted to other areas. The gaming industry, for example, has become more important now; electronic music is now very popular as a soundtrack for computer games. ‘The business side of ADE has become much more diverse since we started in 1995. I introduced a sub-conference called Live Dance Music Conference at ADE years ago to get bookers involved; to convince them ADE wasn’t just a useful event for people in the record industry, but also a place for promoters to secure deals. I have been actively involved in inviting people for this and after a few years the booking part of ADE had become such an integral part of the conference that I felt we no longer needed it to be an official sub-conference. Bookers now know that coming to
ADE makes sense for them. Everybody’s here now; all the big music festivals including top-end players such as Ultra Music Festival. ‘I am now working towards taking the next step. We would like to get people on-board who aren’t directly involved with the music itself, but facilitate the dance-music industry: fiscal experts, people with profound knowledge about things like lighting and other technologies relevant to the scene.’ How important is ADE for manufacturers of musical instruments and DJ equipment? ‘These companies are highly involved with our Playground concept, a daytime programme at ADE with workshops, lectures and screenings that’s open to the public. ADE is a good opportunity for companies such as Ableton and Pioneer to show their audience where they’re at with innovations. ‘A possible next step for us is to start working on partnerships with companies that produce DJ equipment. I’d like to see our branding on headphones, for example, so we are represented in a hip store somewhere in Tokyo. Our presence would then go far beyond the five days in October that people associate us with now.’ <
Facts & figures 19: the edition number of ADE 2014 5: duration in days 100: approximate number of venues 2,000: artists performing 450: events 300,000: partygoers 4,000: industry experts doing business 15-19 OCTOBER 2014 VARIOUS LOCATIONS www.amsterdam-dance-event.nl 52 AMS
‘Tiësto secured his first international record deal here and Armin van Buuren got his first gig abroad at ADE’
very professional. The infrastructure for the industry is becoming more and more established. It wouldn’t be an easy job to transfer the spirit of ADE to another “urban body”, as it were: Amsterdam is its home.’
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‘As a “port of partnerships”, we aim to be the world’s smartest and best connected port’
The Port of Amsterdam is the fourth largest in Europe, and stays ahead of the competition with innovative, sustainable and economically feasible solutions for logistic challenges. Welcome to the port of the future
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text Hans Kops photo opposite page Eelco Wartena
AAA LOCATION
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Robert van Breukelen
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‘We consider it our main task to actively develop more innovative, sustainable and economically feasible solutions for logistic challenges’
and directly to market developments. These days, tonnage is still important – but you also have to keep working on your distinctive capacity as a port of destination and transit.’ She continues: ‘With that in mind, we aim to be the world’s smartest and best connected port. We consider it our main task to actively develop more innovative, sustainable and economically feasible solutions for the logistic challenges that our customers and their supply chains face. The buzz words of logistic services nowadays are speed, transparency and reliability. We constantly undertake initiatives to shorten logistic cycles and to standardise services and data exchange wherever possible – preferably in close co-operation with our partners, including our customers, organisations in the port region and the Port of Rotterdam and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. That’s why we call ourselves a “port of partnerships”.’ INNOVATING FOR SUCCESS The port of Amsterdam has doubled its turnover volume in ten years, adding substantial value to mainport Holland. It is now, for instance, the largest port of trans-shipment in the world of blended petrol products, which is attracting more and more storage, blending and support activities. The port has also succeeded in fortifying its profitable position as the international centre for the cacao trade and other high-yield agri-bulk products. The most important explanation for the port of Amsterdam’s success is that it is so well-connected and finds specific, smart solutions to make these connections work hard, says Dertje Meijer. ‘Since the beginnings of the port back in the 14th and 15th centuries, the logistic activities in this area have been closely connected to other sectors
nections by train to final destinations in the hinterland. On the initiative of the port authority, smaller and larger shippers are sharing cargo units on freight trains to save money and make more efficient use of available capacity. One of these Trainlanes, transporting cocoa to Berlin, is already in successful operation; another Trainlane to Milan, which launched in March 2014, transports sea freight and airfreight to the industrial heart of Italy in a record time of 21 hours. More shuttles are in progress. ‘Because of this initiative we are already attracting more cargo to the port than before, such as cocoa from ports in the northern part of Germany,’ confirms Meijer. Besides creating more and more such ‘seamless connections’, the port authority is well aware of the necessity of improving its sustainability and that of the nearly 2,000 SUCCESSFUL CONNECTIONS companies that are directly or indirectly involved in the One of the key initiatives helping the port of Amsterdam port economy. The port plays the active role of go-between realise its potential is the programme Seamless Connecfor companies that want to share rest products or waste, tions. Founded to create partnerships between the public which can be the beginning of a new cycle in another form and private sectors and the scientific world, Seamless Connections engenders solutions and innovations that help or process. The intervention of the port authority has already led to several best practices, to speed up the logistics process. For example, at Amstersuch as the local water company dam Airport Schiphol, Dutch Customs have introduced Facts & figures * Waternet delivering its by-product Turnover 2013: €143.3 million a paperless document-tracking system enabling shipping phosphor to ICL, a producer of agents and all other parties involved in clearing goods Added value per ha: €1.86 fertilisers just a couple of kilome- million (highest of top 4 ports) through Customs to work in one standard digital document. It is more (cost) efficient, it saves time and it makes it tres down the road. And food pro- Turnover growth versus 2012: 3% easier to follow an item through the entire supply chain. On ducer Cargill now has a pipeline Port-related employment in the initiative of the port authority, the port of Amsterdam is to Orgaworld, which processes North Sea Canal area: 59,075 connected to this unique solution. The same advantages are organic waste to create bio energy. Ship visits to Amsterdam: 5,334 extended to all those handling airfreight in the port, on the ‘It takes more to be a successful Ranking: 4th port of Europe maritime centre nowadays,’ laughs * from Port of Amsterdam annual report 2013 sole condition that they possess an AEO customs licence. Equally innovative is Trainlanes, aimed at optimising con- Dertje Meijer. < in which Amsterdam excels, such as the strong trade and financial sectors, and the food-processing industry in the nearby Zaan region. More than ever this is an advantage for companies establishing in the port region. On a national scale, we form a triangle with the Port of Rotterdam and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Together we can offer a level of logistic and supply-chain service for our combined hinterland in Europe on an unrivalled scale. We also have the advantage of being relatively compact as a port and strongly focused. Our challenge is to exploit all these advantages further and become ever more innovative in doing so, with the aim of strengthening our customers’ propositions in their markets.’
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THE SMART PORT 2012 was a pretty remarkable year for the port of Amsterdam. Despite a decline in world trade and a painfully slow economic recovery in the European hinterland, more bulk goods, containers, coals, ore, cars, energy products and agri-bulk products were transshipped from the port of Amsterdam than ever before. Overall, almost 100 million tons of cargo made its way through the ports of Amsterdam and neighbouring Velsen, Beverwijk and Zaanstad, a record in the history of the fourth largest port of Europe. The logistics park is used by international companies including G-Star RAW, Renault Trucks, Starbucks and many others, while the passenger terminal saw the number of cruise passengers passing through its gates almost double compared to five years before. And there was more good news: the capacity of the gateway to the North Sea is to be increased, enabling the port of Amsterdam to meet market demands in the coming century. In line with these changes, the port authority itself was corporatised in April 2013. Dertje Meijer, CEO of Port of Amsterdam, explains: ‘This offers us the best of both worlds. On the one hand we are still closely connected to our main stockholder, the City of Amsterdam. This is important, given the economic impact of the harbour complex. On the other hand, it allows us as an organisation to respond more quickly
BORN & BRED
‘My aviation globe from the 1940s is a bit damaged – which I like. Perfection is boring.’
‘I bought this for my son, James, because I was never a skater and I don’t want him to miss out.’
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Local businesspeople photographed in their own homes Casper Reinders, Amsterdam nightlife and hospitality entrepreneur Born in Haarlem, raised in Amsterdam
‘This was made by Thijs Murré, the interior designer who’s worked on several of my venues.’
‘This is an Elda Chair by Joe Colombo, one of the most revered Italian product designers. I bought it from a friend – the originals are very expensive but we struck a deal as it was my birthday.’
‘Skeletons are a big part of the décor at my restaurant, Lion Noir. I have a whole ostrich family in my house though – it would be mean to separate them.’
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‘The Sex Pistols made lousy music, but you can’t fault their style!’
‘I told my son that these candy dispensers don’t work. Unfortunately he has now discovered how to open them.’
Haarlem-born Amsterdam transplant Casper Reinders on what makes his adopted city so attractive and inspiring to the creative industries.
is always looking for new opportunities: ‘I get restless,’ he says. ‘I’m always on to the next project, and fortunately for me, Amsterdam is a place that’s receptive to new ideas.’ Reinders attributes his continued success to a willingness to collaborate with Amsterdam’s army of creatives from all over the world: ‘I’m not a particularly patriotic person,’ says ‘It keeps things fresh. For example, with my Casper Reinders from the kitchen table of new restaurant Chow, I’m working with the his home in the heart of Amsterdam’s Canal best Asian chefs in town. That left me free to Belt, ‘but I will sing the praises of Amsterdam concentrate on creating an atmosphere that’s for ever. I’ve never seen a more beautiful city anywhere in the world. Even the more modern stripped-back and modern.’ According to Reinders, Amsterdam’s smaller outskirts are a masterpiece of design.’ scale relative to other global financial centres It seems the love-in is mutual. Whether they’re means it’s easy to make contacts and allies here: aware of it or not, Amsterdammers have been ‘There’s a real spirit of, “Let’s meet for a coffee raising a glass to Reinders for more than a decade. It was in 2003, after successful ventures and see how we can make something happen.” in his native Haarlem, that Reinders opened his I think that the city, being densely populated and also a massive draw for tourists, can first dance club – the exotic-sounding Jimmy support a tremendous range of activity, and I’m Woo – in Amsterdam, a venture that proved always happy to see new parts of town flourish. to be the very definition of ‘overnight success’. Lured by the glamorous vibe and top-notch DJ Just look at the cool new restaurants and bars in the east of the city, which for years wasn’t talent, Amsterdam’s cool kids queued around a place you’d think to go out. Amsterdam just the block in ever-more extravagant get-ups, keeps on surprising and inspiring me.’ re-energising the previously unfashionable Regardless of the (presumably healthy) state Leidseplein entertainment district. As Reinders has grown up, so has his portfolio. of his own bank balance, Reinders restricts his initial outlay for each new venue to a ‘modest’ In 2009 he launched Bo Cinq, a refined French-Arabic fusion restaurant – also near the €200,000-€300,000. ‘I think that keeps me creative,’ he says. ‘When you’re talking about Leidseplein – attached to a laid-back, eclectic lounge that serves as second home for many of nightlife, throwing money at a place doesn’t necessarily make it a more attractive place to go. the city’s hip thirtysomethings. ‘Primarily, I invest in my people, and Two years later came Lion Noir, a chic Amsterdam has been very kind to me in that restaurant and bar with garden and French regard. There’s a wonderful workforce of cuisine on the central Reguliersdwarsstraat, young, talented people from all around the signalling the regeneration of another iconic Amsterdam area that had fallen into a nightlife world – plus it’s by no means exceptional for rut. More recently on the same street, Reinders my staff to speak two or three languages. We’re ready for everyone.’ has bought and regenerated much-loved It seems Reinders’ venues will be talk of the Mexican restaurant Rose’s Cantina. He town for a long time yet. < currently has eight venues on his books, but
55,000 Number of jobs the Amsterdam creative industry provides – more than 10% of all jobs. From 2009 to 2012, the number of jobs in the Amsterdam creative industry grew by almost 7% yearly, on average. The Amsterdam Area accounts for almost 30% of those working in the creative sector in the Netherlands. (Source: Research and Statistics Department, Amsterdam Municipality, 2013)
#3 The Netherlands’ place among Western European countries in Site Selection’s annual Best to Invest rankings – two positions higher than last year.
Country Rank Ireland 1 UK 2 NETHERLANDS 3 Germany 4 Finland 5 France 6 Switzerland 7 Spain 8 Belgium 9 Portugal 10 (Source: Site Selection Best to Invest Report, 2013)
Close to the markets that matter
530 milion consumers live within a 1,300km (800 mile) radius of Amsterdam The ‘Blue Banana’ comprises the European economic heartland (50% of European GDP)
The so-called ‘Blue Banana’ (also known as the Hot Banana, European Megalopolis or European Backbone), extends from northwest England in the north down to Milan in the south, and covers one of the world’s highest concentrations of people, money and industry. The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area sits at its centre, with easy access to Europe’s approximately 530 million potential customers. It also sits in the heart of the European euro zone.
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text Mark Smith photo Marcel Bakker
AMS
‘Amsterdam just keeps on surprising and inspiring me’
FACTS ABOUT
BORN & BRED
Amsterdam’s ranking on Mercer’s annual Quality of Living index, one spot above the previous year. Vienna once again tops the list, followed by Zurich and Auckland. The majority of the cities in the top 20 are located in Europe. The purpose of the Quality of Living index is to help governments and multinational companies compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments. Mercer’s Quality of Living index list covers more than 460 cities worldwide.
In the global list of countries with the highest average connection speeds, the Netherlands was ranked third with an average connection speed of 12.4 Mbps (megabits per second). According to Akamai’s Fourth Quarter 2013 State of the Internet Report, only South Korea and Japan ranked higher, with 21.9 and 12.8 Mbps respectively.
(Source: Mercer Quality of Living Index, 2014)
Competitive cost of labour
Wage level index (New York = 100)
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City Gross Net Zurich 131.1 132.4 Geneva 123.6 119.2 Copenhagen 123.1 93.4 Oslo 119.1 97.4 Luxembourg 105.4 109.7 Munich 91.5 76.0 Frankfurt 88.2 78.1 Stockholm 82.9 78.1 Brussels 81.5 59.5 Helsinki 80.2 74.2 Vienna 80.2 70.8 London 79.5 75.2 Berlin 79.2 70.1 AMSTERDAM 78.3 69.4 Paris 78.1 73.6 Dublin 77.7 78.8 (Source: UBS Prices and Earnings, 2013)
€8.3
billion
Yearly turnover of fashion-related logistics in the Amsterdam Area. (Source: Research and Statistics Department, Amsterdam Municipality, 2013)
(Source: Akamai’s State of the Internet Report, 2013)
4TH
The Netherlands’ ranking on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2013, compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Cornell University and the INSEAD business school. The country rose 2 places from 2012. The Netherlands also climbed to 5th place on the Innovation Union Scoreboard (IUS) 2013. Country Switzerland Sweden United Kingdom NETHERLANDS United States Finland Hong Kong Singapore Denmark Ireland (Source: GII, 2013)
Score Rank 66.59 1 61.36 2 61.25 3 61.14 4 60.31 5 59.51 6 59.43 7 59.41 8 58.34 9 57.91 10
#2 Amsterdam’s ranking among Europe’s smartest cities according to the American magazine Fast Company’s recent report. Amsterdam ranks second due to its innovation in infrastructure, technology and entrepreneurship. Only Copenhagen was placed higher. City Rank Copenhagen 1 AMSTERDAM 2 Vienna 3 Barcelona 4 Paris 5 Stockholm 6 London 7 Hamburg 8 Berlin 9 Helsinki 10 (Source: Fast Company)
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AMS FACTS ABOUT
ELEVENTH
Netherlands ranks in the top three of countries with the fastest average internet connection speed
Approximate number of companies in Amsterdam operating within the creative industries.
(Source: Research and Statistics Department, Amsterdam Municipality, 2013)
Ranking of the Netherlands’ education system worldwide, according to education specialists Pearson. (Source: Pearson Index of Cognitive Skills and Educational Attainment, 2014)
Amsterdam’s ranking as most attractive city in the world for the ’creative class’, measured by talent, technology, tolerance and amenities, and quality of place. The ’creative class’ includes people in science and engineering, architecture and design, education, arts, music and entertainment whose economic function is to create new ideas, new technology and new creative content. The top three cities were Ottawa, Seattle and Oslo. (Source: the Martin Prosperity Institute, 2013)
Bred for progress and expansion, the Dutch tax system is transparent and stable – and flexible enough to anticipate the rapidly-changing requirements of international economic flows. Companies established in the Netherlands profit from various tax advantages, including: 1 A competitive corporate tax rate well below EU average 2 Advance tax assessment certainty on future transactions, investments or corporate structures 3 Participation Exemption: all benefits relating to a qualifying shareholding (including cash dividends, dividends-in-kind, bonus shares, hidden profit distributions and capital gains) are exempt from Dutch corporate income tax 4 Double taxation relief for individuals via the Royal Decree for the Avoidance of Double Taxation 5 The Innovation Box: an effective tax rate of 5% for income related to a patent or an R&D declaration (certain conditions apply) 6 Withholding of tax on outgoing interest and royalty payments under certain circumstances can be 0% 7 No capital-tax levy on the contribution of capital to a company and any later expansion of share capital
8 The 30% ruling for expats: tax-free reimbursement of 30% of an employee’s salary, provided that the employee has been recruited or assigned from abroad and has specific expertise which is scarce in the present Dutch labour market 9 Horizontal Supervision: the Dutch tax authority is the first in the world to make prior arrangements with large and medium-sized taxable businesses on the tax liabilities expected in the course of the year, and how they are going to manage them. If tax payers can show they have an adequate ‘tax control framework’, then in principle no tax audits are needed for determining the tax liability 10 Tax treaties with the majority of the world’s trading nations, which prevent double taxation for businesses 11 The Netherlands has excellent tax facilities for distribution and transport companies. These facilities avoid unnecessary leakage of VAT and custom duties
22.5%
Yearly average growth, from 2009 to 2012, of creative companies and organisations in Amsterdam.
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(Source: Research and Statistics Department, Amsterdam Municipality, 2013)
28%
Percentage of the added value of the creative industry in the Netherlands that comes from the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. (Source: Research and Statistics Department, Amsterdam Municipality, 2013)
number one European ranking, in terms of members, of AMS-IX (Amsterdam Internet Exchange).
COLOPHON Editorial board Frans van der Avert, Hilde van der Meer Editor-in-Chief Bart van Oosterhout Art Director Sabine Verschueren Designers Arjen van den Houten, Sandra Nakken, Johanna Nock, Cover Photography Herman van Heusden Copy Editor Megan Roberts Writers Colleen Geske, Hans Kops, Eline Ronner, Russell Shorto, Mark Smith, Christiaan de Wit, Tom Wolters Photographers Amke, Marcel Bakker, Ewout Huibers, Robin de Puy, Mike Roelofs
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AMS FACTS ABOUT
30,000 4th #8
At-a-glance: the Dutch tax system
KLM WORLD BUSINESS CLASS
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text Megan Roberts photography Marcus Gaab
THE DESIGN’S IN THE DETAILS Jongerius is not the only Dutch design powerhouse to have cooperated with the national airline. Fashion designer Mart Visser previously redesigned the uniforms, and Amsterdambased fashion house Viktor & Rolf, world-famous for its avant-garde work, has created the amenity kits – which will change periodically to reflect fashion trends. Marcel Wanders, whose quirky designs have won him international respect – and whose famous Knotted Chair forms part of the permanent collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art – was tasked with redesigning the World Business Class tableware. Wanders created 40 unique pieces of porcelain, cutlery, glassware and linen, each designed to be environmentally friendly and
each piece beautifully crafted and perfectly matched. Scallopedged dishes evoke the KLM brand crown, while the ornately engraved cutlery recalls Dutch artisanal filigree silverware. ‘I wanted to make travellers feel like they are a first-classrestaurant guest,’ says Wanders. And that shouldn’t be difficult: KLM works exclusively with Michelin-Starred chefs, including Sergio Herman, Margo Janse, Jonnie Boer and Richard Ekkebus, who create ever-changing menus inspired by destinations and fresh products. Because taste at higher altitudes differs from taste on the ground, they tailor each meal accordingly. A carefully matched wine list handselected by renowned Dutch wine specialist Hubrecht Duijker completes the experience. JOURNEYS OF INSPIRATION But nationality apart, Jongerius, Wanders, Visser et al are unusual choices for KLM. Conventionally, aerospace design is dominated by large commercial design consultancies that specialise in the field. Bound by endless logistical, financial and weight constraints, one aeroplane cabin has traditionally ended up looking much like any other. But KLM has always been innovative in this regard: in the company archives is a proposed cabin scheme in headache-inducing primary colours dating from the 1950s and designed by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, one of the Netherlands’ most famous 20th-century designers. The scheme may never have made it into production, but KLM demonstrated its determination to think outside the box – and Rietveld showed that a designer could work on a highly technical, corporate project without compromising his personal design aesthetic. There’s no doubt that Jongerius has brought her handcrafted, bespoke sensibility to a strictly regulated, capital intensive industry with great success. The result emphasises both KLM’s Dutch roots and the company’s core values of sustainability and customer focus to deliver on the brand promise of Journeys of Inspiration. And there’s great news for those of us travelling coach: Jongerius will be tackling those cabins next. <
Old KLM stewardess uniforms were used to spin new yarn, which was incorporated into the blue accents of the cradleto-cradle cabin carpeting
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Flying high
Created by icon of Dutch design Hella Jongerius, KLM’s World Business Class is distinctly Dutch to the last luxurious detail – from full-flat seats to artisan accents and sustainable sourcing
DUTCH BY DESIGN KLM is flying high with its new World Business Class cabins, unveiled in March 2013, with the first redesigned cabin taking to the skies in July. Dutch designer Hella Jongerius has created a comfortcentred cabin with the unique new full-flat seat – one of the longest in the air at 2.07m – as the throne-like crowning glory. By combining artisanal and industrial production techniques, Jongerius has created a design that maximises privacy and a sense of personal space while meeting all functional requirements, which include fully adjustable mood lighting, privacy screens and 17-inch TVs. ‘My aim was to convert the Business Class into a “feel-athome” class,’ says Jongerius, whose work typically straddles design, craft, art and technology. Following a philosophy of simplification, softening and enrichment, the new design includes five specially-made tonal fabrics inspired by the Milky Way that echo KLM’s iconic colour scheme, as well as evoking the elegant style of a classic tailored suit. With neighbouring seats in complementary but distinct liveries (all upholstered in the finest sheep’s wool), Jongerius has simultaneously created the illusion of width in the cabin and discreetly emphasised the distinction between ‘my space’ and ‘your space’ to create a level of personal comfort and privacy unrivalled in the air. ‘Feeling comfortable is not the same as experiencing comfort,’ insists Jongerius. ‘If you understand that it’s all about the emotional state of a passenger, you cover a much bigger world than just designing soft seats.’ For Jongerius, this meant taking a holistic approach, minimising distractions and eschewing the mass production route to add personalised elements. In close collaboration with a Dutch cradle-to-cradle producer, Jongerius developed a sustainable concept for the cabin’s carpeting, based on high-quality recycled materials. Old KLM stewardess uniforms were used to spin new yarn that was incorporated into the blue accents of the carpeting, while the rest are made with Scottish sheep’s wool, which until recently was considered waste material. KLM is now the first airline in aviation history to use cradle-to-cradle carpeting.
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Market Intelligence: providing specific data on markets, industries and sectors in, for example, IT, financial services, media, advertising, life sciences, food, gaming, aerospace, logistics, etc Investment climate: providing information about the Dutch tax climate, incentives, legal & regulatory framework and labour market. Developing independent benchmark reports on salary levels, office rent, cost of living etc for your European location study and/or supply-chain study Fact-finding visits: tailor-made fact-finding programmes to get informed about the fiscal climate, the market, availability of talent, business climate and quality of service providers, and to visit office locations Legal & tax advice: organising free introduction meetings with internationally-oriented business service suppliers to elaborate on legal and fiscal structures that meet your current and long-term needs Talent: tapping into the labour market via introduction to recruiters and/or networks and communities of professionals Business & partner networks: introductions to strategic partners, business networks/associations, knowledge institutions, tax authorities, governmental agencies and when possible potential clients Relocation support: assistance in search and selection of temporary, flexible and permanent office space including site visit tours Support for international staff: apartment search for expats (short stay/long stay), introductions to international schools, expat clubs and referrals to doctors, dentists, accountants, etc
The Expatcenter services international companies and their migrant employees across the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area The Expatcenter is a joint initiative of the cities of Amsterdam, Amstelveen, Haarlemmermeer, Almere, Hilversum and Velsen, along with the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) and the Tax Office Employers can use the Expatcenter to initiate residency applications before a new employee even arrives in the Netherlands Fast-track services mean qualifying expats can begin work as soon as two weeks after their employers apply to the IND In one appointment, employees can collect their residence permit and registration with their municipality. This will provide them with a citizen service number (BSN), allowing them, for instance, to open a Dutch bank account Following an agreement with the Dutch Tax Department in 2011, applications for the employee 30% tax ruling can now be made via the Expatcenter The Partnership Programme, created in 2009, connects expats with service providers operating in the expat market
The numbers • Over 2,500 international companies are located in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area • amsterdam inbusiness assisted 115 new companies in 2013
Contact us
info@amsterdaminbusiness.com www.amsterdaminbusiness.com
Amsterdam
PO Box 2133, 1000 CC Amsterdam Telephone: +31 (0)20 254 5045 amsterdam@amsterdaminbusiness.com
What the Expatcenter can do for you Amsterdam’s appeal lies in its rich cultural heritage, creative culture, commercial dynamism and high quality of life. Ultimately, however, the city’s greatest asset is its people, a healthy – and growing – percentage of whom are international. The Expatcenter was one of the first Dutch schemes to cut the red tape for expats, drastically streamlining relocation procedures and helping them settle in. Six years later, the Expatcenter offers a comprehensive range of services. Together with its partners
from the I amsterdam portal site, the Expatcenter continues to expand its digital support for Amsterdam’s international community, both practical and pleasurable. Partnerships – with banks and childcare providers, movers, lawyers, language schools and more – mean the Expatcenter has the tools to make an expat’s first few months a little smoother. Because the first step of a journey doesn’t have to be the most difficult one. Welcome to Amsterdam!
Contact us
Almere
PO Box 200, 1300 AE Almere Telephone: +31 (0)36 539 9487 almere@amsterdaminbusiness.com
Amstelveen
PO Box 4, 1180 BA Amstelveen Telephone: +31 (0)20 540 4423 amstelveen@amsterdaminbusiness.com
Haarlemmermeer
PO Box 250, 2130 AG Hoofddorp Telephone: +31 (0)23 567 6135 haarlemmermeer@amsterdaminbusiness.com
The numbers • Over 850 international companies and their expat employees make use of the Expatcenter’s services • Over 500 new expats visit each month • Companies rate the services provided by the Expatcenter an excellent 8.4/10 on average • More than 27,000 expats have visited the Expatcenter for registration assistance
expatcenter@iamsterdam.com www.expatcenter.com +31 (0)20 254 7999 Or visit us at: World Trade Center Amsterdam F-Tower, second floor Strawinskylaan 39 1077 XW Amsterdam Opening hours: Monday-Friday 09.00-17.00
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The official foreign investment agency of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, amsterdam inbusiness provides free, active support and independent advice to organisations planning to invest or settle in the region
amsterdam inbusiness is the official foreign investment agency of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (Amsterdam, Amstelveen, Almere and Haarlemmermeer). amsterdam inbusiness assists foreign companies with the establishment and expansion of their activities in the Netherlands. We can help you create a convincing business case for setting up in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area by offering practical advice and relevant information. And it’s all free, strictly confidential and without any hidden agenda. Our commitment does not end once you have set up an operation in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. We strive to build a long-term relationship in order to be supportive in any phase of development of your company. Considering setting up your business in the Amsterdam Area? Don’t hesitate to contact us. We look forward to welcoming you in Amsterdam!