In May 2025, we launched our Breakfast Series for senior Finance professionals in the southern Netherlands, focused on our network in the Rotterdam and Utrecht areas.

In June 2024, we hosted our first Breakfast Series event in Amsterdam, with the aim of bringing together senior Finance & Accountancy professionals to connect in an informal setting.

Since then, we have hosted a number of successful breakfasts in central Amsterdam, connecting new and familiar faces to collaborate in meaningful conversation, knowledge sharing, and best practices.

Now, we are bringing the Breakfast Series to central Utrecht for the first time. On Friday 23^rd May 2025, our team is hosting a breakfast networking event for those in the southern Netherlands.

David Harper, Associate Director, will be joined by Thomas Powell and Daniel Ogebule, Consultants, to discuss the latest market insights and trends with attendees over fresh coffee and croissants.

We hope to continue the successes we’ve seen in Amsterdam for our southern network.

Upcoming Breakfast Events:

• 23^rd May 2025 – Utrecht

If you’d like to attend or find out more about upcoming events, please get in touch with David: [email protected]

To learn more about upcoming events in Amsterdam and the surrounding areas, please reach out to Hannah Mallia, Director: [email protected]

On Wednesday 21^st May 2025, we’re hosting an exciting Q&A event with the Director of Global Digital HR Transformation at Heineken, Herman Rolfers.

In central Amsterdam, we’re bringing together senior HR professionals from our Dutch network to hear Herman’s first-hand insights into pioneering innovation in HR technology.

He’ll share his experiences of Heineken’s HR digital transformation journey, working with start-ups and scale-ups to uncover innovation in HR technology, and using generative AI to unlock productivity.

The session will begin with a presentation by Herman, followed by an audience Q&A. Guests will then have the opportunity to network with their peers.

If you’re interested in attending, or would like more information on future HR events in the Netherlands, please get in touch with Katie Insley, who leads our HR recruitment division in Amsterdam: [email protected]

Herman Rolfers took part in our Executive Interviews series in September 2024, sharing the unplanned career moves that led him to his current role at Heineken. You can read his full interview on our website.

We’re proud to continue our long-standing collaboration on informative and insightful events with Heineken.  

On Tuesday 20^th May 2025, we’re offering leaders in our Swiss network the opportunity to learn how IWC Schaffhausen is driving commercial success through employee wellbeing.

At an exclusive leadership roundtable, hosted at IWC Schaffhausen’s impressive headquarters, we’re exploring how the iconic watchmaker is driving commercial success through its employee wellbeing program.

René Behr, CHRO, and Mirjam Bettinger, Head of People Experience & Global Internal Communications, will explore how they’re measuring the success of IWC’s Building Resilience to Power Performance program, as well as how to educate leadership across multiple functions.

Guests will enjoy a lunch and chance to explore IWC Schaffhausen’s watch collection, before a roundtable and Q&A session, followed by an opportunity to network.

This event is by invitation only.

Last year, we welcomed René to the EMEA Recruitment podcast to discuss IWC Schaffhausen’s resilience program. You can find the episode on your podcast app or through our website for a taster of the event topic.  

If you’d like to learn more about our HR leadership events in Switzerland, please get in touch with Drew Larcombe, Consultant: [email protected]

On Wednesday 2^nd April 2025, we hosted the second event in our Conversations with Finance Leaders series, in partnership with Geneva Business School.

From Boardroom Secrets to Actions: The Hidden Dangers of ESG Strategic Ignorance explored the fine line between selective oversight and corporate negligence.

We brought together Nicolas Carrera, the Group Treasurer at Metalor Technologies, with Geneva Business School’s Professor of Management & Leadership, Dr. Aleksandra Jancikova, for an exclusive opportunity to explore actionable insights for Finance professionals and provide inspiration to the next generation of leaders.

Nicolas and Aleksandra addressed the hidden risks of strategic ignorance in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), and clarified the role of corporate leadership in ESG accountability.

They also discussed when to prioritize and when to escalate ESG risks, providing actionable solutions for ESG governance reform.

The session then opened up to an audience Q&A, where professionals and students alike asked Nicolas for insights from his 18-year career in the precious metals industry.

A Sustainability consultant wanted to know whether there are opportunities in pursuing a strategic approach in the current global climate, while a student wanted to know how Metalor switched its approach during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Head of Financial Planning & Analysis in the beauty industry questioned whether there are additional cost pressures in the present macroeconomic environment, and a Senior Treasury Manager asked for clarity on whether ESG KPIs are externally communicated and audited at Metalor.

We kicked off our Conversations with Finance Leaders series in October 2024 by welcoming Oriane Minger, Carbon Finance Manager at SCB Group, to Geneva Business School’s Geneva campus.

The recording of this event is available through the EMEA Recruitment podcast, which can be found on your preferred app or through our website.

Thank you to all those who attended, as well as Geneva Business School for our continued partnership.

To find out more about the next event in this series, please reach out to John Bower, Director in our Finance & Accountancy recruitment division in Geneva: [email protected]

On 28^th February 2025, we hosted a webinar for our Human Resources network exploring how Talent Management can create meaningful business value, in collaboration with Philips and Miro.

"Never start with the talent challenge. Always start with the business problem first."

Katie Insley, who leads our HR recruitment division in the Netherlands, was joined by Charu Mittra, who was Global Head of Talent Development at Philips at the time, and Ewa Priestley, VP of Talent and Culture at Miro.

The discussion focused on aligning Talent strategy with business goals, the impact of artificial intelligence, and practical approaches to inclusive talent development, through the lens of two very different businesses.

Aligning Talent with strategy

Both speakers emphasized that Talent Management should be rooted in business priorities. Charu spoke through Philips’ structured approach, using strategic workforce planning to align long and short-term talent needs with the organization’s objectives.

Ewa noted that strategic planning is shorter term in fast-paced environments like Miro, but stressed the need to understand business problems deeply before applying talent solutions.

Learning from failure

Charu and Ewa opened up on past initiatives that didn’t quite meet expectations. At Philips, a large-scale succession planning process became overly bureaucratic and disconnected from real promotion decisions. Charu described how Philips is now prioritizing fewer roles, while expanding broader development access.

Ewa shared an unsuccessful interview framework that lacked sufficient manager training, illustrating how even the most well-intentioned tools can fail without effective use.

The opportunity in AI

Both leaders agreed that AI is transforming the HR function, especially in Talent Acquisition and Learning & Development.

Ewa highlighted AI’s potential to remove low-value work, freeing HR to focus on strategic initiatives.

Advice for HR professionals

Charu and Ewa offered actionable advice to the attendees, with Ewa suggesting that HR professionals always begin with the business problem, not the “talent challenge”.

Charu urged simplicity in Talent strategies, and recommended empowering line managers with the tools and clarity they need to lead talent effectively.

We ended the session with an audience Q&A, covering topics from Equity, Diversity & Inclusion to measuring Talent strategy success.

Thank you to all those who attended this event. If you’re interested in joining similar sessions in the future, please get in touch with Katie Insley for more information: [email protected]

On Tuesday 3^rd December 2024, EMEA Recruitment was proud to partner with some of the most prestigious businesses in Europe for a webinar on Career Lessons from Sustainability Leaders.

This highly anticipated event brought together expert leaders from Ingka Group (IKEA), HEINEKEN, and Philips to share their unique career journeys, chaired by Claire McDonald, an experienced ESG and Finance Consultant.

Designed for those considering a career in Sustainability or ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), this webinar explored how these leaders made the leap from a variety of backgrounds. They also shared the ways they continuously make an impact in some of the most reputable businesses in Europe.

Meet the panel

• Paulien Eckhardt has worked in sustainability since 2008. She is currently the Global Head of ESG Reporting at Ingka Group (The largest IKEA franchisee, with IKEA retail operations in 31 markets, together with sizable Shopping Centre and Investments businesses). In this role, she works to ensure that ESG reporting becomes an integral part of driving business to realize its purpose. Before joining Ingka Group, Paulien led ESG strategy at KPMG Netherlands, working with multi-national companies across Europe and beyond and helping boards to define integrated sustainability strategies that drive holistic value.
   
• Olga Smirnova is the Audit Director of the Internal Audit Department at HEINEKEN. Previously, she was responsible for sustainability reporting at HEINEKEN for almost seven years, preceded by over 15 years of experience in internal and external assurance, risk management and governance. She started her career as a financial auditor, followed by roles in internal audit departments of large multi-nationals, responsible for audits in the areas of supply chain and sustainability. A few months ago, she moved back to HEINEKEN internal audit, to continue looking at sustainability reporting and governance process from the audit angle. Olga is co-chairing ESG working groups of the Dutch Accounting Standards Board (RJ) and the Finance Executive Association (FEA), and is a member of ESG working groups of the European Roundtable of Industrialists (ERT) and the World Economic Forum (WEF).
   
• After finishing his MBA in 1990, Simon Braaksma started his career with Citibank, where he held various management roles. In 1998, Simon moved to his largest customer, Philips, in Treasury. He then joined a large finance transformation project and worked in Group Control before joining Group Sustainability in 2008. At Group Sustainability, Simon is responsible for all internal and external ESG disclosures, the relationship with ESG investors and Philips’ climate action program. He also represents the Netherlands on EFRAG’s Sustainability Reporting Board (advisory group to the European Commission on for example the European Sustainability Reporting Standards), and chairs various ESG working groups.

Earlier this year, we were proud to host an interactive roundtable on ESG Impact: Challenges & Opportunities in partnership with ESGNext in Switzerland. If you’re interested in hearing more about our upcoming events, please get in touch with [email protected]