With the appointment of a new board and governance committee, Van Doorne is setting its sights on the future

Sjoerd Kamerbeek (lawyer, 36) has been appointed the new managing partner of Van Doorne. He shall join forces with Anouk Rutten and Daan ter Braak to take charge of the firm’s day-to-day management. Current board members Saskia Laseur, Jasper Leedekerken and Rob de Win will now turn their full attention to their legal practices. Van Doorne has also decided to introduce an external perspective in the form of a governance committee made up of Marian Spier, Mark van Weegen and Jan de Vuijst.

According to Saskia Laseur, the firm’s current managing partner, the appointment of the new board demonstrates the opportunities for young talent at Van Doorne. ‘This younger generation has shown that it can deliver excellent work for clients and is very conscious of the challenges of our society today. This is crucial in the context of the philosophy of Van Doorne as a firm that genuinely wants to make an impact. We choose quality regardless of age, gender or background.’

Sjoerd Kamerbeek joined Van Doorne in 2011 and became partner at the age of 30. He is widely recognised for his work in corporate litigation and social entrepreneurship. From day one at Van Doorne Sjoerd has sought to contribute to the transition to a more balanced and sustainable economy. ‘When I started, things were far too black-and-white. The choice was either financial or social returns. This was short-sighted. Forerunners in the transition have shown that these two goals are not exclusionary. On the contrary, they can be mutually beneficial. Van Doorne takes a strong stance in this regard. We are convinced that this is how we can best serve our clients.’

Daan ter Braak, a civil-law notary who has been with Van Doorne since 1997, says: ‘Over the past three years, the firm has expanded substantially. We now have over 220 lawyers, civil-law notaries and tax specialists. We have invested in the practices that are most important to our clients, such as energy, the environment, sanctions, pensions, litigation, alternative financing and restructuring. This allows us to provide an even better and broader range of services. We focus on our clients and we build our practices and teams around them. We invest in a relationship of trust so that we can together face the most complex challenges in our changing society. Clients need to be able to rely on us in any circumstances.’

According to Anouk Rutten, who started as a lawyer at Van Doorne in 2014 and is now Head of Compliance: ‘This relationship of trust together with operational excellence and cooperation are central to the Van Doorne culture. Van Doorne is committed to developing talent, focused on the personal aspect and with serious ambitions on diversity and inclusion, we are committed downto-earth and not hierarchical. It is almost symbolic that our office building is opposite rather than in the ‘Zuidas’, where many Amsterdam based law firms are situated.’

Further, according to Saskia: ‘Establishing a governance committee made up of Marian Spier, Mark van Weegen and Jan de Vuijst is a logical next step in our development. We deliberately encourage to be constantly challenged and welcome an outside perspective.’ Sjoerd adds: ‘They think with us about our strategy and policies, advise us and challenge us where necessary. All three committee members have established their credentials in their respective fields. We are proud of their commitment to take our firm into the future and we are very much looking forward to working with them.’

The new board

Sjoerd Kamerbeek (36) has been a lawyer since 2011. He specialises in complex corporate disputes and M&A disputes. In 2015, while working at Van Doorne, he completed his MBA at the Rotterdam School of Management.

Anouk Rutten (39) has been with Van Doorne since 2014. After an extended period at the Authority for Consumers and Markets, she moved to the European and Competition Law team of Van Doorne. In 2018, she set up the firm’s compliance department and is, since then, Head of Compliance.

Daan ter Braak (49), a civil-law notary, completed an internship at Van Doorne in 1995 and joined the firm in 1997. Since then, he advised Dutch and International entities on governance and cooperation as well as on domestic and cross-border transactions. Daan followed a leadership course at TIAS School of Business and is a member of the Leiden University Fund’s Executive Board.

Sjoerd and Daan will both maintain their advisory work and continue to assist their clients. This is a conscious choice, because it is their practical work that keeps them in touch with the challenges facing Van Doorne’s clients and allows them (and Van Doorne) to take account of such challenges in Van Doorne’s advice.

The new governance committee

Marian Spier is a successful entrepreneur with a focus on projects that have a social impact and help bring about cultural change. She has had a wide-ranging career in communications, higher education and other fields. She now runs her own consultancy business advising domestic and international companies and governmental organisations. In all her roles, Marian is an ambassador for inclusiveness and represents the interests of groups whose voices are heard less. Marian holds various board and supervisory positions, including at FEM-START, Het HEM, the VandenEnde Foundation and the Van Gogh Museum.

Mark van Weegen has over thirty years’ experience as a board room counsel and was a senior partner at Kearney in America. He has worked with clients from a wide range of industries across five continents. His consultancy work has focused on helping clients establish a longterm strategy and implement major change processes. Mark is currently an investor in several start-ups, holds various supervisory roles and is also a personal advisor and coach to various directors and executive teams.

Prof. Dr. Jan de Vuijst is a management consultant and part-time professor of Information Science at Tilburg University. He advises and coaches executives and directors in various organisations. He also teaches at TIAS Business School as well as in corporate development and change programmes. Jan’s specialisations include leadership, influencing skills, change management and group dynamics. He has been a director, administrator and partner of several consultancy and research organisations, both in the private and public sectors. He has his own organisational and management consultancy as well as executive coaching practice since 1998, working with a large network of professional consultants and coaches.