Van Benthem & Keulen chooses next step in its growth ambitions by appointing CEO and COO
28-09-2023
Van Benthem & Keulen has appointed Gijs van Wijgerden as chief executive officer (CEO) and Dave Venmans as chief operations officer (COO) starting 1 October 2023. Gijs and Dave thus will succeed Johan Koggink, who will step down as managing director and member of the executive board (DB) from 1 October 2023. The DB of Van Benthem & Keulen, consisting of Wouter Koelewijn, Alice van der Schee and Steven Storm, together with Dave and Gijs will be managing the firm from 1 October 2023.
With the appointment of Gijs and Dave, Van Benthem & Keulen is investing in the further professionalization and optimization of its services in order to respond to the changing needs of its clients in a rapidly changing market. Van Benthem & Keulen is thus fulfilling its ambition to strengthen and further expand its leading position as a full-service legal services provider in the coming years, particularly in the Tech, Banking & Finance, Retail, Healthcare, Real Estate, Industry & Renewables and Government sectors.
Wouter Koelewijn: 'We are delighted with the arrival of Gijs and Dave. They bring new knowledge, experience and creative entrepreneurship to our organization. This will enable them to make an important contribution to the further development of our multidisciplinary services and our firm's growth ambitions. It goes without saying that the client and his needs are central to this. As DB, we look forward to a successful collaboration with Gijs and Dave.
Gijs van Wijgerden (CEO)
Gijs started his career at ING Group. There, he held various commercial and management positions. He was Regional Director for Large Companies & Institutions, Director of Public & Health and Director of Makelaarsland. At Van Benthem & Keulen, Gijs will be responsible for Marketing & Communication, Business Development and Client Management.
Dave Venmans (COO)
Dave Venmans has held various managerial and operational roles, including the last 7 years as COO Business Services at KPMG. Within Van Benthem & Keulen, Dave will focus on internal business services and he will be responsible for Finance & Control, Compliance, HR and ICT, among others.
Johan Koggink commercial advisor
The former managing director Johan Koggink will remain with Van Benthem & Keulen in the position of commercial advisor.
Wouter Koelewijn: 'Johan was managing director and the face of Van Benthem & Keulen since September 2000. Over the past 23 years, Johan has made a major contribution to the development and growth of our firm. He was also at the cradle of several innovative service concepts including vanDienst, General Counsel Innovation Platform, the podcast Licht op Legal and the General Counsel lecture series. Under his leadership, our firm has twice been named best legal services provider. We are extremely grateful to Johan for his enormous contribution and dedication and are delighted that he will remain with us as commercial adviser until 1 August 2024.'
For more information and interview requests, please contact manager Marketing & Communications: Carida Kleijn at [email protected] or +31 62 06 02 847.
