Symposium | The creative economy (featuring Peter Wennink and others)

Business leader and former President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ASML Peter Wennink outlined a growth strategy for the Netherlands in his report, focusing on digitalisation and AI, security, energy and climate, and life sciences. The creative industries are absent from this strategy. Yet these major challenges demand precisely the imagination and design expertise our sector has to offer.

The keynote speaker is Peter Wennink. Responding to his analysis will be Jeroen Bartelse (Director TivoliVredenburg and Chair Kunsten ’92), Anne Ligtenberg (Designer and Programme Director at Design Development Eindhoven) and Mark van Iterson (Chair BNO), among others.

Anna van Nunen (Managing Director at Eurosonic Noorderslag) and Willem van Zeeland (Managing Director Dutch Design Foundation) will open the symposium with an overview of the current state of the design sector.

Programme:

• 10:00 | Doors open and welcome
• 10:30 | start Symposium | The creative economy
• 12:30 | Networking lunch
• 13:30 | Design Tour begins (optional, ticket required)

Language: Dutch

Speaker biographies

Peter Wennink
Peter Wennink is an entrepreneur and business leader, and the former President and CEO of ASML. Under his leadership, ASML became one of Europe’s most valuable technology companies and the global market leader in chipmaking machines. Since retiring in 2024, Wennink has held various supervisory and advisory positions. In 2025, at the request of the Dutch government, he issued independent advice on the Netherlands’ long-term earning capacity.

Jeroen Bartelse
Jeroen Bartelse is Managing Director of TivoliVredenburg and Chair of Kunsten ’92. His previous roles include Director of the Council for Culture, and positions at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Through his various roles, he works to strengthen the cultural and creative sector in the Netherlands.

Anne Ligtenberg
Anne Ligtenberg is a designer and Programme Director at Design Development Eindhoven (DDE). She graduated with honours from Design Academy Eindhoven and is co-founder of social design agency AM. As a designer, she focuses on the societal power of design and on connecting people and perspectives. In her role at DDE, she works to strengthen Eindhoven’s design ecosystem.

Mark van Iterson
Mark van Iterson is a designer and has served as Chair of the Association of Dutch Designers (BNO) since 2026. Before this, he worked at Heineken for many years, where he was responsible for design across the company’s international brand portfolio as Global Design Director. As Chair of BNO, he champions the position and significance of design and designers in the Netherlands.

Anna van Nunen
Anna van Nunen is Managing Director of Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS), the European platform for emerging music talent. She previously worked in both the cultural sector and the start-up and scale-up world, and developed Innofest into a platform where innovations are tested in practice at festivals. Her work connects culture, entrepreneurship and innovation.

Willem van Zeeland
Willem van Zeeland is Managing Director of Dutch Design Foundation (DDF), the organisation behind Dutch Design Week, Dutch Design Awards and Coalitions. Through DDF, he champions the position of designers and the role design can play in addressing societal and economic challenges.