As from 12th January 2010, the Executive Board will consist of Sylvo Thijsen, CEO and Mel Zuydam, CFO. Together with three new Group Directors they will form the Group Executive Committee based in headquarters in De Bilt.
The three new Group Directors, promoted internally from Grontmij’s existing executive talent pool, will each be responsible for one of the business lines and for a number of countries.
Gert Dral will head up Planning & Design, Ulf Palmblad will lead Transportation & Mobility and Lawrence Hughes will become responsible for Water & Energy.
S. Thijsen (Chief Executive Officer)
Year born 1959 Nationality Dutch Appointed 2001 (member), 2003 (Chief Executive Officer), joined Grontmij in 1984. He worked in several positions at different divisions in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. He was appointed in 1995 as director of ‘Advies & Techniek’ and in 2001 as a member of the Executive Board. Since October 2003 he is chairman of the Executive Board (CEO) of Grontmij N.V. Most important previous position Managing Director of Grontmij Advies & Techniek Other positions Member VROM council (Ministry of housing, planning and environmental management), Chairman VNO-NCW – commission Public Tendering (COAB), Board Member PHN, platform of Dutch wood / paper industry, Member Supervisory Board CURNET, Member Supervisory Board Utrechts Landschap, Member of the Advisory Board Environmental Sciences Group (Wageningen University)
D.M. Zuydam (Chief Financial Officer)
Year born 1961 Nationality British/Dutch Appointed 2009 Current term expires and eligible for reappointment 2013 Most important previous positions Chief Financial Officer and Commercial Director VT Nuclear Services, Group Finance Director Highways Agency, Divisional CFO Balfour Beatty PLC Other positions Non-executive Member of the Audit Committee of the Department for International Development (UK Government)
Gert Dral (Group Director Planning & Design)
Year born 1955 Nationality Dutch
Gert Dral will lead the Planning & Design business line and will also be responsible for Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Turkey, as well as countries where Grontmij is looking to build its presence such as China.
Since joining Grontmij in 1976, Gert has held various management positions; the most recent of which as Managing Director of Grontmij’s Netherlands operations and also as Chief Operating Officer covering the Netherlands and Belgium
Gert has consistently demonstrated a strength of vision within the Urban Building and Industry segments, where he has overseen cross-border activities, levering knowledge sharing and customer relations across the company. He has also been leading business development internationally in countries such as China, Poland, Hungary and Turkey, and China.
In addition to his degrees in civil engineering and urban planning Gert has been undertaking studies in law, finance and management and holds a diploma from the Breakthrough Program for Senior Executives at IMD Business School.
Ulf Palmblad (Group Director Transportation & Mobility)
Year born 1965 Nationality Swedish
Ulf Palmblad will be responsible for the Transportation & Mobility business line along with the Netherlands and Belgium.
Ulf has overseen the impressive turnaround of Grontmij’s Swedish business since joining the company four years ago as Managing Director of Grontmij in Sweden. The programme of change has included restructuring and changing the business model and improving performance of the 800+ people working for Grontmij in Sweden by e.g. focusing on a cohesive company culture, underpinned by knowledge sharing and a business mind-set.
Prior to joining Grontmij, Ulf has latterly worked as CFO of Skanska, Swedish northern region, CEO Siemens Business Services Sweden, COO Siemens Business Service Scandinavia. He holds a master’s degree in business administration and is also currently undertaking a Trium MBA in Global Management.
Lawrence Hughes (Group Director Water & Energy)
Year born 1953 Nationality British
Lawrence Hughes will be responsible for the Water & Energy business line and will also oversee the United Kingdom, Ireland and Poland.
Lawrence has proactively driven Grontmij’s expansion in the UK and Ireland since joining the company as Managing Director in 2002. He has overseen the regional operations’ extensive organic growth as well as a number of strategic acquisitions which boosted turnover to over €100 million in 2008.
With over 30 years’ engineering experience gained internationally, Lawrence has held senior positions at various consultancies in the UK and overseas. He is a MICE, Chartered Engineer and a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas.
He is Vice Chairman of the Association of Consultancy and Engineering and sits on the Industrial Advisory Boards for the Department of Civil Engineering at Edinburgh University and the Department of the Built Environment at Salford University.