Jan Peter Balkenende

Dr Balkenende took office as Prime Minister of the first government to bear his name in 2002. Since 2007 he has been serving as Prime Minister of the fourth Balkenende government. He has chaired the Innovation Platform since his previous term of government.

Ronald Plasterk

Minister of Education, Culture and Science and first vice chair of the Innovation Platform. Before taking office, Dr Plasterk was a professor of molecular microbiology and molecular genetics. From 2000 until his ministerial appointment, he was director of the Hubrecht Laboratorium and member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). He was also a prominent publicist and columnist.

Maria van der Hoeven

Minister of Economic Affairs and second vice-chair of the Innovation Platform, she has worked in education and was a Member of Parliament for many years. She was involved in the first Innovation Platform during her term as Minister of Education, Culture and Science.

Hans de Boer

Hans de Boer holds a degree in economics from the VU University Amsterdam. He is a businessman, is a member or chairman of several supervisory boards and holds several advisory positions. From 1997 to 2003 he was the president of the Dutch Federation of Small and Medium-sized enterprises. Until May 2007, he chaired the Youth Unemployment Task Force.

Piet Borst

Piet Borst is a biochemist and a non-practising physician. Since 1999 he has worked fulltime as an unpaid staff researcher with his research group at the Netherlands Cancer Institute affiliated with the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, where he worked as a part-time researcher, research director and chairman of the board between 1983 and 1999. Before that, he was a professor of clinical biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Amsterdam. He is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and foreign member of such institutes as the National Academy of Sciences (US) and the Royal Society (UK).

Robbert Dijkgraaf

Robbert Dijkgraaf, university professor of mathematical physics at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), won the Spinoza Prize in 2003 for his mathematical contributions to string theory. As a teacher, speaker and columnist, Dijkgraaf is actively engaged in drawing broad public attention to science. He studied theoretical physics, worked as a researcher at Princeton University and was appointed professor at the UvA in 1992. He is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).

Wiebe Draijer

Wiebe Draijer, managing partner of the Amsterdam office of McKinsey & Company since 2003, studied mechanical engineering and control engineering at TU Delft. During his studies, he was a freelance journalist for the NRC-Handelsblad newspaper. In 1990 he began as a consultant at McKinsey & Company. After completing his degree, he briefly did research at Philips' Physics Laboratory. Since late 2005, he has chaired Stichting Toekomstbeeld der Techniek, which explores the relationship between technology and society.

Suzanne Hulscher

Suzanne Hulscher is professor of water management, with a focus on water systems, at the University of Twente. Her work includes research into sand waves and sand banks in rivers and coastal waters. In 2002 she won the Minerva Prize awarded by the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter. In 2003 she received a VICI grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for her research on roughness modelling to improve water management. She is a member of The Young Academy of Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).

Gerard Kleisterlee

Gerard Kleisterlee has been at the helm of Philips (Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV) since 2001. He is President & CEO and Chairman of the Supervisory Board and the Group Management Committee. He was a member of the first Innovation Platform and, in that capacity, played an important role in the production of the Knowledge Investment Agenda.

Marjan Oudeman

After earning a law degree, Marjan Oudeman held a series of management positions at Hoogovens, and later Corus. She has an MBA from Erasmus University Rotterdam and the University of Rochester. In 2002 she was appointed managing director of Corus Nederland, and became chair in 2005. She is also director of Corus Staal B.V. and member of the Supervisory Board of N.V. Nederlandse Spoorwegen.

Alexander Rinnooy Kan

Alexander Rinnooy Kan is chairman of the Social and Economic Council (SER). He studied mathematics at Leiden University, has held numerous positions, including Rector of Erasmus University Rotterdam, chairman of the employers’ organisations VNO-NCW and member of the ING Group Executive Board. He was a member of the first Innovation Platform and, in that capacity, was closely involved in the production of the Knowledge Investment Agenda and the report “Leren Excelleren” (Learning to Excel).

Feike Sijbesma

Feike Sijbesma is CEO of DSM. He studied medical biology at Utrecht University and business at Erasmus University Rotterdam. In 1987 he joined Gist-Brocades, which was later acquired by DSM. Sijbesma served as a member of the Managing Board of Directors and was appointed CEO on 1 May 2007. He is also a member of Utrecht University’s Supervisory Board, board member of EuropaBio and CEFIC (European federation for biotech and chemical companies).

René Smit

René Smit is chairman of the Executive Board of the VU University Amsterdam and the Windesheim University of Professional Education. He has a degree in economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam. In 1999 Smit became chairman of the Executive Board of the Albert Schweitzer Ziekenhuis in Dordrecht, which comprises four hospitals. Previously, Smit held the office of Director-General for Public Safety & Security at the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and was a member of the municipal executive for ports, human resources and finance in Rotterdam. He has also served on several boards.

Kees Tetteroo

Kees Tetteroo is chairman of the Executive Board of ROC Eindhoven. He has a degree in organisational sociology from the Katholieke Hogeschool Tilburg (now the University of Tilburg). He has held various positions, including that of councillor and member of the municipal executive of 's Hertogenbosch, chairman of the Executive Board of the Hogeschool 's Hertogenbosch and municipal secretary of Eindhoven, and was a member of the Leemhuis steering group on dualisation of local administration.

Melek Usta

After earning a degree in human resources and employment, Melek Usta worked in recruitment and selection for many years. In 2000 she set up Colourful People, a recruitment, selection and consulting firm specialising in gender and ethnic diversity. She is also director of Tannet, the Turkish Academic Network and was Black Business Woman of the Year 2006.

Bas Verhart

Bas Verhart is an entrepreneur. In 2000 he sold his company MVLG e-business consultants to Lost Boys International, where he joined the board. He is currently the director of Media Republic, a company he started in 2002. Media Republic concerns itself with the relationship between and future of film, television, gaming, music, internet and mobile telephone services. He is the initiator of Cross Media Week, whose aim is to put Amsterdam on the map internationally as a Creative Industry hotspot, where creative talent and companies in the media and entertainment industry thrive.

Claudia Zuiderwijk

Claudia Zuiderwijk chairs the Executive Board of Tergooiziekenhuizen (hospitals) in the Gooi region of the Netherlands. She studied adult education theory and worked for IBM Nederland. She was the managing director of Pink Elephant and member of the board of management of PinkRoccade Nederland.

Jan Peter van den Toren (secretaris)

Jan Peter van den Toren is an economist (Erasmus University Rotterdam) and has a doctorate from Leiden University. He has been involved in the trade union movement (CNV) and worked for the consulting firm Adviesbureau Berenschot. From 1997 to 2002 he was professor (endowed chair) of Labour Relations at the University of Amsterdam. He was a Senior Advisor at the Ministry of General Affairs from 2004 to 2007 and has been secretary of the Innovation Platform since 2005.