Jan van ‘t Hek

In his work, Jan van ‘t Hek puts the topic of Circular on the map at various governments. For example, by encouraging circular and biobased construction, as well as area development and innovation projects around specific themes, such as circular solar energy. In addition, he is an ambassador for the Luister Eens Foundation, which aims to normalise the conversation about mental illness.

Jan is vice chairman of Young on Board because the issues that Amsterdam Economic Board is working on are important to him. There is a growing realisation that market economics do not seem to be the solution to all problems. The government no longer has the clout it had a few decades ago. Fortunately, more and more companies are taking an important social responsibility. The next step is to turn this into a new strategy. Jan finds it interesting to engage in this public-private partnership to discuss the issues that concern all. Young on Board gets to question and challenge the important decision makers in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, which is a great challenge to him.

“Hopefully, based on our advice, some Board members will dare to choose a fundamentally different focus within their own organisations.”