 | Benelux business council Abu Dhabi |
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is made of not less than 5 and not more than 9 persons of Benelux origins and the board should be divided between the three nationalities: Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. Therefore, it has to be composed of at least two Dutch, two Belgians and one Luxembourger. The BBC also has 1 Event and Office Manager.
Honorary Chairman
H.H. Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan
Barbara Farahnick-Mathonet Chairwoman & Embassy Liaison, Belgium Barbara Farahnick-Mathonet is the founder and president of ADCA (Abu Dhabi Circle of Art), a group of women aiming at developing the Art Community. She is also an ambassador for Abu Dhabi Art Fair. Before that she worked for more than 20 years for Chanel France where she was a regional Sales Manager, responsible for the distribution of Chanel cosmetics covering the North of France regions. Previously, she worked for Estee Lauder as a Sales Manager for 3 years. She lived many years in Belgium, France, Luxembourg and now in the UAE for seven years. |
Joe Harrison Vice Chairman Joe Harrison is Shell’s joint venture asset manager in Abu Dhabi, and a director for the ADNOC Gas Processing joint venture. He is accountable for governance and influence for Shell, together with support for ADNOC and the Emirate’s objectives. His experience in Shell includes secondment to the Basrah Gas company in Iraq, management of Shell Gabon’s front end and discipline engineering teams, technical and project consultancy from Shell Global Solutions in Malaysia, and process engineering in the NAM, The Netherlands. Joe is British, and a chemical engineer from Cambridge University. He enjoys spending time in the desert, and private flying in Ras Al Khaimah. Married to Hermione, a banking and finance lawyer. |
Emmanuelle Entringer Vice Chairwoman & Embassy Liaison, Luxembourg Emmanuelle Entringer is a Counsel at Arendt & Medernach and the head of their Dubai office. Arendt & Medernach are the largest law firm in Luxembourg and their Dubai office advises clients in the GCC and India on Luxembourg legal matters. Emmanuelle is a Luxembourg national and holds a post-graduate diploma in Commercial Law from Paris I University. She has been working in the UAE for over 12 years and prior to that worked in Luxembourg for various banks and asset managers. Emmanuelle founded the Middle East Working Group of the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry. For the last year she served as a board member of the BBC and was in charge of the relations with the Luxembourg embassy. |
Robin Vermaat Director of Business Development Robin Vermaat has over 18 years’ experience in Freight Forwarding in the Middle East and Europe. Over the years, he has been responsible for Supply Chain, Sales Management, B2B Sales, Marketing & Strategic Implementation. Robin has worked in Iraq for 2 years and is in the UAE for 10 years where he built a wide network of business connections allowing him to create strong ties and business relationships with internal and external stakeholders. He holds a bachelor degree in Commercial Marketing & Communications from the Netherlands. He is the General Manager for a logistics company since 2017. Robin is married to Lana, a lawyer and Regional Integrity Officer and has a son. |
Anne Lange Director of Events Anne Lange is currently the Household Manager for the Ambassador of the United States of America. The position covers the planning of all events organized at the ambassador's residence. For the past 6 years, she has been a member of the operations team for the yearly trek, the Women Heritage Walk. She is involved in the planning and logistics to take over 60 women on a 5 days trek in the desert and offering them safety, sleeping accommodations, food and cultural events. Prior to her arrival in the UAE, she was based in Washington DC where she held the position of Household Manager at the Canadian Embassy for 10 years, and personal assistant to the German Ambassador's wife. She has been based in Abu Dhabi with her family since 2007. |
Mare Visser Event and Office Manager Mare Visser has worked for five years at the Marketing & Communication Department at Amsterdam University College (AUC), the liberal arts & science college of the University of Amsterdam and the Free University of Amsterdam. She also worked as a digital marketing & social media specialist for different agencies in Amsterdam and Abu Dhabi. Since December 2019, Mare is working as the Event & Office Manager for the BeNeLux Business Council where she handles everything ranging from events, PR, administration to members and sponsor management. |
| From left to right: Loic Bertolli (Deputy Head of Mission Luxembourg Embassy & Executive Director of the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office), Douwe Buzeman (Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) Emmanuelle Entringer (Embassy Liaison, Luxembourg), H.E. Frank Mollen (former Ambassador of the Netherlands to the UAE), Gilles Klein (Vice-Chair), Barbara Farahnick-Mathonet (Chairwomen), Frank Wouters (Vice-Chair), H.E. Elisabeth Cardoso (Ambassador of Luxembourg to the UAE), Laurent van Helden (Treasurer), Carole Chapelier (Embassy Liaison, Belgium), Frederic Van Peteghem (First Secretary, Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium), Sam van Steenbrugghe (Sponsor Relations) and Joe Harrison (Embassy Liaison, The Netherlands). |
