In a recent development, Eelko Brinkhoff will step down as the Managing Director of Foreign Investments & International Trade at the Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM) effective February 1, 2024.
Following this announcement, he will transition to Eindhoven-based PhotonDelta, where he will take the CEO position.
Laurens Weers, PhotonDelta CFO, says, ”Eelko’s experiences in both business and government combined with the deeptech environment that the Brabant Development Agency is known for, makes him a great fit for the job. Our industry has some exciting times of international growth ahead and Eelko joins us at the right time.”
The announcement comes a couple of months after the current CEO Ewit Roos decided to step down to become a General Partner at Eindhoven-based deeptech VC firm PhotonVentures.
During his eight-year tenure, Roos helped PhotonDelta evolve into a well-funded integrated photonics industry accelerator with over 60 corporate members and a global presence.
Eelko Brinkhoff: What you need to know
Joined BOM in 1999, Brinkhoff has served various roles, starting as a project manager for foreign investments and progressing to the Director of Foreign Investments in 2014.
Since 2017, he has been the Managing Director of Foreign Investments & International Trade, heading trade promotion as part of his responsibilities.
Brinkhoff, born in 1973 and a graduate in commercial economics from Fontys in Eindhoven, has been an integral part of BOM for twenty-four years.
In addition to his role at BOM, Brinkhoff is also a member of the supervisory & advisory board of Nederland Distributieland and a board member at Dilas (Dutch Industrial & Logistics Association).
Eelko Brinkhoff says, “BOM has challenged me for twenty-four years to make an impact with and for (international) companies for a leading North Brabant. For me, these experiences are a wonderful foundation to build on within the promising ecosystem of PhotonDelta.”
Eelko Brinkhoff has extensive experience and knowledge in the field of Foreign Direct Investments and internationalisation of small and medium enterprises.
He has built a strong network in business, government, knowledge institutes, and universities in the Netherlands and abroad.
Also, Brinkhoff has been involved in the growth of several foreign tech companies setting up shop in the South of the Netherlands.
PhotonDelta: Building ecosystem in photonic chip technology
PhotonDelta builds an ecosystem of organisations that can design, develop and manufacture innovative solutions based on integrated photonic technology.
The Dutch company supports its partners with coaching, funding, and access to the market.
The programme aims to make the Netherlands the leader in the global chip industry, with hundreds of companies and customers globally.
PhotonDelta was created by the mandate of the Dutch government in December 2018 to accelerate the emerging Dutch integrated photonics industry and was granted €240M to execute the national plan for photonics.
René Penning de Vries, chair of PhotonDelta’s Supervisory Board: ”PhotonDelta has seen a period of rapid growth. Next to maturing the organisation, the challenge is to become an internationally recognised accelerator for the photonic chip industry. On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I wish Eelko all the best to lead PhotonDelta in this ambition.”
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