I look for three things in hiring people. The first is personal integrity, the second is intelligence, and the third is a high energy level. But, if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. Warren Buffett

Team

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Gervaise Coebergh (Rotterdam, 1966) gervaise@coebergh.nl
"Rotterdammer, zo ik iets ben” (I am first and foremost a Rotterdammer) is the title of the last book gifted to me by my grandfather. My generation is different from his; I see myself more as a citizen of the world. Nevertheless, I am aware and acknowledge that my Rotterdam roots are constantly echoed in my work, even though I have been living happily in Amsterdam and Drenthe for years. I was brought up to respect values such as ‘rolling up your sleeves’, ‘seeing and seizing opportunities’ and ‘calling a spade a spade’."

Gervaise Coebergh has worked in the communications industry since 1989. In 1997, she founded Coebergh Communicatie & PR. Coebergh has become one of the Dutch leading independent communication and PR agencies. After working on account-level for years - for clients including Leading Hotels of the World, Hotel Des Indes, Insinger de Beaufort, Schiphol, the Euromast and even ten years for Louis Vuitton - her focus has changed into the further creative and strategic development of the communication field and her organisation. Online, offline and real time. For the benefit of her clients. Now and in the future.

Gervaise studied History and Art History in Leiden, and Mass Communication in Utrecht. In the past she published in among others NRC Handelsblad, presently she is a blogger on Molblog (#2 marcom blog of the Netherlands). One of her other points of special interests is the role of women in the business industry. It remains remarkable how female talent is still not utilized enough. Apart from the political issues, it seems in any case desirable to show female role models and offer inspiration to women. At the end of 2006 Gervaise started off the initiative 'Salon des Dames', a recurring get-together of famous and less famous scientists, politicians, entrepreneurs and women in the cultural sector; a unique mix of ladies who put their 'mark' on society through their passion and success. In 2011 she received the Porsche Female Entrepreneur of the Year Public Award. Furthermore she is active in several social organisations, a.o. as a member of the Supervisory Committee of Wereldmuseum Rotterdam and as member of the Advisory Board of the Volksuniversiteit Amsterdam.


Piet Hein Coebergh (Bloemendaal, 1966) piethein@coebergh.nl
Piet Hein earned his bachelor degree in business administration after studying at Nyenrode University and at the European University in Antwerp. He earned a master in Public Administration and a master in Law at the University of Amsterdam and his MBA at NIMBAS/the University of Bradford. After military service, he spent eight years in the railway freight industry. In 1998 he became a business consultant and worked for Berenschot Management Consulting and IBM Business Consulting before joining Coebergh Communicatie & PR. Next to his consulting work, Piet Hein serves as a member of the Kluwer Communication-Desk editorial board and the board of the Dutch association of Directors and Supervisory Directors. He is a referee at Corporate Governance - An International Review and a non-executive director at KWH Quality-monitoring. Ranked as major, he also serves as liaison-officer in the Dutch Royal Landforces.

Piet Hein published many books and articles. His professional and academic interest is in communication of corporate strategy. This is also the topic of the doctoral thesis which he is soon to present to TiasNimbas/the University of Bradford. As of August 2011, Piet Hein is employed as lecturer at the University of applied science in Leiden, teaching various disciplines, including new media, commercial communication, PR and consulting skills.


Kiki Hirschfeldt (Hilversum, 1979) kiki@coebergh.nl
"I love the company of other people, both in my professional and in my private life. In my capacity as Operational Director, I oversee a team of committed colleagues. I can't think of anything I would rather be doing. People inspire me, and - even more - surprise me. No two days are the same; it helps me look at situations from different angles. There are
always different ways, and possibly even better ways, of doing something.”

Kiki studied Communication Science in Amsterdam before joining Coebergh Communicatie & PR in 2003. She became manager of the PR team in 2005, in 2008 she became part of the board of directors: “We aim to be on the forefront of new developments within our profession constantly. That particular drive makes working for our organisation very inspiring. This ambition combined with a result-oriented mentality fits me like a glove.”

In addition to her skills as a PR advisor, Kiki is trained as a mediator. “For good mediation in conflicts, an interest in people and their stories is essential. The resolution of a conflict starts with the establishment and optimisation of communication between the parties involved - a significant point where PR and mediation meet. As a professional, I can combine the knowledge and experience from both disciplines.”

Outside working hours, Kiki devotes much of her time to www.sinterklaasbestaat.nl ('Sinterklaas exists'), an organisation which she co-founded. It arranges parties during the Dutch annual children's holiday of Sinterklaas for hundreds of children in the Netherlands who might otherwise miss out on the human warmth and presents.



PARTNERS

Arabella Coebergh (Haarlem, 1971) arabella@coebergh.nl
Having studied Communication, Arabella gained valuable work experience with the Land van Ooit theme park, Disneyland Paris, Schreiner & Van Bokkel Media Consultancy and the events organizers IWP. She joined the team at Coebergh Communicatie & PR in 2000, becoming a Partner in 2006. Her social talents are famous. Nothing gives her more pleasure than producing a stunning and highly successful publication for clients like FOX Vakanties, Grazia, Hans Ubbink and drink labels as Campari. Since 2007, she has been actively involved on the board of Stichting Diabetes Onderzoek Nederland (DON, Netherlands Diabetes Research Foundation).


Marie-Claire Schimmelpenninck van der Oije (The Hague, 1970) marieclaire@coebergh.nlMarie-Claire studied French Language and Literature in Leiden. She has worked for The Hague Marketing, the Netherlands Board of Tourism in London, real estate advisors Cushman & Wakefield, the European start-up internet site Pharmaplaza.com and Spice PR. She joined Coebergh Communicatie & PR in 2002 and became a Partner in 2006. Her versatility is notorious. Like a true chameleon, she combines her work effortlessly with her social engagements, without losing sight of her principles. She works for clients like Raad voor Rechtsbijstand, Result ADR and Tiffany & Co. Since 2009 Marie-Claire is a board member of Vereniging het Verschil.



BUSINESS SERVICES

Reinier Hillen (Laren, 1980) reinier@coebergh.nl
Took great joy in studying Communication at the Hogeschool InHolland. Worked as a PR professional for three years, specialising in business events. Is an asset to the Coebergh business services team since 2008 working on accounts such as Regus, TiasNimbas Business School and Alfa Delta Compendium (ADC). In his own time Reinier plays field hockey fanatically en enjoys a good motorcycle ride. Enacted his international lifestyle by temporarily living in Spain and France and travelling through Ecuador for some months. Which, by the way, was not by motorcycle but by bus...
 

Maurice Seleky (Utrecht, 1982) maurice@coebergh.nl
Maurice has been working at Coebergh Communicatie & PR since 2009. He graduated from the University of Amsterdam in Dutch Law and gained a foundation course diploma at the Netherlands Film and Television Academy. He also took part in the BKB Academy, a series of intensive workshops on politics, media strategy and campaign development organised by the campaign bureau Booij, Klusman & Van Bruggen. Maurice spent five years working as a freelance journalist for Folia, the weekly journal of the University of Amsterdam. He was also active as PR coordinator of Stichting happyChaos, as the editor of the legal faculty journal Alibi and as a columnist for the radio station Amsterdam FM. In autumn 2010 his successful debut novel Ego Faber came out at Ambo-Anthos Publishers. Besides textual, editorial and creative input, Maurice is active for clients like selexyz, Tetra Pak and Bols. He is also blogging on Frankwatching.
 

Marleen Smit (Zeist, 1985) marleen@coebergh.nl
Studied History at the University of Leiden. Lived in Paris and Oxford while completing her master's degree in European History. Developed her communication skills during a student ambassadorship for her university. Marleen confirmed and cultivated her passion for PR during an internship at Coebergh Communicatie & PR and was glad to return after graduating in 2008. Her portfolio consists of diverse clients among which Tetra Pak and Nestlé Professional, and several organisations in the art scene, such as Affordable Art Fair Amsterdam and Art Rotterdam. In addition, she is fascinated by the world of historic cartography. She regularly gives lectures at international symposia and writes articles for various journals, magazines and her own blog.
 

Sjoerd van Sprang (Leiderdorp, 1978) sjoerd@coebergh.nl
 Has been employed at Coebergh Communicatie & PR since 2006. Completed his master's degree in Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam. Sjoerd attaches great importance to ethical, responsible business practices, as reflected by the choice of his thesis topic: Corporate Social Responsibility. Takes great joy in managing the business sevices division (since 2009) and his work for TiasNimbas Business School, PCM Media, GoldRepublic and Annexum. "Especially in these turbulent times, PR is an ideal and cost-effective way to add marketing value. I am humbled to be involved in such a meaningful enterprise." Apart from this daily dose of challenges, he can find plenty of people at Coebergh to share his other great interest: good, honest cooking.


Anne van der Wel (Soest, 1982) anne@coebergh.nl
Studied Communication and Information Sciences at Tilburg University and specialised her studies in Business Communication and Digital Media. During this period she was a board member of the international student organization AIESEC. Anne did research in Budapest on the understanding between native and non-native speakers of the Dutch language. Then she worked at KPN within the marketing department of Telfort, focusing on the small business market. Subsequently Anne was a junior account manager responsible for industrial customers of Douwe Egberts Coffee Systems at Sara Lee. Since 2011 she strengthens Coebergh, where with her versatile experience she is a valuable addition to the Business Services department. In her spare time Anne likes to show her sporty side at the hockey field and on the skirun.



CONSUMER SERVICES

drs. Milou Dooijes (Naarden, 1987) milou@coebergh.nl
Completed her bachelor's degree in Administration and Organization Science at the VU in Amsterdam, and afterwards graduated in a Master Marketing Communications. Milou wrote her masterthesis about social media marketing and online influence processes. During her studies she obtained work experience through an internship in advertising agency DDB and at Coebergh Communicatie & PR –making her interest in PR increase even further. After travelling through South America for a few months, she returned in 2011 and joined Coebergh with a lot of energy. Within the Consumer Services team, Milou works with pleasure for accounts such as Grazia, Cosmopolitan, Kura Hulanda, Bibi van der Velden and The Women's Conference Europe. In her spare time she is a great lover of dancing, running, surfing and music.

Aline de Hoop (The Hague, 1983) aline@coebergh.nl
Finished her degree in Sociology (Employment, Organisation and Policy) at the University of Amsterdam in 2007. After a valuable period as a Business Analist at Deloitte she returned to her passion for PR in 2008 – until then she gained her PR experience mainly as a volunteer. Apart from leading the Consumer Services team, she also works hard for her own accounts at Coebergh Communications & PR, such as Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam, Bibi van der Velden, the Bijenkorf and Ermenegildo Zegna.

Lotte Huijg (Utrecht, 1986) lotte@coebergh.nl
Back at Coebergh, like she never went away! Within the Consumer Services team Lotte is responsible for Orrefors& Kosta Boda, adidas eyewear, Aussie and the Showroom. Studied Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam and graduated in 2009 with a master's degree in Corporate Communications & Public Relations. She gained work experience during her internships at the headquarters of Hunkemöller and at Coebergh. Lotte also worked for Marc Prosman Architects: research and consulting on the use of external communications. Next to work she has a passion for photography, museums, design, cooking and traveling.

Rosanne Thesing (Amsterdam, 1984) rosanne@coebergh.nl
Received her degree in dramaturgy of Theatre Studies at the University of Amsterdam. During her studies she worked as an intern at Het Toneelhuis in Antwerp and at Stage Entertainment, the theatre company founded by Dutch entrepreneur Joop van den Ende. In addition Rosanne worked for cultural communication agency Bureau Barel and as a freelancer she coordinated the PR for cultural organisations and groups like Stichting Zipson, The Sloterplas Festival and Urban Myth. Rosanne was also active as a voice actress and voice-over for commercials and corporate films. At Coebergh Communicatie & PR Rosanne is responsible for Ebookers and the beauty brands of Procter & Gamble. Next to this Rosanne is theatre editor at hard//hoofd, an online magazine for art and journalism. Rosanne enjoys travelling and cooking.