Birgitte works as a project manager at DOB Ecology in Veessen. Birgitte lived abroad for 14 years in the Philippines, Singapore, Hungary and Malaysia. In Asia, she worked for Dutch banks looking after major Dutch and Global Clients as their account manager.

She also spent time setting up a small business working with local communities producing handicrafts. She has been with the Family Foundation since 2014, managing projects in Kenya and Indonesia. Birgitte holds a MSc in Business Economics from the University of Groningen.

Marianne started her professional career working for HaskoningDHV on water management projects in the Netherlands and abroad, ranging from climate change adaptation strategies to dike reinforcement projects very often combined with nature restoration. After this she moved to Paraguay where she worked for 4 years as project manager for WWF Paraguay on several multi-stakeholder projects focused primarily on reducing deforestation in the Chaco Dry Forest. Marianne has previously worked for IUCN NL where she engaged with business and finance on greening their supply chains in cooperation with local CSOs in Latin America and the Philippines, amongst others.

Marianne holds an MSc in Systems Engineering, Policy Analysis and Management from the TU Delft, and an MSc. in General Linguistics from the University of Leiden.

Merel works as the office manager at DOB Ecology in Veessen. She has a degree from Hotelschool The Hague and previously worked for several cultural institutions as an event manager. She joined DOB in 2021 to offer organizational support to the team. Merel is married and has a young daughter.

Coen has a university degree in Business Administration. As CFO he worked in several large and small companies, across different sectors and different countries. He joined DOB Tree in 2022 as CFO. Coen is married to Nicole and they have one daughter.

Richard started as Director of DOB Ecology in May 2023.  Before this he worked in various senior management roles for Wetlands International, WWF and Deltares. Early in his career Richard was fortunate to gain experience in programme and policy matters with the GEF and the European Commission. He has a Master’s degree in environmental technology from Imperial College, London. Richard lives in Deventer, Netherlands, is married to Anka and has two sons.

Louise Vet is emeritus professor in Evolutionary Ecology at Wageningen University, and the former director (1999-2019) of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO). Louise is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), and has gained international recognition for her fundamental research on multitrophic interactions, and delivering basic knowledge for the strategic development of sustainable agro-ecosystems.

Louise has been awarded numerous prestigious national and international awards for her work, including the British Rank Prize for Nutrition, an honorary doctorate from the University of Geneva, and a Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion – a distinction given to people with exceptional achievements.

Louise’s mission is to engage with all stakeholders in politics and business and with the public at large to promote the critical need for ecological knowledge and research in realizing a sustainable economy.

Among her many activities, Louise is Chair of the Board of the Foundation ‘Deltaplan Biodiversiteitsherstel’, which addresses a nation-wide approach for the long-term restoration of biodiversity in the Netherlands.

Johan van de Gronden is the chief executive of the KWF Dutch Cancer Society. Johan was the CEO of the Word Wide Fund for Nature in the Netherlands for ten years and member of WWF’s global executive team. He has held senior management positions in both private business and public administration, among others at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has lived and worked in Suriname, South Africa and Denmark. End of 2021, Johan was appointed by the Minister of Infrastructure and Water as one of the Chairs of the Physical Environment Consultative Council (‘Overlegorgaan Fysieke Leefomgeving’) – an independent platform that develops the connection and cooperation between the central government and citizens, companies and other social organizations.

Johan holds a masters in philosophy from Leiden University and has published several books. He is also Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Early Music Foundation. Johan is married, with two daughters.

Paul Verheul is the Executive Director of MerweOord (the Van Oord Family holding) since 2020, and has various (chairman of) Supervisory Board positions in the Maritime and Automotive industry. During the COVID-19 crisis he was also appointed by the Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport as Supervisory Board member of SON (Stichting Open Nederland – Foundation Open Netherlands). He was Executive Board member of Van Oord from 2011 till 2019, one of the world leading companies in Dredging and Offshore Wind. In that role he set up a sustainability program covering all operations worldwide and he was responsible for, among other things, the realization of agreed strategy and business-targets.
Paul Verheul started his professional career in 1981 at Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) in various jobs. In 1998 he shifted to the airline business in various roles; starting at Transavia Airlines as Vice President Engineering & Maintenance followed by a transfer to Schreiner Aviation Group as COO in 2003. From 2005 till 2011 Paul was appointed as CEO from the Driessen Aerospace Group (in addition to this CEO role, he was also appointed Member of the Executive Committee of Zodiac Aerospace in 2008).
Paul is married and has 3 children.