Royal Haskoningdhv News

Dutch marine services company Van Oord has appointed Meike Salvadό-de Reede to the position of Chief People Officer (CPO) in its Executive Committee as of November 1, 2022. "Van Oord’s people agenda is fundamental to its strategy and to building a high-performance organization," Van Oord, which provides dredging and offshore energy installation services,said.Meike Salvadό-de Reede has a Civil Engineering background and over 20 years of experience in commercial, strategy and HR roles, most recently as CPO in the executive council of Royal HaskoningDHV.

The finalists of the 2017 Mersey Maritime Industry Awards (MMIAs) have been announced. The winners will be revealed at a prestigious black tie dinner that will have a Ministerial presence and promises to bring together the best of the maritime industry right across the Maritime, Logistics and Energy spectrum in the region. The MMIAs are organised by sector representative body Mersey Maritime and the Awards recognise the excellence and diversity that exists across all sectors of the maritime industry in the North West. Chris Shirling-Rooke, Chief Executive, Mersey Maritime, said: “The number and quality of entries for the 2017 MMIAs has risen for the third consecutive year, which will make for an exciting awards evening when the winners are announced on 9th March.

Royal HaskoningDHV appoints two new leaders at Corporate level for Finance & Control and Global HR Services: Jasper de Wit has been named Corporate Director Finance & Control per January 1, 2017, and Abhishek Kaushal has been appointed to lead Global HR Services per December 12, 2016. Jasper de Wit joined the company in 2005. In his last role he was responsible for Corporate Controlling. Jasper succeeds Nynke Dalstra who was appointed CFO in November 2016. Abhishek Kaushal joins Royal HaskoningDHV from AkzoNobel where he was responsible for AkzoNobel’s HR transformation agenda for the South East South Asia region. Before joining AkzoNobel in 2012, he worked in various HR roles at Genpact.

Singapore has announced it will build a polder designed by Royal HaskoningDHV with local partner Surbana Jurong that will add 810ha to Pulau Tekong, one of Singapore’s largest islands. Traditionally, sand has been used to fill the area to be reclaimed above sea level. This new approach involves building a dike around the area to be reclaimed and draining the water from it – a 400 year old Dutch proven method. This will allow the reclaimed area to be built at a lower level and hence significantly reduce the amount of sand needed for land reclamation. Royal HaskoningDHV and local consultancy Surbana Jurong carried out the detailed study and engineering design with Singapore’s Housing & Development Board for this development located in the northeast of Singapore.

The Supervisory Board of Royal HaskoningDHV has appointed Nynke Dalstra as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Going forwards, the Executive Board consists of CEO Erik Oostwegel and Nynke Dalstra (47) as CFO, a role she has held on an interim basis since October following the departure of former CFO Jaska de Bakker. Joop van Oosten, Chairman of the Supervisory Board: “We conducted an internal and external search for a new CFO and have concluded Nynke is the best candidate. She is talented, knows our company and our markets and has excellent leadership skills. Nynke Dalstra joined the company in 2009 as group controller for Royal Haskoning and in 2011 became Finance Director. In 2012 she was appointed Corporate Director Finance for Royal HaskoningDHV.

Developers of a new shipyard in Saudi Arabia say the facility will be the largest maritime yard in the world providing a range of services, including large shipbuilding, large ship repair, offshore rigs fabrication and offshore support vessel repair. The new facility, a joint venture between state oil giant Saudi Aramco, the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia, Lamprell and Hyundai Heavy Industries, will be located in the eastern Saudi port of Ras Al-Khair, north of Jubail on the Persian Gulf. It is planned to be fully operational by 2021.

Royal HaskoningDHV has appointed new Corporate Directors for Human Resource Management and Corporate Strategy. Cindy Meervis (40), joining from AkzoNobel, will further develop the global HR strategy in support of building a performance and client driven culture. She succeeds Kees Lekkerkerker who will retire on 1 April 2016. Royal HaskoningDHV is thankful for his contributions in building the HR team. In her previous role as HR Director Vehicle Refinishes at AkzoNobel, Cindy led a global HR team that supported a business-wide reorganisation aimed at enhancing client focus and reducing cost. Previously she worked as Principal Consultant for PA Consulting Group where she gained experience in business and HR transformations projects.

International engineering and project management consultancy Royal HaskoningDHV has announced a simplified organisation and management structure. As of 1 January 2016 the company has consolidated its activities into four Business Lines and four regions, enabling closer collaboration and faster decision-making. Chairman of the Board Erik Oostwegel said: “Our clients operate in an increasingly volatile and complex environment and simplifying our internal structure helps us to serve them with even better, future-proof and integrated consultancy services. Combining related disciplines into a leaner structure helps us to boost internal collaboration and knowledge-sharing. The new structure consists of four Business Lines offering services to public and private clients globally.

New fiber reinforced polymer lock gates, reportedly the world’s largest, were installed in the new Lock III in the Wilhelmina canal in Tilburg, the Netherlands on January 9. On behalf of Rijkswaterstaat (Dutch Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management), Royal HaskoningDHV has deployed its expertise in the field of fiber reinforced polymers for the design principles, the design review and quality control. Never before have FRP lock gates of these dimensions (6.2 x 12.5 meters) been installed. The mitred gates can control a water level difference of no less than 7.9 meters.

International engineering and project management consultancy Royal HaskoningDHV has celebrated the opening of its new office in Vietnam in a ceremony which also marked 30 years of operations in the country. The event was attended by Mr Simon van der Burg, Dutch Consul General in Vietnam together with representatives from Royal HaskoningDHV including Mr Erik Oostwegel, Chairman, Ms Jaska de Bakker, CFO and Mr Lars Crombach, Managing Director in Vietnam. The opening of Royal HaskoningDHV’s new office in Ho Chi Minh City underlines the company’s strong growth in Vietnam. The company, which has offices in Ho Chi Minh City and in Hanoi, has relocated from its previous premises in the economic centre of Vietnam to a larger, modern building in a new business district.

International engineering and project management consultancy firm Royal HaskoningDHV is leading a multi-disciplinary team in developing a sustainable coastal protection strategy to reduce flood risks for the cities of Tacloban and adjacent Palo in the Philippines. Tacloban is an important strategic location for the prosperity of the Philippines. It is a regional trading hub and a centre for commerce, industry and education. Until Typhoon Haiyan struck in 2013, Tacloban was the fastest growing city in the Philippines, with a daily population of 1.2 million. The typhoon killed thousands of people and brought devastation on a massive scale to homes, businesses and infrastructure. Even for a typhoon unusually hard winds of up to 378 km/hr and storm surges of 4-6 m high battered the area.

Mr Piet Besselink, Executive Board Member of international engineering and project management consultancy Royal HaskoningDHV, has decided to step down by the end of the year. This change was announced by the company’s Supervisory Board. Piet Besselink (56), member of the Executive Board of Royal HaskoningDHV since 2012 and of former DHV since 2006, has decided to take on a new direction in his career and pursue opportunities outside of the company effective from 1 January 2016. Mr Besselink feels this is a natural moment to step down now that the company is well underway in the execution of its strategy. “I have had a fulfilling time of 26 years with the company and am proud of what we have achieved together. Making a shift now enables me to take a next step in my career.

Engineering and consulting firms setec and Royal HaskoningDHV have been selected by VNF – the French navigable waterways authority – to jointly provide program management assistance over 12 years for a canal link extending from France to Belgium. The new Canal Seine-Nord Europe will connect the basin of the Seine near Paris, to the Scheldt, near Lille, giving access to Belgian and Dutch inland waterways networks. Long awaited by the international water transport sector and the European Union, the new canal will be designed for vessels up to 4,400 tonnes capacity.

Engineering and consulting firms setec and Royal HaskoningDHV have been selected by VNF – the French navigable waterways authority – to jointly provide programme management assistance over 12 years for a canal link extending from France to Belgium. The vast new Canal Seine-Nord Europe will connect the basin of the Seine near Paris, to the Scheldt, near Lille, giving access to Belgian and Dutch inland waterways networks. Long awaited by the international water transport sector and the European Union, the new canal will be designed for vessels up to 4,400 tonnes capacity. It will eliminate a major bottleneck on the European waterway network and provide links with six seaports to offer an alternative method of transporting freight with access into the heart of large urban areas.