Announcement: Changes in Supervisory Board

The Ocean Cleanup Management Team operates closely in collaboration with the Supervisory Board. This group of external professionals help to steer the direction of the organization and provide the Management Team with crucial feedback as we grow and move forward. With this in mind, we are looking forward to the contributions of the newest members of the Supervisory Board: Jaska de Bakker and Bert Bruggeman. We also thank Evert Greup for his five years of valuable service to our mission as he steps down from his position.

Following the rules and regulations for non-profit organization in the Netherlands, The Ocean Cleanup works in a two-tier governance structure: the CEO who leads the Management Team, charged with all executive management; and an independent Supervisory Board, responsible for several roles: supervising the strategy, activities, and executive managers as well as being a sounding board to the Management Team. Major decisions and resolutions of the Management Team are subject to the approval of the Supervisory Board, such as the adoption and amendment of the foundation plan and of the budget.

We are happy to announce the appointment of two new members of our Supervisory Board. Jaska de Bakker, currently Executive Board member and Chief Financial Officer at Royal FrieslandCampina N.V. in the Netherlands, has joined the Supervisory Board. Because of her expertise in the field, she will have a particular focus on finance and governance at The Ocean Cleanup. During Jaska’s professional career in various financial and consultancy roles, she was based in the Netherlands, Italy, the USA, and Singapore.

Simultaneously, Bert Bruggeman has joined The Ocean Cleanup as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Former leader of Tesla’s manufacturing flagship plant in California, and now Chief Operations Officer at bioMason, Bert has extensive experience as a leader in operations in highly complex and innovative technology companies. As Chairman, Bert will use his leadership acumen and experience in development life cycles to help The Ocean Cleanup work towards our technology scale-up.

After five years of valued service, Evert Greup will step down from his role. Evert began his work for The Ocean Cleanup as a volunteer in 2013, taking responsibility for financial matters and funding in the Supervisory Board since its establishment; this contribution was essential as the organization rapidly grew. The Ocean Cleanup appreciates the diligence Evert brought to his role and thanks him for his valuable support during his tenure.

Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO, warmly shares his thoughts on the changes: “I am very happy to welcome Jaska and Bert to the board and feel proud to have them both as a part of The Ocean Cleanup team. At the same time, I extend my gratitude and thanks to Evert for his contribution over the years – I consider myself fortunate to have developed a lasting support and friendship with him.”
Frederik Gerner and Chris van der Vorm will remain in their respective roles in the Supervisory Board and continue to contribute to The Ocean Cleanup and our mission to rid the world’s oceans of plastic.

With these new changes, the Supervisory Board will have the following composition:

Bert Bruggeman – Chairman
Jaska de Bakker – Finance and Governance
Frederik Gerner – Technology and R&D
Chris van der Vorm – Communications