The board consists of entrepreneurs, managers and business professionals who have been doing business in Spain for quite some time. Coming from different branches, doing business in Spain can be viewed from different angles by the board. On a voluntary basis, they spend their time organizing events for the DBC and are also ready to provide good advice for Dutch people who want to be successful in business in Spain.
Introducing the board members:
Chairman Frank Diephuis studied Industrial Engineering and Management in Eindhoven. He holds a Masters in Logistics from the American Production and Inventory Control Society and in Business Administration and Strategy from the MBA Business School in Las Palmas.
He worked in logistics for an important part of his corporate career. For several years he was general manager in the Canary Islands at Philips (dream job), then logistics manager for Spain and Portugal and finally global supply chain manager at Nokia Networks. In 2002 he decided to end his corporate career and since then he has been working as an independent international business development advisor for Santullan Mining and WorkFlowWise software. He is the owner of InnSpain Lodgings, and his passion is adding value in innovative ways.
Vice-chairman Robert Assink is Managing Director at the Spanish branch of the data center company Interxion, A Digital Realty Company. Since 2000, he has been promoting a more connected world by facilitating the digital aspirations of hundreds of companies, including the world’s most valued/valued companies.
He obtained an MBA from the IESE Business School in Barcelona and a BBA from the European University in Antwerp.
Robert has lived in Spain since 1992.
Secretary Richard van Vliet studied Business Economics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and then did his RA training at the same university. In 1998 he started his career as an accountant in The Hague at what was then called Moret & Limperg, which changed over the years to Moret Ernst & Young, Ernst & Young and since 2014, EY. In 2003 he transferred to EY in Madrid, his wife’s home country. He joined the Spanish partnership in 2014 and since then he has been responsible for a multitude of clients, including large international concerns, but also SMEs and even start-ups. Within EY Spain, Richard leads a program developed by EY Global to support entrepreneurs with ambitious growth plans and is also happy to make this knowledge available to the members of the DBC.
Treasurer Fernando Ekkelenkamp studied at Tilburg University and Deusto and subsequently worked for various companies such as NH Hotels, Repsol and Grupo Netco.
Board member Cheryl Engels is the founder of Proyect Your Best, a company specialized in facilitating customized Vitality programs to organizations. These programs promote a healthy lifestyle for employees, where nutrition, sport and mental health are central, resulting in improved well-being, productivity, and team spirit among colleagues. Cheryl studied Business Administration at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and obtained a Master’s degree in Management from the ESADE Business School in Barcelona.
