Rotterdam, The Netherlands — Ernst & Young is delighted to announce that from April 1, 2011, Jan Peter Balkenende, the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, will join our organisation as a partner. Jan Peter Balkenende will draw on his extensive global experience to provide international advice to our clients. In addition, he will play a leading role in Ernst & Young’s Corporate Responsibility initiatives in Belgium and the Netherlands as well as our service offerings in the same area to our clients. Jan Peter Balkenende will also directly be involved in the working with our clients who are active at the interface between the public and private sectors.
Mark Otty, Area Managing Partner for Ernst & Young in Europe, Middle East India & Africa, comments: “We are delighted to welcome Jan Peter Balkenende to Ernst & Young. His experience, expertise and stature will reinforce our commitment to remain the most globally integrated professional services organization while fostering the best people culture in our profession.”
Pieter Jongstra, Managing Partner for Ernst & Young in the Netherlands, says: “The appointment of Jan Peter Balkenende will greatly contribute to the strength of our organization globally and in the Netherlands. His broad international expertise in the increasingly important public-private arena will enable us to offer our clients a unique insight and added value.”
Jan Peter Balkenende added: “I have decided to join Ernst & Young because of its leading international position and high reputation. At Ernst & Young, I expect to find an interesting, international professional environment that will allow me to engage in fascinating and challenging work. I am looking forward to working in the field of Corporate Responsibility and providing international advice.”
Combination with professorship
Ernst & Young attaches great value to professional development and contacts with academic and other knowledge institutes. Pieter Jongstra explains: “We very much appreciate the fact that Jan Peter Balkenende will combine his activities for Ernst & Young with a professorship Governance, Institutions & Internationalisation at Erasmus University Rotterdam. For the time being, he will work at the University one day a week, and devote the rest of his time to his activities for Ernst & Young.”
Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Peter Balkenende received his Master’s degree in Economic and Social History and Dutch Law from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Between 1993 and 2002, he held an endowed chair in Christian Social Thought on Economics and Society (christelijk-sociaal denken over economie en maatschappij) at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. During his long political career, he served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands between 2002 and 2010, after a four-year term as a member of the House of Representatives for the Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA).
-
Former Prime Minister of the Netherlands Jan Peter Balkenende to join Ernst & Young Netherlands as partner