Unleashing Innovation In Internal Digital Communications Speakers

Henk Slabbekoorn is Senior Client Partner at BlueJeans by Verizon, responsible for the Benelux and Nordics and advises large organizations on the use of online video communication, an indispensable tool for the new, remote working. Henk has been active for more than 25 years as a Sales Director and Business Development Manager in Telecommunications and Software as a Service (SaaS). Before that he was active as an export manager and journalist/ radio reporter. Henk is an active advocate for remote working using modern technology. He already did this as a Fiber-to-the-Office ambassador for companies like DELTA and KPN and now does the same as a consultant at BlueJeans: "When you work for a global organization with colleagues and customers in almost every country in the world, you realize how important it is to work efficient. Fortunately, I work for a company that provides me with everything I need online. Training courses, meetings, I am able to communicate digitally via our own video platform, safely in the Cloud. As a result, the number of kilometers I drive has decreased from 80,000 to 20,000 per year. Working from home is so efficient and I am also happier because I can organize my own time.”

As Internal Communications Channel manager at Royal Philips, Caterina is responsible for strategic planning and mapping the global internal channels landscape. As the product owner of the Philips Intranet, Caterina focuses on delivering a modern, personalized, and user-friendly communication platform, ensuring all employees have access to relevant and engaging content. She is enthusiastic about being part of shaping the future workplace and committed to impacting the wellbeing of employees. Her 13 years of experience across various industries and countries have granted her valuable insights and understanding into the diverse nuances of internal communications. Leveraging this knowledge, Caterina takes immense pleasure in supporting the communications function, ensuring the delivery of effective messaging to employees worldwide, and enabling them to stay connected, informed, and engaged.

Tim Hoy is Senior Manager, Strategic Communications for HAVI – a privately owned global company that provides marketing and supply chain management services to well-known food service brands. His 15-year career to date spans multiple sectors including aviation, telecommunications and real estate – representing the interests of complex multinational companies with a focus on sustainability, innovation, diversity, and cultural transformation. His areas of expertise include media relations and corporate reputation-building, thought leadership, employee engagement, and crisis communications. A digital native with an eye for design, his passions outside of work include psychology, politics, spirituality, and current affairs. Naturally curious and inquisitive, Tim has also worked as a trade journalist and enjoys bridging the gap across borders and between cultures. Tim holds a degree in Linguistics from Durham University in the UK and is currently studying an online MBA at Durham Business School. He is British and lives in the Netherlands.

Robert Dyhringer works at the Van Evolution Center (VEC). It is the center for visualization and digitalization at Mercedes-Benz Vans Research and Development. In his job, he actively shapes the future with his own hands. He uses the core technologies of augmented reality and virtual reality to visualize a digital twin of their physical cars immersively. This enables virtual validation in their vehicle development process. At Mercedes-Benz Vans, they use various technologies: Their Powerwall – a 3D cinema with 6k resolution – can show high-end real-time visualization of the latest prototypes. Their CAVE – a 3D cinema formed as a cube with four screens – creates a three-dimensional digital twin of a real car that you can view while sitting in a so called seat box. With the latest virtual reality glasses, his work sometimes feels like playing a video game, but in the end, they are developing the electric vans of the future with these tools.

Tina Zafred is a Master of Economics and a passionate individual in the field of combining digital and soft skills. After more than twelve years of working in an international and regional environment in the area of IT, he perceives the challenges that technology brings to individuals and companies. Tina is leading internal digitalization in Mercator d.o.o. and is a product owner of mi. Mercator, their digital employee experience platform. She is also a founder of Implico, a company dedicated to helping companies thrive in the area of the Digital workplace, where Design Thinking mindset is the basis of a successful digital transformation.

Melinda plays a critical role at Syngenta as the IT product lead for their digital communication platforms. In this role Melinda provides strategic counsel to organization-wide stakeholders, including the CIO. Changing the culture of work with digital transformation, and unlocking the productivity potential that lies beneath it, is what excites Melinda. She leads a passionate team of IT pros creating experiences and delivering training that enables better ways of communicating and collaborating. Her mission is to drive adoption and boost productivity across around 45,000 colleagues around the globe, helping them get the best from a comprehensive toolset including Microsoft 365, Smartsheet, Kaltura and Zoom.

Pete is a modern workplace / new-ways-of-working obsessive and evangelist. He is committed to helping people, teams and organizations become better at communication and collaboration. With over 15 years international experience across internal communications, change management, digital employee experience and organisational culture, Pete brings a tonne of energy and an innovators perspective to all he does. At SWOOP Analytics Pete helps organizations drive genuine and sustainable change by putting insightful data at the heart of communication, collaboration and transformation efforts.

Katarina Coppé is an experienced international leader in HR and Sales, passionate about helping people and companies grow. She gets results by shaping high impact people transformation solutions and leading globally distributed teams through change processes. Katarina believes behavioural science and human-centred technology are the foundations of modern HR approaches. She has held leadership positions at SHL, CEB (now Gartner) and now works at Welliba. Welliba has built the first Employee Experience Management System (ExMS) to help employees and organisations unlock a better experience, at work and at home, which positively impacts the employee’s onboarding effectiveness, retention, development and performance.

Maud Reddingius started working for Rituals 4,5 years ago. Through the years, she was lucky to be part of different teams within the organization, which helped her to understand the business from different perspectives. Her primary motivation is to increase the employee experience of the people who make it happen, in Ritual's case, the 10.000 shop employees worldwide! She is part of the Retail Communication team and works as a project manager for Digital Workplace. A platform where employees will find all information, communication, and support the store operations (launching this summer!). She has a background in hospitality (Hotelschool) and started her career at an online supermarket called Picnic. Next to her job, she is studying part-time at the Erasmus, Master In Management.

Esther started at Rituals last summer as senior manager of Internal Communications. She was asked to set up an Internal Communications department, to develop a Digital Workplace and two global retail events per year. Internal communication is her passion, it brings colleagues into contact with each other. With the correct information and inspiring content (at the right time, the right way to the right people), they make the organization accelerate. Your company's people become the best ambassadors for your brand, Both for your customers and the new employees you want to hire. After having worked as an internal and external communication consultant and lead for and in various companies such as Transavia, KLM, Achmea, Pon automotive, CBR, Dierenpark Amersfoort, Twynstra Gudde, and Wageningen UR, Esther enjoys working in retail for such a beautiful global Dutch brand and friendliest company.

Robert Jan is a highly experienced professional with expertise spanning multiple industries. He specializes in cultivating connections, engagement, and empowerment within organizations. As the Managing Partner Learning & Engagement at Plek, his role is crucial in advancing the development and enrichment of Plek's intelligent platform, particularly in enhancing the employee experience. With over 25 years of experience in both international organizations and entrepreneurship, Robert Jan recognizes the significance of creating a conducive environment for employees to thrive. He is enthusiastic about leveraging technology, data, AI, and human-centered strategies to promote collaboration, communication, and productivity, ultimately driving improved outcomes. Within Plek, Robert Jan is fully committed to the growth and progression of their intelligent communication and employee experience platform. Working closely with clients and colleagues, he translates intricate concepts into simple yet elegant solutions, enabling organizations to function more efficiently and effectively. By harnessing data-driven insights, Plek's platform empowers organizations to elevate employee engagement, foster a sense of belonging, and facilitate meaningful connections that boost productivity and yield exceptional results. Robert Jan's expertise lies in devising actionable strategies that bridge the gap between technology, strategy, and the human aspect of organizations. He firmly believes that by empowering employees and optimizing their work experience, organizations can unlock their full potential and achieve extraordinary outcomes.

René Samsen is a skilled User Experience Designer with a 10-year track record in web design. He has worked with a wide range of clients in a range of different industries, from sports to healthcare and entertainment to automotive, and is currently working as Design Lead at Rabobank. Because of his background as both a developer and designer, he has the ability to approach challenges from multiple angles, consistently finding innovative solutions to the most complex problems. He shares his insights and experiences on topics related to problem-solving, design, and development by writing and speaking on these topics. Follow René on all social channels via @renesamsen.

Seline Huisman (1974) is an independent coach and trainer in Leadership & Spirituality. She aims to support people to shape their lives and work around their most authentic selves. And that they strengthen the impact and support with their leadership from their wisdom and compassion. Today's world needs compassionate and wise leaders! Personal mantra: may all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may my words, thoughts, and actions contribute in some way to the freedom and happiness of them all. Experience in training and coaching hundreds of people, analytical psychology, non-dual coaching and therapy, Rational Emotive Therapy, mindfulness, Eastern philosophy, yoga, breath, visualization, emotional intelligence, heart coherence, character structures, and ODC assessment. contact: info@themindustry.nl

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Liliana Pao is a strategic communications and Diversity and Inclusion advisor with over 20 years of international experience in the private and public sectors, and a global and multicultural approach. Liliana is currently in charge of communications, awareness-raising and training in the Diversity and Inclusion Office of the European Commission. She has been designing and managing communication, staff engagement and talent management strategies in the European Commission since 2010. Prior to that, Liliana worked as a senior consultant managing multinational accounts on strategic, crisis and corporate communications in one of the world’s leading PR consultancies. She was also a board member of the Belgian Public Relations Consultants Association.

Nicole Bearne has 25 years’ experience of Board-level operations in the fast-paced world of Formula One Motor Racing. She is currently Head of Internal Communications at the 8-time world championship winning Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. Nicole’s experience encompasses employee communication and engagement with high-performance teams in the world’s most technologically advanced sport. She also manages the team’s CSR and charity programme.Nicole has a degree in Russian and International Relations, a post-graduate Diploma in Internal Communication and a Masters’ degree in Organisational Behaviour. She is a Member of Chartered Institute of Public Relations (MCIPR), the Institute of Internal Communication, and an Accredited PR Practitioner.

With over 20 years’ experience in various dimensions of communications accumulated both in Europe and in the United States, Michelle is currently part of the Communications team for Iveco Group, a global automotive company with more than 34,000 employees. Driven by a firm belief in the power of communications to inform, engage and motivate, she feels privileged to partner with leadership and colleagues throughout the company on highly impactful executive messaging, digital communications and campaigns.

Adina holds more than 15 years of experience in public relations, corporate communications in an international environment and in the tech field. As Head of communications, she has been leading Decathlon Digital communication and brand strategy since 2020 establishing its purpose and values, as well as aligning internal and external stakeholders into its digital transformation ambition to become a love tech brand, and successfully deployed across +60 Decathlon countries.

Long before the pandemic changed everything about the way we work, Fiona Passantino started as an old-school comic artist and writer, then game and digital designer. She has worked as Creative Lead, Senior Visual Communicator, Innovation Advisor, Explainer and Storyteller for some of the largest multinationals in Europe, hopping from Vienna, London, Budapest to Brussels and Amsterdam. Fiona Passantino is the Senior Culture and Engagement Manager and Internal Communication specialist and the author of the Comic Book for Executives series. These books combine highly visual storytelling with research-driven guides for improving our internal communications and employee engagement in our post-Covid world.

Lilly is an experienced Sales Manager with a demonstrable history of working in the HR & Communications space. Having worked in the industry for over 6 years alongside various global organisations committed to investing in their people, she has learned that organisations that are passionate about empowering their people succeed in their goals and objectives above all others.

Daniel is a communications specialist at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency with experience gained at private sector companies like IBM and Lexmark, as well as in the NGO sector and the United Nations. Daniel specializes in designing and implementing projects that facilitate peer learning, knowledge exchange and help increase employee engagement.

Blandine has 15 years’ experience in institutional communications, first gained in agencies specialised in European affairs and then at the International Olympic Committee (IOC). End of 2017, she started to build the internal communications capacities at the IOC. She focused on drafting and implementing the internal communications strategy and on supporting employee engagement, digital transformation and change management within the organisation.

Amaria has more than 15 years of experience advocating for humanitarian causes working for government institutions, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Since 2010, she has joined UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and relocated to Switzerland, Niger, Lebanon, Syria, the US and now teleworking from home in Spain. She has worked most of the time in the field of external relations and donor relations and for the past two years has focused on internal communications needs.