Dutch Polish Trade Award 2009 Ceremony

On 27 October, the Dutch Polish Trade Award 2009 ceremony was held in the Nyenrode Coach House. The Dutch Polish Trade Award is awarded to Dutch or Polish companies that are involved in economic relations between the two countries, for outstanding achievements. Since 2009 is the European Year of Creativity and Innovation, the jury focused on these aspects in particular. Otto van Veen, director of Nyenrode’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program Poland, opened the meeting.

  Dialogue between two entrepreneurs
  Following an opening speech by Cees Werff, chairman of the Netherlands Polish Council for Trade Promotion, two
  successful entrepreneurs told their stories. Iwona van Luin-Woyczynska, who is originally from Poland but is now
  CEO of the Van Luin Food Group based in Barneveld in the Netherland, and Dutch entrepreneur Jan Pieter
  Brinkman, who followed his heart to Poland and became managing director of AXA-Mag Sp z o.o., spoke about the
  cultural and market differences between the Netherlands and Poland, and the ways in which employees are
  managed.

  Student trip
  The talks were followed by two short movies, which were made by Nyenrode students Pieter Kursten and 
  Kristian Thelen during their student trip to Poland in September. The students, who were split into nine teams, visited between 30 and 40 companies during their visit. They investigated the climate for innovation and growth within these companies, using tools such as balanced scorecards and the Situational Outlook Questionnaire, which was developed by the Creative Problem Solving Group. Their reports were sent to both the companies as well as the DPTA jury. Dr. Eric Melse explained the results of their research.

And the winner is …
After the break, Rutger Schellens, chairman of the jury and member of the managing board of Rabobank International, introduced the nominees for   the Dutch Polish Trade Award 2009. He told the audience that the data the students had collected confirmed the
  view of the jury. Zeelandia, a company that manufactures and sells baking ingredients was awarded the Dutch
  Polish Trade Award 2009. Managing director Coen Meijer, a Nyenrode alumnus, received the DPTA 2009 from the
  Polish ambassador in the Netherlands, Mr. Janusz Stanczyk. He was very pleased to receive the award at his
  alma mater.
 
  One young IT-company, GOYELLO, which has great potential, was awarded a new prize to encourage them to 
  continue with their business model: the Young Entrepreneurial Award. The ceremony was concluded with a
  reception.

 


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