Chairperson – Keynote Speaker

Chairperson – Keynote Speaker

Brigadier General Retd Hans Damen is available as chairperson and speaker for (inter)national conferences, lectures and masterclasses.

Subjects

Collaboration
How do you organize cooperation between organizations with completely different cultures? Through the Land Maintenance Initiative, Hans started a completely new way of doing business between the Army and the commercial sector based on trust and experiments. Started with five companies, this grew into a whole new ecosystem with defense services and business. But how do you organize this cooperation? And how do you organize interdepartmental cooperation. And how to bring EU and NATO closer together?

Leadership

The 21st century brings new technology and new generations with new dreams and new questions. This requires also new leadership. How do you tackle this challenge and how to react when problems occur? What can be learned from great military thinkers? And how does Mao Zedong fit in?

Crisis management

How do you keep your cool when everything around you seems to be going wrong. How do you keep thinking and planning during a crisis, how do you prevent yourself from falling behind and how do you get out of it? A systematic approach and attention to people will go a long way.

Change Management

Leading a politically enforced reorganization that will make 40% of 3300 employees jobless is a real challenge in the most euphemistic sense of the word. Hans accepted that challenge and brought it to a good ending. But even if the urgency is less visible, a transformation may be necessary in your organization. How do you get your own staff and external parties involved and what is the value of experiments?

Social media

Social Media are so 2010. Or are they not? As a social media pioneer at the Dutch Ministry of Defense and an active user, Hans shows why an online social media presence is indispensable for companies and professionals. “If you are not on the internet, you do not exist”.

And further….

Hans likes to exchange ideas about (military) logistics, emergency assistance and crisis management at home and abroad. And scuba diving.

Chairperson

As chairman, Hans feels responsible for the smooth running of your event. Hans sees it as his main task to establish interaction between speakers and the audience, thereby quickly switching between the main outlines and the desired depth of the discussion with a healthy dose of humor certainly added to the mix. In the preparation of your event Hans also likes to brainstrom with you about your objectives and the corresponding structure of the event.

Because Hans has extensive experience in organizing (inter)national congresses and meetings and has also worked as a floormanager for the National Tattoo, he also knows what is happening behind the scenes and can seamlessly interact with technicians, location management and event organizers.

Op de bühne

Events Hans participated in

  • 3 Seas Business Forum, Bucharest, Romania, 2023. 
  • AFCEA Technet Conference, Rotterdam, 2016
  • Ambtenaar2.0 dag, 2012-2018*
  • Berlin Security Conference 2018
  • Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum, Bucharest, Romania  2022, 2023 *
  • BLMC congres succes ontrafeld, Oldebroek, 2017*
  • CEPA virtuele conferences “Moving Mountains” 2020*
  • Combat Logistics, Krakow, Poland, 2019, 2020*
  • Connect Inspiratie meeting, Groningen, 2023.
  • Defence Logistic Conference, Brussels, 2014
  • Defence Collaboration and Logistics, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2013
  • Defence Entrepreneurs Forum, Austin Texas, USA, 2017
  • Defence Entrepreneurs Forum X Netherlands, 2018, 2019, 2021
  • Defence Logistics Conference, Arlington, USA, 2009
  • Defence Logistics, London 2014, Bristol 2015, Brussels 2017, Krakow, Poland 2020
  • Defense Purchase Day, Ermelo, 2023*
  • Defense Sharing Conference, Budapest, Hongary 2022
  • Defensie in de netwerksamenleving, Utrecht, 2015*
  • Defensie Attachee week, Den Haag, 2021
  • Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, 2016
  • European – American Security Dialogue, Roumania 2019, Sweden 2020*, Estonia 2022
  • European Defense Sharing Conference, Budapest, Hungary, 2022
  • European Union Military Staff Logistics Conference, 2012
  • EVOFenedex Supply Chain Management Congres 2015, 2017.
  • International Defence Logistics, Brussels, Belgium 2016
  • Interthethings, Haarlem, 2017
  • IoT-talks Tele2, Rotterdam 2018
  • Joint Corridors Off-Road Forward Forum, Soesterberg, 2023
  • Jong Logistiek Nederland jaarcongres 2017*, 2018, 2019, 2022*
  • Landmacht2.0 dag, Utrecht, 2012*
  • Logistics Conference, Sibiu, Romania, 2021*
  • Marching Through Europe: Lessons in Military Mobility,  Den Haag, 2019
  • Military Logistics Conference, Bristol, UK, 2010
  • Military Logistics Conference, Oirschot, Schaarsbergen, Stroe, 2007, 2015, 2017*
  • Military Mobility; a new challenge For NATO and EU, Bucharest, Romania 2019
  • MSC Cyber Conference, Tallinn, Estonia 2018
  • Nationale Voorraaddag, Putten 2015
  • NEDS; NIDV congress, Rotterdam, 2016
  • Planmen, Work Force Management Congres, Doorn, 2022
  • Publieke Pioniers, Venray, 2013
  • SAP Public Services and Healthcare forum, St Leon Rot, Germany 2017
  • Schrappen of investeren, The Hague, 2010
  • Sharing the Power of Knowledge, Amsterdam, 2014
  • Social Media in the Defence and Military sector, London, 2015, 2017
  • Spade @IBM, The Hague, 2015
  • Successful Information Strategies 2020, CIONET, Baarn, 2016
  • Supply Chain Masterclass EVO, Nyenrode, 2015
  • Survival of the fittest, Arnhem 2016
  • The challenges of Western military capabilities in the light of the Ukraine crisis, Brussels, Belgium 2022
  • The use of social media by armed forces, The Hague, 2016
  • Transportsymposium, Delft, 2011
  • Unmanned Systems Forum, Bucharest,  Romania, 2023*
  • Verre Reizen met Kinderen Beurs, 2011, 2012, 2013*
  • Warehouse Totaal Live, online, 2021
  • Zakendoen met Defensie, Apeldoorn, 2014

* (Ook) voorzitter / presentator / moderator

Rob Bauer

He makes change happen

Hans Damen not only talks about the need for change, he walks the talk and makes change happen.

Admiral Rob Bauer
Chairman Military Committee / NATO
Michel van Buren

With intelligence, humor, his own input and respect…

Hans was the chairman of our annual "Survival of the Fittest" congress in 2017. We could not have wished for a better one. With intelligence, humor, his own input and respect for the insights and experiences of others, Hans was the connecting factor between the different speakers that day.

Michel van Buren
CEO / BLMC
Jasmijn Baldinger

A real game changer

Hans is a real game changer who likes to explore and enter unknown territory. Where there's a will, there is a way. Hans's energy and drive are inspiring and infectious.

Jasmijn Baldinger
Vice President / Cap Gemini
Gerard Schiebroek

He always strives for win-win

Hans is great to work with: authentic, out-of-the-box and he always strives for win-win.

Gerard Schiebroek
Managing Director / Visma | Raet
Machiel van der Kuijl

Straight to the point

Hans is a great networker, straight to the point; a tad impatient; transparent, allergic to nonsense and moreover Hans is also very funny.

Machiel van der Kuijl
Chairman / Evofenedex
Robert Rhemrev

friendly, professional, customer-oriented

Divemaster Hans is friendly, professional, customer-oriented and makes a valuable contribution to the Impian diving team. What a privilege to have someone with Hans' work experience as a colleague in your diving school.

Robert Rhemrev
Owner and Course Director / Impian Divers

First choice for complex problem-solving

Hans Damen is always my first choice when I need a teammate to help with complex problem-solving in an international environment.

Lt-gen (R) Ben Hodges
Commander Allied Land Command. / US Arrmy

Ideal partner

Hans Damen is a professional, intelligent, non-conformist; an ideal partner when you want to have an opinion out of the box. I'm very proud to be one of Hans' friends.

George Scutaru

Excellent Meeting Manager

Brigadier Damen, known as NATO's "Mr. Logistics," has excelled in meeting management, making him our go-to chairperson for senior events with challenging dynamics at the Centre for New Generation Warfare.

Dr Phillip Petersen