Management and governance

EBN is an government policy participation. The day-to-day management is in the hands of the executive team. Supervision and employee participation lies with the Supervisory Board and the Works Council.

The shareholder appoints the executive team and the members of the supervisory board. Furthermore, the articles of association state that major decisions require approval of the shareholder.

EBN highly values good corporate governance. For that reason, EBN voluntarily submits to the principles and ‘best practice’ provisions of the Netherlands Corporate Governance Code (to the extent that these are applicable for EBN). In this way, EBN follows the policy of the government in relation to state participations and the Code.

We subscribe to the principle that transparency towards stakeholders is of crucial importance. Within our own organisation, too, we strongly value transparency. We have a code of conduct, a confidential counsellor, a complaints committee and a whistle-blower scheme.

The executive team

Jan Willem van Hoogstraten

CEO

Responsibilities:

Chair of the executive team
Contact with Supervisory Board and shareholder
Themes: Geotechnical operations
Departments: Human Resources & Facility, Legal and Communications & Public Affairs

Other functions:

Member of the Supervisory Board of GasTerra B.V.
Chairman of KVGN
Member of the Board of Delegated Commissioners of GasTerra B.V.
Member of the Management Board of Maatschap Groningen
Member of the Advisory Council of the Clingendael International Energy Programme
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Nexstep association
Member of the TNO Energy Transition Strategic Advisory Board
Member of the New Energy Coalition (NEC) Foundation Board

Bas Brouwer

Director Finance

Responsibilities:

Financing and financial reporting
Themes: Exploration & Production Assets (E&P Assets)
Departments: Accounting & Reporting, Treasury and Information Management

Bas Brouwer has no other functions.

Berend Scheffers

Director Strategy & Technology

Responsibilities:

Strategy
Themes: Exploration, Geo-Energy, Advice & Innovation, CC(U)S

Other functions:

Member of the board of stichting TKI Gas
Member of the Supervisory Board of Stichting DAP (Delft Geothermal Energy Project)
Member of the New Energy Coalition (NEC) strategic advisory board
Member of the management team of the World Energy Council – Nederland (WEC-NL)
Chair of the management team of the Rijswijk Centre for Sustainable Geo-energy (RCSG)

Supervisory Board

The Supervisory Board is charged with supervision of the policy (social and otherwise) of the CEO, and general day-to-day business within EBN, and assists the CEO in an advisory capacity where necessary or desired. In turn, the CEO provides the Supervisory Board with all required and relevant information, so that the Supervisory Board can optimally fulfil its duties and responsibilities. The chair and members of the Supervisory Board are appointed by the shareholder. The Supervisory Board’s organisation and policy formation is set out in the ‘Supervisory Board Regulations’.

Profile and composition

The Supervisory Board is made up of members who are capable of acting independently of and critically in relation to each other, the CEO and every subsidiary interest. The Supervisory Board must be composed in such a way that it is able to properly perform its duties. Each supervisory director must be able to assess the broad outlines of the overall policy. Each supervisory director possesses the specific expertise necessary for the performance of their duties, within their role in the context of the Board profile.

Members of the Supervisory Board

Jaap Huijskes (1965)

Chair of the Supervisory Board

Mr Huijskes was appointed to the Supervisory Board for an initial term as of 1 January 2016 (until 2020). The shareholder has appointed Mr Huijskes as a supervisory director for a second term (until 2024). In addition, he has served as a Non-Executive Director of Gulf Keystone Petroleum PLC since December 2017.

Jan Willem Weck (1947)

Member of the Supervisory Board

Mr Weck was appointed to the Supervisory Board for an initial term in 2016 (until 2020). The shareholder has appointed Mr Weck as a supervisory director for a second term (until 2024).

His other functions are:

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Economische Impuls Zeeland N.V.
Board member of the Talent to the Top Foundation
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Buddy Network Foundation

Liesbeth Kneppers-Heijnert (1951)

Member of the Supervisory Board

Ms Kneppers-Heijnert was appointed to the Supervisory Board for an initial term as of 1 January 2016 (until 2020). The shareholder has appointed Ms Kneppers-Heijnert as a supervisory director for a second term (until 2024).

Her other functions include:

Professor of management studies, particularly legal aspects, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Member of the Supervisory Board of Wolters Kluwer Holding Nederland B.V.
Chairwoman of the advisory council of Stichting Instituut GAK
Board member of St. Fonds Bijzondere Voorzieningen Martini Ziekenhuis Groningen

Wouter de Vries (1954)

Member of the Supervisory Board

Mr De Vries was appointed with effect from 1 March 2017. His first term runs until the general meeting of shareholders in 2021. He currently does not have any secondary functions that are relevant for the performance of his task as Supervisory Board member at EBN.

Committees

The board has established two committees that perform their tasks in accordance with the rules laid down by the board on the basis of the Corporate Governance Code:

The Audit committee advises the Supervisory Board on the financial statements, supervision of internal risk management systems, provision of financial information, financing and application of ICT and information systems.
The Remuneration committee advises on the remuneration of the management team on the basis of the remuneration policy adopted by the shareholder. For reasons of efficiency, the committee also functions as a selection and appointment committee.