Ir. M.A.D. (Martine) Verhoeven

Business Development Manager, Buildings

Royal HaskoningDHV

What’s your educational background?

I am trained as an architect and engineer at TU-Delft in the Netherlands  with a specialization in technology in sustainable development. During my studies I have been involved as an assistant for the climate design & sustainability group and I participated in an exchange program with students in Switzerland.

Tell us about your career path. Where were you prior to joining Royal HaskoningDHV?

I had a brief period in urbanism before entering into the real estate space. Most of my career has been spent with my current company, an engineering and consultancy firm. It is known most here in the Netherlands, but we also operate worldwide. I started with the company with a consulting and sustainability focus on all kinds of buildings (e.g. hospitals, stadiums, schools, offices). After one and a half years, I took a business development role, more focused around our real estate clients, and especially for the financial and insurance sector. Currently I am in an innovation role to develop our new proposition around smart and healthy work environments.

Please share some details about your current position. What are some of the interesting things you’re working on?

I am quite enthusiastic about our experience tech approach in which we connect user experience and process flows with relevant technologies to optimize business results using meaningful and human-centric solutions.

We also use our own office as a playground. In terms of an interesting project, we have just transformed an old industrial building in Amsterdam into our new sustainable and healthy office.  Our experts of Royal HaskoningDHV and a mixture of emerging creatives and ambitious start-ups are all located under our roof because we believe that this will lead to new business. The possibilities for cross-over projects are endless. I am now working on our Amersfoort head office where we will apply and experiment with all kinds of smart technologies. We are working on a community of building users, clients and start ups in which we can all share experiences.

I’m able to use my past business development experience in financial services to co-create with our clients, especially on making their office spaces and real estate portfolios more sustainable.

How long have you been a member of CoreNet Global? Tell us about your involvement and how you engage with the association.

I’ve been a member since 2015, so my membership is relatively new. I am happy with it. I am in the Benelux Chapter, where I have organized several sessions on health and wellbeing and on smart technologies. I have been involved also at the Summits as a speaker, and also for the Young Leaders session at the EMEA Summit in Amsterdam. I’ve been to the London Summit too.

What aspects of your involvement with CoreNet Global are most valuable? Please comment on the value that Young Leaders get from membership in the association.

To me, it’s the connection with other Young Leaders, and with experts in corporate real estate on a global level. It is interesting to experience the interfaces but also the differences in focus areas between various regions (Africa, Asia, Europe) and generations.

How do you see your future career? Will it be in corporate real estate (CRE)?

That’s a very good question. The world is moving so fast, and many sectors are under disruption by technology. The question is what CRE will look like in 10 or 20 years. I believe that people will still be working in buildings in the future and they want to feel healthy and engaged working in those buildings and within their organizations. I hope to focus on that in coming years.

To help our readers get to know you on a more personal level, tell us a little about yourself (e.g., family, hobbies, favorite places to visit, etc.).

I live together with my boyfriend and our 1 ½-year-old son in the city center of Rotterdam, The Netherlands. When our son was a newborn, my boyfriend came with me to the EMEA Summit in Amsterdam, and he walked our son up and down the canals while I was organizing the YL session together with a friend.  It was an amazing “reversed dragons den” session with YL’ers and senior experts on bigger picture issues.

In the time that I have left for myself, I love to cook for others, and I read quite a lot. I used to have a bit more time, but that doesn’t happen as much anymore! I am a big fan of Europe and its cities. My favorite places to visit are vibrant London and Barcelona. Rome and Sicily are wonderful for ancient history (and for good food, of course) and the Croatian islands are wonderful for sailing. I am also happy that we will go to Madrid for the next summit.