Techleap announces the appointment of two new members to its leadership team

The Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate has tasked Techleap with privatising its community initiatives by attracting private funding. The organisation has appointed Hadewych Corstens as Commercial Director to fulfil this role, completing Techleap's leadership team.

Since its inception in 2019, Techleap has built a robust non-profit organisation, focused on strengthening the tech ecosystem in the Netherlands and accelerating the growth of start-ups and scale-ups. The extension of the Techleap program until 2026 means that the organisation will continue its existing programs, with additional emphasis on deep tech and data, while automating and expanding its community activities.

Maarten Cleeren has been Director of Operations at Techleap since March 2022 and has further professionalised the operation. In his new position as Managing Director, he will ensure a culture that aligns with the new goal of privatisation, and work towards achieving the new objectives. He previously held leadership roles at publishers Noordhoff and Elsevier.

"Techleap faces a wonderful challenge in the coming years", says Cleeren. "The Netherlands can do so much more to help Dutch tech companies grow. That includes attracting funding, finding diverse talent, and creating better policy conditions. We will fully focus on these areas in the coming years."

New role for commercialisation of Techleap programmes

In addition to Cleeren, Hadewych Corstens joins as Commercial Director. She will be responsible for privatising areas of the organisation through concept development and collaboration opportunities. Furthermore, she is tasked with making the BOLD and Diverse Leaders in Tech components into independent organisations and increasing their value for entrepreneurs (and thus for the Netherlands). Corstens was previously responsible for realising exponential revenue growth and success at online platforms Marktplaats, eBay and Gumtree in the Netherlands, Silicon Valley and Australia.

Techleap ready for new phase

The addition of Cleeren and Corstens to Techleap's leadership team means that the organisation is fully ready to enter a new phase. Constantijn van Oranje will remain active as special envoy, while Myrthe Hooijman will temporarily assume the role of Director of Ecosystem Interventions.

Constantijn van Oranje: "Maarten's strong operational and management skills have laid the foundation for this new phase at Techleap. Hadewych will help us establish new partnerships, develop concepts and build and empower our communities. I look forward to taking on this challenge with them and working with the best tech entrepreneurs and public and private partners to build an even stronger tech ecosystem."

About Techleap
Techleap is a non-profit organisation, partly subsidised by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. Its goal is to accelerate the growth of Dutch tech start-ups and scale-ups. Techleap creates the perfect environment for technology companies to scale by acquiring and sharing knowledge, improving conditions related to valorisation, financing, talent, and market access. Strengthening an inclusive community of tech entrepreneurs. This enables the Netherlands to better respond to major societal transitions, secure employment, and future earning capacity.