Today we installed our new Chairman Jeroen Derwort and board member Government Relations Rami Ismail. They were welcomed by our members during our special general assembly of members. During the meeting we also said goodbye to Derk de Geus who was our Chairman for 4 years.
Here’s an introduction of Jeroen Derwort, our Chairman:
“Founder and former CEO of Gamebasics (now Miniclip Netherlands). Started with Online Soccer Manager in 2001. Expanded this social football management game from a few friends to millions of players, while building the company from a one-man attic room project to an accomplished game studio. After I left Gamebasics in 2017, I briefly left the game industry and was involved in aviation startup RosterBuster. I sold both companies in 2021 and joined The Hague University of Applied Sciences as a GameLab Manager. I love helping others with their game dreams, and translating my experience, knowledge and network to aspiring game designers and entrepreneurs. I’m an active investor, developer, speaker and business coach. I published a book named SCOREN! about my journey as a game entrepreneur.
My goal as chairman of DGA will be to align and amplify the different sectors in the industry: businesses, indies, government and education, to boost creativity and grow the games industry as a whole in the Netherlands. Establishing The Netherlands as a place where game studios can flourish will be my primary objective. I look forward to collaborating with the current board and members of DGA to make that happen.”
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeroenderwort/
Here’s an introduction of Rami Ismail, our Government Relations board member:
Rami Ismail is a Dutch-Egyptian industry ambassador & independent games developer with over 20 genre-defining & award-winning titles across PC, console, web, and mobile. His development of tools like the industry-standard dopresskit.com, his prolific & popular public speaking, his work with governments and communities on all continents, and his highly-regarded consultancy and insights have helped shape industry opportunities for game communities & independent game developers of any kind, in any situation, and anywhere.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramiismail/
Thank you, Derk!
As we welcome our 2 new board members, this also means we say goodbye to our chairman Derk de Geus. When Derk joined the DGA board in 2020 it was clear that there was a massive amount of work to do and some reforming needed to happen in order to support the Dutch game industry in a constructive way. Under Derk’s leadership the DGA defined its vision, built out its division support, brought the Dutch Game Awards back, built out the international event calendar and strengthened the outreach towards the Dutch government and policymakers.
A huge thanks to Derk for all he’s done for the DGA.