Hans Robertus: New Director for Dutch Design Week

Hans Robertus will succeed John Lippinkhof as the new director of Dutch Design Week. He will fulfill this position next to his role as Senior Director Research, Development & Innovation at Philips Design.

"We are very exited to have Hans Robertus on board as Director of Dutch Design Week," said Ad van Berlo, chairman of the board of Dutch Design Week. "In this way we can make full use of his visions towards Dutch design and the experience he has built at Philips Design. We believe he can get this platform to the next level."

"I am very delighted with this position," commented Hans Robertus about his new position. "My objective is to really make Dutch Design Week the week of the Dutch Design community. In my vision the Dutch Design Week will be a platform for Design in total and that the week will be the start of a New Year cycle. Together with the 'Design Academy', 'The Faculty of Industrial Design of the Technical University Eindhoven', 'Design Platform Eindhoven' and 'Philips Design', 'VanBerlo' and many other design consultancies, this region has become a pivot point for design in the Netherlands and Europe."

Hans will focus on the added economical value of the Dutch Design industry. In his new role he would like to establish and maintain vital connections between Design parties to bring Dutch Design to the next level and build goodwill for this excellent export "product." Aknowledgement of dutch design in Eindhoven can be found in the fact that the Southern Netherlands is already identified as the center for product design by the Dutch Ministry of Education.

Ellen Rass, has been appointed "Operational Manager" aside Hans Robertus. Together they will form the management of Dutch Design Week.

Hans Robertus
Hans started his working career at a small design consultancy firm in the Netherlands. After a year he joined the design team at Oce van der Grinten, a company specialized in photocopying and printing technology. In 1990 he joined Philips Design, initially working on professional broadcasting products. After that he became the Design Manager of the Professional Product Design Team in Eindhoven. On becoming Senior Studio Director in 1999 he assumed responsibility for the product and communication design teams, at the Philips Design headquarters in Eindhoven.

Hans was born in 1952 in the Netherlands. He graduated from the Academy for Industrial Design in Eindhoven, the Netherlands in 1978.

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