Frank Heemskerk appointed Secretary General of the European Round Table of Industrialists

Read the press release
It is an honour to become the Secretary General of the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) in these critical times for Europe. The ERT is a unique platform of the leaders of Europe’s largest businesses. I look forward to contributing to the positive case for industry as a creator of growth and prosperity for all citizens, and of European values such as innovation, cooperation and sustainability.

The European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) has appointed Frank Heemskerk as ERT Secretary General with effect from 1 January 2019. He will take over from Brian Ager who will retire in January after 8 years in the role.

Frank is a Dutch national who has served at the World Bank and has held positions in both the public and private sector in the Netherlands.

CV

Frank Heemskerk is the Secretary General of the European Round Table for Industry (ERT), having taken on the role in January 2019.

Frank graduated with an economics degree in 1994 from the University of Amsterdam and spent an Erasmus year in Leuven, Belgium.  Soon after, he began his career at ABN AMRO Bank where he held various positions until 2003, when he pursued a career in politics.

Between 2003 and 2006, he was a Member of Parliament for the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA). Between 2007 and 2010 Frank Heemskerk was Minister for Foreign Trade, also responsible for Telecoms & IT, SMEs and the better regulations agenda.

Since retiring from national politics, Frank Heemskerk has held various professional positions. Between 2013 and 2018, he was an Executive Director of the World Bank, where he also chaired the World Bank Group Audit Committee. He sat on the Executive Board of Royal HaskoningDHV (2011-2013), a global engineering and project management consultancy.

Since November 2018 Frank Heemskerk is a visiting lecturer in Geo-Economics at Leiden University, faculty of Governance & Global Affairs. In June 2020 Frank Heemskerk was elected as Chair of the Board of Amnesty International in the Netherlands.

He is married with a daughter and a son, loves reading and football, and – like many Dutch citizens – is an enthusiastic cyclist.