Team

Friso Coppes

Partner at Bureau Brussels

Friso is our expert on managing relationships with the EU institutions and stakeholders. His career in European Public Affairs stretches well into its second decade. Prior to the creation of Bureau Brussels, Friso was VP Corporate Affairs for Royal Ahold in Brussels. During his work in Brussels, from 1994 on, he refined his value-chain approach to driving the issues. This goes hand in hand with improving the professional image of the company and its executives. The leitmotiv of Friso’s career can best be described as issue-driven liaison management contributing to the ‘licence to operate’ of the organisation.

Rinus van Schendelen

Partner at Bureau Brussels

Rinus is a partner at Bureau Brussels. Thereby, he is also a professor in political science at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. He is specialised in European public affairs and has published over 200 articles and 30 books on this topic. His most recent book concerning public affairs is named ‘the Art of Lobbying in the EU’. As a visiting professor, Rinus lectures at universities in the US, China, the Middle East and Europe. Rinus is also experienced in training organisation, companies and governments on public affairs. Amongst others, Rinus has advised Glaxo, 3M, Philips, Shell, Siemens and ministries of China, Finland, Hungary, Oman and the Netherlands.

Welmoed Neijmeijer

Director

Welmoed has been working for Bureau Brussels since 2013. She has obtained her Master´s degree in International and European Law and in European Law School at the University of Groningen. She has also studied in Ireland at the National University of Ireland in Galway.

Welmoed has experience in the following areas: payments, taxation, disability rights and healthcare.

Jochem van Stiphout

Director

Jochem has recently rejoined Bureau Brussels as Director. Jochem started his career as Account Executive with Bureau Brussels. Between January and July 2017 Jochem has worked as senior business advisor at the Economic Affairs department of the Permanent Representation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the European Union where he gained experience in stakeholder management and the functioning of the Council of the EU. Jochem holds a Master’s degree in European Policy from the University of Amsterdam.

Arnolds Eizensmits

Account Executive

Arnolds joined Bureau Brussels as an Account Executive in February 2018. Prior to that, he gained hands-on experience in EU politics through traineeships at the Representation of the European Commission in Latvia and at the European Parliament. Arnolds obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the Complutense University of Madrid and a Master’s degree in Political Economy of Europe from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has a keen interest in European affairs and has, for many years, actively participated in various international projects, including the European Youth Parliament.

Astrid Smeets

Account Executive

Astrid has joined Bureau Brussels as Account Executive in September 2018. She has a Master’s degree in European Studies from KU Leuven (Belgium) and has a great interest in European politics. She gained experience as a trainee in the European Parliament and in the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the OSCE in Vienna. She previously worked on the #DiscoverEU campaign regarding European integration, mobility and youth participation.

Sietse Papenborg

Trainee

Sietse has recently started as a trainee for Bureau Brussels. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Leiden University, the Netherlands, and holds a Research Master’s degree in Political Science from the same university. During the latter he was also involved in a number of research projects, while focusing on various aspects of EU policy- and decision-making throughout both programmes. He also studied at Heidelberg University and assisted in a research project on EU regional funding at Mannheim University.

Mattia Tomay

Trainee

Mattia has recently joined the team of Bureau Brussels as a European Public Affairs Trainee. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and International Organization from the University of Groningen, graduating with a thesis on access to European citizenship rights. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in International Public Management at the Sciences Po Paris with a focus on EU Affairs and Global Risks.