Netherlands | Edelman

Amsterdam, 3 December 2025 – Edelman today announced the appointment of  Sandra Maas  as Managing Director Corporate in Amsterdam, reinforcing the senior leadership team that drives the firm’s transformation in the Netherlands. Maas will lead the Corporate Practice, uniting specialists across reputation, crisis and issue-management, stakeholder engagement, internal communications, financial communications and executive advisory.

Sandra joins the restructured leadership team under Arent Jan Hesselink, President & CEO of Edelman EMEA, who earlier this year returned to Amsterdam to accelerate the office’s strategic evolution.

“Sandra brings the leadership and judgement required for the next chapter of Edelman Netherlands,” said Hesselink. “She has advised major organizations through transformation and uncertainty and understands how trust underpins resilience and helps businesses succeed. She will be central to helping clients navigate an increasingly volatile business environment. Sandra’s appointment at this moment underscores the strategic, integrated role we want to play in helping our clients succeed in this time of disruption and transformation.”

With more than 25 years of experience across consulting and in-house roles, Maas brings deep expertise on how trust and stakeholder expectations shape business performance. She has held senior positions at consulting firms and multinational companies, including Partner at FGS Global and Global Communications Business Partner Manager at IKEA (Ingka). Her work spans complex reorganizations, crises, leadership transitions and regulatory scrutiny for companies including Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s and Blokker Holding.

“It’s an honor to join Edelman at such a pivotal moment,” said Maas. “Issues now cut across public, political and consumer arenas in real time. Our integrated teams and senior talent across brand, corporate, digital and stakeholder engagement help clients navigate this complexity. Edelman’s trust data and proprietary insight platforms give us unmatched understanding of stakeholders, and our AI tools will deepen that intelligence and help us move faster.”

Building on Amsterdam’s Strategic Reset
Sandra joins as the Amsterdam office gains momentum following a strategic reset with significant investments in technology and senior leadership.

This strategic reset entails:

Positioning Amsterdam as the company’s primary innovation center in the EMEA region with the goal to help clients benefit faster from AI-enabled integrated communication strategies.
Implementing a sector first-model giving clients access to teams that understand their industries, in areas such as Energy, Food & Beverage, Technology and Finance.

Edelman versterkt senior leiderschap met de benoeming van Sandra Maas tot Managing Director Corporate

Amsterdam, 3 december 2025 - Edelman kondigt vandaag de benoeming aan van Sandra Maas tot Managing Director Corporate in Amsterdam. Sandra gaat de Corporate Practice leiden en brengt specialisten samen op het gebied van reputatie, crisis- & issuemanagement, stakeholder engagement, interne communicatie, financiële communicatie en executive advisory. Haar komst is onderdeel van de strategische vernieuwing die Edelman recent in gang heeft gezet met focus op senior leiderschap, een EMEA AI-centrum en geïntegreerde sector-expertise.

Sandra maakt onderdeel uit van het leiderschapsteam onder leiding van Arent Jan Hesselink, die eerder dit jaar terugkeerde naar Amsterdam om het kantoor te leiden en verder te transformeren - een taak die hij uitvoert naast zijn rol als President & CEO van Edelman EMEA.

“Sandra brengt het leiderschap en de ervaring die nodig zijn voor de volgende fase van Edelman in Nederland,” aldus Arent Jan. “Ze heeft grote organisaties ondersteund in tijden van verandering en onzekerheid en weet als geen ander hoe vertrouwen de basis vormt voor veerkracht en zakelijk succes. Met haar komst kunnen we onze klanten nog beter helpen zich tot diverse stakeholders te verhouden in een wereld die steeds onrustiger en minder voorspelbaar is. Met haar aanstelling benadrukken wij het belang van strategische en geïntegreerde communicatie-oplossingen voor onze klanten”.

Met meer dan 25 jaar ervaring aan zowel klant- als bureauzijde, beschikt Sandra over diepgaande expertise ten aanzien van stakeholder-verwachtingen en vertrouwen en de invloed hiervan op de resultaten van organisaties. Ze vervulde senior functies bij adviesbureaus en multinationals, waaronder als partner bij FGS Global en Global Communications Business Partner Manager bij IKEA (Ingka). Ze heeft onder meer gewerkt aan complexe reorganisaties, leiderschapstransities en crises voor organisaties als Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s en Blokker Holding.

“Het is een eer om juist nu bij Edelman te starten,” zegt Maas. “Issues ontwikkelen zich real-time en spelen zich vaak tegelijkertijd af in publieke en politieke arena’s en bij de consument. Onze geïntegreerde teams, op het gebied van brand- en corporate communicatie tot digital en stakeholder engagement, helpen klanten deze complexiteit met vertrouwen te navigeren. Edelmans Trust-barometer en aanverwante data bieden ongeëvenaarde inzichten, en onze AI-tools helpen onze klanten nóg sneller en effectiever te communiceren.”

Voortbouwen op de strategische reset in Amsterdam
Sandra start bij Edelman, nu de transformatie volop in beweging is met significante investeringen in technologie en de uitbreiding van het senior team.

De strategische reset behelst het volgende:

Edelman zet in Amsterdam het EMEA AI-centrum op. Hier ontwikkelt en test het bureau versneld nieuwe manieren van werken, diensten en oplossingen om klanten optimaal te bedienen in een AI-gedreven markt.
Edelman zet sector-benadering centraal. Hiermee krijgen klanten toegang tot geïntegreerde teams die hun industrie echt begrijpen, op het gebied van Energy & Industrials, Food & Beverage, Technology en Financial Services.

New executive team in place, significant investment in senior talent, and a restructured organization built around today’s client needs
Amsterdam named as Edelman’s EMEA AI Center, accelerating the development of AI-driven services and solutions for clients

Amsterdam, September 16, 2025 — Edelman, the world’s largest independent communications firm, today announced a series of strategic moves to rapidly transform its Amsterdam office and solidify its position as the integrated communications partner of choice in a fast-evolving market.

With the return of Arent Jan Hesselink, President & CEO of Edelman EMEA, to lead the Amsterdam office, alongside significant investments in technology and senior leadership, the firm is positioning Amsterdam as the company’s primary innovation center in the EMEA region. The goal: to help clients benefit faster from AI-enabled, integrated communications strategies.

"The world of communications, marketing, and reputation management is undergoing a seismic shift," said Hesselink. "Clients no longer want standalone deliverables. They need integrated solutions that deliver long-term value. They want partners who understand their industry, who can pivot quickly, and who use technology to help them stay ahead. Edelman Amsterdam is built to deliver exactly that."

Delivering Long-Term Value
From navigating corporate transformations and crises to IPOs and brand campaigns, Edelman Amsterdam supports clients through moments of high impact. These services are delivered through an integrated agency model built around AI — a model the firm has heavily invested in globally.

Under the leadership of Darryl Soh, the new AI Center brings together strategists, creatives, technologists, and client leads in fully integrated teams. The center connects the experience of over 100 Amsterdam-based consultants with Edelman’s global network, 25 years of data from the Edelman Trust Barometer, and a growing suite of AI-powered tools. Its mission: to help clients make trusted decisions, especially in uncertain times.

A Sector-Led Model
Edelman is shifting to a sector-first model, giving clients access to integrated teams that deeply understand their industries. From sustainability in food, to tech regulation, to the economic effects of the energy transition — today’s communications challenges are rarely one-size-fits-all. This model delivers more relevant, faster, and higher-quality solutions tailored to clients’ real-world challenges.

Ilse van Hartevelt will now focus fully on the Energy & Industrials sector, combining her Netherlands leadership role with that of EMEA Energy Lead. Supporting this sector-led approach, Edelman is also welcoming three new senior leaders:

Kathrin de Graaf (Technology): Over 15 years of experience at firms including Aegon and Signify, with deep expertise in integrated communications, media relations, and thought leadership.
Kim Vogten (Food & Beverage): Brings 15 years of corporate affairs experience across JDE Peet’s, Eneco, AB InBev, and political roles. She joins in November.
Marcel van de Hoef (Financial Services): A former Bloomberg journalist and editor-in-chief, Marcel offers 25+ years in financial communications, executive coaching, and reputation strategy.

A New Leadership Team
The newly appointed leadership team for Edelman Amsterdam includes a mix of proven firm veterans and outside talent, under the direction of Hesselink. During his previous tenure, he helped grow the Amsterdam office into a market leader in the Netherlands. Andrew Foote transitions from General Manager Netherlands to Chief Client Officer EMEA. He will continue to drive digital innovation in his expanded role as EMEA Digital Lead, ensuring that the latest innovations from the AI Center are deployed across the region.

Additional leadership appointments include:

Anne Belle Voorbach – Chief Operating Officer & Deputy General Manager: Oversees day-to-day operations, talent planning, service delivery, and innovation implementation.
Martijn Nieuwenhuis – Chief Client Impact Officer: Tasked with redefining what creates value for clients, shifting the agency from outputs to outcomes.
Darryl Soh – Head of AI Transformation: Leads Edelman’s AI service development and integration.
Robin den Hoed – Business Innovation Lead: Focuses on developing new commercial models, including performance-based pricing and subscriptions.

“We’re setting bold ambitions that reflect the pace of change in our industry,” said Voorbach. “We’ve clearly defined our direction and are making deliberate investments in people, technology, and new models. More senior hires are on the way to support this momentum.”

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Edelman vernieuwt leiderschapsteam en versterkt AI-positie vanuit Amsterdam

Nieuw management aangesteld, forse investering in nieuwe senior consultants en organisatiestructuur afgestemd op de klantbehoeften van vandaag.
Edelman zet in Amsterdam het EMEA AI-centrum op. Hier ontwikkelt en test het bureau versneld nieuwe manieren van werken, diensten en oplossingen om klanten optimaal te bedienen in een AI-gedreven markt.

Amsterdam, 16 september 2025 – Edelman, ’s werelds grootste onafhankelijke communicatieadviesbureau, kondigt een aantal grote stappen aan om het kantoor in Amsterdam versneld te transformeren en dé geïntegreerde communicatiepartner voor bedrijven te blijven in een snel veranderende markt. Met de terugkeer van Arent Jan Hesselink, President & CEO van Edelman EMEA, als leidinggevende van het kantoor, en met forse investeringen in technologie en uitbreiding van het senior team, wil Edelman klanten sneller laten profiteren van een AI-verrijkte en volledig geïntegreerde dienstverlening. Edelman Amsterdam wordt het innovatiecentrum van het bedrijf in de EMEA-regio.

“De wereld van communicatie, marketing en reputatiemanagement verandert ingrijpend en dat gebeurt met een grote snelheid,” aldus Hesselink. “Klanten hebben minder behoefte aan op zichzelf staande producten en ‘deliverables’, maar zoeken geïntegreerde communicatieoplossingen die waarde creëren op de lange termijn. Ze zoeken partners die sectorspecifieke uitdagingen begrijpen, snel kunnen meebewegen en technologie benutten om ze voor te bereiden op wat komen gaat. Edelman Amsterdam biedt dat perspectief.”

Structureel waarde leveren
Edelman Amsterdam ondersteunt klanten bij transformaties, crises, herstructureringen, internationale expansie, exits, IPO’s en merkcampagnes. Dit gebeurt binnen een geïntegreerd bureaumodel dat intensief gebruikmaakt van AI-technologieën, waarin wereldwijd fors is geïnvesteerd.

Onder leiding van Darryl Soh werkt het Amsterdamse AI-centrum met geïntegreerde teams waarin strategie, creatie, AI en klantmanagement samenkomen. Het centrum verbindt de ervaring van 100 consultants in Amsterdam aan Edelmans wereldwijde netwerk, AI-gedreven creatie en 25 jaar aan inzichten uit de Edelman Trust Barometer. De visie is om klanten in staat te stellen beslissingen te nemen op basis van vertrouwen, juist in onzekere tijden.

Structuur zet sectorbenadering centraal
Klanten krijgen toegang tot geïntegreerde teams die hun industrie echt begrijpen en opereren vanuit diepe sectorexpertise. Communicatievraagstukken anno nu zijn zelden generiek. Ze gaan bijvoorbeeld over duurzaamheid in voeding, techregulering, geopolitieke risico’s voor alle sectoren of de economische impact van de energietransitie. Deze aanpak sluit beter aan bij de dagelijkse realiteit van klanten en verhoogt de relevantie, snelheid en kwaliteit van de geboden oplossingen.

Ilse van Hartevelt richt zich voortaan volledig op de Energy & Industrials-sector en combineert haar rol in Nederland met die van Energy Lead voor EMEA. Als onderdeel van deze sectorgerichte benadering worden drie senior versterkingen aangekondigd:

Kathrin de Graaf – Technologie: ruim vijftien jaar ervaring in corporate- en bureauomgevingen, o.a. bij Aegon en Signify. Gespecialiseerd in geïntegreerde communicatiestrategieën, mediarelaties en thought leadership.
Kim Vogten – Food & Beverage: brengt vijftien jaar aan brede corporate-affairs-ervaring mee, opgedaan in rollen binnen JDE Peet’s, Eneco, AB InBev en de politiek. Combineert kennis van de sector met expertise in corporate communicatie en stakeholdermanagement. Start in november.
Marcel van de Hoef – Financial Services: meer dan 25 jaar ervaring in financiële communicatie, executive coaching en reputatiemanagement. Voormalig internationaal financieel journalist, o.a. bij Bloomberg, hoofdredacteur en ondernemer.

Nieuw leiderschapsteam
Het nieuwe Edelman Amsterdam wordt geleid door een managementteam bestaande uit leiders die hun sporen hebben verdiend in de industrie en bij het bureau. Arent Jan Hesselink leidt het team naast zijn EMEA-rol. Onder zijn eerdere leiding groeide het kantoor uit tot marktleider in Nederland. Andrew Foote maakt de overstap van General Manager Nederland naar Chief Client Officer EMEA. In die rol blijft hij ook verantwoordelijk voor digitale innovatie als EMEA Digital Lead, en zorgt hij ervoor dat klanten in de regio profiteren van de nieuwste ontwikkelingen uit het AI-centrum.

Daarnaast zijn benoemd:

Anne Belle Voorbach – Chief Operating Officer en Deputy General Manager: leidt de dagelijkse operatie, stelt teams samen, drijft innovatie en overziet de kwaliteit van dienstverlening.
Martijn Nieuwenhuis – Chief Client Impact Officer: belast met het radicaal herdefiniëren van wat waarde voor klanten creëert; stuurt dienstverlening van ‘output’ naar uitkomsten.
Darryl Soh – Head of AI Transformation: ontwikkelt AI-proposities en versnelt de integratie in de dienstverlening. Heeft ruime ervaring met AI en transformatie binnen het internationale Edelman-netwerk.
Robin den Hoed – Business Innovation Lead: ontwikkelt nieuwe commerciële modellen zoals resultaat-gebaseerde dienstverlening en abonnementsvormen.

Anne Belle Voorbach, COO, zegt: “Onze ambities zijn groot en passend bij deze tijd. De klantbehoefte en het speelveld veranderen razendsnel, en daarom hebben we onze koers scherp gedefinieerd. We investeren doelgericht in mensen, technologie en nieuwe modellen. Binnenkort volgen meer benoemingen die deze ambities verder kracht bijzetten.”

What does a typical day in the life of a Senior Digital Specialist look like? 

My day is all about spotting the best opportunities behind each project and amplifying their potential. That means diving headfirst into trends and references to craft stop-scrolling ideas and visuals.

What three skills do you think are essential to fulfil your role? 

Having an open antenna — creativity emerges from connecting diverse points in unexpected ways, whether it's a meme, a metro window view, or street graffiti. Ingredients for great ideas are everywhere, but only your unique experiences can unlock them.

Curate everything — Keep building a personal collection of everything that sparks curiosity: Scribbled notes, a cool documentary, a vintage postcard with gothic typography you snagged along the way. Each piece adds fuel to your creativity, ready to ignite fresh ideas.

Trying new things is a must — Embracing unusual tasks, exploring fresh approaches, or proudly failing with an experiment. It's essential to keep expanding your creative toolkit.

What do you like best about working at Edelman? 

Edelman is genuinely global. You're constantly collaborating, learning, and creating alongside teams from around the world. Hopping on calls with colleagues from three or more continents at once? It's just another Tuesday.

What are some of the challenges you face in your day-to-day role? 

Keeping up with the changes in AI and social can be intense, but it's also part of what makes this job thrilling. I also enjoy guiding clients to see new perspectives and helping them unlock untapped creative possibilities. Creativity rarely follows a straight line, so finding ways to avoid overthinking and to simplify complex ideas usually saves the day.

Describe your working week using 3 emojis 

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What’s been your most memorable moment at Edelman so far? 

Relocating for this role was a leap into the unknown, but what made it feel like home so quickly was the sense of connection at Edelman. From the very first day in the Amsterdam office, I was struck by how open, welcoming and collaborative everyone was. Whether it's the spontaneous catch-ups in the kitchen or the way teams rally around each other in busy moments, there's a real culture of showing up for one another. That everyday sense of togetherness has made all the difference.

What’s your favorite part of a working day? 

What I love most are those quiet moments when I'm fully absorbed, diving deep into research to explore new topics or spark ideas for a client brief, as well as those casual conversations with colleagues that bring fresh perspectives, helping me grow both personally and creatively.

How do you stay motivated? 

By life itself. Getting inspired through art, music, movement, and those late-night epiphanies. And of course, checking cats skateboarding on TikTok.

Did anything surprise you when you joined Edelman? 

Moving from Brazil to the Netherlands was a significant cultural shift, requiring adaptation to a new work environment, language, and daily routines. It wasn’t always easy, but the challenges of adaptation turned out to be incredibly rewarding, pushing me to grow faster than I ever imagined.

Finally, how do you see your career path developing in the future?

AI has unlocked many creative possibilities, nudging everyone toward a more hybrid approach to work. Lately, I've been delving deeper into coding, which has enabled me to prototype and create visuals with an interactive dimension. But at the same time, I'm leaning into experimenting with handmade and manual processes, with the aim of making ideas and visuals feel more relatable to others.

A story that helps young kids to deal with fears, worries and hopes

You probably know us for being grown up ‘storytellers’ at Edelman Amsterdam, but a group of our colleagues recently decided to combine their insight and skills as mums, dads, carers, homeschool ‘teachers’ and marketing and communications professionals to create our first ever kid’s story book ‘Tommy and The Blue Bird’.

In chatting with her little boy, aged four, Seema our Creative Director saw a need to find a way to talk about fears, worries, hopes and the things we take for granted with her son and further conversations with workmates with kids in their lives reaffirmed her view. With well documented research, including arguments recently set out by The New YorkTimes suggesting that ‘it’s our mind-set’ about stress that matters most – the idea of writing and illustrating an online book for kids (and parents) on how to change our mindsets in tough circumstances was born.

The result’ - Tommy and the Blue Bird’ is designed to help kids as well as parents understand that if we embrace our worries, it can only make us stronger. Click the link to read the book to your kids via your mobile phone/tablet: https://adobe.ly/34NLsdM

If you’d like any additional information on how our creative process works, give us a shout.

What does a typical day in the life of a Senior Account Executive look like? 

Working on one of Edelman’s global clients, Samsung, brings a structured start to my day as each day begins and ends with a handover. Being in the Amsterdam office puts me in a strategic position to speak with our Korean colleagues at the end of their day and our US colleagues in their morning. This way, we’re able to offer 24-hour support and achieve super quick turnarounds for client requests. In addition to my work for Samsung, I also work on two to three local accounts, with more ad-hoc tasks and close collaboration with colleagues in the office. A typical day looks like this:

8:30 – Review final deliverables shared with client overnight, receive handover from the Korean team, delegate tasks to UK/US teams, and kick off new deliverables (reports, backgrounders, media briefings, etc)

10:30-12:00 – Internal team meetings, emails, and coffee!

12:00-12:30 – Lunch with the whole Amsterdam office at our communal lunch table :)

12:30-15:30 – Work on communications materials for two to three different clients, ranging from research outlines to media analysis reports

15:30-16:30 – Client meetings, emails

16:30-17:30 – Finalizing deliverables for the day, and hand over to the US team.

17:30 – Bike home!

18:00 – Dinner & drinks with friends ?

What three skills do you think are essential to fulfil your role? 

Curiosity – being constantly curious and asking questions helps you better understand client needs, learn about new opportunities within Edelman and get to know your colleagues better!

Open-mindedness – Working in a fast-paced environment requires you to be quick on your feet and constantly think of new solutions. Being open-minded and flexible makes this much easier.

Proactivity – Being proactive helps you go much further in your role. Whether it’s proactively pitching a new media angle to a client, reaching out to a colleague you’ve always wanted to talk to, or proactively sharing an idea with a team member on how to make a workflow more efficient – it’s always appreciated.

What do you like best about working at Edelman? 

I love the people! Coming into our new office and seeing everyone’s friendly faces makes work so much more fun. As for the work itself, I like diving deep into completely new topics that I previously knew nothing about and becoming an expert in no time (like electricity grid congestion or crypto trends).

What are some of the challenges you face in your day-to-day role? 

Learning to balance your days is the biggest challenge at Edelman, in my opinion. Some days are so packed with meetings and deadlines that I wish there were more hours in the day, whereas other days feel like a breeze. The challenge is accepting that this fluctuation is the nature of the job and not getting too worked up when your days feel unusually quiet or too overwhelmed when they’re packed.

Describe your working week using 3 emojis 

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What’s been your most memorable moment at Edelman so far? 

In January 2025, I had the opportunity to travel to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for a week with Samsung and a team of 15 Edelman colleagues from around the world. This was such a memorable experience, as it was amazing to see all the materials we had worked on come to life at this huge trade show and press event.

What’s your favorite part of a working day? 

It is a cliché – but every day is different, so it’s hard to pinpoint one exact favorite moment. But I feel most satisfied when I help someone solve a problem, whether it’s a client or a colleague.

How do you stay motivated? 

I always try to find new challenges in my work. Whether it’s starting a new project or taking on new responsibilities within a team, learning something new keeps me motivated. Having the chance to work toward new opportunities helps me stay engaged.

Did anything surprise you when you joined Edelman? 

How fast the industry evolves and how much the PR and Communications field has changed since Edelman was founded in 1952. Some of our clients have been with us for over 40 years, so hearing stories about what work was like back then is fascinating! Even in the 1.5 years I’ve worked here, the work has fundamentally changed due to technology like AI and the rapidly developing media landscape.

Finally, how do you see your career path developing in the future?

Multinational collaboration has always fascinated me, so in the future, I’d love to grow into a more global role within Edelman, helping clients navigate strategic communications challenges across borders while working alongside a talented team.

What does a typical day in the life of a Senior Digital Specialist look like? 

My day starts with emails and a handwritten to-do list (yes, I’m old school). Then it’s a mix of deep dives into trends, creative strategy, and brainstorm-fueled meetings—all while keeping a pulse on what’s next.

What three skills do you think are essential to fulfil your role? 

Cultural curiosity, strategic agility & social-first thinking

What do you like best about working at Edelman? 

Edelman gives me the trust and freedom to be hands-on, plus endless opportunities to explore, create and make an impact as a professional.

What are some of the challenges you face in your day-to-day role? 

Keeping up with ever-changing platforms and convincing brands and organizations that yes, social is more than just posting pretty pictures.

Describe your working week using 3 emojis 

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What’s been your most memorable moment at Edelman so far? 

One of my most memorable moments was supporting our Edelman Riyadh team during a 2-month secondment in KSA – an unforgettable experience!

What’s your favorite part of a working day? 

Right now, I’m loving every bit of our new Amsterdam city-center office. A stunning space that fuels inspiration (also for my social feed ?‍↕️).

How do you stay motivated? 

By staying plugged into culture. The best ideas come from what people are actually talking about, not just what the brief states.

Did anything surprise you when you joined Edelman? 

Our global network. It’s inspiring how integrated our +60 offices collaborate and how we can offer round-the-clock client support.

Finally, how do you see your career path developing in the future?

Social is ever evolving, and so am I. Whether it’s deepening my expertise in community-first strategies or exploring the future of AI in marketing.

Trust. It’s a simple word, with only five letters and one syllable. But it’s big in meaning, with the power to make and break governments. Trust is the essence of brand equity, of professional and personal relationships. That’s why it’s so important to us at Edelman.

Trust makers: Our interview series explores the sharpest minds in marketing and communications in the Netherlands. Next up is Sabrina Spong, Movement Lead at Tony’s Chocolonely.

Don’t be fooled by the bright packaging and the sweet taste. Behind the veneer of this increasingly visible brand is an important message–a vision and mission determined to make the chocolate industry 100% slave-free.

Tony’s Chocolonely is the brainchild of Teun van de Keuken, a journalist who was shocked by the extent of illegal child labor and modern slavery common in West Africa, where most of the world’s cocoa beans grow. Teun decided to use his platform as a TV presenter on the show, Keuringsdienst van Waarde, to turn himself in as a ‘chocolate criminal’ and draw attention to the issue. This resulted in the first bar of Tony’s in 2006.

Since then, Tony’s has grown from a scrappy start-up to a successful business, expanding its global footprint to include the USA and UK and in December it reached the €100M revenue mark.

As a co-op with a fully traceable cocoa supply chain, Tony’s has opened itself up to criticism in the past, but the company maintains this is an attempt to change the industry from inside out. This is where Sabrina and the Comms team come in, managing the delicate dance between an ethical brand—that has been recognized by consumers as the Netherlands most Sustainable Brand three years in a row—and a viable commercial business.

Words: David Kane

“Movement lead” sounds like an exciting job title. What does it involve, Sabrina?

It means that I am responsible for the global communications team, heading up a team of communications experts sitting in Amsterdam for an impact-driven brand with a mission. Tony’s has several goals, one of them being to establish a movement of fans who love the chocolate but also want to support our mission.

We can only achieve our mission, making 100% slave free the norm in all chocolate, when everyone participates. As a communications team, we want to activate our fans by making them feel a part of our movement and that they’re making real chance, not only focusing on sales-driven motives. Ideally, they become active ambassadors and start poking Big Choco for us to move one step closer to our mission.

On a day-to-day basis, I work with local marketing teams at our satellite offices. The entirety of our team is tasked with creating building blocks for them to localise our campaigns – from our seasonal chocolate editions to big impact moments – and assets to help build Tony’s in their regions.

Tony’s has an unusual backstory, starting as a journalist’s initiative. How has it grown as a business? What’s the difference between now and when you started three years ago?

There is strong proof that Tony’s model works and that the way we operate and do our business with our partners in West Africa does too. For instance, Tony’s aims to eliminate all illegal labour, including child labour, in the cocoa supply chain. Tony’s sourcing model has driven child labour from the industry average of more than 50%, down to less than 5% at its partner cooperatives.

I believe that there is so much potential in what we're doing. It's huge. Having street fought our way to the 100 million revenue mark, I believe that we're at a point where we need to install further structure and strengthen processes in the way we function as a business to continue winning.

As you probably know, for Gen Z it’s important to see what brands values and positions are on important issues–how is Tony’s addressing that audience?

Our mission and our values are at the forefront of everything we do at Tony´s. We don´t shy away from being critical, towards ourselves or towards the chocolate industry or the world. We are also open and direct, maybe a bit ´typical Dutch, and always questioning the status quo to really keep on learning and keep ourselves on our toes and others on theirs. Also, this year we published the AFR, the Annual Fair Report. There, consumers can learn about the way we do our business, from the good stuff to the things we’re working on. We are honest about our strategy and about our goals, results, and the things that are not going well. That is one of the reasons why I wanted to work at Tony’s, because of the level of transparency. We acknowledge the mistakes we make, and we welcome feedback and embrace opportunity to learn.

People eat chocolate as a little treat to themselves, but there is a human cost, like modern slavery and child labour. How serious is this issue? Can you put it into context for readers?

According to the Global Slavery Index, there are 30,000 victims of modern slavery in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. These two countries are responsible for over 60% of cocoa production globally. When looking at child labour, more than 1.5 million children are working illegally in the cocoa sector in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. These numbers are huge but are an unfortunate reality behind big chocolate companies.

The chocolate industry is unequally divided. ‘Big Choco’, what we refer industry giants as, continue to pay a price set too low for farmers to make a living income. Subsequently, this pushes cocoa farmers further into poverty, which is the root cause of modern slavery and child labour. At its core, Tony’s Chocolonely exists to solve this and there are many steps that we have taken.

We believe that business should stop putting profit before people and that this should be the industry norm, not the exception.

We have a set of principles that we source by, we call them Tony’s five sourcing principles. They consist of fully traceable beans, paying a higher price for the cocoa to enable farmers to earn a living income, promoting strong cooperatives, so they can also professionalize and work on cocoa farming in a safe and sustainable way. All of the cocoa beans we use in our chocolate is sourced from our tried-and-tested 5 Sourcing Principles. We engage in long-term commitments; giving farmers income security, and coaching farmers to improve their productivity, cocoa quality and improve their agricultural knowledge on crops.

We also always enter a 5-year Memorandum of Understanding with our partner co-operatives, versus other brands who may be going into one- or two-year contracts. We believe that by following our 5 Sourcing Principles, other big chocolate companies can help to change the industry for the better.

It doesn’t feel like Tony’s is trying to obliterate the chocolate competition, but you want to have the same share of the pie, but a fairer pie. I saw that Tony´s came third on the Chocolate Scorecard 2022 and some big brands scored poorly or did not partake. Do you have a message to these businesses?

We have a strong message that has led us to introducing Tony’s Open Chain. It’s an industry-led initiative that invites other chocolate brands to join our mission and transform their cocoa supply chain to source cocoa beans in the same ethical way as Tony’s. We now have 8 Mission Allies, including Tony’s, with Ben & Jerry’s having joined Tony’s Open Chain last summer in our Chocolate Love A-Fair. Our other Mission Allies are Albert Heijn, Aldi, Jokolade, Vly, the Flower Farm, and plus.

As a business, what are your goals for 2023?

Further growth. There’s the goal of sourcing 14 to 15,000 metric tons of cocoa beans. That also includes cocoa beans sourced through Tony’s Open Chain, which includes all mission allies. Another goal is to onboard three new Mission Allies into Tony’s Open Chain, because they also help us raise awareness and provide a message in the industry, the front-line, and, of course, they help us in increasing the amount of beans that we source. There is also the goal of growing the total amount of partner co-operatives that we work with in West Africa. We will be working with 11 partner co-operatives next year.

For the past couple of years, we have been making a lot of noise around human rights due diligence legislation and we are still waiting on several big decisions from parliaments, and outcomes in different markets, across many companies. We remain very vocal about wanting ambitious legislation because human rights should never be optional.

Given your experience in comms and marketing, where do you see the sort of big bets in the next year/18 months/3 years. Is it AI, what is the way to get the message to people?

I think the age of consumer agency will continue. Therefore, I think that brands that can channel this newfound consumer willpower will not only survive but thrive, turning loyal friends into active ambassadors. That is also our goal, especially for the movement team.

At Tony’s, we talk about Serious Friends, these are our active ambassadors that help us drive our movement forward. I think that community management that moves beyond the traditional sense of CRM management will become even more crucial. I believe companies should invest more in walking the walk than talking the talk. We discussed how audiences have become more aware about issues of sustainability. Companies should show their consumer that they are not only talking but really doing everything and taking full responsibility for their supply chain. I think reporting is an opportunity to talk about the past and present challenges and to be transparent about your commitment as a business to people and the planet.

What is the most valuable piece of advice that you have been given in your career?

I will share a recent one: To always pursue genuine connections with people. There is so much value in building real relationships with people you work with, you meet throughout life, or your work life. When you look back at your career, it’s those connections that not only make you successful but are also the reason why I love my job. For myself, if I look back at all the things that I have done, it is mostly the connections which I built. Even in South Africa, I still keep in touch with the people I worked with. We stay connected and help each other out when we can. It is not so much about the transaction of helping each other but more about the energy you get from it.

I see your point, it is better to have a genuine connection than thousands of LinkedIn connections you have never really met. For the last question, and perhaps the most important, what is the best flavour of Tony’s?

I could send you some, I think you have not tried them yet. We did launch the ‘sweet solution’ bars, two years ago. They were look-alike bars, but they’re made very differently, using Tony’s 5 Sourcing Principles. We made them to raise awareness and inspire the whole chocolate industry to act. One of those bars, was referencing, Ferrero Rocher. It is made with creamy milk hazelnut, and in my opinion, it tastes even better than normal milk hazelnut. I always have this one n stock at home. For me, the bar itself is also a proof of our activism and reminds me of the campaign which was well-executed and one of the boldest campaigns we did to date. I also think it is tangible proof of the fact that also other brands can make chocolate according to our principles.

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Sabrina Spong, Movement Lead at Tony’s Chocolonely