Keynotes
Each day will start with a thematic key note. On Tuesday we will end the day with a high level panel discussion and on Thursday we will end the conference with the sharing of key takeaways and insights (see our Program at a Glance).
Keynote speakers
Annemieke Nijhof
Annemieke Nijhof has been dedicated to the sustainable living environment for nearly 35 years, with extensive experience in both business and government. Since October 2020, she has been the Managing Director of Deltares. She serves as a supervisor and advisor to knowledge institutes, the government, NGOs, and the financial sector.
A chemical engineer by training (University of Twente), Annemieke began her career in innovative soil remediation at Tauw bv before advancing into leadership roles in water and spatial planning. She held key positions in multiple ministries, including Director-General for Water at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and Principal Advisor to Prime Minister Balkenende. As CEO of Tauw Group, she led international business operations, and she has played a crucial role in the Dutch water sector as Chair of the Netherlands Water Partnership and figurehead of Topsector Water and Maritime. Recognized for her commitment to diversity and inclusivity, she was named Top Woman of the Year in 2015.
Hans Slenders
Hans Slenders is a senior consultant at Arcadis in the Netherlands with over 30 years of experience in the field of soil and groundwater research and remediation. He has hands on experience in the field, contributed to research programs and is also author of several national and international guidances and position papers on sustainable remediation and PFAS. He is an active member of working groups within the European Industry Network NICOLE, strategic consultant in some of the major PFAS projects in the Netherland (Chemours, AFB Soesterberg). Over the years he has been invited speaker around the world on several related topics. He likes to trigger and inspire your thoughts.
Jack Hannam
Jack Hannam is a soil scientist at Cranfield University UK. Her research in soil data, soil health, land use decisions, regenerative agriculture and soil policy has impact in academia, governments, and business. She is interested in different forms of soil data, soil knowledge and analysis frameworks that can be used to inform both local sustainable soil management and national monitoring schemes to track soil health. She works in transdisciplinary teams developing new ideas around soil systems and translates these into evidence for decision making.
Dietmar Müller-Grabherr
Dietmar Müller-Grabherr works with Environment Agency Austria (EAA) since 1989. National main responsibilities include supervising the national program and the working group “Risk assessment of contaminated sites” at the Austrian Standards Institute. By the background of his national function, he is involved to science-policy dialogues with regard to soil and groundwater related EU policies for more than 20 years. Since September 2017 he is General Secretary to COMMON FORUM on Contaminated Land in Europe (www.commonforum.eu) and represents the European network of policy advisors and regulators in contaminated land management at the Soil Expert Group supporting the European Commission with regard to the implementation of the EU Soil Strategy for 2030.